Same Essay Approach, Different Score: Why One Person Gets 90 and Another Doesn't Get the Same Score
Someone got 90 on the PTE essay. You used the exact same approach and scored low. It's not luck, and it's not that you did it wrong — here are the two most common reasons this happens.
Two things usually explain it. First, PTE essay questions today come in several different types — advantages/disadvantages, problem/solution, and others — not just agree/disagree. An opening line built for an agree/disagree question can score zero when the actual question asks for something else entirely, since it isn't answering what was asked. Second, the Essay is only one of four tasks that contribute to your Writing score, worth roughly 30% of it — so even a strong essay won't produce a high Writing score if the other three tasks, or basic accuracy like spelling and grammar, are being neglected.
This is one of the most common questions in PTE prep: "Someone used this exact approach and got 90. I did the same thing and got low writing points — what happened?" It's a fair question, and it's not about luck. Based on real exam testing since PTE's scoring changes in August 2025, there are two clear explanations.
Possibility 1: The Question Didn't Ask What You Answered
For many years, the overwhelming majority of PTE essay questions were agree-or-disagree style — you were given a statement and asked whether you agreed with it. That made it natural to open an essay with a clear stance: "I agree with the statement above."
Since PTE's scoring changes in August 2025, agree/disagree essay questions have become far less common. Essay prompts now regularly ask for advantages and disadvantages, problem and solution, or other formats that aren't asking for agreement at all. If your essay opens by stating agreement or disagreement when the actual question never asked for a stance, that response isn't answering the question — and in testing, that mismatch reliably triggers little to no writing credit for the essay, regardless of how well-written the rest of it is.
Before assuming an approach is broken, check the actual question type you were given. If it wasn't asking you to agree or disagree, opening with an agreement line isn't a small stylistic mismatch — it's answering a different question than the one being asked.
Possibility 2: The Essay Is Only Part of Your Writing Score
The Essay is not the majority of your Writing score. Based on real exam testing, it contributes roughly 30% — the remaining majority comes from three other tasks: Summarize Written Text, Summarize Spoken Text, and Write From Dictation. PTE Writing isn't scored like some other English tests, where the essay alone can carry the bulk of the score. We've broken down exactly which task affects which category in your Skills Profile in a separate, more detailed post.
If you write a strong essay but neglect the other three writing-contributing tasks, the overall Writing score will still come out low — not because the essay failed, but because roughly 70% of the score was never addressed. A single strong task can't compensate for three that were ignored.
On top of that, small mechanical mistakes — spelling, typing errors, punctuation, grammar — cost points quickly across all of these writing tasks, not just the essay. A well-structured response full of avoidable mechanical errors will lose points fast, compounding the issue further.
What This Means for You
If your writing score is lower than expected, the fix usually isn't "write a better essay." It's checking two things: did the question actually ask for what you answered, and are you putting real effort into all four writing-contributing tasks — not just the essay — while keeping mechanical accuracy tight throughout.
Consistency matters too — see our real-exam comparison of memorized templates vs. structured, freestyle answers for a related look at why the same approach doesn't always produce the same score.
Frequently Asked Questions
Two common reasons: the essay question you received may have been a different type than theirs (for example, advantages/disadvantages instead of agree/disagree), meaning an agreement-based opening wouldn't answer the actual question. Or, the essay alone isn't enough — it's roughly 30% of your Writing score, so neglecting the other three writing-contributing tasks will produce a low overall score even with a strong essay.
No. Since PTE's scoring changes in August 2025, agree/disagree essay questions have become much less common. Essay prompts now regularly include other formats such as advantages and disadvantages, or problem and solution, which don't call for a stance of agreement at all.
Roughly 30%, based on real exam testing. The remaining majority comes from three other tasks: Summarize Written Text, Summarize Spoken Text, and Write From Dictation. A strong essay alone cannot produce a high Writing score if those other tasks are neglected.
Yes. Mechanical mistakes — spelling, typing errors, punctuation, and grammar — cost points quickly across every writing-contributing task, not just the essay. These add up fast and can meaningfully drag down an otherwise well-structured response.
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