PTE Describe Image in one paragraph
PTE Describe Image shows you a chart, table, diagram, map or photograph. You get 25 seconds to study it, then a short tone, then 40 seconds to describe it. PTE Academic has 5 to 6 Describe Image items, per Pearson's Score Guide; PTE Core has 3 to 4, with the same timings. In PTE Academic your answer is scored first on Content, 0 to 6, which the AI scores and a human expert reviews; if Content is 0, nothing else is scored. PTE Core scores Content from 0 to 5. Then come Pronunciation and Oral Fluency, 0 to 5 each. High Content needs the main features described accurately, the relationships between them explained, and a conclusion or implication. A memorised paragraph is the fastest route to zero: the Score Guide classes pre-prepared or memorised material as irrelevant.
- Prepare: 25 seconds. Speak: 40 seconds, after a short tone. One recording.
- Items: 5 to 6 in PTE Academic, 3 to 4 in PTE Core. Same timings; Core's example image is a map.
- Academic: Content 0 to 6 (AI plus a human expert review), then Pronunciation and Oral Fluency 0 to 5 (AI only). Core: Content 0 to 5, then Pronunciation and Fluency 0 to 5.
- Content 0 for no response, an irrelevant response or an unoriginal one; then the item scores nothing.
- You get an erasable noteboard for notes. Three seconds of silence ends the recording.
If you learned this task from an older guide, including the first version of our PTE Speaking complete guide, two things have changed in Pearson's current material: the Score Guide lists 5 to 6 Describe Image items, and Content gets a human review. Part 1 of PTE Academic now has nine question types and runs about 76 to 84 minutes. The full list is on the PTE Speaking hub.
Timing, item count and what happens on screen
Describe Image comes after Repeat Sentence in Part 1. The image appears with a recording status box that counts down 25 seconds. You hear a short tone and speak. Pearson's warning applies here as in Read Aloud: "Do not start speaking before the microphone opens because your voice will not be recorded." When the progress bar reaches the end, the status changes to "Completed".
| Detail | PTE Academic | PTE Core |
|---|---|---|
| Number of items | 5 to 6 (Score Guide) | 3 to 4 (Core Score Guide, January 2026) |
| Preparation | 25 seconds | 25 seconds |
| Speaking time | 40 seconds | 40 seconds |
| Start signal | Short tone | Short tone |
| Notes | Erasable noteboard booklet | Erasable noteboard booklet |
| Traits | Content 0 to 6, Pronunciation 0 to 5, Oral Fluency 0 to 5 | Content 0 to 5, Pronunciation 0 to 5, Fluency 0 to 5 |
| Human review of Content | Yes, before the task score is final (Score Guide) | Not listed in the Core Score Guide |
Pearson's two test tips are the backbone of this page. First, "Focus on the main information in the image": ask what the main idea is and what details relate to it, and note key words on the noteboard. Second, "Organize your description of the image", because "a well-organized answer is more likely to cover the main information as well as the additional details, and also talk about implications or conclusions". The Core page shows a sample organised under three labels:
Pearson's organised sample (PTE Core format page, quoted)
General content: "The graph er describes the main countries to which New Zealand exports goods."
Main point: "Um, Australia is the largest single country. New Zealand exports 21% of its goods there and this is followed by the USA, which er receives 14% of New Zealand's goods. The next largest markets in order are Japan (11%), China (6%) and the UK (5%); 43% of New Zealand's exports go to countries other than these big markets."
Other details and conclusion: "New Zealand is very dependent on the Australian market as a destination for exports; perhaps it needs to diversify and seek other markets, such as building up exports to China."
Notice what the sample does and does not do. It is not polished; it has an "er" and an "um". What it has is order: the topic, then the main point with figures, then a conclusion that goes beyond the numbers. That order is what the Content descriptors reward.
How it is scored: Content 0 to 6, then delivery
The Score Guide explains the flow for this exact task. The response is first scored on Content. "If no response, or an irrelevant response is given, the Content is scored as 0", and in that case there is no further scoring. If Content is above 0, the response is rated on Pronunciation and Oral Fluency, and the three together make the item score, which feeds your Speaking score and the overall score. Content "is scored by both AI and human. If there is a disagreement between the AI and human, a second human will make the final judgment." Pronunciation and Oral Fluency "are AI-scored only".
