The PTE is more of a practice-based examination which demands you to get familiar with all the 20 types of question items, the timings and formulate a preparation strategy accordingly.
Ideally, it takes about 4 to 6 weeks for an intermediate English speaker to prepare for PTE in order to obtain a 65+ score. The time duration required for the preparations depends on a candidate’s current level of English proficiency and the score range they require to obtain.
Let us delve into a few plans which will help formulate useful preparation strategies:
The 2 weeks plan
If you are short on time and at a deadline to submit your PTE scores, then opt for the two weeks preparation plan. Keep in mind that this time plan will work out for you only if your current level of English is at an intermediate range. The two weeks approach will allow you to obtain a clear cut idea on all the question types and also give you time for some practise. Let us look into what you can do in the first week:
| Week 1 | Take time and thoroughly go through the structure of the examination , the 20 types of question items and the time limit for each type of question. Attempt at least two to three samples from each model to get an idea of how to approach each type. It is critical to understand the number of questions asked for each item type and also the specific time duration for completing the task. Making your own notes at this stage will help in internalising the contents. |
| Week 2 ( day 1 to 5) | Focus on formulating strategies for each question type. There are a plethora of free preparation materials available online including the PTE official materials and the E2 language will also be a very useful source for preparation. Be careful to filter out the techniques and opt for a method that works for you personally. Do consistent practice based on the techniques you devised, especially for retell lecture and describing images where a pre-set pattern can help you speak without stuttering to a great extent. |
| Day 6 and 7 | Do a mock test so that you can evaluate yourself on your capacity to concentrate and focus while attempting the 20 item types together. Verifying your answers will gain you an idea about your shortcoming and you can work on improving your weaker areas. Do not panic or lose confidence if you weren’t able to perform well, the aim of doing a mock test is to get a grip of how the exam will be in real and planning your further learnings in accordance with your range of performance. |
The 4 to 6 weeks plan
This plan is apt for candidates who start preparing early and are not on a stringent timeline. This is also ideal for test takers who are at a beginner to intermediate level of English proficiency as they should spend more time in preparations if they aim for a 65+ overall score.
| Week 1 | Dedicate this week to the reading section of the exam which consists of the following items: 8. Multiple choice choose single answer 9. Multiple choice choose multiple answers 10. Re order paragraph 11. Reading fill in the blanks 12. Reading and writing fill in the blanks Your vocabulary , grammar, syntax and comprehension skills are tested in this part of the exam. Be vigilant while answering the MCQ, choose multiple-answer questions as it has negative marking. Adopt strategies that work for you while attempting the reading questions. It is an effective method to keep a vocabulary notebook to jot down word meanings that you are unaware about. Give more time for the re order paragraph and reading and writing fill in the blanks as they have higher score weightage. Ensure that you keep aside an additional one hour every day to practise the speaking and writing question types you learned in the previous weeks. It is critical that you balance your practice time giving equal weightage to all types of questions. |
| Week 2 | Pick 5 question types and focus on perfecting your performance in them during this week. Ideally, choose the question types in the order that they appear during the PTE examination. Thus give focus to: 1. Read aloud 2. Repeat sentence 3. Describe image 4. Retell lecture 5. Answer short question To suffice, dedicate week 2 for the speaking part of the PTE exam. Give extra practise time for repeat sentence and describe image as they proffer higher scores. |
| Week 3 | Focus on practising the writing part questions of the exam. These are: 6. Summarise written text 7. Essay writing Formulate strategies for working out both these question types. Practise different types of previous essay questions asked for PTE. it would be useful if you formulate a paragraphing plan with an introduction, at least two body paragraphs and a conclusion. Along with this, repeat practising the previous weeks speaking item types so that you don’t lose touch. |
| Week 4 | This week we can focus on the listening part which consists of 13. Summarise spoken text 14. Multiple choice choose single answer 15. Multiple choice choose multiple answer 16. Fill in the blanks 17. Highlight correct summary 18. Select missing word 19. Highlight incorrect word 20. Write from dictation It is of vital importance to comprehend what you hear for scoring well in the listening section. So if you are experiencing difficulties in this section, it is best to improve your general listening skills first by listening to podcasts, TedTalks, and following the BBC news review which is an excellent source to improve all the communication skills. It is pivotal to practise more to highlight incorrect words and write from dictation as they incur more score and also take care to write only absolute sure answers for MCQ, choose multiple answers and highlight incorrect words as they have negative markings. This week, I spent at least one whole day practising all the previously learned question types. |
| Week 5 | This week we can focus on the listening part which consists of 13. Summarise spoken text 14. Multiple choice choose single answer 15. Multiple choice choose multiple answer 16. Fill in the blanks 17. Highlight correct summary 18. Select missing word 19. Highlight incorrect word 20. Write from dictation It is of vital importance to comprehend what you hear for scoring well in the listening section. So if you are experiencing difficulties in this section, it is best to improve your general listening skills first by listening to podcasts, TedTalks, and following the BBC news review which is an excellent source to improve all the communication skills. It is pivotal to practise more to highlight incorrect words and write from dictation as they incur more score and also take care to write only absolutely sure answers for MCQ, choose multiple answers and highlight incorrect words as they have negative markings. This week, I spent at least one whole day practising all the previously learned question types. |
| Week 6 | The final week can be dedicated for trying out at least 3 mock tests. Along with that, focus on attempting questions from the item types that you still face difficulty with. Ensure that you attempt all the 20 question types regularly this week to wind up your learning journey. |
How can I score high for the PTE?
