PTE inspiration and advice

Once you have practiced and improved your grammar and vocabulary, for Part 2: Reading in PTE Academic, you will need to learn reading methods and the different styles of writing.

As the PTE Academic is an integrated skills test, the skills developed will be applicable to most sections of the test.

Firstly, the reading methods you will need to learn and develop are:

Skim Reading

By quickly moving your eyes over the text you will be able to get the general meaning of the text. This is the fastest way to understand the text’s meaning.

Scan Reading

The fastest way to locate specific information in a text is to scan read. Scan reading helps you find the keywords in a text. Once you find the section of text needed, slow down and read intensively until you understand the information needed to answer the question.

Intensive Reading

Intensive reading is done at a slower pace and more carefully. After using scan reading to find the section of text containing the answer you need, you will then need to read intensively to locate the specific information required to answer the question.

If you are unable to answer the question from the section read, go back to scan reading the whole text to find the correct section, then intensively read that section.

Critical Reading

To read critically, you need to think more deeply about what you are reading to understand the text at a deeper level. You will then be able to identify the writer’s purpose, as well as the organization of the text in order to make inferences or understand the textual value.

You may have to read critically to answer the reading questions Multiple-Choice, Choose Single Answer and Multiple-Choice, Choose Multiple Answers. You may also need this skill to answer the writing question Summarize Written Text, as you will score zero points if you don’t correctly identify the purpose of the text.

The last question type this skill is used for is the listening question Highlight Correct Summary, as you may need to clarify and organize information to identify the correct summary of the text heard.

You will also need to be able to identify the style of writing used in the reading texts throughout the test.

Style of Writing

For PTE Academic, you will need to understand the style or register of English texts. The style or register refers to the way in which text, that has the same meaning, can be written in different ways.

When writing, you will need to be able to choose the appropriate words to fit the correct style of the text, as well as understand the style of texts you are reading. For example, an email to your friend will be in an informal style. However, a journal article will be in the academic style. Abstract ideas are also usually written in the academic style.

Two or three-part verbs (phrasal and prepositional verbs) are generally informal while Latinate verbs are formal, or academic. For example, find out (informal), pick up on (informal) and discover (formal or academic).

You will need to be able to understand not just the meaning but also the style of a text for the Reading & Writing: Fill in the Blanks questions.

Are you thinking about studying in the UK? If so, you’re not alone. Each year, over 500,000 international students enrolled at a UK university. In fact, after the United States, the UK is the second most popular destination for higher education students.  

UK universities are renowned for excellent teaching and cutting-edge research, and UK degrees are highly valued by academics and employers worldwide. But to study there, you’ll need to demonstrate you have an appropriate level of English.  

Our PTE Academic secure language test is accepted by nearly every university in the UK – as well as for all immigration applications. So, what score will you need to earn a spot in a university? Let’s find out:  

What it’s like to study in the UK

When it comes to world rankings, UK universities consistently perform well. According to this year’s QS World University Rankings, four of the top 10 universities around the globe are located in the UK.  

Going to a UK university isn’t just a good move as far as your education goes. It’s also a great way to immerse yourself in a new culture and meet lots of different people.  

The UK is small, but it’s also very diverse. This means your student experience will be quite different, depending on whether you choose to study in a big multicultural city like London or Glasgow, or a smaller university town like St. Andrews or Exeter.  

The amount of money you’ll need to study in the UK will also vary. Student fees differ from institution to institution. At the same time, your accommodation and day-to-day living expenses will depend on where your university is located.  

Check out our guide on the cost of living in the UK.

English language requirements  

To secure a student visa and attend a UK university, you’ll need to prove you have the English speaking, reading, writing and listening skills needed to succeed in your studies.

The PTE Academic English test is accepted by 99% of universities across the UK.

Still, each has slightly different entry requirements. But as a general UK government rule, for programs below degree level – such as a  foundation program – you will need to demonstrate a CEFR B1 level of English. For programs at degree level and above, you will need to demonstrate CEFR B2 level of English.

How does PTE Academic scoring work? 

PTE Academic provides transparent and easy to understand scoring. After taking the test you will receive an overall English score, as well as see how you performed in the Listening, Reading, Speaking, and writing areas of the exam.  