Here are the Content bands, condensed from the Score Guide, with what each tends to sound like.
| Content | Score Guide description (condensed) | What it sounds like (TalkDrill's reading) |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | Describes the image fully and accurately and expands on the relationships between features for a nuanced interpretation; varied, precise vocabulary; a listener could build a complete mental picture | Topic, main feature, two relationships and an implication, all accurate, in varied language |
| 5 | Main features described accurately; some relationships identified without detailed expansion; varied vocabulary; an accurate picture with minor details missing | Good coverage and comparisons, but the "so what" is thin |
| 4 | Some accurate simple descriptions and basic relationships, which may not cover all the main features; vocabulary sufficient with some repetition; a basic mental picture | Correct but simple; one main feature left out |
| 3 | Mainly superficial descriptions with minor inaccuracies; narrow, repeated expressions; elements visualised but not a cohesive whole | "It is increasing. It is decreasing. It is high." |
| 2 | Minimal, superficial descriptions with some inaccuracies; limited vocabulary dominates | A few fragments, some of them wrong |
| 1 | Disconnected elements, or a list of points from the image without description or elaboration; highly restricted vocabulary | A list of labels and numbers |
| 0 | Relevant to the prompt but too limited to assign a higher score (and, per the flow above, any irrelevant or memorised response) | Almost nothing, or a script that fits any image |
PTE Core: the same task on a 0 to 5 scale
The PTE Core Score Guide (January 2026) scores Describe Image Content from 0 to 5 with shorter descriptors. In condensed form: 5 describes all elements of the image and their relationships, possible development and conclusion or implications; 4 describes all the key elements and their relations, referring to implications or conclusions; 3 deals with most key elements and refers to implications or conclusions; 2 deals with only one key element and an implication; 1 describes some basic elements without making their interrelations or implications clear; 0 mentions some disjointed elements and "may not deal properly with the prompt due to significant amounts of pre-prepared/memorized material". Every band from 2 up mentions implications or conclusions, so the fourth move of the frame below matters even more in Core.
Pearson's format page adds two things. "Mentioning just a few disjointed ideas will negatively affect your score." And "No credit is given for no response, an irrelevant response or an unoriginal response. You must use your own words." Pronunciation and Oral Fluency use the same 0 to 5 scales as Read Aloud and Repeat Sentence, explained on our Read Aloud page.
Templates: why a memorised paragraph can score zero
Search for a "PTE describe image template" and you will find ready-made paragraphs with blanks, often padded with sentences such as "This is a very informative image which gives a lot of useful information." Read the Score Guide next to that advice. It says, in the Describe Image scoring flow, "Responses that contain pre-prepared or memorized material are classified as irrelevant responses." An irrelevant response scores 0 for Content, and Content 0 stops the scoring. In PTE Academic a human expert also reviews Content, and the PTE Core Score Guide's lowest Content band for this task names "pre-prepared/memorized material" too. Padding that would fit any image is exactly what a reviewer is there to hear.
That does not mean you should walk in with no plan. The difference is between a frame and a script:
| A frame (safe) | A memorised template (risky) | |
|---|---|---|
| What you memorise | An order of moves, and a stock of phrases for trends, comparisons and locations | Whole sentences, sometimes a whole paragraph |
| Where the content comes from | The image on the screen | The template, with a few words swapped in |
| How it sounds to a reviewer | A description of this image | The same answer heard many times before |
| Test | Every sentence is true of this image only | Some sentences would fit any image |
The TalkDrill rule: if a sentence would fit every image, cut it. "The chart shows" is fine, because you finish it with what this chart shows. "Overall, this is a very informative image" is padding.
