PTE ACADEMIC

jrt1114 · March 2019

@lecia maraming maraming salamat po! mas pag bubutihan ko pa po sa susunod.

jrt1114 · March 2019

@ms_ane sa speaking po ang ginawa ko sa 2 mock exams and 1 actual pte exam ay moderate speed but malinaw ung pagkakabigkas ng mga words lalo sa read aloud, nilalakihan ko din ung boses ko, sa describe image naman po at retell lecture medyo mas mabilis ng konti para mas madaming keywords ang masabi, ganyan po ginagawa ko sa awa naman po laging 90 speaking ko

Supersaiyan · March 2019

@jrt1114 nice. Partida pa yan na may sakit ka. For sure superior kn sa next mo ksi nandun na yung 100% focus mo. God bless po.

ChemisTine · March 2019

Hi everyone!

For future test takers of PTE Academic, I want to help by giving a few review tips to boost your scores. As a background though, medyo strong na ang foundation ko sa English, in the sense that I can speak, understand and write well using this language.

However, in PTEA, it is not enough to know English and how to use it. It helps if you have no problems with pronunciation, but if you don't have an "attack plan" and don't manage your very limited time wisely, then, kahit BBC anchor-ish pa ang English mo, babagsak pa rin sa PTE exam.

So here are a few suggestions based on my own experience.
Btw, I took PTE once after failing IELTS twice, and got straight 90s on my first try (see attached scorecard snip).

Tip 1. Gauge your English proficiency first and foremost.
This way, you will be able to divide your review time wisely. Focus on your weakest points (e.g., may punto ang English mo when you speak, or di ka maka-gets ng mabilis na English convo recording) by spending more time on them during practice. What I did was make a table listing all the exam types (Write from Dict., Answer Short Quest., Retell Lect., etc) then I ranked them all as EASY or HARD. This helped me focus on my weakest which are Write Essay (dahil sa 20-min time limit), Retell Lecture (dahil sa poor note-taking skills ko) and Describe Image (dahil natataranta ako sa 35-38 sec time limit and overwhelming ang graphs).

Tip 2. Depending on your review time frame, spend at least 2 hours of undisturbed study per day.
I am an 8-5pm working mom, and a 5-11pm yaya to my makulit toddler. So basically, I can only review on weekdays pag natulog na sya. Madalas umaabot ako ng 1 or 2 am lalo pag nasimulan ko na. If you can't make it everyday, at least 3x per week ka mag-dedicated self-review. Don't find time, MAKE TIME. You have to.

Tip 3. Practice your keyboard typing skills.
It really helps if you type fast. Dati, I can't type without looking at the keyboard itself. Eventually, I can type just looking at the screen. This helps kasi very fast ang takbo ng oras during the actual exam.

Tip 4. Record yourself while reading English passages, or doing a pretend interview.
This strategy helped me become confident using the language. Nag-print ako ng mga passages from Sciencedaily.com, and yung mga Interview Questions ko dati from IELTS Speaking review ginamit ko din. I recorded myself to hear kung pangit ba tunog ko, OA ba ang slang, or marami ba akong "uhmms" and "ahhs". Importanteng MAWALA ANG MGA UUHM while doing the PTE exam. Grabe. Bawas points pag marami kang ganyan.

Tip 5. Familiarize the spelling of English words.
I did not do something big about this, though I tried downloading yung sa E2Language na collocation word list, sobrang na-overwhelm ako na hindi ko na sya talaga naaral nang matindi. What I did was zooming in on the spelling of unfamiliar or complicated words everytime I encounter a passage (bible passage, science passage, article sa magazine, etc.). Ang key dito is EXPOSURE to these words.

Tip 6. PRACTICE, EXPOSE ALL SENSES to English, and PRACTICE with a timer.
I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to immerse yourself during practice. Pag may opportunity ako to read an article, or watch an English movie without subtitles, or listen to a British podcast, pinapatulan ko. In short, sinasanay ko ang tenga ko and all other senses sa accents ng mga native speakers.

