PTE Core Email Writing Templates for Canada PR

What the PTE Core Write Email Task Asks

The PTE Core Write Email task gives you a short situation and a recipient, then three bullet points your email must cover. You have 9 minutes, and Pearson's instruction is to write between 80 and 120 words. The prompt itself is up to 100 words long. This task does not exist in PTE Academic, which has Write Essay instead.

Write Email counts towards your Writing score only. Pearson says your listening and speaking are not tested by it, and reading is only used to understand the prompt.

Source: Pearson, PTE Core Speaking & Writing: Write Email. Last verified 2 October 2026.

How Pearson Scores the Email: Seven Factors

Pearson scores Write Email on seven factors. Knowing them tells you what the template has to do.

• Content. Every part of the prompt answered, with fitting details. Pearson says the best responses cover all three bullet points. If the email does not address the prompt, every factor scores zero.
• Email conventions. Pearson names four: a salutation, an introduction, a conclusion and a farewell. Leave one out and you lose marks here even if the English is clean.
• Form. Word count. Full credit from 50 to 120 words, a penalty under or over, and no Form marks if you are far off.
• Organization. Ideas in a logical order, related points grouped, transitions where they help.
• Grammar usage and mechanics. Sentence structure, punctuation and capitals. Pearson rewards a high share of correct complex sentences.
• Vocabulary range. Variety, and words that suit the situation.
• Spelling. Pearson accepts US, UK, Canadian or Australian spelling, but one system used consistently. "Organise" and "organize" in the same email costs you.

Why 80–120 and also 50–120? The task instruction says 80–120. The Form criterion gives full credit from 50. The two numbers do different jobs: below 80 you are unlikely to cover three bullets with real detail, so Content suffers before Form does. Aim for about 100 words and you are safe on both, with room before the 120 ceiling.

The Four-Part PTE Core Email Format

This is the format we teach. It maps onto Pearson's four email conventions, with the body sized to the three bullets:

1. Greeting (salutation): "Dear Ms. Lee," for a named formal reader, "Dear Sir or Madam," if no name is given, "Hi Priya," for a friend.
2. Purpose (introduction): one or two sentences saying why you are writing. No warm-up line.
3. Three short paragraphs, one per bullet: two sentences each, with one specific detail such as a day, a place, a number or a reason.
4. Close and sign-off (conclusion and farewell): a thank-you or next step, then "Kind regards," or "Best," and your name.

Word budget for a 100-word email: greeting and purpose about 25 words, the three bullets about 20–25 each, close and sign-off about 12. That budget is why one detail per bullet is enough.

Worked Example: A Model Email, Annotated

This prompt and answer were written by our team to show the format. It is a model answer, not a real exam item and not a student's work.

Practice prompt: You recently joined a community volunteer group in your city. The coordinator, Ms. Lee, has asked new members to write to her. Write an email to Ms. Lee. In your email: introduce yourself; say which activity you would like to help with and why; ask about training or what to bring.

Dear Ms. Lee,

I am writing to introduce myself as a new member of the Riverside Volunteer Group. My name is Anil, and I moved to Calgary from Nepal in June.

I would like to help with the Saturday food bank shifts. I worked in my family's grocery shop for three years, so I am comfortable sorting stock and serving customers quickly.

Could you tell me whether new volunteers need any training before their first shift? I would also like to know if I should bring gloves or anything else.

Thank you for your time. I look forward to meeting the team.

Kind regards,
Anil Shrestha

Word count: 106 (counting the greeting and sign-off), inside both 80–120 and Form's 50–120.

What each part is doing

• Greeting: the prompt names Ms. Lee, so the email uses her name. "Dear Sir or Madam" here would ignore information the prompt gave you.
• Purpose plus bullet 1: "introduce myself" is both the purpose and the first bullet, so the opening paragraph does two jobs and saves words.
• Bullet 2 (activity and why): one activity, one reason, one detail ("three years"). The reason is the part students skip.
• Bullet 3 (training or what to bring): written as a polite question, because the bullet asks you to ask.
• Close and farewell: two short sentences, then a sign-off that matches a semi-formal reader.

The same email, done badly

Here is the version we see most often in first attempts, and why it loses marks:

"Respected Madam, I hope this email finds you well. I am very happy to join your esteemed organisation and I want to do volunteering. Kindly do the needful and inform me about the details. Thanking you."

• No activity named and no reason given, so bullet 2 is missing.
• No question about training, so bullet 3 is vague at best.
• "Respected Madam" ignores the name in the prompt, and "Thanking you" is not a farewell line a Canadian reader expects.
• It is 36 words, under the Form floor of 50.

Four PTE Core Email Templates

These are skeletons. Every bracket must be filled with details from the prompt in front of you.

