PTE Preparation from Scratch

5 Steps to Follow If You Are Starting PTE Preparation from Scratch

Just starting your PTE-A preparation? Go from zero to hero in these 5 clearly laid out steps. Get your desired score with confidence!

The PTE Academic Exam measures your English proficiency in the Speaking, Listening, Reading and Writing. It is one of the several English language tests that are used for the purposes of Immigration or International Education, but has increasingly gained more traction with test-takers.

If you are looking to prepare for the PTE Test for scratch, in this blog, we will provide step-by-step information to nail your preparation.

  1. Know the Test Format
  2. Learn about the Scoring Format
  3. Practice with Sample Questions & PTE Preparation App
  4. Practice with Exam Memories Materials & Mock Tests
  5. Don’t be shy to seek help

1. Know the Test Format

Knowing the pattern of the test is the first step in your PTE preparation.

As you can see above, the test format has three parts:

Speaking and Writing, Reading & Listening

Also seen in the image above, listed under the names of the modules, are the different question types that you will encounter in the PTE Academic Test.

2.Learn about the Scoring Format

Now that you know about the format and the questions let’s find out more about how an aspirant is scored in the test.

The image below is how a PTE scorecard looks:

Three things stand out from the PTE-A scorecard. They are Overall Score, Communicative Skills and Enabling Skills.

Let’s understand each of these in a little detail:

Overall Score

This is the score given to you by Pearson after analysing your performance on all the 20 question types. The score range under overall score in 10-90 points.

Please don’t mistake the overall score to be an average your communicative skills scores.

Communicative skills scores

The communicative skills are Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing. For visa or higher education, your scores in these four skills will be judged.

PTE uses the concept of integrated scoring. Some question types may require integrated skills. For example: In the question type Read Aloud, you need two skills to complete a task: Reading and Speaking.

So the question type contributes scoring to both the skills.

Enabling skills scores

In the PTE-A test, the following enabling skills are reported: Grammar, oral fluency,

pronunciation, spelling, vocabulary, and written discourse.

Besides the above criteria, some Speaking and Writing question types are also scored for Content.

Content scores are used to identify how appropriately your spoken/written response has addressed the things mentioned in the question prompt.

Some Writing Module question types are scored for Form. Form is a measure of the formal nature of the response,  for instance, the number of words etc.

The scores for Content and Form contribute to the communicative skills score and the Overall Skills Scores.

3.Practice with Sample Questions & PTE Preparation App

After you have figured the rules of the game, it is time to start playing. To get the ball rolling, you could begin by solving sample practice questions.

If you can’t find time for practice, you can also download a PTE preparation app on our mobile device.

One of the most effective and user-friendly among these applications is the PTE Tutorials Mobile App. You can download without any charge on your Android/iOS device. The best part of the app is that it has a lot of questions for free practice. The standard of the question items matches up to the high standards of Pearson. Further, with in-built audios for Listening, and speech recorder for Speaking, the PTE Tutorials Mobile App gives the aspirants a feel of the real test.

4.Practice with Exam Memories Materials & Mock Tests

Exam Memories materials are a comprehensive list of questions that have recently been asked in the PTE Academic Test. By practising with these set of questions, you increase the likelihood of achieving your desired scores in the test.

The Exam Memories materials are updated every month, and a lot of aspirants have reported getting questions from the materials in the actual PTE-A test.

Also, don’t forget to solve PTE Mock Tests.

5.Don’t be shy to seek help

If you still feel the need to seek the advice of a PTE-A coach or trainer, do not hesitate. The PTE-A may look like an ordinary test of the English language, but it is not. First, it a software that evaluates your answer. So how you speak, your tone, intonation etc. are become important. Second, just like another regular test, there are specific tips and tricks to tackle the most challenging sections of the test.

Don’t be shy to enrol for coaching. If classroom coaching is not feasible, you could also go for Online Coaching.

Conclusion

The PTE exam is as much a test of English, as it is a test of your strategy and determination. So dig your heels in, and follow the five steps outlined above, and give it your best!

All the best for your attempt!

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