Confirmed
7 of 20 questions
The first seven items of the twenty-question paper use graphic options — stated directly in the syllabus, not inferred from a specimen.
Listening Comprehension picture questions · Updated 5 August 2026
The first seven PSLE Listening Comprehension questions use pictures, not words.
SEAB's own syllabus guarantees it: the first seven of English Paper 3's twenty questions use graphic options. Here's exactly what those seven questions look like, the five shapes they take, and the one pre-reading habit that turns them into the paper's easiest marks.
Quick answer
What SEAB guarantees about picture questions
This is the one part of the format that no page needs to guess at — SEAB states it in the syllabus itself, not just in a specimen paper.
“Graphic representations will be used for the first seven items.”
Worth knowing
About 3.5% of the grade
35% of the LC paper, and Listening Comprehension is 10% of the English grade — so picture questions alone are a real, gradeable slice, not a footnote.
Specimen-derived
Numbered 1, 2, 3
Three options per question. The published specimen's own instruction is to shade option 1, 2, or 3 — not lettered A, B, C. This detail isn't in the syllabus text itself, but it's strong, corroborated evidence.
The heart of this page
The five shapes a picture question takes
SEAB's syllabus confirms that graphics appear — it doesn't publish a breakdown of what they actually look like. We built this by studying how SEAB's own released papers structure their graphic items, so your child knows what to expect walking in rather than meeting the format cold.
Type 1
Scene illustration
- What it looks like
- Three full pictures, each showing a different version of the same moment — different people, actions, or setting.
- What differs between the options
- Usually more than one detail changes across the three panels, so scanning for a single word will not resolve it.
- What it actually tests
- Whole-scene comprehension — matching the shape of an event to what's described, not chasing one keyword.
- How to approach it
- During the reading time, note what's obviously different between the three pictures: a different person, action, or place. While listening, wait for the detail that actually settles it — often a small clarifying remark, not the first thing said.
- Illustration
- Invented example: three pictures of children at a bus stop — one queueing calmly, one running to catch the bus, one helping an older passenger with their bags.
Type 2
Composite object set
- What it looks like
- Three panels, each showing a small group of two to four objects together — in a bag, on a table, in a fridge.
- What differs between the options
- Which items appear. One panel might swap an item for another, or simply add or drop one.
- What it actually tests
- Itemised listening — tracking a short list accurately, including catching an item that's added or missing.
- How to approach it
- Treat it like a checklist. As the audio names items, mentally tick them off against each picture. The panel with an extra, missing, or swapped item is the answer.
- Illustration
- Invented example: three panels showing what's inside a pencil case, differing by one item — a ruler swapped for a highlighter.
Type 3
Map and route
- What it looks like
- One shared map or plan, with three different paths drawn over it — a solid line, a dashed line, a dotted line.
- What differs between the options
- Only the route taken. The underlying map is identical across all three options.
- What it actually tests
- This is not a detail-spotting question — it is a sequence question. The child has to follow the order of the instructions, not catch one word.
- How to approach it
- As the audio gives directions, trace a finger along the map in the order they're given, the way you'd follow steps in a recipe rather than scan for a keyword.
Type 4
Map and hotspot
- What it looks like
- The same kind of shared map as the route type, but instead of paths, three numbered locations are marked on it.
- What differs between the options
- Only which numbered spot is being described.
- What it actually tests
- Matching a spoken description — usually landmarks and relative position — to a place on the map.
- How to approach it
- During the reading time, note the map's landmarks and how the numbered spots sit relative to them. While listening, focus on relational words: next to, opposite, behind, past.
Type 5
Single object
- What it looks like
- The simplest form: three panels, each showing just one object.
- What differs between the options
- One clear identifying feature of the object — its type, colour, or size.
- What it actually tests
- Precise detail identification, the most literal of the five types.
- How to approach it
- Usually the fastest of the five to answer once the pictures are pre-read. Listen for the single adjective or noun that names the correct object.
All examples above are ours, invented to illustrate the shape of each type — not descriptions of any real exam question. We're deliberately not naming exact counts per type per year: our evidence base is real past papers, but not yet enough of them to say a given shape always appears a fixed number of times.
Worth knowing
Why picture questions are usually the easier marks
Parents often assume anything unfamiliar-looking must be harder. For this part of the paper, the opposite tends to be true.
They come first
Items 1 to 7 of 20, tackled before fatigue and the paper's later, longer texts set in.
The texts are shorter and more concrete
In the papers we've reviewed, the picture-based texts describe a real, current event rather than a reflection, an argument, or a lesson learned — that comes later in the paper.
The options are visible before the audio
SEAB confirms candidates get time to read the questions before the first playing. For a picture question, that means seeing all three answers before a single word plays — a genuine head start.
The one habit that matters most
Compare the three pictures before a single word of audio plays
This is the highest-value thing on this page. Everything else is context; this is the move.
Step 1
Look at all three together
Don't study picture one, then two, then three, in isolation. Put them side by side in your mind from the start.
