Listening · Question type
PTE Highlight Incorrect Words
Highlight Incorrect Words shows a transcript that differs in places from the audio; you click each word on screen that does not match what is said.
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Watch Highlight Incorrect Words run.
This is the real sequence, sped up: the clock, the audio and the recording window. Press play, then read how to beat it.
The human brain contains billions of neurons connected by trillions of synapses. This remarkable network enables us to think, remember, and learn throughout our lifes.
Click the words that differ from the audio
What it is
What you actually do.
A transcript appears while audio plays. Most words match the speaker, but some on-screen words are wrong. You select each incorrect on-screen word.
The skill is real-time comparison between listening and reading, similar to proofreading against a spoken source.
Selecting correct words as if they were wrong can reduce credit on commonly described scoring models; precision matters.
How it’s scored
What the computer marks.
Commonly: credit for correctly identified errors, with possible penalties for false selections.
Click only when you are reasonably sure the screen word differs from audio.
Exact scoring arithmetic is Pearson’s. Verify officially rather than memorizing unofficial point charts.
How to do it well
The moves that hold up.
Under the clock, these are the habits that keep you calm and on task.
Move your eyes with the audio; stay half a word ahead when possible.
Click immediately when you detect a mismatch, then rejoin the flow.
Expect substitutions of similar words (not random unrelated vocabulary every time).
Do not click words you merely find “odd” if audio matched them.
If you fall behind, jump forward to the current audio position rather than backtracking the whole line.
Use the short post-audio window to review only uncertain candidates if time remains.
Common mistakes
What costs marks.
Most people lose points the same way. Know these before test day.
Over-clicking out of anxiety and hitting correct words.
Focusing so hard on clicking that you desynchronize from audio.
Missing plural/tense mismatches (-s/-ed) that sound subtle.
Trying to select every error after the audio ends from memory alone.
How to practice
Make it automatic.
Volume under exam conditions is what moves the score. Do this, not more reading.
Practice with dual input: read along with podcasts and note intentional mismatches you create in a pasted transcript.
Train calm click discipline: fewer false positives.
Use Wobzzy free drills to master on-screen selection timing.
Keep going
Related tasks.
Answers
Frequently asked questions
No. If wrong clicks can reduce credit, disciplined selection is better. Click when audio and text clearly diverge.
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