PTE Write Essay gives you one prompt, 20 minutes and a word limit of 200–300 words. This guide covers the task from start to finish: how the essay is scored on seven separate traits, a structure template you can reuse without memorising sentences, an original sample question with a sample answer, a trait-by-trait look at how that answer meets each scoring trait, and the common mistakes, shown on the same essay.
Three big traits run 0–6; four smaller ones run 0–2. Green stripe = also reviewed by a human expert.
Does the essay deal with this prompt, all of it, in your own words, with specific support? Generic statements and recycled prompt wording sit in the low bands.
A real introduction and conclusion, paragraphs in a logical order, an argument developed at length, and linking words that show how ideas relate.
Can you say exactly what you mean, including complex or abstract ideas, without your English holding you back?
200–300 words for full marks. A 0 here (under 120 or over 380 words, all capitals, no punctuation, or only bullet points or very short sentences) means no points for the whole essay.
The top mark needs control of complex sentences, with errors rare. Mostly simple sentences, or several basic mistakes, sit at the bottom.
A broad, precise range, including natural idiomatic phrasing. Basic vocabulary that can't handle the topic scores lowest.
No errors scores 2, one error scores 1, more than one scores 0. The strictest trait in the essay.
On the rubric, 18 of the 26 trait points sit in the three human-reviewed traits. Pearson doesn't publish how trait points convert into your 10–90 Writing score, so treat that as a guide to where effort pays, not a formula. If a study guide shows Content at 0–3 and every other trait at 0–2, it is using the older scale; our 2025 scoring changes page has the background and the full task-to-skill map.
Write Essay feeds your Writing score only. It is the one task that feeds Writing alone: Summarize Written Text, Summarize Spoken Text and Write From Dictation each feed a second skill too.
Form is the easiest 2 marks in the essay, and the most expensive to throw away.
| Your length | Form mark |
|---|---|
| 200–300 words | 2, full marks |
| 120–199 or 301–380 words | 1 |
| Under 120 or over 380 words | 0, and the essay scores nothing |
Form is also 0 if the essay is written in capital letters, has no punctuation, or consists only of bullet points or very short sentences. Because Form is a gatekeeper, a 0 here costs the whole essay, not just the 2 Form marks.
Aim for roughly 250–280 words: inside the band with a margin at both ends, long enough to develop two body paragraphs, and short enough to leave time to proofread. Going past 300 words drops Form from 2 to 1, and the extra words only add room for grammar and spelling slips. A live word counter is on screen, so glance at it after each paragraph rather than once at the end. Limits and timings for every task are on our word limits and timings page.
Memorise the job each paragraph does, never the sentences. The word budgets add up to about 260.
A template earns its place by freeing your 20 minutes for thinking about the prompt instead of the layout. It turns harmful when it supplies the words too (trap 1 below shows why), so this one has no stock sentences, only jobs. For why memorised templates backfire on every task, see our PTE templates guide.
1) Restate the issue in your own words. 2) Show the sides or the tension, if the prompt has them. 3) Give your position in one sentence, with its condition if your view has one.
A topic sentence that makes one point, then why it holds, then a specific example, then a link back to the question.
The same shape for the second view, reason or group. Open with a linking phrase that names the relationship: contrast, addition or cause.
Answer the question directly. Resolve the tension rather than repeating the essay. No new arguments.
You don't need statistics. Pearson's own example prompt asks for reasons or examples from your own experience or observations, so a specific, believable example does the job, and it can't be wrong the way an invented figure can.
Pearson describes the task as an argumentative essay on a prompt of 2–3 sentences. It says a prompt may ask whether you agree or disagree with a statement, or how different groups of people might feel about a situation.
Read the instruction at the end of the prompt first: it decides what your two body paragraphs must do. These are the shapes common in practice material, and the plan each one needs.
Two reasons for your view, or one reason plus your answer to the strongest objection. "Partly agree" works only if you say exactly which part.
Body 1: the first view at its strongest. Body 2: the second view at its strongest. Your opinion in the introduction and conclusion. Missing any one is a Content problem.
One body paragraph for each side, then say which is heavier and why. Listing both sides without the weighing leaves the question unanswered.
Body 1: the main causes. Body 2: solutions that answer those causes, not a separate wish list.
Explain each group's view and the reason behind it. Add your own view only if the prompt asks for it.
Give each question its own body paragraph, and answer both, explicitly, in the conclusion.
The prompt below was written for this page. It is not a Pearson question, not from any question bank and not a "real exam" item; it is here to show the method.
Step one: underline the instruction, discuss both views and give your own opinion. That is three jobs (the supporters, the critics and you), and all three must be visible. Step two: settle your position before writing a word, because an essay that changes its mind halfway through is hard to structure. A two-minute plan might look like this:
A model answer to the sample prompt, written for this page: four paragraphs, 271 words (counting hyphenated words such as "car-free" as one), British spelling throughout.
Car-free days, when a city centre is handed over to pedestrians and cyclists, have become a popular experiment, yet they divide residents sharply. Supporters picture a healthier, more sociable centre, whereas critics see lost trade and stranded drivers. In my view, the benefits outweigh the costs, provided that the closures are planned around the people who genuinely depend on vehicles.
Those in favour argue that removing traffic changes how a street is used. Without the noise and fumes of passing cars, families can walk or cycle safely, and cafés can place tables where vehicles once queued. A street that was merely a route becomes somewhere to meet friends or browse a weekend stall. Over time, people may come to treat the centre as a place to spend an afternoon rather than a road to drive through, and the extra walking could also benefit their health.
