Guides written from the scoring side.
How each exam is scored, where the marks go, and what to practise. Written by the team that builds Hilingo’s engine.
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PTE Describe Image: a template that works, and the mistakes that cost you marks
You get 25 seconds to prepare and 40 to speak. A fixed sentence order stops you freezing, but the marks are lost in fluency and content, not in the template. Here is the structure plus what the scorer actually penalises.
Why PTE templates do not work, and why selling them is a scam
A template is the same words no matter what is on your screen — so by construction it cannot describe what is on your screen. Since August 2025 PTE also penalises memorised responses. Here is the mechanism, and what to do instead.
Duolingo English Test scores explained: 10–160, subscores, and what moves them
The DET gives one score from 10 to 160 in steps of 5, plus eight subscores — the four skills and four integrated scores. Here is how each is worked out, what the adaptive section means for you, and where the points are.
How CELPIP is scored: levels, CLB, and what a 9 actually needs
CELPIP does not give you a percentage. It gives you a level from M to 12 per skill, and Canada reads those levels as CLB. Here is what each level means and where marks are won and lost.
PTE Academic vs PTE Core: which one do you actually need?
Both are Pearson tests, both are scored 10–90, and they are accepted for different things. Here is how to choose in two minutes, and what changes in the exam room.