A Practical Guide to Prepare for Your PTE Exam

Hey there! So, you’re gearing up for your PTE exam? Don’t worry, we’ve got your back with a practical guide that’ll help you ace that exam and achieve the best possible result.

We’ll cover everything you need to know, from general tips that’ll help you master the entire test to specific strategies tailored to tackle each part of the exam. We want you to feel confident and ready to showcase your absolute best skills on test day!

So, without further ado, let’s dive right in and explore how you can practice and prepare for the PTE exam in the most effective way.

What Should I Know About the PTE Exam?

PTE stands for the Pearson Test of English.

It’s an English language proficiency exam that assesses your ability to understand, speak, read, and write English. The test is designed to measure your skills in real-life situations, like studying abroad, working in an English-speaking environment, or immigrating to an English-speaking country.

In the PTE test, you’ll encounter various tasks that evaluate your English language abilities. These tasks include listening to spoken English and answering questions, reading passages and answering comprehension questions, speaking into a microphone, and writing short essays or summaries.

The PTE test is computer-based, which means you’ll take it on a computer at an authorized test center. The test is scored by a computer program that uses advanced algorithms, ensuring fairness and accuracy.

The Importance of a PTE Exam Qualification

By taking the PTE test, you can demonstrate your English language proficiency to universities, employers, or immigration authorities. It’s a widely recognized test accepted by many institutions and organizations around the world.

Whether you’re a beginner or someone looking to improve their English skills, the PTE test can be a great way to assess your language abilities and showcase your English proficiency to achieve your academic, professional, or immigration goals.

Understanding the Structure of the PTE Exam

To be successful in the PTE exam, it’s important to understand the test and its sections to implement proper strategy. Set your target score and build a study plan to achieve that goal.

Working with mock tests, tips, and tricks from books and online platforms is a good way to improve your skills.

Test Structure And Scoring

A good understanding of the PTE exam makes it easier for you to set up a study plan and know what you should focus on. You also will not feel confused when the real test comes.

The PTE test is designed to assess 4 skills: listening, reading, writing, and speaking. The exam will last about 2 hours, with the time for each section as below:

• Speaking & Writing (54-67 minutes)
• Reading (29-30 minutes)
• Listening (30-43 minutes)

Here is what is included in each section:

The scoring scale is from 10 to 90. You will be scored by computer in each section based on your performance, and the final result is the sum of all section scores.

The marks will be given according to the correctness of the response, the formal aspects (such as word limits), and the answer’s quality (such as pronunciation, fluency, and coherence).

Set A Target Score

Understand your current level of English and set a target goal for studying and achieving a desired score. It’s an important step before you start practicing or taking any real test.

Once you’ve identified your goal score (properly according to your level), it motivates you to keep moving on until you achieve it. Also, you can track your progress more easily and know where to improve.

Schedule Your Daily Plan

After knowing your target score, it’s time to elaborate a plan to complete your goal. Make a studying schedule suitable for your time and ensure you have ample time for practicing all questions before the test day.

You can divide specific days of the week for each section and focus more on the areas that need more improvement.

Another key to success is to keep regular practice. Consistency following the plan will enhance your English and time management skills and optimize your results.

Choose Your Resources For Studying

Guidebooks

You can enhance your language skills through different ways, and one of the most common methods is to approach authentic and valuable content books.

Here are our suggestions to get you started:

• The Official Guide to PTE Academic by Pearson: This book introduces all necessary information about PTE, including the test format, question types, and samples. It also explains the scoring scale and suggests some skill-building activities.
• PTE Academic Practice Test Plus by Pearson: Volume 1 and 2 includes full-length practice tests to help you get used to the exam, point out your weaknesses that need more practice, and build your confidence. It also comes with answers, sample answers, and score breakdowns.
• PTE Academic Testbuilder by Macmillan Education: This academic-level book is a good source of practice exercises and mock tests to help you practice strategic tactics for success. After doing the mock test, you can check the answer and explanation right at the end of the book.

Online Platforms

Nowadays, online platforms make your learning process more fun and effective. There are hundreds of websites with information, tips, and mock tests that mimic the real ones for you to improve your skills.

If you’re looking for a self-study platform, AI-powered platforms might be good choices. With them, you can find different types of exercises that you can customise to tackle each skill and mock tests to challenge yourself. Based on your performance, the AI will give you personalised feedback and will give you pointers on ways to rectify your weaknesses and highlight your strengths.

Preparing for the 4 Language Skills

Here is a practical guide to prepare for your PTE exam that involves tips and tricks for the 4 tested skills.

Listening

Since you only listen to each audio once, you should follow these tips to crack the PTE listening section with a high score:

• Active listening plays a huge role. Always pay attention to what you hear, even if it’s an English song for relaxing. Therefore, you can improve your skills.
• Listening to the news or watching movies with subtitles is a good way to train your ears before the exam.
• On the exam day, don’t be nervous and grab some precious minutes or seconds before the section starts to read the questions and skim through the options (if any).
• Follow along with the audio until the end, as it might be where the answer lies.

Speaking

• Before the exam, practice your tongue with tongue twisters. You can also watch videosand repeat after the speakers. It’s even better to find a partner who can work together with you and help you improve.
• On the test day, calm yourself. Raising your voice at the beginning and ending the sentence with a lower voice usually helps your speech sound more natural.
• If you think you make mistakes while speaking, don’t stop and continue.
• Mention the main idea and key points while delivering your answer. You can repeat the keywords if you can’t remember the entire statement.

Reading

• You can increase your reading speed by reading in English. So don’t be lazy and spend time on this every day. It will also promote your reading skills, such as skimming, scanning, and comprehension.
• You need to understand the main point of the paragraph and pick the key points so you can answer correctly.
• You should read the questions before the text to know what information you need to look for. Plus, the questions do not come in order as the content; thus, remember that your answer can be anywhere in the text.
• While reading, focus on repeated terms.
• Don’t leave empty answers. One trick is to choose the correct response based on the elimination principle.
• Use synonyms and paraphrase your answer properly.

Writing

• Be mindful of your punctuation, dictation, and grammar while writing your answer.
• Avoid too complicated or too long sentences
• Stick to the word counts
• Don’t use the first person pronouns in your writing.
• Don’t include an example if you are not asked to do so.

Conclusion

The PTE Exam is simply a gateway to a practical understanding of English. As you study up for the test, always keep in mind that the PTE qualification is immediately applicable and follows you through your life. Thus, you should earnestly attempt to reach a better understanding of the subject material, as compared to simple cramming till examination day.

With these practice tips, we believe that anyone can get a high score with preparation. Remember, success will not come by itself but with consistency. Be consistent, and don’t give up. Sooner or later, you will see you achieve your target test result.