PTE Introduction - What is PTE?

PTE Academic is a computer-based academic English language test aimed at non-native English speakers wanting to study abroad. It tests Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking. Questions often test 2 skills together, such as listening and reading or reading and speaking.

Please note that PTE General is not accepted for visa applications. To apply for an Australian visa or for most university applications, please use PTE Academic.

. The Pearson Test of English Academic

PTE Academic is a computer-based academic English language test aimed at non-native English speakers wanting to study abroad. It tests Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking.

PTE Academic is the English test you can use to prove your English ability as part of all Australian visa applications. PTE Academic is accepted by all Australian universities, as well as by professional associations and state government departments.

One advantage of this test is that you get your results very quickly; in about 5 days.

During the three-hour test session there will be three main parts to the test: speaking and writing (together), listening and reading. There are twenty different question formats, ranging from multiple choice through to essay writing and interpreting information.

PTE Academic assesses real-life, academic content, so you will hear excerpts from lectures and view graphs and charts. You will hear a range of accents in the test, from British and American to non-native speakers, so you will be exposed to the type of accents you will encounter in everyday life.

TEST FORMAT:

PART 1: SPEAKING & WRITING (77 – 93 minutes)

• Personal Introduction
• Read aloud
• Repeat sentence
• Describe image
• Re-tell lecture
• Answer short question
• One sentence
• Paragraph
• Essay (20mins)

PART 2: READING (32 – 41 minutes)

• Multiple choice questions (x2)
• Re-order paragraphs
• Fill in the blanks (x2)

A ten minute break is optional

PART 3: LISTENING (45 – 57 minutes)

• Summarize spoken text
• Multiple choice x2
• Fill the blanks
• Highlight the correct summary
• Select missing word
• Highlight incorrect words
• Write from dictation

The Pearson Test of English General
Pearson Test of English General (PTE General) is a six-level general English test.

All levels of PTE General are recognised globally and are accepted by employers and national education authorities in many countries as evidence of a required level of English.

PTE General consists of two parts: a written paper and a spoken test. The written paper tests listening, reading comprehension and writing skills and is marked by external examiners in the UK. The spoken test is assessed by trained local examiners and is sent to the UK for moderation. There are six levels which are linked to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEF). All levels in the test are awarded by Edexcel and accredited by Ofqual in the UK. PTE General certificates do not expire. English language learners are encouraged to seek opportunities to practice the language and confirm their progress regularly.

* Sourced from various websites available on the net.

WRITING !!

Start the writing task by analysing the topic given.
Before you write anything, note key words in the essay question. Find out the topic asked. What key points you should focus on to answer the question and any points of view to present & discuss.
Analyzing these four areas will help you to approach your task, structure your essay and decide on your main ideas.
The content of your answer is very important. If you do not write about the topic in the prompt, you will receive no score points at all for this item type.Essay prompts can be written in a number of ways. For example, you may need to discuss whether you agree or disagree with a statement, You may have to consider how different groups of people might feel about a particular situation,  You may need to argue for & against an opinion or discuss advantages & disadvantages of a situation. If there is a statement followed by a question, read the question very carefully and note key words. Make sure you know what to do.


Here are some of the common essay topics asked in PTE tests:

LATEST ESSAY TOPICS FOR PTE:

1. Do you think consumer should avoid over packed products or it is responsibility of producer to avoid extra packaging of products?" Give your views or any relevant example with your own experience.

2. Many people think regions affect successful persons. What is your opinion about native regions and accomplished person influence on the regions they belong to

3. The environment we are living in is in danger due to various problems...so who do u think should be responsible to solve it? Is it the governments, organisation or each individuals?

4. Nowadays TV has become an essential part of life. Medium to spread news & awareness and for some it acts like a companion. What is your opinion about this?

