PTE Describe Image: Master The Perfect Method and Score Higher with Tips

Describe Image is a question type from the Speaking Module of the PTE Academic Exam. PTE Describe Image is one of those tasks that many aspirants struggle with. This is especially true of those of South Asian descent.

In this test, you have to speak and describe an image appearing on the screen in detail. The skill assessed in this question type is Speaking.

The aspirant gets 25 seconds to prepare to speak and 40 seconds to answer.

What are the different types of Describe Image questions that you can expect?

Here’s a look at the different type of images that you may encounter in the Describe Image questions:

Bar graph
Line graph
Pie chart or pie charts
Combination of two different graphs
Table of data
Picture
Process
Map

Learn the Describe Image Method

First, divide the description of your image into three different parts for the Describe Image task:

Introduction, Key Features and Conclusion.

Introduction

Introduce the image with the help of the keywords you see on the screen.

Let’s try with an example:

Sample introduction for the image above:

The line graph above represents the per cent of university and college students who did educational activities on non-holiday weekdays and also the hour of the day.

Sometimes it won’t be easy. Sometimes you wouldn’t have any idea about what message the image is trying to convey.

It is essential to stay calm, be flexible and think of something to say quickly based on the text that you can see on the image.

Key features

When describing the key features, start with the most noticeable features.

Sample key features for the above image:

The students’ ages are 15 to 49, and the data is from 2011-15. About 35% of full-time students did educational activities around noon. 20% of part-time students conducted these activities around 10 am.

Please note that the key is to keep your sentences simple. The more complex your speech is, the more your fluency is going to be affected.

Also, avoid ‘uhms’ and ‘aahs’. Even if you make a mistake in your speech, don’t stop mid-sentence to re-start your sentence. This can affect your fluency score.

Conclusion

It is best to keep the last 10 seconds for the conclusion. You should aim to finish speaking before the timer hits 40 seconds. If you are still speaking when the timer reads 40 seconds, your conclusion will be truncated. Aim to finish by 35-36 seconds.

When the timer on the screen reads 30 seconds or so, you should give a one-line conclusion.

Start your conclusion with words like ‘overall’, ‘moreover’, ‘in conclusion’, ‘to conclude’ etc.

Sample conclusion for the image above:

Overall, the graph shows that students' educational activities peak in the morning, especially around noon, and gradually decrease afterwards.

Apply the method described above and try solving some free sample questions online.

5 Critical Tips for PTE Academic Describe Image

Make full use of the preparation time of 25 seconds. Identify elements in the image that you plan to describe.
In the 25 seconds, use the erasable notepad provided at the test centre. Jot down central ideas and phrases from the image. This will help you in organising your thoughts better.
When you describe the image, use the text that you see on the image. This will help the evaluation software to determine that your description is accurate.
When speaking, if you run out of things to say, don’t pause. Use filler phrases like “Apart from this, the image talks about...”, “Moreover, the image also shows that…” etc.
Keep it simple. Avoid using complex sentence structures, complicated words/phrases etc.

Get Ample Practice

Considering that you are likely to encounter 6-7 Describe Image questions in the Test, lots of PTE practice is vital. You can even practice Describe Image questions with our free PTE preparation app.

In case you feel the need for advice by an expert PTE coach, you can also use our Describe Image Correction service. You can also get PTE Speaking Material on our site.

Best of luck with your PTE score!