You’ll also get a: 

• Grammar score

• Spelling score

• Oral Fluency score

• Vocabulary score

• Written Discourse score

If you’re happy with your results, you can assign your scores to the universities or institutions you are applying to directly from the myPTE account you created when registering. If you want to improve your scores, you can re-book the test after some more practice.  

Find out how PTE Academic scoring compares with other English tests.

We recently had the opportunity to speak with David Booth about the ways you can excel when it comes to taking the PTE Academic Speaking and Writing sections. If you weren’t able to join us for the webinar, here are the highlights from the conversation.  

Let’s take a look at David’s tips for the Speaking portion of the test first.  

Pitch and accent 

When asked if the pitch of the test-taker makes a difference to the score, David had this to say: ‘Pitch is a critical part of intonation. Having natural intonation is important in order to get a good score.’ Having an exaggerated pitch, however, will not help. It needs to be natural. The same can be said for accent, and it’s important to note that your accent will not affect the score.  

Improving the ‘repeat sentences’ and ‘read aloud sections’ 

If you’re wondering how you can improve your score in the ‘repeat sentences’ and ‘read aloud sections,’ the best thing you can do is to speak naturally. It’s important to understand how different words are stressed within sentences, so working on any pronunciation exercises that will allow you to identify and practice this will help.  

The scoring system for both sections  

We know many of you are curious about how the scoring system for both sections works. Because this is such a hot topic, we’re going to run another webinar in the future that will address this. In the meantime, the PTE Academic score guide provides a comprehensive break-down of the scores for each task, so we encourage you to take a look at the website for more information.  

Summarizing spoken text 

We asked David if there’s any structure that test-takers need to follow in order to summarize the spoken text. The key element here is to ensure that the main context points are addressed. It might feel easier to summarize the points in order, but you should be sure to identify the key point early on in your answer.  

There were lots of questions about the Writing portion of the test which we asked David to explain more about. You can read about his top tips for this section of the test below.  

Standard spelling 

Test takers were curious to know which type of standard spelling the PTE Academic follows and if they should use the British or American versions and how that impacts their score. You’ll be glad to know that you can use any standard spelling conventions.  

Using the IELTS template  

We know that many test takers have practiced with multiple types of tests, so you want to know if your score will be impacted by choosing to use the IELTS template or method of writing. The important thing to remember here is that no test taker is penalized. To get a high score on the test, you need to think about how proficient writers in English would present their writing. The scoring engines are trained by using answers from a wide range of students. The answers which will receive higher scores are those that will have similar characteristics to other examples of writing that have also been given high scores by highly trained examiners.  

Paraphrasing  

We received a question around whether or not you should paraphrase the ‘summarize written text’ and ‘re-tell the lecture’ sections of the test in order to get a better score. David’s recommendation here is that you should be able to write in the same way that a highly proficient learner of English would write. Paraphrasing is very likely to be a characteristic of that writing, but just repeating key lexis is likely to be indicative of a lower proficiency learner.  

Keywords in the writing summary 

How can you find keywords in the writing summary and is there a certain number of conjunctions that should be used? Here, the advice is again that PTE Academic is primarily meaning-focused. When connecting ideas, you should think about how meaning is referenced in a text. In technical language, this is referred to as anaphoric or cataphoric referencing, referencing forward or backward in a text. You can also use different nouns and pronouns to connect ideas. Moreover, it’s important to remember that merely using common conjunctions would not necessarily indicate a high level of proficiency.  

We hope these tips and techniques are useful to you! Learn more about ways you can improve your score in the Speaking & Writing Section.

Being an experienced English speaker does not guarantee you a high score

It can come as a surprise to test takers, who consider themselves to be fluent in English, that they can score less well in an English test than they expect.

Dr. Alistair Van Moere, a member of Pearson’s Technical Advisory Group, explains that it’s not unusual for people who have recently learned English to score higher than those that have spoken English for a long time. This happens on all high-stakes tests, not just on PTE Academic, as fluent speakers are often not prepared to do the test. PTE Academic contains question types that a fluent English speaker may not have done for a long time, for example, writing an essay.

This is why all test takers, including fluent English speakers, should prepare before test day.