Sa office, I eat lunch fast and spend the rest of my break doing Reorder Paragraphs and Write from Dictation, kasi sila ang pinakamabilis tapusin per item. The more difficult ones, like Write Essay and Retell, ginagawa ko na sa bahay when baby is asleep.

So there, andami pang pwedeng tips na maibigay, but so far yan ang naiisip ko now.
Haha. If may tanong pa kayo regarding strategies na inapply ko for a specific question type, message nyo lang ako, haba na eh.

GOD BLESS everyone!

jrt1114 · March 2019

@Supersaiyan maraming maraming salamat po sayo sir

emaca · March 2019

@ms_ane Hi, naalala ko nagsalita lang ako na parang reporter sa news. So may konting kabilisan pero hindi tunog nagmamadali

kaiminamoto · March 2019

@ms_ane Moderate pace lang. Need ng proper intonation, enunciation and pronunciation. IMO, dapat hindi magstop unless may comma or period kasi mababawasan ang oral fluency.

jdtolentino88 · March 2019

Hi everyone,
Hingi sana ako ng tips sainyo sa speaking. I'm aiming for a superior score pero sa 4 takes ko lagi sabit ung speaking ko. And napapansin ko ambaba lagi ng oral fluency and pronunciation. Gumagamit na din ako ng templates na namention ng karamihan dto. Ano kaya pwede ko pa gawin for practice para maabot ko yung superior for speaking?

ms_ane · March 2019

@jdtolentino88 kapatid send ka sakin ng recording sample for read aloud (including the passage na binasa) so we can gauge san pede mag improve.

Oral fluency is yung sa continuous flow ng pagsasalita - make sure gamit ka ng templates for describe image and retell lecture.

Pronunciation- more practice lang ito na makasanayan ang tamang pag pronounce at pag enunciate. Gamit ka ng speech to txt na app and see alin sa mga words ang di nakacapture ng computer then you can work from there.

Remember sa 9/27 exam mo naka achieve ka na ng 76 sa speaking, 3 points lang kulang.

jewel_34 · March 2019

@jdtolentino88 wow taas ng score mo i can help you with speakinh lagi un lang na susuperior ko with 90 score the rest huhuhuhuhu di umaabot sa superior kaya nakaka frustrate......
Na perfect mo ba ang WFD and sa reading anu technique mo?

ChemisTine · March 2019

@jdtolentino88 i want to help din po. send ka ng audio samples mo so I can listen to it and comment on where you can improve.

haleydee · March 2019

Hello. Silent reader here! Gusto ko lang magpasalamat sa forum. I got my desired score. Generous ang computer magbigay ng remarks! Nakasuperior ako sa Listening and Speaking. Sa experience ko, narealize ko na maski wala ng sense sinasabi mo, basta tuloy tuloy ka magsalita, mataas makukuha mo. Naka 90 ako dito. Sa DI, nalost ako sa 1st image kasi nakita ko agad ang N (which means north). IELTS palang waterloo ko ang anything na may direction, hindi nako nadala, sana pinagaralan ko ung ganun! Kung ano lang nakita ko sa computer, un lang talaga sinabi ko. Literal na pang elementary description ko (There is a table on the right side. Next to it, there is a room with a round table and two chairs. In the next room, you can see one table and one chair...) Yung North lang din nabanggit ko. Sa RL, may 10 secs na nagwander ako so andami ko na agad namiss. Ang ginawa ko nalang is inulit ko ung statements ko(...He then mentioned that government prepares food and medicine when pandemic arises... He also pointed out that when pandemic arises, the government has something to give like food and medicine). Kaya sa mga nagstruggle sa speaking, wag kayong pang hinaan ng loob. Yung akala kong writing ang mahirap dahil dito ako laging 6.5 sa ielts, it turned out na reading pagdating sa pte. Time pressured talaga ung 2 mins. At sa sobrang pag alala ko na maubusan ako ng time, may sobra pa akong 10mins sa part 1 ko, sayang. Hindi kasi ako nagmock test dahil baka pg mababa result ko, madepress ako at hindi na makapag focus sa review. Matagal pa naman ako mag move on. Wag na wag kalimutan magdasal. Dahil bago ka palang magreview, alam na ni God ang result. Maghingi ng sign kung ito ang ikakapanatag ng loob nyo! @edge ikaw ang sign ko! While praying before my test day, at the back of mind ang sign ko is sana imessage ako ni edge. Paggising ko ng 4am, bam! May good luck message ka sakin! Lumakas ang loob ko! Naalala mo pa kelan ako mag eexam hehe. Sana balang araw masuklian ko ang kabutihan mo! @Supersaiyan salamat sa tip ng FANBOYS sa SWT. Hindi man superior ako sa writing pero nagulat padin ako sa score ko heheh. Best of luck sa future test takers! Walang impossible kay Lord! Walang imposible sa isang nanay na karga karga ang anak habang nagprapractice ng RS. Dont ever give up on your dreams

