PTE inspiration and advice

As part of the PTE Academic, you must demonstrate a certain set of core English skills to maximize your score.

To help you do your best in Part 1: Writing we’ve put together some tips.

Summarize Written Text

In the Summarize Written Text question type, you will be scored based on the content, formal requirements, grammar, and vocabulary.

When completing this question type you should first quickly scan read the text prompt given to make sure you understand what it is about. If you are unsure what it is about, make a guess based on the context.

You should try to take notes on the Erasable Noteboard Booklet or on the screen as you read. If you do use the screen, remember to delete your notes before clicking ‘next’ or time runs out.

Some quick ways to pick up points include:

• Stick to the topic or purpose of the text. Key points in the text will usually be repeated, developed, and highlighted – try to include these in your writing. If you do not summarize the meaning or purpose you will score zero points.

• Do not include examples or supporting evidence in your summary.

• Use words from the text but try to use synonyms where possible.

• Use noun phrases where possible to show that you can use certain features of academic vocabulary in your writing.

When completing the question type, make sure you write only one sentence. If you write more, points will be lost.

A good sentence for this question type is 20-35 words long. If you write a short sentence, it will not capture all the meaning. Remember to check the word count in the box below your answer.

As you write the sentence, try to think about:

• Have I summarized the key points?

• Does my sentence start with a capital letter and end with a full stop? If you spell everything in capital letters or all of the words are in lower case, you will score zero.

• Did I use run-on sentences? If you have, change them to a compound or complex sentence.

Make sure to use grammatical structures that you feel you can write correctly. Usually, a complex structure is required for summarizing text.

Don’t forget, always take time to check your grammar and vocabulary before clicking “next” or the 10 minutes is up.

When checking your answer, look for articles, especially ‘the’, prepositions, tenses, plurals, and subject-verb agreement as well as your own common errors. Check that you have not written a run-on sentence. If so, turn it into a compound or complex sentence.

Write Essay

The second part of the Writing section contains the Write Essay question type.

This question type will test grammar, spelling, vocabulary, and written discourse skills. It is important to manage time, as you will need enough time to plan, write and proofread the essay, all within 20 minutes.

You will be scored on the content and formal requirements of the question, as well as your grammar, general linguistic range, vocabulary range, and spelling.

Overall your essay should:

• Address the prompt. If not, you will score zero.

• Be well-planned and organized.

• Demonstrate critical thinking to show a logical approach to the essay topic.

• Include 4 paragraphs: an introduction, 2 body paragraphs each developing an idea, and a short conclusion summarizing your ideas.

• Include examples, explanations, and facts to support the point of view you are expressing.

• Be between 200-300 words long. Try to write just over 200 words and use the time to check the quality of your writing. If you write less than 200 or more than 380 words, you will score zero.

Use the same method of taking notes as the Summarize Written Text question type.

Your introduction can be linked to the body paragraphs with an overview. Then, the first body paragraph can be linked to the second body paragraph with a cohesive device.

More information on cohesive devices can be found at the below links:

• GrammarBank

• RMIT English Worldwide Cohesion part 1

• RMIT English Worldwide Cohesion part 2

Then for a conclusion, link it by writing In conclusion, To conclude.. etc.

In your writing, try to use complex sentences as you will score more points. Make sure to vary language by using synonyms, antonyms, and academic vocabulary.

The use of appropriate idiomatic expressions or colloquialisms will help you score well, but do not use too many as your writing will not be entirely academic.

Lastly, when it comes to spelling, make sure to spell each word correctly. Making more than 1 spelling mistake will mean you will score zero for this question.

Always remember to proofread your writing to make sure there are no errors before clicking next.

Want more prep ideas?

Explore Smart Prep, which combines all our practice materials in one place, so it's easier for you to stay on track with your PTE preparation.

• Smart Prep is a clear path to test day, guiding you through the official paid and free resources available for your test

• It can be accessed whether you’ve booked a test or not – just create, or sign in to your myPTE account

• Preparation materials include guided practice tests, introductory videos, video courses and test tips.

Ready to get started?

Part 3: Listening in PTE Academic requires many hours of practice to maximize your score. Whilst practicing other parts of the test you would have learned certain core English skills that are needed in Part 3 that you can further improve.

To do well in the listening questions set a daily goal of listening regularly to authentic English texts. The more you listen, the better you will do in the test.

When choosing recordings to listen to, do not choose examples that are too difficult. Start at a level you are comfortable with and build up to a higher level example as you improve.

If you find the recording too difficult, try to just listen for the content words, such as nouns, adjectives, and verbs so that you can pick up the meaning of the recording.

Always try to listen as many times as you need to fully understand the content. Try to go back and listen to the same recording a few days later to help you remember the content, vocabulary, and pronunciation.

Use an Online Tone Generator tool to help slow down recordings and keep the original pitch of the speaker. Try not to slow it down so much that you translate the meaning into your own language as this will not help improve your listening skills.