There are several techniques which will help you meet your needed score which when coupled with any of the above mentioned ‘weeks’ plan can have a tremendous impact of your learning process and scores:
- Fluency is the most important key to this exam so ensure that you speak with fluency and avoid any fillers such as ‘aa…hmm..umm’ and so on.
- For repeat sentence, speak with exactly the same stress and intonation that you hear in the audio for high scores.
- Follow the thumb rule by keeping your mic away from your mouth at a thumbs distance so that your voice is heard at the right volume.
- Be extremely careful about typo errors as it can cost you a lot in your scores.
- In the 20 minutes you get for your essay writing part, always spent two to three minutes planning your essay before you start writing and ensure that you keep aside at least two minutes, in the end, to re-read your essay to rectify any possible errors.
- Only do timed practise for questions like describe image and re-tell lectures because the ultimate aim of the item type is to understand how you can formulate a structured logical response in a set time.
- Confirm that you do not spend more than two minutes on a question in the reading module as the total time for reading is around 30 minutes and the number of questions range from 15 to 18.
- Familiarise yourself with different English accents which will aid you in getting a higher score for the listening part.
- From the initial stages of preparation, learn effective note taking. It is essential to learn note taking as it is crucial while answering questions like describe image, retell lecture, summarise spoken text and write from dictation.
- For answer a short question, read through all the previously asked questions and then take the help of a friend and let them ask the questions at a quick pace while you answer. This can help you get a real time experience of the exam and improves your quick answering skills.
- Learn the right pronunciation for commonly used words especially those starting with ‘w’ ( as in water, watch ) , ending with ‘er’ ( as in father, hunter) , the past tense ‘ed’ ( as in talked, danced) and silent letters like ‘p’ in psychology and ‘b’ in plumber.
- If you struggle in the reading section, rather than burdening yourself by doing tons of reading material, focus on reading newspaper articles, or even short stories to improve your comprehension skills which will in course of time have a direct impact in improving your scores.
- In questions like describe image and retell lectures, dont worry much regarding the content because your fluency and pronunciation carried more score. Thus if you make a few errors in the content but spoke with fluency you will receive a good score.
- Focus on the multiple skill analysing question types as they carry more score weight.
- Stick to a particular pattern that you learn for retell lecture , describe image and summarise spoken text as it will help you give a response in a confident manner from the very first statement.
Apart from these absolutely exam-related factors, there are some additional things you should try to implement for gaining a good score:
- Remaining calm and composed is of vital importance as it will help you perform well for PTE. the more anxiety and stress you have, the more you will panic and it will affect your performance.
- There are usually two-time slots for the PTE exam, morning slot at 10 am and the midday slot at 2: 30pm. Ensure that you consume an energetic breakfast if you take up the morning slot, and a similarly energetic brunch if you take the midday slot. It is important to consume food always before two hours of the exam and be careful not to overeat as it will affect your energy output while sitting for the exam.
- Ensure that you get a good night’s sleep on the night before the exam and in the morning spend around an hour practising repeat sentence and answer short questions. This will help in jogging up your brain and making it active in the morning which will have an absolutely positive impact while you give your PTE exam.
- The two critical aspects for achieving high scores in the PTE is to be able to effectively manage time and remain focussed throughout the examination. Time management can be achieved by sensible consistent practice while mindfulness comes with focus. Thus being alert and having a proper presence of mind will confirm that you get your dream scores in this exam.
- A pivotal factor to consider while preparing for PTE is that you should not wait long to take a date for the examination post preparations. The long gap between your preparations and giving the examination can play a negative role in securing your required scores. PTE is a consistent practise-based examination, there is nothing here you can rote learn which will help you pass this exam meeting your needed scores rather give importance to persistent practise without giving a break.
Conclusion
PTE, as previously said, is a practice-based exam. Once you grasp the format, scoring, and time limits for each item type, your goal should be to practise these questions as much as possible, observe your shortcomings, and devise solutions for improvement. Consistency is the key to securing a high score in a short span of time as unceasing practise will better your fluency along with your overall confidence to appear for the exam.
