A Smart Strategy for PTE Highlight Incorrect Words (and Its Negative Marking)

As you progress through the PTE Listening section, you’ll encounter a task that tests your focus in a unique way: Highlight Incorrect Words (HIW). You read a transcript while listening to an audio recording, and your job is to click on the words in the text that are different from what the speaker says.

This task comes with a twist that causes a lot of stress: negative marking. Clicking on a correct word by mistake will actually lower your score. This fear can cause students to hesitate, get lost, and perform poorly.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. This guide will give you a clear and safe strategy to approach this task. You will learn how to effectively read and listen at the same time, how to think about the scoring to your advantage, and how to turn this tricky task into a reliable source of points.

What is Highlight Incorrect Words (HIW)?

First, let’s break down the mechanics of the task itself.

• The Format: You will see a paragraph of text on the screen. A 7-second countdown will begin, after which an audio recording of that text will start to play.
• The Task: As the audio plays, you must follow along with the on-screen text and use your mouse to click on the words in the transcript that are different from the words you hear in the recording. The audio plays only once.

How HIW is Scored: A Game of Points

Understanding the scoring is the key to building a smart strategy.

• The Points: You get +1 point for every correctly identified incorrect word.
• The Penalty: You get -1 point for every word you click that was actually correct (i.e., a word that was the same in the text and the audio).
• The Floor: The minimum score for the entire task is zero. You cannot get a negative total score for the question item.
• The Impact: The points you earn are added to both your Listening and Reading scores.

The takeaway is simple: the system rewards accuracy and punishes guessing. Therefore, our entire strategy must be built around confident clicking.

The Core Technique: The Cursor Anchor Method

The biggest challenge in this task is keeping your eyes and ears perfectly synchronized. It’s easy to get lost. The “Cursor Anchor Method” is a simple physical technique to prevent this.

As the audio begins, place your mouse cursor directly under the first word of the on-screen text. As the speaker says each word, move your cursor along with them, keeping it anchored to the word they are currently speaking.

• Why it works: This creates a powerful visual-auditory link. Your eyes are forced to stay in the exact same place as your ears. Consequently, when you hear a word that doesn’t match the word under your cursor, the difference is immediately obvious. This simple habit dramatically reduces the chances of getting lost in the text.

A Worked Example of the Cursor Anchor

Imagine the text says: “The historical foundations of the university are well documented.”

• You place your cursor under “The.” The speaker says “The.” You move your cursor to “historical.”
• The speaker says “historical.” You move your cursor to “foundations.”
• The speaker says “principles.”
• Mismatch detected! Because your eyes and ears were in the same place, the error is glaring. You can now confidently click on the word “foundations.”

The ‘When in Doubt, Don’t Click’ Rule: Beating Negative Marking

This is the most important strategic rule. Because of negative marking, guessing is your worst enemy.

You will often hear a word that sounds similar to the one in the text, and you’ll be unsure if it’s different.

• Text says: affect / Speaker says: effect
• Text says: there / Speaker says: their
• Text says: principle / Speaker says: principal

If you are only 50% sure, do not click. It is always better to miss a potential +1 point than to risk a definite -1 point. A safe strategy of only clicking on the words you are 100% certain about will always result in a better score than a risky strategy of guessing.

Common Traps: The Types of Errors to Listen For

The incorrect words are not random. They often fall into predictable categories. Training your ear to listen for these specific types of changes can give you a major advantage.

• Different Nouns/Verbs: The most obvious changes.
  • Text: “The company’s annual report…” / Audio: “The company’s annual review…”
    
• Plural vs. Singular: A very common and easy-to-miss trap.
  • Text: “…led to many discoveries.” / Audio: “…led to many discovery.”
    
• Different Articles or Prepositions: Small words are often changed.
  • Text: “They conducted research on the topic.” / Audio: “They conducted research in the topic.”
    
• Homophones and Similar-Sounding Words: As mentioned above, words like affect/effect or weather/whether.

From Practice to Precision: A Training Regimen

You can train your brain to become better and faster at spotting these errors.

Start by practicing with the audio at a slower speed if possible. Your goal is to get used to the Cursor Anchor Method without the pressure of time. As you get more comfortable, increase the speed back to normal. You can begin this focused training on our dedicated PTE Highlight Incorrect Words practice page.

Next, you need to build your mental endurance. This task appears in the Listening section after you are already a bit tired. Therefore, it’s essential to practice it as part of a larger set of tasks. Challenge yourself with the full PTE Listening practice section to simulate this experience.

Finally, the ultimate test is the clock. A PTE Listening Sectional Mock Test is the best way to see if you can maintain your focus and apply the strategy correctly under real exam conditions.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1. How many incorrect words are there in each passage?

There are typically between 4 and 6 incorrect words in each transcript.

Q2. What happens if I accidentally click the wrong word? Can I unclick it?

Yes. If you click a word by mistake, you can click it a second time to deselect it. This is important to remember if you have a moment of doubt after clicking.

Q3. Does this task only affect my Listening score?

No. Because the task requires you to read the transcript, every correct and incorrect click also contributes to your Reading score. This makes it another high-impact, dual-skill question.

This task is a test of your focus and your strategic discipline. By using the Cursor Anchor method and adhering strictly to the “When in Doubt, Don’t Click” rule, you can navigate the challenge of negative marking and turn this into a strong source of points.Ready to see how you perform in a full test simulation? Take a free, full-length PTE mock test with a complete score report. See how your accuracy in this task impacts both your Listening and Reading scores.