How long is the PTE Describe Image preparation time?
An image appears: a graph, a table, a map, a process or a photo. A countdown runs in the recording status box, a tone sounds, and you describe the image aloud. The countdown is your preparation time. Nothing is recorded during it, so it is the only moment in the task when thinking costs you nothing.
Describe Image in PTE Academic and PTE Core
| Item | PTE Academic (July 2025 guide) | PTE Core (January 2026 guide) |
|---|---|---|
| Items in the test | 5–6 | 3–4 |
| Skill it feeds | Speaking | Speaking |
| Traits scored | Content (0–6), Pronunciation, Oral Fluency | Content (0–5), Pronunciation, Fluency |
| Guide pages | pp. 18–20 | pp. 27–28 |
The 25-second study time and the 40-second answer are the same in both tests. For the full trait scales, see [how Describe Image is scored](/guides/pte-describe-image-scoring-criteria).
BandLadder's Describe Image timer matches Pearson's figures: 25 seconds to prepare, a beep, then 40 seconds to record.
What to do in the Describe Image preparation time: a 25-second scan
Pearson's own tip is to ask what the main idea of the image is and which details support it. The scan below turns that into an order you can run without thinking. It is BandLadder advice, and the seconds are a rough budget, not a rule.
The scan order: same on every image
- 1
1. Title and type (about 4 s). Read the title and name the image to yourself: bar chart, map, process. This becomes your first sentence: what the image shows, for whom or where, and when.
- 2
2. Units and scale (about 3 s). Check the axis label, the key and the unit: per cent, thousands, tonnes, years. One misread unit makes every number you say wrong.
- 3
3. The two extremes (about 7 s). Find the biggest and the smallest: the tallest and shortest bar, the largest and smallest slice, the start and end of a line. Note each with its figure.
- 4
4. One comparison (about 5 s). Pick one relationship: two lines that cross, one series that is higher every time, a gap that is unusually wide. One is enough.
- 5
5. Conclusion and first words (6 s). Decide one sentence on what the image suggests. Then silently rehearse your opening sentence, so it comes out the moment the tone sounds.
Why this order? Steps 1 and 2 protect accuracy, steps 3 and 4 give you the main features and a relationship, and step 5 gives you an ending. That is the shape Pearson's tips describe: the main information, the details, then implications or conclusions.
The scan for every image type: charts, maps, processes and photos
The order never changes; what counts as an "extreme" or a "comparison" does.
What to look at, image by image
| Image type | Title and units | The two extremes | One comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bar chart | Title, axis label, unit, key | Tallest and shortest bar | Two series side by side, or the widest gap |
| Line graph | Title, time span, unit | Start and end values (plus the peak if it is in the middle) | Where two lines cross, or which rose faster |
| Pie chart | What the whole is, the year | Largest and smallest slice | Largest slice against the next, or two slices that together make half |
| Table | Row and column headings, unit | Highest and lowest figure in the key column | One row against another |
| Map or plan | Place, dates, compass | Biggest change, or largest and smallest area | Before against after, or what lies next to what |
| Process or cycle | What is made or changed | First and last stage | A stage that splits, repeats or loops back |
| Photo or picture | Setting and what it shows | Main subject and the background | A contrast between two parts of the scene |
BandLadder advice. For a photo, "extremes" means the two things a listener most needs to picture it.
Processes and photos have no numbers, which makes step 2 short and step 4 more important. On a process, the comparison is usually what happens to the material between the first and last stage. On a photo, it is often a contrast: busy and empty, old and new, near and far.
PTE Describe Image examples: two scans, two answers
The first image is item 1 of BandLadder's "Archaeology and Ancient History" Describe Image set. The second uses invented data. Each answer below is built only from the scan notes, at about 70–90 words, which is BandLadder's guide for 40 seconds at a natural pace.
From BandLadder's Describe Image set "Archaeology and Ancient History", item 1.
This bar chart counts the pottery fragments and animal bones1 title, 2 unit that archaeologists dug out of four soil layers1 categories. Stratum B stands out, with 340 pieces of pottery and 190 bones3 extreme, while Stratum D has hardly any: just 50 and 303 extreme. Pottery is ahead of bones in all four layers4 compare, and the difference is biggest in Stratum B, at 150 items. Overall, the chart suggests5 conclusion that people used the site most when Stratum B was laid down, and least in the Stratum D period.
- → Strata A and C are never read out. The listener still gets the shape: a peak in B, a low in D, pottery ahead everywhere.
- → "The difference is biggest in Stratum B" is a second relationship, added only because it was quick to check: 150 against 40, 60 and 20.
- → The opening was rehearsed in the last seconds, so the first sentence carries no hesitation.
Invented data for practice.
This line graph shows how many hours a week2 units people spent reading for pleasure, in print and as e-books, between 2014 and 2024time span. Print reading fell steadily, from 4.2 hours to 2.53 ends. E-book reading rose from just 0.6 hours to 2.93 ends. The two lines crossed between 2022 and 20244 compare, when e-books overtook print for the first time. Overall, the graph suggests that reading habits are moving steadily towards digital formats.
- → On a line graph the extremes are the start and end of each line, so the scan reads four numbers, not twelve.
- → The comparison is the crossing point: in 2022 print is still ahead (2.7 against 2.6), and by 2024 it is behind (2.5 against 2.9).
- → The unit, hours a week, is said once at the start and then implied.
Why the scan lifts your Content and your Fluency
Read the scan against that scale. Title and units make the picture accurate; the extremes are the main features; the comparison is the relationship; the conclusion adds interpretation. A list of numbers without step 4 sounds like level 1, however many numbers it has. PTE Core's 0–5 Content scale also rewards relationships and conclusions or implications (Core guide p. 27).