The four-move frame for any image
This frame follows the order of Pearson's organised sample (general content, main point, other details and conclusion) and spends the 40 seconds roughly like this. The timings are TalkDrill's suggestion, not Pearson's.
| Move | About | What you say | Phrase bank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Topic | 5 seconds | What the image is, what it shows, where and when, and the unit | This bar chart compares ... / The map shows where ... / The diagram illustrates how ... |
| 2. Main feature | 10 to 12 seconds | The biggest, highest, most important or most striking thing, with a figure | The most striking feature is ... / By far the largest ... / The clearest pattern is ... |
| 3. Two relationships | 15 seconds | A comparison, a trend, a contrast or a change in ranking | By contrast ... / Over the same period ... / X overtook Y ... / twice as many as ... |
| 4. Implication | 8 seconds | A conclusion or a possible development drawn from the image | This suggests that ... / Overall, ... / If this trend continues, ... / perhaps because ... |
Use the 25 seconds to fill the frame on the noteboard in four lines of key words, never full sentences. Pearson's own Core example shows the style of note: "Distribution of gorillas", "Only small areas - center continent", "West Lowl - large area". Abbreviations are fine; nobody else reads your noteboard.
One frame per chart type, including Core maps
The four moves stay the same. What changes by image type is what counts as the main feature and the relationships.
| Image type | Move 1: topic | Moves 2 and 3: what to compare | Move 4: implication |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bar chart | "This bar chart compares [what] across [groups or years]." | Highest and lowest bars; the biggest gap; any group that changes order | Why the gap might exist, or what it means for the groups |
| Line graph | "The line graph shows how [what] changed between [year] and [year]." | Overall trend first; the sharpest rise or fall; the start and end values; any crossover of lines | What may happen next if the trend continues |
| Pie chart | "This pie chart shows how [the whole] is divided among [categories]." | The largest slice as a share ("more than a third"); the smallest; two slices combined | What the dominant share suggests |
| Table | "The table compares [what] for [rows] in [columns]." | The extremes; the biggest change between columns; one change in ranking | Which row stands out and a likely reason |
| Process or cycle | "The diagram illustrates how [thing] is made or works, in [number] stages." | The first stage, the key middle stages in order, the final stage; use first, then, after that, finally | What the process achieves overall |
| Map (the sample image on the PTE Core format page) | "The map shows where [what] is located in [place]." | The largest area and where it is; the smallest; what is concentrated, scattered or absent; use north, along the coast, in the centre | What the pattern suggests about the place |
| Two maps (before and after) | "The two maps show how [place] changed between [year] and today." | What was added, what was removed, what was replaced | How the place has changed in character |
| Photograph | "This photograph shows [scene] in [setting]." | Foreground, middle, background; who is doing what (present continuous) | An interpretation tied to something visible |
Maps for PTE Core candidates
PTE Core is Pearson's test for Canadian permanent residence and citizenship applications, and Pearson's Core format page uses a map as its Describe Image example. On a map, location language does the work that numbers do on a chart. Build a small stock of phrases and use them precisely: in the north-east, along the western coast, in the centre of the country, concentrated around, scattered across, a narrow strip, two small patches, the largest area. Then say how areas relate: "Unlike the first species, the second is found only in the south." For the rest of Core Speaking, including Respond to a Situation and the CLB scores IRCC uses, see PTE Core Speaking for Canada.
Worked example: a 40-second answer, annotated
Model answer, written by TalkDrill (about 100 words, 40 seconds at a calm pace)
[Topic] This bar chart compares where Valdora's electricity came from in 2015 and in 2025, as a percentage of the total.
[Main feature] The most striking change is the fall in coal, which dropped from sixty to forty per cent, although it is still the largest single source.
[Two relationships] Over the same period, solar power grew more than fourfold, from five to twenty-two per cent, overtaking both hydro and wind. Wind also rose, from fifteen to twenty per cent, while hydro stayed roughly stable at around a fifth.
[Implication] Overall, the chart suggests that Valdora is moving steadily away from coal towards renewable energy, led by solar.
Why this answer is built for the top bands. Every part of the image is covered, so a listener could sketch the chart from it. The relationships are explicit: "although it is still the largest", "overtaking both", "while hydro stayed roughly stable". The implication goes beyond the numbers without inventing facts. And it is about 100 words, which fits 40 seconds without rushing.
