PTE Academic Writing Skills 3

Question 1

Which sentence contains a dangling modifier?

Accepted Answer

Walking to the library, the book was found.

Answer

"Walking to the library, the book was found" contains a dangling modifier — the participial phrase "walking to the library" incorrectly modifies "the book" rather than a person. Dangling modifiers are common grammar errors in PTE Academic Writing.

Question 2

Which of the following is an example of a complex sentence?

Accepted Answer

Because the student studied hard, she passed the exam.

Answer

A complex sentence contains an independent clause and at least one dependent (subordinate) clause. "Because the student studied hard, she passed the exam" has a subordinate clause ("because...") and a main clause.

Question 3

What is "parallel structure" in academic writing?

Accepted Answer

Using the same grammatical form for elements in a list or comparison

Answer

Parallel structure means using the same grammatical form for elements joined in a series or comparison. Example: "She enjoys reading, writing, and studying" (not "reading, to write, and study"). It improves clarity and is assessed in PTE grammar scoring.

Question 4

Choose the correctly punctuated academic sentence:

Accepted Answer

However, the results were significant.

Answer

Introductory conjunctive adverbs like "however," "therefore," and "furthermore" are followed by a comma. "However, the results were significant." is correctly punctuated. Using a semicolon before it would require it to join two independent clauses.

Question 5

In a PTE Academic essay, what is the recommended word count and time limit?

Accepted Answer

200–300 words in 20 minutes

Answer

The Write Essay task in PTE Academic allows 20 minutes and expects 200–300 words. Responses under 200 words risk losing points for development; responses significantly over 300 words may introduce more errors.

PTE Practice Test

PTE Practice Test

PTE Academic Writing Skills 3