PTE Exam Preparation
- Whether you plan to join a PTE coaching centre or prepare for the PTE exam on your own, it is important that you work hard consistently.
- There are multiple resources on the internet to help you prepare better.
- Apart from the online resources, you could also make use of the coursebooks.
- Don't wait till the exam date is near. The sooner you start preparing, the easier it will be for you to ace the exam.
How to prepare for the PTE exam at home?
- Make use of the resources available on the official PTE website.
- Make it a habit to regularly read books, newspapers, magazines and academic journals.
- Join online English-speaking groups.
- Join an online PTE coaching centre.
PTE Exam Preparation Time
PTE Free Online Course
If you are new to PTE Academic or want to improve your speaking skills, the free online courses can be beneficial.
- Free Online Course: Developed with E2Language this free course provides guided learning, advice and online practice.
- Free online course for PTE Academic speaking skills: Achieve your desired score in the speaking section of PTE Academic. Learn new skills and strategies and build confidence.
PTE Exam Official Coursebooks
If you are preparing on your own, then you can benefit from the official PTE coursebooks. Listed below are some of the official PTE study material guides to help you prepare better:
- The Official Guide to PTE Academic
- PTE Academic Practice Test Plus
- Expert PTE Academic Coursebook B1 & B2
PTE Academic Scored Practice Test
You can get a sense of how you might perform on test day with a full three-hour simulation of PTE Academic with a mock score report. Choose the preparation package that suits your needs from the official PTE website.
PTE Offline Practice Test
You can take the full version of the PTE Academic test offline by downloading audio files, PDFs, sample answers to get an idea of the test format and structure.
Question Bank
You can practice PTE Academic at your own pace with over 300 authentically written PTE Academic questions with answers and sample responses. The Question Bank can help you build your skills and strengthen your performance.
English Booster
If you are looking to improve your subskills, vocabulary and grammar, as well as your technique for answering each of the different task types in PTE Academic. The digital platform has around 100 hours of content and helps to build your confidence in applying and practising Academic English through a series of activities and guided practice.
PTE Academic Official Practice App
The PTE Academic Official Practice App prioritizes the key practice activities you need to focus on and offers the support you need as test day approaches. You could download the PTE Academic Official Practice App and practice on the go. Following are the benefits of using this application:
The app explains in detail the PTEtest format, structure and scores.
It offers both offline and online interactive practice questions.
You will receive simple preparation suggestions and tips and a study planner to help you track your progress.
PTE Speaking Preparation Tips
General Speaking Tips:
- Watch videos online to improve your pronunciation and oral fluency.
- Make use of Google and YouTube IPA and Phonemes to enhance your pronunciation.
Read Aloud:
- Pay attention to the intonation when you speak.
- Do not pause if you make an error, continue reading.
Repeat Sentence:
- Listen to the audio carefully and try to memorize the sentence
- Try to remember the keywords and repeat them if you are unable to remember the whole sentence.
Describe Image:
- Make use of words like illustrate, elucidate, depict and demonstrate.
- Figure out whether the image is a bar chart, line graph or pie chart. Each of these serves a different purpose. Line graphs use timelines, pie charts use slices and bar charts compare.
- Do not pause for more than 3 seconds while recording.
Retell Lecture:
- Pay attention to the keywords and try to understand the central idea
- Jot down the most important sentences and retell the lecture using them.
Answer Short Question:
- Add articles 'a, an, the' wherever necessary.
PTE Academic Writing Preparation Tips
The writing section consists of two parts.
Summarize the written text:
- Pay attention to your Grammar and vocabulary skills.
- Limit your answers to a maximum of 45 words. Avoid long sentences as the scoring algorithm may not evaluate them accurately.
- Capitalize all proper nouns and the first word of the sentence.
- Avoid the first-person narrative. Use third-person instead.
- Summarize each paragraph in a single sentence and provide examples only if it is mentioned.
- Pay attention to the punctuation and focus on the last paragraph as it summarizes the main concept of the text.
Essay Writing:
- Understand if it is an opinion essay, problem essay or pros-cons. Then decide on the format of your essay.
- Pay attention to spelling, punctuation and grammar.
- Make sure to follow this pattern while writing - Introduction in the first paragraph, the body of the essay in the second and third paragraphs and conclusion in the final paragraph.
- Give examples and statistics in the body paragraphs.
- Limit the word length between 200 and 300 words.
PTE Academic Reading Preparation Tips
To ace the PTE Reading Section, you must be fluent in reading and be able to easily comprehend texts.
Multiple-choice - Single answer:
- Comprehend the central idea of the given passage. Pay attention to the keywords to find the right answer.
- Before you start answering, read the questions carefully.
- Understand the frequency of the words like only, always, never, sometimes. By getting rid of these options, you can find the right answers easily.
- This section does not carry any negative markings. Therefore, it is always better to answer it even if you are not sure of the right answer.
- You must keep in mind that the details in the passage are not chronologically arranged according to the question. More than 50% of the answers can be found either in the first or last two lines.
Multiple-choice, multiple Answers:
This part carries negative markings. Therefore, if you are unsure whether a choice is right or wrong, it is advisable to leave it unticked.
Reordering paragraphs
- Try to figure out the headline and the central concept of the passage first.
- For contradictory sentences that start with words like however, but, although and other additional phrases like besides and moreover, you can start by finding the sentence that goes before them.
Fill in the blanks
This part carries no negative marking. Answer the questions even if you are not sure of the right answer.
- Pay attention to parts of the audio before and after the gap. This will help you find the missing word.
- You can find the synonym of the missing words within the given passage.
PTE Academic Listening Preparation Tips
Listening Tips - General:
- Learn to listen actively - listen to news audios, podcasts, YouTube videos, songs and pay attention to parts that you find easy and difficult to understand. After you understand where your difficulty lies, work towards improving those specific issues.
- Try watching movies with subtitles first and then without subtitles.
Summarize Spoken Test:
- Limit your answers to a maximum of 70 words.
- Start your sentence with phrases like 'The speaker said.
- Understand the central focus and pay attention to the repeated words and keywords.
Multiple-choice, choose multiple answers:
- This part carries negative markings. Therefore, pay extra attention to it and refrain from making wild guesses.
- Make sure to pay attention till the end of the audio.
Fill in the blanks:
- Listen to the audio carefully and determine if the word is with or without an article, if it is singular or plural, and so on.
Highlight the correct summary:
- Understand the central focus and the idea conveyed by the speaker.
- Follow the elimination method to narrow down your options.
Select the missing word:
You must be able to understand the main concept of the audio in the first half. By the next half, you should be able to predict the ending.
Highlight the incorrect words:
- This part carries negative marking. Therefore, before you submit your answers, review them thoroughly.
- Pay attention while clicking on a word as double-clicking it will unselect the word.
Write from dictation:
- Instead of taking notes, try to type your answers directly on the computer. This will help you save time.
- Pay attention to spelling, punctuation and grammar.