PTE Academic - Superior
Hi! I took the PTE Academic test for the first time last June 30 and received the results yesterday, July 2.
I studied (inconsistently) for 10 days and mainly used Alfa PTE to practice (10-day premium). I also watched videos from Skills PTE Academic by Nakul.
What I did first was familiarize myself with all the parts and format of the test and took a full mock test in Alfa PTE just to assess my current skills.
My initial scores in the mock test:
Speaking - 65
Writing - 48
Reading - 55
Listening - 61
After that, I practiced per part and took sectional mock tests (1 test per section) three days before the exam. I still got low scores and just relied on the feedback given by the app until the exam day, so don’t be discouraged by your mock test scores. Just keep practicing and you’ll be just fine. :)
Sectional mock test scores:
Speaking - 76
Writing - 70
Reading - 68
Listening - 78
Speaking
I tried speaking a little faster but with clear pronunciation, no pauses for more than two seconds, and in monotone or no intonation
DI: I fumbled a lot during practice and did worse during the real exam, but I just kept reading the words or describing what’s in the image even though my sentences weren’t making any sense anymore. I used this structure for graphs/charts:
“The image provides information about (title).
The x-axis talks about…, while the y-axis shows…
It is clear that the highest value is…
Meanwhile, the lowest value is…
Overall, the image describes (title).”
SGD: I wrote atleast 3 to 5 exact phrases from each speaker and just read what I wrote while connecting them.
“The three students / speakers discussed the (main topic).
Speaker 1 mentioned that …
Meanwhile, speaker 2 stated that …
On the other hand, speaker 3 said that …
Overall, they discussed about the (main topic)”
RS: I just tried responding like how I would do in real life and used the words in the written situation. I start with a greeting and end with “thank you.”
Writing
SWT: I copied three sentences exactly and just added connectors. That’s it. Make sure you won’t exceed 75 words. Mine was exactly 75.
“(First sentence of Par1), and (sentence from Par2); moreover, (sentence from Par3).”
WE: Just make sure that you understand what they’re asking for and you have to think and type fast. Use different sentence structures. I used the last three minutes to check for grammar, punctuations, and spelling.
Par1: Intro
Par2: Argument + example
Par3: Counterargument + example
Par4: Conclusion
Reading
Read more about collocations and widen your vocabulary. You will get hints in the texts. You will see the timer and number of items on the screen so make sure you don’t spend a lot of time per question and allot atleast 1-2mins per remaining item.
RO: The first one is always a standalone sentence.
Listening
SST: Write within 50-70 words. I wrote three sentences.
“The discussion revolved around (topic).
The speaker mentioned the advantages such as …
The disadvantages discussed were…”
MCMA: Take notes (places, time, etc) while understanding the passage and choose the best options or just tick one / two if you’re not really sure to avoid negative marking.
HIW: Just follow the text while listening and you’ll be fine.
WFD: I type fast while I listen and fix the spelling and punctuation afterwards. First letter should be capitalized and sentence should end with a period.
If you have any questions, just ask away! More than happy to help. ☺️