Sample answers · Highlight Correct Summary
PTE Highlight Correct Summary · Listening section
PTE Highlight Correct Summary sample – Band 79.
A worked HCS item: the 65-second audio rendered as transcript, the 4-row note grid captured during playback, all 4 candidate summaries analysed for what they add, invert or omit, and the Band 79 pick. HCS scores binary correct/incorrect, so the second-best summary earns 0.
Last verified 17 July 2026 · Written for PTE Academic post-August 2025 format · Verified against Pearson's July 2025 Score Guide.
The stimulus recording
Remote work and the doughnut pattern in urban housing markets
65 seconds audio · plays once, no replay control · no on-screen transcript on the real exam.
The shift to remote work following the pandemic has produced measurable and durable changes in urban housing markets across the developed world. In the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom, house prices in mid-sized cities within commuting distance of a major metropolitan hub have consistently outperformed prices in the metropolitan cores themselves. Researchers now describe this as the doughnut pattern: prices soften in the centre while ring cities and outer suburbs harden. However, this effect is largely confined to knowledge-work occupations. Workers who must be physically present, in retail, hospitality, healthcare and manufacturing, have seen no equivalent geographic reshuffling, and many of them now report growing frustration at being priced out of the same ring cities that remote-capable colleagues can afford.
The transcript is shown here for study only. On the real exam you hear the audio once and must pick from the summaries below using only the notes you captured.
Note grid captured during playback
4 rows, shorthand only.
| Row | Note (shorthand) |
|---|---|
| TOPIC | Remote work → urban housing markets (US, AU, UK) |
| MAIN CLAIM | Doughnut pattern: ring cities up, metro cores soften |
| CONSTRAINT | Only knowledge workers benefit; retail/hospitality/health/manufacturing don't shift |
| CONSEQUENCE | Non-remote workers priced out of same ring cities |
Grid drawn on the erasable whiteboard during the “Get ready” countdown BEFORE audio starts. Filled in real time. Every summary is later checked against these 4 rows, one row at a time.
The question
Exactly one summary is correct. Binary scoring: 1 for the right pick, 0 for any of the other three.
Per-summary analysis
Each summary matched against the 4-row grid.
House prices in mid-sized ring cities within commuting distance of a major hub have outperformed metropolitan cores since remote work became widespread, but the benefit is confined to knowledge workers. Workers in physically-present occupations have not seen the same shift and now face affordability pressure in the same ring cities.
Evidence: Captures the doughnut pattern (ring up, core soft), the geographic scope (US, AU, UK), the knowledge-work constraint, and the affordability spillover onto non-remote workers. All four load-bearing claims from the audio are present, in the right proportions, without added information.
The shift to remote work has caused house prices to rise consistently across all cities and towns in the developed world, particularly in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom, benefiting knowledge workers and creating new opportunities for retail and hospitality staff.
Evidence: Overgeneralises. The audio said ring cities outperform metropolitan cores (not "all cities and towns") and that non-remote workers see no equivalent shift (not "new opportunities"). The doughnut pattern is inverted into a rising-tide story that the audio explicitly did not tell.
House prices in major metropolitan cores have risen faster than prices in outer suburbs since remote work became widespread, as knowledge workers have returned to city centres for lifestyle reasons and driven up demand.
Evidence: Opposite direction. The audio said metropolitan cores softened while ring cities and outer suburbs hardened. This summary reverses the doughnut pattern entirely. A classic "inverted-claim" distractor.
Remote work has caused workers in retail, hospitality and manufacturing to relocate to metropolitan cores in search of higher wages, reshaping the geographic distribution of the developed-world labour market.
Evidence: Wrong focus. The audio's central subject is housing prices and the geography of the housing market, with non-remote workers appearing as a knock-on consequence. This summary makes non-remote workers the primary movers and ignores housing prices entirely. Off-topic even where the individual sentence sounds plausible.
Band 79 answer
Summary A is the pick.
Correct summary picked. Item score: 1/1. HCS is binary, so this is full marks. B, C or D would each have scored 0.
The Band 79 timing plan
Four beats across a 65-second window.
Before audio starts (10 to 15 seconds)
Draw a 4-row note grid on the whiteboard: TOPIC, MAIN CLAIM, CONSTRAINT, CONSEQUENCE. Do not read the summary options yet, they are not visible until after the audio anyway.