Choosing to study or migrate abroad is a big decision and may require you to demonstrate your skills in English.

The Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE Academic) is widely trusted by universities, colleges, and governments around the world. Taking PTE Academic can create opportunities for you around the world.

If you are taking the test for the first time, study each part of the test thoroughly to demonstrate your English skills as best you can.

Even people that consider themselves to be fluent in English need to prepare as they can sometimes score fewer points than they should have as they have not prepared.

We can help you achieve your best!

What should I expect on test day?

In Part 1 of the PTE Academic test, you require certain skills to answer the questions within the test to the best of your ability.

We’ve put together some tips and advice on how to practice and improve your core skills.

Oral Fluency

Oral fluency applies to the Read Aloud, Repeat Sentence, Describe Image and Re-tell Lecture question types.

To improve your oral fluency before your test, we recommend that you speak English as often as you can. If you don’t have anyone you can speak English with, join an English-speaking club or take a short course.

As soon as you’ve booked the test, we suggest that you try to read, listen and write in English as much as you can.

If you’re having trouble with speaking too slow or too fast, record yourself and listen back to identify where you need to improve.

You can also use Tiny Texts to help improve your speaking. Read the text silently to yourself, then listen to a recording while you read and have a try afterward to read at a similar pace.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation skills are required for the Read Aloud, Repeat Sentence, Describe Image and Re-tell Lecture question types.

In PTE Academic you do not have to speak like a fluent speaker of English to do well. However, you do need to use a pronunciation that can be understood by a regular speaker of English.

This means you need to make sure your vowel and consonant sounds are pronounced in a fluent-like way with the correct words. You also need to use the correct sentence stress to convey meaning.

Luckily, there are many online tools that can help with your pronunciation, such as:

• Try Star Pronunciation 10-day Boot Camp

• Tim’s pronunciation workshop

• The Sounds of English BBC Learning English YouTube channel

Vocabulary

The only question type in the speaking section that will require strong vocabulary skills is Answer Short Question.

The easiest way to improve your vocabulary is to keep a vocabulary notebook to use as your own personal dictionary. When you hear or see new words, add them along with the meaning and put them in a sentence.

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 of PTE Academic will take 45-57 minutes to test your listening skills.

This section is designed to test your ability to listen, read and write. PTE Academic is an integrated skills test, therefore, this test contains multiple question types that test up to 2 skills each.

There are eight question types in the listening section. A breakdown of these question types is as below.

Summarize Spoken Text

The first question type you will need to complete is Summarize Spoken Text, which will tests listening and writing skills.

To complete the task, a recording between 60-90 seconds long will be played for you to listen to. As you listen, try to use the Erasable Noteboard Booklet to take notes of key points to help you understand the context.

After the recording, you will have 10 minutes to write a summary of what you heard.

To answer this question type, you must write a minimum of 50 words but no more than 70 words.

You can receive a maximum of 2 points for content, 2 for form, 2 for grammar, 2 for vocabulary and 2 for spelling.

Multiple-choice, multiple answer

The second question type, Multiple-Choice, Multiple Answer will test listening skills.

First, you will be given information to help answer the question. You only have 7 seconds to read this. A recording will then play that is between 40-90 seconds long.

Select all the response options that you think are correct.

In this question type, you can receive 1 point for each correct option, but will lose -1 point for each incorrect option. You cannot score below 0.

Fill in the blanks

In the third question type, Fill in the Blanks, listening and writing skills will be tested.

Similar to the previous task, you will be given 7 seconds to read some information before hearing the recording.

A recording between 30-60 seconds will play. As you listen, type each word in the blank spaces as you hear them so that you do not miss any.

Do not leave any spaces blank, you can review them at the end.

You receive 1 point for each correct word which is spelled correctly.

Highlight correct summary

The fourth question type, Highlight Correct Summary, will test listening and reading skills.

You will be given 10 seconds before the recording starts to read the options. A recording will be played that is between 30-90 seconds long.

To complete the task, select only one correct response. If unsure, choose the one you think is correct as you cannot lose points in this question.

Your response will either be marked as correct or incorrect.

Multiple-choice, single answer

The fifth question type, Multiple-Choice, Single Answer will test listening skills.