kathrine · March 2019

guys nakapag exam nako kahapon. i got my desired score although di kasing taas ng scores niyo pero sobrang satisfied nako. thank You Lord! thank you st. Jude. gusto ko lang din mag thank you sa mga advise nyo most especially kay sir @Supersaiyan na unang nagturo sa kin kung saan ko mkikita template ni sir @batman and sir @herpex. and kay sir @edge na napaka generous ding magbigay ng advise sau ko din po nakuha ung template na ginamit ko sa essay and intro sa describe image thank you din ms. ann, sir roli and to sir novice na nag advise sa kin about sa strategy mo po sa essay. helpful po talaga. God is good all the time!

jdtolentino88 · March 2019

@jewel_34 yes naperfect ko yung wfd ko nung last exam kaya din siguro nasuperior ko yung listening. Sa reading constant practice lang talaga. Try mo dload ng ptetutorial or ptestudy app para makapagpractice ka. Madami sila questions dun.

roliboy · March 2019

@kathrine
nice, congrats nakaraos din. ako medyo matagal pa bago makapag exam ulit.

edge · March 2019

@haleydee Congrats

Deserve mong makuha ang desired scores

Godbless talaga hihihi. Im proud of you hahaha kasi ung nerbyos at tensyon mo narramdaman ko pag nagmemessage ka sakin haha. but it was all worth it. All the best!

edge · March 2019

@kathrine Congrats at welcome. All the best sayo

Godspeed

superluckyclover · March 2019

I-perfect nyo po yung WFD hangga't maari. Sobrang crucial nya sa scores for listening and writing.

zacc · March 2019

@jdtolentino88 Hi! Good Day. How about ung repeat sentence mo? Ilan ang namiss mo?

anastasia.salvador · April 2019

@jdtolentino88 avoid long pauses it affects your OF

Roni.A. · April 2019

A common question that students ask is: “Why is my PTE Written Discourse mark so low?” Then following this, “What is Written Discourse?!”

If you check the meaning of ‘discourse,’ it means a formal conversation where one expresses one’s ideas in a logical flow and progression.

In the PTE score guide, in regard to PTE Written Discourse they say:

‘Written discourse skills are represented in the structure of a written text: entailing its internal coherence, logical development and the range of linguistic resources used to express meaning precisely. Scores for enabling skills are not awarded when responses are inappropriate for the items in either content or form.’

Which question types does PTE Written Discourse relate to?

Basically, it’s referring to a few things: firstly, the meaning and logical sequence of your content, also, your sentence, paragraph overall essay or summary structures, in addition to usage of linking words, correct punctuation and accuracy in how your express your ideas.

Importantly, as noted above, if you go off topic in your essay or do not get all the main points in your summary, and/or do not follow the requirements of the word count you, will miss out on marks in the PTE Written Discourse enabling skills.