Now the version that loses marks, also written by TalkDrill: "This image shows information about electricity. Coal is sixty and forty. Hydro is twenty and eighteen. Solar is five and twenty-two. Wind is fifteen and twenty. Overall, this is a very informative image." That is the Score Guide's band 1 almost word for word: "a list of points identified on the image, without description or elaboration". The last sentence would fit any image in the test.
When the image is hard to read
Some images are dense: many lines, small labels, an unfamiliar process. Accuracy still matters, because the Score Guide's middle bands mention "minor inaccuracies" and "some inaccuracies" as reasons for lower Content. The aim is to describe less, correctly, rather than everything, badly. A routine for the 25 seconds:
- Read the title and the labels first. They give you move 1 even if nothing else is clear.
- Find two anchors. Largest and smallest, start and end, or the first and last stage.
- Find one relationship between them. Higher than, grew faster than, comes before.
- Use approximate language for what you cannot read. "Just under half", "roughly a third", "the tallest bar, shown in blue".
- Close with a cautious implication. "This suggests that ..." is enough.
Two things never to do. Do not stop to puzzle over a label, because three seconds of silence ends the recording; Pearson's format page names Describe Image as one of the tasks this applies to. And do not fill the gap with padding. A short, accurate answer that covers the main features beats a long one that would fit any chart.
10 practice images, described in words
We have not drawn these images yet, so each one is described in words with its data. All the data are invented by TalkDrill for practice. Read the description once, sketch the image on paper in 30 seconds if it helps, then start the real clock: 25 seconds to plan with the four-move frame, 40 seconds to speak, recorded. Check your recording against the hint under each image. Seven more images, each with a full model answer, are in the PTE Speaking practice bank.
Image 1: Bar chart, screen time by age
"Average daily screen time outside work or school, by age group (hours)". Under 16: 6.5. 16 to 24: 7.2. 25 to 40: 5.1. 41 to 60: 3.8. Over 60: 2.9.
Hint: the relationship to mention
Screen time peaks in the 16 to 24 group and then falls with every older group; the youngest group is second highest. Over-60s spend well under half the time of 16 to 24 year olds.
Image 2: Combined chart, rainfall and temperature
"Monthly rainfall (bars, mm) and average temperature (line, degrees Celsius) in Port Selwyn". January: 10 mm, 22 degrees. April: 30 mm, 30 degrees. July: 320 mm, 27 degrees. October: 90 mm, 26 degrees.
Hint: the relationship to mention
Rain is concentrated in July, a monsoon pattern, while temperature peaks earlier, in April, just before the rains, and stays warm all year. The wettest month is not the hottest.
Image 3: Two pie charts, household spending
"How an average household's spending was divided, 2005 and 2025 (per cent)". 2005: food 40, housing 25, transport 10, education 8, other 17. 2025: food 28, housing 32, transport 14, education 12, other 14.
Hint: the relationship to mention
Housing overtook food as the largest share. Food fell by 12 points while housing, transport and education all rose. Families now spend a larger share on fixed costs.
Image 4: Table, international students by region
"International students at Ashford University by home region, 2020 and 2025". South Asia: 1,200 and 2,600. East Asia: 2,100 and 1,800. Africa: 400 and 900. Europe: 600 and 550. Latin America: 150 and 300.
Hint: the relationship to mention
South Asia more than doubled and replaced East Asia as the largest group; East Asia and Europe fell slightly. Africa more than doubled and Latin America doubled, both from small bases.
Image 5: Process, recycling paper
"How paper is recycled", six stages with arrows: used paper is collected; it is sorted by type; it is mixed with water and broken into pulp; the pulp is cleaned and the ink removed; it is pressed and dried into large rolls; the rolls are made into new paper products.
Hint: the relationship to mention
The sequence from waste to product, with the two cleaning steps (sorting, then de-inking) in the middle. Use the passive throughout: is collected, is sorted, is pressed.
Image 6: Cycle, the life of a butterfly
"The life cycle of a butterfly", four stages in a circle: an egg laid on a leaf; a caterpillar (larva) that eats and grows; a chrysalis (pupa) in which it changes; an adult butterfly, which lays new eggs, starting the cycle again.
Hint: the relationship to mention
It is a cycle, not a line: the last stage leads back to the first. The chrysalis is the stage of transformation; the caterpillar is the stage of growth.