Formal complaint

Dear [Name / Sir or Madam],
I am writing about [problem] with [product or service] on [date].
[What happened, one detail.] [Effect on you, one detail.]
I would be grateful if you could [refund / repair / replace] by [time].
Thank you for looking into this.
Yours sincerely,
[Name]

Formal request

Dear [Name],
I am writing to ask whether I could [request].
[Reason, with a date or number.]
[What you will do to make it easy, such as a handover or documents.]
Thank you for considering this.
Kind regards,
[Name]

Apology

Dear [Name],
I am writing to apologise for [what you missed or got wrong].
[Short honest reason.] [What you have already done about it.]
[What you will do next time.]
Thank you for your understanding.
Kind regards,
[Name]

Informal (friend or colleague)

Hi [Name],
Thanks for [their message / invitation / help].
[Main answer: yes, no, or a suggestion.] [Detail: day, place, time.]
[Question or offer that covers the last bullet.]
See you soon,
[Name]

Common Mistakes With PTE Core Emails

• Covering two bullets out of three. Content is where the marks are lost. Tick each bullet on your notepad as you write it.
• Going over 120 words. The instruction and the Form criterion both stop at 120. Use the on-screen word counter.
• Mixing registers. "Dear Mr. Brown" followed by "Cheers mate" breaks both conventions and tone.
• One block of text. Short paragraphs make the organization visible.
• Spending a third of the words on a warm-up. "I hope this email finds you well" is not wrong, but it covers no bullet. If you are short of words, cut it first.

Step-by-Step Method in 9 Minutes

1. Minute 0–1: Read the prompt. Write the reader's name, formal or informal, and the three bullets on your notepad.
2. Minute 1–2: Add one detail next to each bullet: a day, a place, a number or a reason.
3. Minute 2–7: Write the four parts in order. One paragraph per bullet.
4. Minute 7–8: Check the word counter. Aim for about 100; trim if you are near 120.
5. Minute 8–9: Proofread for articles, prepositions and consistent spelling.

Tips for Nepali Students Targeting a High CLB

• Know the Writing bar. Pearson's CLB comparison puts CLB 9 in Writing at a PTE Core Writing score of 88 or more; 79 is only CLB 8. Write Email is one of several tasks feeding that score, alongside Summarize Written Text and the listening tasks that count towards Writing.
• Drop the office-English phrases. "Kindly do the needful", "Respected Sir" and "Thanking you" are common in Nepali workplaces and read as odd to a Canadian reader. Use "Could you please...", "Dear Mr. Brown" and "Kind regards".
• Watch articles. Nepali has no direct equivalent of "a" and "the", and missing articles are the most frequent grammar slip we mark in student emails.
• Pick one spelling system. If you learned British spelling in school, stay with it for the whole email.

Source: Pearson PTE Core scoring, CLB comparison (as recorded in our facts file, verified 10 June 2026). See our PTE Core to CLB conversion table.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many words should a PTE Core email be?

Pearson instructs 80–120 words for the PTE Core Write Email task. Its Form criterion gives full credit between 50 and 120 words, so aim for about 100 and never go above 120.

How long do I get for Write Email in PTE Core?

Nine minutes per email, according to Pearson's PTE Core Speaking & Writing page.

What is the correct PTE Core email format?

Greeting, a purpose sentence, one short paragraph for each of the three bullet points, then a closing line and a sign-off. That covers Pearson's four email conventions: salutation, introduction, conclusion and farewell.

Is "Dear Sir or Madam" acceptable?

Yes, when the prompt gives no name. If the prompt names the reader, use the name.

Can I memorise a template word for word?

Memorise the structure, not the sentences. Pearson scores Content on whether every part of the prompt is addressed, and an email that does not address the prompt scores zero on all seven factors.

How is PTE Core Writing different from PTE Academic Writing?

PTE Core has Write Email (80–120 words, 9 minutes) and a 25–50 word Summarize Written Text. PTE Academic has Write Essay and a one-sentence summary. See PTE Core vs PTE Academic Writing.

Conclusion: Three Bullets, About 100 Words

Most lost marks on this task come from one missing bullet or a word count past 120, not from weak vocabulary. Practise the four-part format until covering all three bullets is automatic, then work on range.

For the full picture, read the PTE Core format and timings, the study plan for Nepal and the Personal Introduction template. If you want your own emails marked against Pearson's seven factors, the team of Smriti Simkhada coaches PTE Core privately, 1-on-1: see the three 1-on-1 plans or book a free score assessment.

Not for Australia: PTE Core is approved by IRCC for Canada. Australia's Department of Home Affairs and AHPRA accept PTE Academic, not PTE Core. Verify on immi.homeaffairs.gov.au.

Always verify: IRCC scoring tables, CLB conversions and program minimums can change. Confirm the latest values on the IRCC Express Entry language test page before applying.

Last fact-checked on 2 October 2026 against Pearson's PTE Core test-format and scoring pages. Formats can change; check pearsonpte.com before your test.