5. Company Top level Authorities should or should not take employees suggestions or ideas to take any decisions. Discuss

6. Successful sports stars and glamorous film stars are a role model for youngsters. Do u support it or not? (Agree/Disagree)

7. Company Top level Authorities should or should not take employees suggestions or ideas to take any decisions. Discuss

8. In education system, assessment through written formal examinations is valid or not.

9. Large shopping malls are replacing small shops. What is your opinion about this? Discuss with appropriate examples.

10. Talk about the pros/ cons of this era as is full of daily inventions

11. ANY NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE RECENT YEARS IS A BOON OR CURSE FOR THE SOCIETY IN GENERAL

12. It is argue that getting married before finishing school or getting a job is not a good choice. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

13. Parents should be held legally responsible for their children’s acts. What is your opinion? Support it with personal examples....

14. Marketing strategy for big companies should be placed on offer and discounts, and in what ways this can impact on their reputation.

15. What is the best invention of last 100 years, computer, antibiotics, airplane, and explain why.

16. Dangerous activities like extreme skiing, bungee jumping etc. and whether u support them or not

17. Do you think that place where the person grew has an influence on his accomplishments? Explain with example.

18. Climate change and about the roles that Government, Corporates and Individuals can play to improve it.

19. Nowadays TV has become an essential part of life. Medium to spread news & awareness and for some it acts like a companion. What is your opinion about this?

20. Company Top level Authorities should or should not take employees suggestions or ideas to take any decisions. Discuss

21. Some people believe laws change human behaviour. Do you agree with it?

22. Illiterate of the future would not be one who does not know to read, but people who does not know how to learn

23. Positive and negative effects of the information revolution through mass media.

24. Pros and cons of adventures sports.

25. Large shopping malls are replacing small shops. What is your opinion about this? Discuss with appropriate examples.

26. talk about the pros/ cons of this era as is full of daily inventions

27. dangerous activities like extreme skiing, bungee jumping etc. and weather u support them or not

28. It is argued that getting married before finishing school or getting a job is not a good choice. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

29. Imitating celebrities in sports and movies is good or bad
30. Any recent Invention that you think proved beneficial or detrimental to society.

31. In the past 100 years, there are many inventions such as antibiotics, airplanes and computers. What do you think is the most important invent for the past 100 years? Why?

32. Do you think that formal written examinations are a good way to assess knowledge at school?

33. Information revolution has changed the ways of mass communication and had some negative and positive effects on individuals’ lives as well as on society. To what extent you are agree or disagree ?

34. Learning a new language at an early age is helpful for children. Is it more positive for their future aspect or have some adverse effects. Do u agree or disagree? Give examples from your experience.

35. In under developed countries, tourism has disadvantages and can be said the opposite as well.

36. Communication has changed significantly in the last 10 years. Discuss the positive and negative impacts of this change.

37. Education is the biggest barrier in my learning - Einstein. What do you mean by this? And do you think Einstein was correct in saying that.

38. Positive and Negative effects of today's communication.

39. Discuss both sides of Space travel vs. current crucial problems faced by human?

40. Do you think English will remain to be a global language despite globalisation?

41. Some people think placing advertisements in schools is a great resource for public schools that need additional funding, but others think it exploits children by treating them as a captive audience for corporate sponsors. Choose which position you most agree with and discuss why you chose that position. Support your point of view with details from your own experiences, observations or reading.

42. Television has many useful functions to play in everyone's life, for some its relaxation, for some it is companion. Discuss your viewpoint and support your answer with examples and discussion point.

43. You are given climate as the field of study. Which area will you prefer? Explain why you picked up the particular area for your study?

44. People pursue dangerous activities like sky diving, motorcycle sports, white-water river rafting etc. Do you support? If yes, why and if not, why?

45. .'In future illiterate will not be those who cannot read, but those who do not learn' - By some writer. Discuss what do you understand by this statement and state your reason.

Will soon update sample essays so its easier for you all to answer this section of PTE.

TIPS TO MAKE IT EASY !!

Here are a few handy tips that will make it easier for you to answer the test.

Keep them in mind !!

• LISTENING..