✗ "Sales in June were 45." (The axis says thousands.)
✓ "Sales peaked in June at about 45,000."
Step 2 caught the unit. A wrong figure is an inaccuracy on the Content scale.
✗ "A is 120, B is 340, C is 210, D is 50…"
✓ "B is the highest at 340, D the lowest at only 50."
A list of values is not a relationship; naming the extremes is.
✗ A memorised opener that could fit any image, then silence.
✓ An opening sentence built from this image's title, rehearsed in the last seconds.
Memorised material can zero the item; a rehearsed, image-specific opening only helps.
The scan also protects fluency. A common cause of hesitation in Describe Image is hunting for the next number. If your figures are already chosen, you are not searching mid-sentence. For what the top fluency levels allow, see the Oral Fluency notes.
Your turn: Describe Image preparation check
Answer each question, then reveal the answer. Use the rules and the scan order on this page.
- According to Pearson's test format pages, how long do you have to study the image before the microphone opens?
- A. 10 seconds
- B. 25 seconds
- C. 30–40 seconds
- D. 40 seconds
Show answer
25 seconds
Pearson gives 25 seconds to study the image and prepare; 40 seconds is the time to answer.
- A pie chart shows a monthly budget: rent 38%, food 24%, transport 15%, other 14%, savings 9%. Which two slices are the extremes for step 3?
- A. Rent and other
- B. Rent and savings
- C. Food and transport
- D. Rent and food
Show answer
Rent and savings
The extremes are the largest slice (rent, 38%) and the smallest (savings, 9%).
- A bar chart's axis reads "Visitors (thousands)" and the June bar reaches 45. What do you say?
- A. 45 visitors
- B. 4,500 visitors
- C. 45,000 visitors
- D. About half of all visitors
Show answer
45,000 visitors
Step 2: the unit is thousands, so 45 means 45,000.
- A line graph shows a town's population rising from 8,000 in 1950 to 31,000 in 2020, with one dip in 1980. Which plan covers the extremes and one comparison?
- A. Read each decade's value in order
- B. 8,000 at the start, 31,000 at the end, and the 1980 dip against the overall rise
- C. Only the 1980 dip, because it is the most unusual point
- D. The title and a comment that the population changed
Show answer
8,000 at the start, 31,000 at the end, and the 1980 dip against the overall rise
On a line graph the extremes are the ends; the dip set against the rise is the one comparison.
- You finish the first four steps with 6 seconds left. What does the scan order say to do next?
- A. Scan the middle values again
- B. Decide a conclusion and rehearse your first sentence
- C. Write your whole answer on the noteboard
- D. Start speaking before the tone
Show answer
Decide a conclusion and rehearse your first sentence
Step 5. Speaking before the tone is not recorded, and a full written answer will not fit in 6 seconds.
- In PTE Academic, what is the highest Content score for Describe Image?
- A. 3
- B. 5
- C. 6
- D. 90
Show answer
6
The July 2025 Academic guide scores Content 0–6 (pp. 18–19). In PTE Core the scale is 0–5 (p. 27).
BandLadder questions
Practise it now
Use the method on original BandLadder questions. Attempt them free and see your score.
Questions
FAQ
How much preparation time do you get for PTE Describe Image?+
Pearson's test format pages give 25 seconds to study the image and prepare, then a short tone. You then have 40 seconds to describe the image. The timing is the same in PTE Academic and PTE Core.
What should I look at first in PTE Describe Image?+
BandLadder's scan order starts with the title and the type of image, then the units, then the two extremes, then one comparison, and ends with a one-line conclusion. The order is the same for every image type.
Can you take notes in PTE Describe Image?+
Yes. Pearson's tips suggest noting key ideas and phrases on the erasable noteboard booklet. Keep them to short fragments with figures, not full sentences.
How long should I speak in PTE Describe Image?+
The time to answer is 40 seconds. BandLadder's guide is about 70–90 words at a natural pace. Do not stop for three seconds: Pearson says the recording can close and you cannot continue.
Is a PTE Describe Image template a good idea?+
A speaking order helps; a memorised script does not. The PTE Academic guide classes pre-prepared or memorised material as irrelevant, which means Content 0 and no further scoring for that item (p. 8); the PTE Core guide puts it at Content 0 (p. 27).
Is PTE Describe Image the same in PTE Core?+
The timing is the same: 25 seconds to study, 40 to speak. PTE Core has 3–4 items with Content scored 0–5 (January 2026 guide, p. 27); PTE Academic has 5–6 items with Content scored 0–6 (July 2025 guide, pp. 18–19).
Sources
- Pearson PTE Academic test format page: Speaking and Writing: Describe Image (25 s to study, 40 s to answer, tone, noteboard tip, organise main information, details and conclusions); Answer Short Question test tips (three-second stop rule)
- Pearson PTE Core test format page: Speaking and Writing: Describe image (same timing and tips); Answer Short Question test tips
- PTE Academic Score Guide for Test Takers (July 2025): p. 8 (memorised material scored as irrelevant); pp. 18–20 (Describe Image: 5–6 items, Content 0–6, Pronunciation, Oral Fluency)
- PTE Core Score Guide for Test Takers (January 2026): pp. 27–28 (Describe Image: 3–4 items, Content 0–5, Pronunciation, Fluency)
- BandLadder's PTE timing reference: Describe Image timer: 25 s preparation, then a beep and 40 s recording
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