Image 7: Two maps, a town then and now
"Millbrook in 2000 and today". In 2000: a river runs north to south through the centre, a market square lies west of the river, farmland covers the east, and there is one bridge. Today: the farmland has become a housing estate, a second bridge has been built in the south, a shopping centre has replaced the market square, and a park runs along the east bank.
Hint: the relationship to mention
The east has changed most, from farmland to housing and a park; the west has changed in use, from market to shopping centre. The new bridge links the two halves. Millbrook has become more residential.
Image 8: Map, where crops are grown (Core style)
"Main crops of Tarnland (a fictional country)". Rice: the southern river delta. Wheat: across the central plains, the largest area. Tea: the hills in the north-east. The western third of the country is desert, with no farming.
Hint: the relationship to mention
Each crop matches a landscape: rice in the wet delta, wheat on the flat centre, tea in the hills. Farming is absent from the west, so the country's agriculture is concentrated in its eastern two-thirds.
Image 9: Photograph, a laboratory at night
A photograph of a university laboratory. In the foreground, two students in white coats and safety glasses examine a test tube; one is writing in a notebook. Behind them, shelves hold rows of labelled bottles, and a whiteboard shows a diagram. Through the window it is dark outside.
Hint: the relationship to mention
Foreground (the students and what they are doing), background (shelves, whiteboard), then the clue in the window: they are working late, perhaps on a deadline or a long experiment. The safety glasses suggest careful procedure.
Image 10: Line graph, mobile banking in three countries
"Adults who use mobile banking, 2015 to 2025 (per cent)", three lines. Country A: 10 in 2015, 85 in 2025, rising steeply after 2018. Country B: 30 in 2015, 60 in 2025, rising steadily. Country C: 5 in 2015, 15 in 2025, almost flat.
Hint: the relationship to mention
Country A started below B but overtook it and ended highest; B grew steadily; C barely changed. The gap between the highest and lowest widened from 25 points to 70 points.
Common losses and a 14-day route
| Loss | Which trait it hits | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| A memorised paragraph or padding sentences | Content, possibly 0, which stops the scoring | Use the frame; cut any sentence that would fit every image |
| Reading out every number | Content (band 1: a list without elaboration) | Extremes, biggest change, one comparison |
| No relationships or conclusion | Content (stuck at band 4 or 5) | Plan moves 3 and 4 before you plan anything else |
| Wrong figures or wrong trend | Content (the middle bands mention inaccuracies) | Check the axis and unit in the first five seconds of preparation |
| Writing full sentences on the noteboard | Oral Fluency (reading notes aloud sounds read) | Four lines of key words only |
| Stopping on an unclear label | Oral Fluency; three seconds ends the recording | Describe its position or colour and move on |
| Cut off mid-sentence at 40 seconds | Content (the implication is lost) | Start the last sentence with about five seconds left |
| Starting before the tone | Content (the topic sentence is not recorded) | Wait for the tone, then speak at once |
A 14-day route, fifteen minutes a day
- Days 1 and 2, baseline. Images 1, 3 and 7 above, timed and recorded with no frame. Keep the recordings.
- Days 3 to 6, one type a day. Bar and line, then pie and table, then process and cycle, then maps. Two images a day with the frame and the phrase bank open beside you.
- Days 7 to 9, test timing. 25 and 40 seconds, phrase bank closed, noteboard limited to four lines. Then the seven images in the practice bank, comparing each with its model answer.
- Days 10 and 11, hard images. Take a dense chart from a newspaper or a textbook and use the five-step routine for hard images. PTE Core candidates: maps on both days.
- Days 12 to 14, test sequence. Read Aloud, then Repeat Sentence, then six Describe Images without a break. Compare day 14 with day 1.
In PTE Academic the next speaking task is Retell Lecture, which uses the same "main points, relationships, conclusion" logic for something you hear; see Retell Lecture and Summarize Group Discussion. Everything on this page about timings and traits comes from Pearson's PTE Academic Speaking and Writing format page and the PTE Core Speaking and Writing format page; the Content bands and the scoring flow are in the Score Guide on the PTE Academic scoring page.