Don’t forget to be an active listener and focus on what you are hearing.

What should I listen to?

As the speakers in PTE Academic have various accents, we recommend listening to a wide range of speakers from different backgrounds to learn the different pronunciations used.

Try to listen to speakers from Britain, America, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, as well as second language speakers from India, China, and Europe.

Some of the below podcasts will help:

• BBC’s (UK)

• Luke’s English Podcast

• English Class 101

• Better at English

• VOA Learning English

• Culips Chatterbox

• Aussie English Podcast

You can also listen to radio around the world at Live Online Radio.

When listening keep a listening diary to write down the titles of recordings along with notes. Listen for stressed words in the recordings as these are usually the most important.

The easiest way to take notes will be to use abbreviations and/or symbols as you will not have enough time in the test to write full words.

From your notes, you should be able to answer the following questions:

• What was the topic and main ideas?

• What accent did the speaker/s use?

• Was it interesting?

• What did you learn from it?

• What vocabulary did you learn?

• Do you want to listen to more texts from that site?

• Did you need to slow the text down? If so, what speed?

• How many times did you listen to the text? Do you want to listen again?

• Do you feel your listening skills are improving?

What's next?

To learn more about how to apply listening skills and improve test results, view our self-improvement strategies:

• Listening: Self-Improvement Part 1

• Listening: Self-Improvement Part 2

Your accent will not stand in the way of success!

Everyone has an accent. You might even be a proficient or fluent English speaker, but with an accent, other people find hard to understand.

So how does your accent affect your score when you take PTE Academic?

Because PTE Academic is marked by a computer, it can cut out potential obstacles, such as a human examiner being unfamiliar with your particular accent.

When the automated scoring program was being designed the computer was trained using candidates from over 126 countries, speaking more than 90 different languages, so it recognizes accents from around the globe. As a result, PTE Academic’s automated scoring technology recognizes and marks everyone’s speech equally and with equal accuracy, regardless of where they are from. What the PTE Academic scoring engine looks for is intelligibility and clarity of response (not which accent you are speaking in) – did you answer in a clear and understandable way that any international speaker of English would understand?

To hear more on this, listen as one of our leading independent advisors, Dr Alistair Van Moere, a member of Pearson’s Technical Advisory Group, explains how it works.

PTE Academic can help you get there

If you want to migrate to Australia or New Zealand you may be required to sit an English test as part of your visa application. Or you may need to sit a test as part of a  skills assessment or for professional registration.

The question is “which test should I take?”

There are a range of language tests you can choose from. However, the Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE Academic) is the market leader in computer-based English language testing. PTE Academic is delivered entirely on a computer and then scored by a computer, using Pearson’s automated scoring technology.

The PTE Academic English test is accepted by Australia’s Department of Home Affairs (DHA) and Immigration New Zealand (INZ) for all visa applications. This includes Permanent Residency, Employer- Sponsored/Work Visas, and Student Visas.

Further, PTE Academic is accepted by most Australian skills assessment authorities and professional registration bodies including:

• Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA)

• Australian Nursing and Midwifery Council (ANMAC)

• Certified Practicing Accountants Australia (CPA Australia)

• Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand

• Australian Computer Society (ACS)

• Engineers Australia

How does PTE Academic’s technology help me?

You will sit PTE Academic on a computer in one of Pearson’s secure test centers. Pearson then uses its automated scoring technology to ensure that your English skills are assessed with complete fairness. Your responses are scored objectively and consistently, no matter where in the world the test is taken, so it doesn’t matter where a test taker comes from or what they look like.

The use of the automated scoring technology also allows PTE Academic to deliver test results typically within2 days, in comparison to other English languages tests which take 2-3 weeks.

Where can I take the test?

Booking PTE Academic is a simple online process. Simply choose one of our 240+ test centers in 400+ test centers in 117 countries, then select a convenient test time and date. We test 365 days of the year around the world.

Plus you can also schedule your test up to 24 hours in advance where seats are available.

Interested in studying abroad?

When studying abroad in a course taught in English, you will often need to prove how your English language skills. With PTE Academic you can apply to thousands of universities and colleges around the world including:

• All universities in Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand, including all New Zealand Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics.

• All TAFE and Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics in Australia and New Zealand.

• Prestigious institutions such as Stanford University, Harvard University, and Imperial College London accept PTE Academic scores.

• In the USA, Canada, UK, Singapore, and Europe, PTE Academic is continuing to grow.

You can view a complete list of institutions that accept PTE Academic on the website.

Learn more

• PTE Academic

• Australian DHA

• Immigration New Zealand

You should always check with government bodies and institutions for the latest score requirements and tests accepted.

Most test scores are now returned within just 2 days

During 2018 students, migrants, and professionals that sat PTE Academic received their scores in even less time than ever before. In fact, during 2018, 85.7% of PTE Academic test takers received their results within just 2 days.