Step 2
Find the difference, not the sameness
Ignore whatever is identical across all three panels. The question is only ever testing what's different.
Step 3
Turn it into a listening target
Name the difference in your head as a specific thing to catch: a person, an item, a direction, a label.
Step 4
Now let the audio start
You're no longer trying to absorb an entire text. You're resolving one known question between three known options.
This reframes the problem. “Understand everything the speaker says” is hard to do at natural speed, once, in the time given. “Catch the one detail that decides between three things I've already seen” is achievable — and it's exactly what the reading-time-before-audio rule was built to let your child do.
What goes wrong
Common picture-question mistakes, and the fix
These are the patterns that show up most often once a child actually tries picture-based questions under time pressure.
Reading each picture like a caption
Problem
The child studies picture one, then two, then three, in isolation — and runs out of reading time before ever comparing them.
Better move
Look across all three pictures together. Comparison is the whole point of the reading window, not description.
Chasing one word on map questions
Problem
Treating a route or hotspot question like a detail question — listening for a single word instead of following the sequence of directions.
Better move
Trace the path in order as the directions are given, the way you'd follow steps in a recipe rather than scan for a keyword.
Panicking when two pictures look almost the same
Problem
A near-identical pair feels like a trick, so the child assumes they've misread it and rushes the decision.
Better move
That's the format working as intended. Slow down and note exactly what differs between just those two panels.
Practising only in A, B, C
Problem
Worksheets and older materials often letter their options A/B/C. The real Optical Answer Sheet is shaded by number — 1, 2, 3 — and that habit mismatch costs time on exam day.
Better move
Get your child saying and shading “option 1, 2, 3” during practice, not “A, B, C.”
Practising without a picture bank
How to build the skill at home, honestly
There's no public bank of real, exam-format picture-and-audio questions, and we're not going to send you to one.
Where PSLEPrep is today
PSLEPrep's Listening Comprehension pilot is text-only today. It does not yet include any picture-option questions, even though real PSLE English Paper 3 guarantees pictures for the first seven of twenty items. This page teaches the format and the technique now, ahead of the practice.
We also won't link to downloadable past papers or worksheets here. That material is SEAB and MOE copyrighted content, and the free copies circulating online are inconsistent in quality and accuracy. What you can do instead is drill the underlying skill with materials you already have at home:
Object-comparison drill
mirrors the composite object set and single object types
Pick three similar photos, drawings, or real household items. Describe one aloud without pointing, and have your child identify which one you mean. This builds the “compare, then listen for the resolving detail” reflex directly.
Route and landmark drill
mirrors the map and route / map and hotspot types
Use a real neighbourhood map or a map app. Give spoken directions from home to a nearby landmark and have your child trace the route by ear alone, no pointing while you speak. Then try the reverse: name a few landmarks, describe one, and have them pick the right spot.
Spot-the-difference drill
mirrors scene illustration
Use three similar family photos or storybook illustrations of a scene. Ask your child to name what's different between them before you say anything, then describe one aloud and have them match it.
None of this replaces real, picture-based practice at exam pace — it can't, without the actual SEAB visual format. But it builds the same underlying reflex: compare first, then listen for the one detail that decides. Meanwhile, PSLEPrep's current practice can still build the parts of the exam rhythm that transfer directly — reading before audio, two playbacks, no rewind.
FAQ
Common questions about picture questions
How many PSLE Listening Comprehension questions have pictures?
Seven of the paper's twenty questions. SEAB's own English Language syllabus states it directly: “Graphic representations will be used for the first seven items.” That's 35% of the paper's questions, and works out to roughly 3.5% of your child's overall English grade, since Listening Comprehension itself is 10% of the subject.
Are the pictures in colour?
Based on the real past papers we've reviewed, no — they're black-and-white line drawings, not full-colour art or photographs. Don't let your child expect colour as a clue; the format we've seen relies on shapes, objects, and layout, not colour coding. We're widening our evidence base across more years before treating this as settled for every paper.
How should my child look at the pictures before the audio starts?
Compare all three pictures side by side first, and find what's different between them — not what's the same. The difference is what the question is testing. Turn each difference into a specific thing to listen for, so that when the audio starts, your child is resolving one known question instead of trying to absorb everything at once.
Are picture questions harder than the written ones?
Generally no — they tend to be the easier marks in the paper. They come first, before fatigue sets in; the texts behind them tend to be shorter and more concrete than the paper's later written-option texts; and the options are visible before a single word of audio plays, which is a real head start.
What if two of the pictures look almost the same?
That's usually intentional, not a mistake in your child's reading. When two options look nearly identical, slow down during the reading time and pin down exactly what differs between just those two — that detail is almost always what the audio will use to decide the answer.
Does the Chinese Listening Comprehension paper have picture questions too?
We don't assume so, and neither should you. SEAB's English syllabus explicitly guarantees graphics for the first seven items — but the Chinese syllabus doesn't mention graphics at all. Whether the Chinese paper uses picture options is an open question we haven't verified against a primary source, so we're not going to guess at an answer here.