@PMPdreamer @greenapple @Heprex thanks again guys. I took the exam yesterday at Makati. I got my results w/in 24 hours, but the proctor did say to wait 5 working days. If you haven't received it by then, I suggest calling the office or chat in Pearson's website.
Anyway, I want to give back to this thread for helping me. Here are some tips to prepare yourselves for exam day:
<ul>
<li> I didn't buy the mock exam, so the alternative was to bombard myself with practice questions from each item. There are so many out there, but thumbs up to this YouTube channel, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmfdDoEJmPtIop6GWm68Tbg">PTE Gold</a>. They have TONS of practice questions and the answers are found at the end. Highly recommended channel. Just pick an item and score yourself. Rinse and repeat on their other videos until you feel that you can get a perfect score consistently.
<li> Memorize all exam items and their order. I can recite each item by heart at this point. Definitely gets you more prepared for the next pages. Learn to be familiar with the interface too; you can see how each question looks like <a href="http://pearsonpte.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Tutorial.pdf">here</a>. Mental preparation is just as crucial.
<li>Identify your weak points and work on them. At first I thought I could just practice Read Aloud and wing it on the rest, but I was humbled after trying a practice test on Re-tell Lecture and Describe Image. It was so fast-paced that you had to have a plan or you're screwed. Similar experience with Multiple Choice and Multiple Answers. I thought "how hard can this be, should be obvious", until you find that each choice CAN be correct, if not for very minute details.
</ul>
Tips on how to practice for each item:
<ul>
<li>Speaking: Read Aloud - read each word as clearly as possible and record yourself speaking. Listen and gauge yourself on playback. If you score yourself low, PTE most likely will, too. Speak FLAMBOYANTLY (the classy flamboyant, not the annoying flamboyant).
<li>Speaking: Repeat Sentence - take notes intelligently. Use abbreviations, keywords, drawings, whatever works for you. If you think you can repeat it without taking notes, feel free, but in my experience, taking quick notes was insurance.
<li>Speaking: Describe Image - pick a template and stick with it all throughout. Get ready for this one as there were more questions in this item than I expected. Mine was, "This graph/chart/image/table is (just read the title of the image). The horizontal line represents (x axis label), and the vertical line represents (y axis label). There are three categories in this chart, and these are (1, 2, 3, whatever). According to the graph/chart/image/table, the highest number is ( ) by ( ), and the lowest number is ( ) by ( ). This is a useful reference for those who want to study (just read the title of the image again).
<li>Speaking and Listening: Re-tell Lecture - you'll only have a few seconds after the lecture ends to speak so be alert and study the given image. Again, take notes intelligently. Don't write down whole words; try to understand the topic and the essence of the lecture so you can visualize and note it better. Use arrows, symbols, keywords, abbreviations, whatever floats your boat. If you have a template, much better, but be sure to stress the important keywords from the lecture. Start with "the lecture is about...."
<li>Speaking and Listening: Answer Short Question - one or two words is enough. This is elementary stuff but still helps your overall score. Think of it as a bonus round. Listen and concentrate well.
<li>Writing: Summarize Written Text - one thing that always worked for me in the past is jotting down important words, phrases or sentences and then assembling them afterwards by filling in the gaps with more words. You can use your notebook or the form box itself, whichever you're more comfortable with. Be mindful of the minimum/maximum words required.
<li>Writing: Write Essay - there are many, many resources on essay writing all over the internet. Just pick IELTS or PTE-style essay writing lessons. Sorry if I can't help much here. I'm a bad teacher on writing as I've been doing it since I was a kid so sometimes I have a hard time explaining certain stuff that to me should be obvious but to some requires more learning. Just stay on topic though!
<li>Reading: Multiple Choice, Single Answer - read the question, not the choices, THEN read the essay. This will help you understand it better and connect the dots more. Cross-examine each choice. You should have an argument for each choice as to why it is correct or incorrect.
<li>Reading: Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers - I just chose two answers. I'm pretty sure there's a 3rd answer on some of the questions but I stuck with the two closest ones. You can gamble, but why risk it? This section is right-minus-wrong according to the others. Again, read the question, not the choices, THEN read the essay. Have an argument for being correct/incorrect on every choice (don't be lazy, do it for every choice), then pick the two best ones.
<li>Reading: Reorder Paragraphs - don't underestimate this section. This can be really tricky and time-consuming if you're not prepared. I suggest finding several practice lessons and do it repeatedly until you get it right. I went with the order that made the most sense to me. Take absolute note of things like "but because", "on the contrary", "that is why", etc. These are the keys to solving the puzzle. Read the whole thing before you move on, and if you feel it's wrong, do it again.
<li>Reading and Writing: Fill in the Blanks - same, go with the words that makes the most sense on each sentence. This will be tricky as well, as some words can possibly be inserted on multiple blanks so the key is finding where each word fits the best. Read the whole thing and if it feels wrong, do it again. The drop-down version of this item is much easier, so take advantage of the bonus round.