During the 65-second audio
Capture each row in shorthand as you hear it. Numbers, arrows, symbols. Do not attempt full sentences, that will cost you the second half of the audio.
After the audio ends (options appear)
Read your grid, then read each summary once. For each summary, match every clause against your notes. Reject any summary that adds, inverts, or omits a load-bearing claim.
Before clicking Next
Re-read the summary you selected against the grid one more time. HCS is scored binary correct/incorrect, so the last check has the highest single-click leverage on this task.
6 common Highlight Correct Summary mistakes
The failure modes that drag a Band 79 to a Band 60.
| Mistake | What it costs you |
|---|---|
| Picking the summary that matches ONE part of the audio | HCS distractors are built to match one true clause each. The correct summary is the one that matches the WHOLE audio without adding or contradicting anything. Do not pick on partial overlap. |
| Not spotting inverted claims | Common distractor: audio says "X rose", summary says "X fell". Fast reading of a 40-word paragraph misses the negation. Read each summary's verbs carefully. |
| Picking a summary that adds outside information | If a summary contains a fact you did not hear in the audio (even if it sounds plausible), reject it. Extra information is a red flag on HCS, not a signal of depth. |
| Selecting a summary that changes the emphasis | A summary that treats a passing mention as the main topic (like D above) is wrong even when every individual sentence is technically supported. Match the audio's centre of gravity, not just its content. |
| Trying to identify the correct summary before drawing note grid | The options only appear after the audio ends. Reading options during the audio is impossible on this task. The note grid IS your only reference for the decision. |
| Confusing HCS with Listening MCMA | HCS = pick one of 4 summary paragraphs, binary scoring. Listening MCMA = pick several of 5-7 short options, partial credit with negative marking. Different tasks, different strategies. |
FAQ
Highlight Correct Summary, answered.
How is Highlight Correct Summary scored?
Binary correct or incorrect per Pearson's July 2025 Score Guide. Pick the correct summary and the item scores 1. Pick a wrong summary and the item scores 0. There is no negative marking and no partial credit; the four summaries are mutually exclusive.
How many summary options are shown in Highlight Correct Summary?
Four summary paragraphs per item. The correct one is the one that captures the audio's whole argument without adding, inverting, or omitting a load-bearing claim. The three distractors each fail on at least one of those axes.
How many Highlight Correct Summary items are on the PTE Academic test?
2 to 3 items per test per Pearson's July 2025 Score Guide. HCS sits in Part 3 (Listening) alongside Summarize Spoken Text, Listening MCMA, Listening FIB, Listening MCSA, Select Missing Word, Highlight Incorrect Words, and Write from Dictation.
How long is the audio for Highlight Correct Summary?
30 to 90 seconds per Pearson's Score Guide. Long enough that note-taking during playback is essential, short enough that memory-only summary selection is realistic for well-prepared candidates. The audio plays once with no replay control.
Which skills does Highlight Correct Summary score?
Listening and Reading. Listening because you must comprehend the audio; Reading because you must comprehend and evaluate the four written summary options. It is one of two Listening tasks that also feed the Reading score (the other is Highlight Incorrect Words).
Should I read the summaries during the audio in Highlight Correct Summary?
The summaries are not visible during the audio on the real exam. They appear only after playback ends. Your only in-audio work is note-taking; the summary-comparison work happens afterwards, from your notes.
What is the difference between HCS and Summarize Spoken Text?
HCS gives you four summaries to pick from and scores binary correct/incorrect. SST gives you no options and requires you to write your own 50-70 word summary, scored across 5 traits (Content, Form, Grammar, Vocabulary, Spelling). Same source-audio format, opposite response format.
Keep going with Highlight Correct Summary
One pattern, three depths.
You've just read the band 79 worked example. Here's the rest of the loop for this task.
Reusable framework
Highlight Correct Summary template
The reusable answer framework — structure, sentence starters, timing marks — that fits any Highlight Correct Summary prompt.
Read the template →Interactive drill
Practise Highlight Correct Summary
Free interactive drills — do the reps yourself with the model answer revealed after each attempt.
Start the drill →Further reading
Related tools.
- → Listening MCSA sample – sibling one-correct-answer Listening task.
- → Listening MCMA sample – multiple-answer Listening task with negative marking.
- → Listening section overview – all 8 Listening task types.
- → Take a free scored mock – real HCS items with AI scoring.