To complete this task, you will be given information to read for context, you will then need to listen to a recording between 30-60 seconds long.

Choose the option that best suits.

Your response to this question type will be marked as correct or incorrect.

Select missing word

In the sixth question type, Select Missing Word, will test your listening skills.

A recording between 20-70 seconds long will be played and you will need to predict the last word or words of the text to complete the task.

You will be marked on this question type as either correct or incorrect.

Highlight incorrect words

In the seventh question type, Highlight Incorrect Words, your listening and reading skills will be tested.

In this question type, you will be shown information and have 10 seconds to read it before a recording starts.

A recording between 15-50 seconds will play and you will need to select the words that are incorrect and do not match the recording.

You can receive 1 point for each correct word and lose -1 point for each incorrect word. You cannot score below 0.

Write from dictation

The eighth and final question type, Write from Dictation, tests listening and writing skills.

You will have 7 seconds to read the instructions before the recording starts. The recording is between 3-5 seconds long and once it starts, listen and type the sentence in the response box.

You can receive 1 point for each correct word you write. Write the words in the right order and spell them correctly in order to receive 1 point. Points are not lost for incorrect words.

What's next?

We recommend reviewing the core listening skills required for PTE Academic.

Want more prep ideas?

Plus, 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?

PTE Academic is completed on a computer, including the speaking part of the test.

So make sure you are prepared by familiarizing yourself with the equipment you will use during your test. Reading these test tips and you will be fully prepared.

Part 2 of PTE Academic will take 32-41 minutes and will test your reading skills. This single-timed section contains 15-20 questions that test both independent and integrated skills.

The sections within part 2 are designed to test your ability to read and write in English. PTE Academic is an integrated skills test, therefore, one question type in this part of the test also assesses writing skills.

There are five questions types in the reading section. Below, we will break down each part of this section of the test.

Multiple-choice, Choose Single Answer

For the first question type, you will need to complete is Multiple-choice, Choose Single Answer question, which is designed to test your reading skills.

You will be shown a text prompt for this assessment that will be up to 300 words. Possible response options will be given, with only one being correct.

For this question, you need to read the text and answer a multiple-choice question by selecting one response based on the content or tone of the text.

In this question type, you will earn 1 point for correct answers and 0 points for incorrect answers.

Multiple-choice, Choose Multiple Answer

The second question type will be similar to the previous. Multiple-Choice, Choose Multiple Answer will test your reading skills.

In this question type, you will be given a text prompt of up to 300 words. Like the previous questions, you will need to answer the question by selecting the most suitable responses from the list of options, based on the content or tone of the text.

For each correct answer you will earn 1 point, however, you will lose -1 point for each incorrect answer. Don’t worry, you cannot score below 0 in this assessment.

Re-order Paragraphs

The third question type to test reading skills will be to re-order paragraphs.

You will be provided with a text prompt of up to 50 words and will be shown some text boxes on the screen in a random order.

To complete the question, read the paragraph, then drag and drop or click the arrows on the screen to put your chosen responses in the correct order.

You will earn 1 point for every pair of sentences that you place in the correct order and receive full marks if the whole paragraph is in the correct order.

Reading: Fill in the Blanks

Your reading skills will be tested in the fourth question type, Reading: Fill in the Blanks. You will do 4-5 of these questions.

For this question, you will be provided with a text prompt of up to 80 words. There will be 3-5 missing words from the text.

You will need to select a single correct answer from the 6-8 words given to fill the blanks. Not all words in the box will be used.

You will earn 1 point for every blank that is filled in correctly for this question.

Reading and Writing: Fill in the Blanks

The last question type will test your reading and writing skills. Reading and Writing: Fill in the Blanks is an integrated skills question type.

You will be shown a text prompt of up to 80 words with up to five blank spaces.

To complete the question, select one of the five options in each drop-down list to fill in the blank spaces.

You will earn 1 point for every blank space that is filled in correctly.

To do well in the reading test there are many core skills you will need to learn to ensure a good score.

If you have already attempted PTE Academic, were not happy with your score, and would like to improve, we recommend reviewing your test performance to see where you can improve.

What's next?

You can also read more about Part 3: Listening Test Introduction to learn everything you need for PTE Academic.

Want more prep ideas?

Plus, 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?