How to improve PTE academic score? Tips and Strategies

PTE is a computer-based assessment designed to evaluate and validate English language abilities. If you are taking the test and are stressed about your PTE score then here are the useful strategies for improving your score in all four sections of PTE. While there is nothing you can achieve without hard work, of course, there are certain things you can follow to help you to boost your PTE score easily. In this article, we will also mention all the tips and strategies for each section of PTE, which will help you to improve your PTE scores.

General strategies for PTE exam

1. Know the PTE format

Knowing the test format and what kinds of questions you will face in each section of the exam will build the confidence you need on your test day. So get yourself familiar with how PTE Academic is structured. Understanding the PTE exam pattern and types of questions are important for achieving a good score.

2. Learn test strategies

Not only knowing the format of the test is important, but also knowing the tricks and strategies for tackling each section of the PTE. Each section tests different skills, so you need to be aware of the different strategies to use during the test to score well. We have discussed the strategies for each section in the latter part.

3. Build a strong grammar and vocabulary base 

You should try to build a strong grammar and vocabulary base during the preparation with the help of functional and topical language. Get exposed to a wide range of themes on social and current issues, as well as personal and familiar topics. Maintain the notes of useful vocabulary and phrases and try to use them regularly.

4. Practice as much as you can

Make use of your spare time to practice your skills. Practice speaking English at your home, institution, or workplace. Join the English-speaking groups, where you will get the opportunity to practice both speaking and listening skills in the language. Take every opportunity to write in English, for example sending emails to friends or contacts and keeping a journal, etc.

5. Take sample tests

You also need to put yourself under timed conditions and pretend you are sitting for a real test. It will train you mentally as well as emotionally for the official Test Day. There are plenty of online PTE sample tests available for free. Make use of them and prepare well.

6. Learn time management

Even if you are a fast reader and your vocabulary is too good still time management bears the highest importance. So, to get a good grade on this test, you must be able to read properly, listen carefully, write correctly, and speak clearly within the given time limit. Manage your time properly for each section so that you don’t leave any questions incomplete.

7. Take note of the Negative marking

Only ‘multiple-choice, choose multiple answers’ questions has negative marking which you will be penalized if you choose the incorrect option. This question type appears in the reading as well as in the listening section of the PTE. Here you should answer only when you are sure that is correct otherwise you will lose points. Remember this: Do’s and don’ts before and on the PTE test day

8. Focus Weak areas

Your overall PTE score depends on your performance in all the tasks of each section. So you need to focus on the weaker parts and plan how to study to improve your skills up to the desired level. You need to find out the parts where you are weak and put your efforts more into that part. 

Strategies to Improve your PTE Speaking Score

• Hear and read the transcripts of TED talks. Make a schedule of doing this at least for a week or two. Please understand how the speaker’s voice is adjusting and his stress on important words.
• In the speaking section, speak in such a way that you are trying to convey a message. Do not speak like a robot.
• Don’t be silent for more than 3 seconds because the computer will stop recording your voice.
• Speak at a moderate pace. Don’t speak too fast as it may give you a negative effect on your pronunciation score. Wherever you find a comma or full-stop, pause for less than 1 second.
• Don’t overload your content with each detail in the Describe the image task. For example, you may get a graph that is filled with lots of details, but you should talk only about the high and low curves of the graph.
• When you are mentioning high and key points, use phrases such as “Increasing dramatically,  rapid decrease, rising moderately, increasing substantially, rapid reduction, fluctuating significantly” and so on. 
• In the Read aloud task, if the sentence is long, try to memorize by breaking the sentences.

Get complete information about this section here: Speaking section of PTE

Strategies to Improve your PTE Reading Score

• Try to read articles related to the environment, technology, medical, and world news. Make a routine to spend at least 60 min reading an English newspaper every day.
• Start reading the paragraphs for meaning and connect the options with the essay sentences.
• Properly check for even minor variance in the prompt and the essay. Select the only options which you feel are 100% match.
• In the reorder paragraph task, look for the independent sentence. If you feel there is more than 1 independent sentence, start searching for linking or connecting words from that sentence to another. There is only one independent sentence and it is never connected to any previous idea.
• In the Fill in the blanks task read for meaning. This is crucial if you want to score well in this section. Find the grammatical clues and how the word sounds in the sentence.

Want to learn more about the reading section, here we have brought something important for you: Reading section of PTE

Strategies to Improve your PTE Writing Score

• In the Summarize written text, you will get 10 min to read the essay and write the summary. So, spend the first 3 minutes reading the essay. Then try to get the main idea and note down the keywords.
• Write the summary in such a way that not only the examiner but anyone can understand it easily. This can only be done with lots of writing practice.
• Don’t use unneeded vocabulary. Use words that fit perfectly in the sentence.
• In Essay writing test taskers struggle because of time. You will get only 20 min to complete your essay. Use this properly by giving 2 min to Read the question prompt and plan your ideas, 15 min to write the essay, and 3 min for Proof-Reading
• Improve your vocabulary by reading a wide range of topics.
• Increase your typing speed, as you need to complete the task within a limited time.

Get to know more tricks and strategies to score well in this section: Writing section of PTE

Strategies to Improve your PTE Listening Score

• You will get a notebook. Note down the keywords and the main ideas you come across while listening to the audio. If there is any year or event mentioned in the recording, ensure to include it in your summary.
• The audio will be played only once, so pay full attention. There might be 4 to 5 options. Select more than one option only if you are sure. 
• You should carefully fill the blanks with correct spelling and also take note of Plural and Singular. 
• Make sure to capitalize the first letter of the sentence and put a full stop at the end. Otherwise, it will affect your score negatively.

This section is very important to gain a good score in the exam, So get the detailed information here: Listening section of the PTE

Don’t lose your confidence if you come across any difficult question, just believe in your hard work and answer the question. Follow the above tips and strategies for improving your PTE scores. We wish you good luck.