One prompt, 20 minutes, 200–300 words. There's only one essay in the test — but it's judged on seven separate traits, more than any other task in the exam, and three of them are reviewed by a human expert. That combination changes how you should write it.
Three big traits carry 0–6 each; four smaller ones carry 0–2. Green stripe = human-reviewed.
Did you actually answer this prompt — all parts of it — with relevant ideas and support?
Intro, body paragraphs that each make one point, a conclusion — and logical flow between them.
Can you express precise meaning — hedging, emphasis, comparison — not just simple statements?
The word-count rule (table below). Purely mechanical, entirely under your control.
Consistent grammatical control. A few slips cost little; systematic errors cost more.
Appropriate word choice — precise beats fancy.
One convention (British or American), used consistently.
Form is the easiest 2 marks in the essay — and the easiest 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 |
Aim for 230–270. That's deep inside the safe band, long enough to develop two body points properly, and short enough to leave proofreading time. Length beyond 300 doesn't earn anything — it just adds surface area for grammar and spelling errors.
"In this modern era of technological advancement…" — the reviewer has read that opening a thousand times, and three of your seven traits go through a human. Generic filler earns generic marks.
✓ Fix: memorise a structure (intro → 2 body points → conclusion), never sentences. Spend your first two minutes planning what you actually think about the prompt.The prompt says "discuss both views and give your opinion" and you argue one side for 280 words. Content is scored on covering all parts of the task.
✓ Fix: underline the instruction verbs in the prompt. If it asks for both views + your opinion, your plan needs all three, visibly.Structure & Coherence is a 0–6 trait of its own. A wall of text loses those marks even when the ideas inside are good.
✓ Fix: four paragraphs — intro, one point each in two bodies, conclusion. One idea per paragraph, one linking phrase between them.Grammar and Spelling are separate traits — 4 marks sitting in your final two minutes.
✓ Fix: 2 minutes planning, 15 writing, 3 checking. In the check, hunt specifically for your known repeat errors — articles, plurals, tense slips.Forcing in half-understood "advanced" words usually lands as wrong word choice — and Vocabulary is scored on appropriate use, not rarity.
✓ Fix: the precise ordinary word beats the impressive wrong one. Range comes from varied sentence structures more than exotic nouns.You can't mark your own essay — the traits you lose 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 marks your essay trait by trait — content, structure, grammar, vocabulary, spelling — with the reasoning explained in plain English (or your own language), so you know which of the seven traits is actually holding your Writing score down.
Real prompts, the real word-count rules, and trait-by-trait AI feedback that shows you exactly where the marks are leaking.
Start practising