Critics, however, raise concerns that are difficult to dismiss. Some shops, such as hardware stores, rely on customers who drive in, collect heavy goods and leave, and those customers may simply switch to an out-of-town shopping centre instead. Moreover, a closure that seems minor to a young cyclist can be a serious barrier for an elderly resident who cannot walk far, or for a tradesperson who needs to unload tools close to a job.
Overall, while these objections are valid, they are arguments for careful design rather than for keeping cars everywhere. If councils allow delivery windows, reserve access for disabled drivers and provide parking within a short walk, car-free days can make city centres more pleasant without shutting out anyone who has no real alternative.
We don't attach a score to this sample. Only Pearson's own AI and human reviewers produce PTE scores, and no one can promise what a given essay will receive. What the next section does is line the answer up against what each trait looks for, so you can check your own essays the same way.
For each trait: what Pearson's score guide looks for (in our words), then where the sample does it.
Looks for: the whole prompt dealt with in depth, the issue restated in your own words, and main points developed with specific support. The low bands describe generic statements and leaning on the prompt's wording.
Looks for: 200–300 words in normal sentences and paragraphs, with punctuation.
Looks for: a structure that is easy to follow, a developed introduction and conclusion, paragraphs in a logical order, and varied linking devices that go beyond "and", "but" and "because".
Looks for: consistent control of complex sentences, with rare errors, for the top mark. Errors that don't cause misunderstanding fit the middle mark; mostly simple structures or several basic mistakes sit at the bottom.
Looks for: varied expressions used precisely and easily, even for complex or abstract ideas. The middle bands describe repetition and roundabout phrasing once ideas get harder.
Looks for: a broad range, including natural idiomatic phrasing. Gaps that force roundabout or imprecise wording fit the middle mark; basic vocabulary that can't handle the topic sits at the bottom.
Looks for: no errors for 2. One error gives 1; more than one gives 0.
Each trap is written for the same sample prompt, so you can compare it directly with the model answer above.
Trap version: "In today's modern world, the issue of car-free streets has become a hotly debated topic among people from all walks of life. This essay will discuss both sides of this controversial issue before reaching a logical conclusion."
Thirty-seven words, and if you swap "car-free streets" for any other topic, nothing else needs to change. Generic statements sit in the low Content bands, and Pearson's score guide says a response that fails to deal with the prompt because of significant memorised material scores 0 for Content, which means no points for the essay. A human reviews Content on this task, and a stock opening is easy for a reader to spot.
✓ Fix: make your first sentence one that only this essay could contain. Compare the sample's opening.Trap version: "Some cities now close their central streets to private cars on certain days. Supporters say this makes city centres healthier and more pleasant, while critics argue that it harms local businesses."
Those words count toward your length but add nothing, and the low Content bands specifically describe over-reliance on the prompt's language. General Linguistic Range has nothing of yours to judge either.
✓ Fix: restate it in your own words, as the sample does: "Car-free days, when a city centre is handed over to pedestrians and cyclists…"Trap version: Body 1 says car-free days improve health; Body 2 says they cut pollution; the conclusion says cities should hold more of them.
It may be well argued, but the critics' view never appears, so one of the three jobs is never done. Content is judged against the whole prompt, not the topic in general.
✓ Fix: tick off the jobs before you write (supporters ✓ critics ✓ my view ✓), as in the plan above.Trap version: all 271 words in a single paragraph that drifts from café tables to hardware stores to the writer's view without a break or a linking phrase.
Development, Structure and Coherence is a human-reviewed 0–6 trait. Good ideas still lose marks when the reader has to work out where one point ends and the next begins.
✓ Fix: four paragraphs, each opening with a topic sentence, and a linking phrase that names the relationship (however, moreover, while).Too simple: "Car-free days are good. People can walk. Cafés can put tables outside. This is nice for everyone."
Too fancy: "Car-free days are a panacea that will ameliorate the multifarious quandaries of urban existence."
The bottom Grammar mark describes mostly simple structures, and repeated simple expressions sit low on General Linguistic Range. Forced rare words cost marks too: the range traits reward precise, appropriate use, not rarity.
✓ Fix: join ideas with structures you control: "Without the noise and fumes of passing cars, families can walk or cycle safely, and cafés can place tables where vehicles once queued."Trap version: "Many bussiness owners believe the closures are unneccessary."
Spelling is scored strictly: one error drops the trait from 2 to 1, and more than one drops it to 0. Two slips in one sentence can cost the whole trait.
✓ Fix: keep a personal list of words you misspell, and look for them in your final check.Trap version: eight minutes polishing the introduction, then both body paragraphs, then the timer ends at 185 words with no conclusion.
185 words drops Form to 1, and Development, Structure and Coherence expects a developed conclusion as well as an introduction. Finish under 120 words and Form is 0, so the essay scores nothing.
✓ Fix: follow the 20-minute plan below, and start the conclusion by minute 16 at the latest.The essay has its own 20-minute timer, so the split is yours to manage.
| Minutes | What you do |
|---|---|
| 0–2 | Read the prompt, underline the instruction, decide your position, note one example per body paragraph |
| 2–17 | Write the introduction, two body paragraphs and the conclusion; check the word counter after each paragraph |
| 17–20 | Run the check below |
The three-minute check, in this order:
You can't mark your own essay: the traits you lose marks on are exactly the ones you can't see.
On The PTE Master, essay practice runs on the exam's format, and paid AI feedback gives your essay separate estimates for content, form, grammar, vocabulary and spelling, with written fixes in plain English or your own language, so you can see which part of your essay is holding your Writing score down. It is a practice estimate, not a Pearson score, and it does not score Pearson's seven traits one by one. You can see what that feedback looks like in our sample AI report, which marks a practice essay written by our team.
Exam-style prompts, the real 200–300 word rule and a live word count, plus AI feedback on content, form, grammar, vocabulary and spelling with any paid pack.
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