1. Summarize The Spoken Text-   After listening to the recording we may forget the important points or the forget the stuff itself . Scribbling a few words from the recording  while listening to it  will help you remember the highlights of the text and come handy in writing the summary. While practicing keep a notepad handy and note down as many words as you can. this will increase your speed of writing during the actual test and make it easier for you to write the summary.REMEMBER - Summarize the main point and write important supporting points,this will help you get a better score. After finishing the summary do read it again and check for grammatical, punctuation, capital letters and spelling mistakes. 
2. Multiple Choice-Choose Multiple Answers-  Before the recording starts read through the question asked. I would suggest not to read the options as you get confused. While listening to the recording note down important points like places,dates, days,numbers, etc or other highlights and read the options once the recording stops. REMEMBER- You have to select more than one options hence 1st read through all the options and then select the ones that you think match the recording text. Again, DO NOT select an option only because it has words that match to the ones in the recording. Keep in mind that the matter should match!
3. Listening Fill In The Blanks- You have 7 secs before the recording starts. Use this time to quickly read through the text in order to get an idea about whats going to come and it will also help you to identy the words that will fit the gaps when you hear the text. Once the recording starts scribble the words in your notepad that fit in the blanks. At the end of the recording fill in the blanks with the words that you have noted. REMEMBER- Check your spelling and capital letters as you may lose your marks for the wrong ones. 
4. Highlight Correct Summary- During this task do not read the options before the recording as there is lot of text and little time.While listening to the recording note down the highlights. This will help you in selecting the right option. After the recording stops read through all the options and try to match the context of the option with what you heard.DO NOT select answer based on it having similar words with that of the recording!!
5. Multiple Choice-Choose Single Answer- In this task I would suggest you to read through the quetion as well as the options given before the recording begins. Reading the question will help you know what you have to listen to and emphasize on in the recording.At the end of it select the option you think is right!!
6. Select Missing Word- In this task listen to the text and select the option. There are more than one options and you have to select any one! REMEMBER- If you change your mind about the answer, you can de-select it by clicking on the answer and then click on the one you think is right!!
7. Highlight Incorrect Words- In this task quickly read through the text to get an idea about the matter. When the recording begins, move your cursor along with the sentence that you hear in the recording and simultaneously select the words that you think are not appropriate in the statement.REMEMBER-DO NOT make notes during this task as you will be wasting your time.
8. Write From Dictation-In this task you will hear the recording after which you have to copy the sentence that you heard word to word in the box given.I would suggest you to scribble what you hear in the notepad as the recording plays or if you trust your memory you could just remember what you heard and type it in the box.REMEMBER-Every correct word will fetch you points!! Hence try to write in maximum words that you heard and mind you,in the correct sentence sequence.If you think you heard the word but do not remember where to place it in th sentence,use your english grammar knowledge to help you decide!!

That's all for today folks!! Will come back with more TIPs for the other parts of the test to make Easier...!!

Understand IELTS!!!
Yes, in order to prepare for PTE, understand how the IELTS works. As weird it may sound, it is one of the oldest exams which is accepted by various agencies and understanding this will help in understanding PTE approach.
Here`s a brief snapshot of what I learnt today:

Listening (30 minutes)
The Listening component is the same for both Academic and General Training versions.
 four recorded texts
 test the ability to understand main ideas and detailed factual information
 understand the opinions and attitudes of speakers
 you will hear each section only once.

Reading (60 minutes)
 consists of 40 questions
 include reading for gist, reading for main ideas, reading for detail, skimming, understanding logical argument, recognising writers’ opinions, attitudes and purpose.
 Academic version includes three long texts which range from the descriptive and factual to the discursive and analytical.
 General Training version requires you to read extracts from books, magazines, newspapers, notices, advertisements, company handbooks

 Writing (60 minutes)
 Academic version includes graph, table, chart or diagram and will be asked to describe, summarise or explain the information in your own words.
 to write an essay in response to a point of view, argument or problem.

 General Training version includes a situation and will be asked to write a letter requesting information or explaining the situation. The letter may be personal, semi-formal or formal in style.
 write an essay in response to a point of view, argument or problem.

Speaking (11 to 14 minutes)
 Every test is recorded. *The Speaking component is the same for both Academic and General Training versions.
 answer general questions about yourself and a range of familiar topics, such as your home, family, work, studies and interests.
 given a card which asks you to talk about a particular topic. You will have one minute to prepare before speaking for up to two minutes. The examiner then asks you one or two questions on the same topic to finish this part of the test
 asked further questions connected to the topic in Part 2