Therefore, your PTE Written Discourse score will be determined by your essay and summary content, for both the written text and spoken text summary questions in terms of content and structure quality as above.

How can I improve my PTE Written Discourse score in my essay?

#1 Check that you understand the topic 100% and follow the instructions
Take time to deeply understand the essay topic: check what is the general/ broader topic, and then in your own words interpret the specific topic and question being asked.

So if you had the essay question:‘ In the past 100 years there have been many inventions, such as antibiotics, airplanes and computers. Which do you think is the most important invention and why?’

The broader topic is about great inventions in the modern era, and the question or specific topic is about which you believe to be the most significant one; then the instruction is to choose one and explain why you believe that to be the case.

#2 Refine your essay and paragraph structure and academic tone
Follow a structure, for your whole essay, including an introduction, 2 main body paragraphs and a conclusion, as well as a structure for each paragraph. Also, make sure that you use appropriate formal tone, academic words, as well as linking words.

For example, for the above topic you could introduce your first main body paragraph as such: Firstly, computers have had an enormous positive impact on communication in the workplace.

This is a simple but clear topic sentence to introduce the main idea of the whole paragraph: the linking word, Firstly, is used to indicate it’s the start of your main argument and academic words and collocations such as, have an enormous positive impact on… and workplace are effective, natural-sounding word choices to make your initial point in a powerful way.

Compare the above to: Computers are very good to use at work for your job. While this second version is correct, it sounds much less formal/academic and has less impact. However, at the same, be sure not to go to the other extreme, meaning, you don’t have to go crazy with difficult vocabulary that you aren’t at all familiar with!

This can lead to lack of clarity and sounds ‘flowery’ (overly wordy) and unnatural, which is not what you are aiming for.

For example, don’t write: Computerised systems in venues of employment have prolifically infiltrated the world of work to exponentially enhance the work experience and add significant value to our workplace practices!

This sounds ridiculous as it’s so convoluted and the reader is left thinking: what exactly does that mean and what is wrong with the person who wrote it as it sounds so strange!

#3 Improve your sentence structure and punctuation skills
As well as addressing essay and paragraph structure, it is important use a range of sentence structures, such as compound (sentences which contain 2 independent clauses) and complex sentences (ones which contain an independent clause and a dependent clause).

Also, it’s important to check you know English punctuation rules, including comma usage, colons, semi-colons and apostrophes.

For example, following on from our topic sentence above, we could use a complex sentence structure with appropriate punctuation to explain our topic sentence and give evidence:

Firstly, computers have had an enormous positive impact on communication in the workplace. In general, they have increased the speed and ease of communication at work, which consequently improves efficiency and thus leads to business growth.

Post not mine. Credit to the owner.

jdtolentino88 · April 2019

@zacc siguro mga 2 or 3 items na hindi ko talaga naperfect ng word per word. Yung mga sobrang haba yung lumabas kasi nung last exam ko.

kmma · April 2019

hello po. pwede po magpasend ng templates for speaking and writing? i took the test recently. here are the scores: L 60 / R 76 / S 71 / W 63

Yun WFD po, isa lang natapos ko. kinulang sa time. so three po agad yung hindi ko nasagutan.

any tips po? aiming for superior score

superluckyclover · April 2019

@kmma practice WFD that is a huge chunk of Writing & Listening scores. I practice ko ng ipractice yung Moni Magic 100 WFD video sa youtube, lahat ng WFD ko lumabas don.

Shoutout po sa mga nagpost dito ng PTE formula nila, collaboration na to ng lahat ng tumulong rito.

Template for Re-tell Lecture:

The lecture was regarding _____ and a significant time was spent discussing around this topic. The lecture concluded after all the data points were discussed completely. To summarise his/her analysis, he/she pointed out that (add 2-3 sentences, capture a lot of keywords from the lecture)

Overall, the lecture seems concise and accurate and can be used as a reference for future studies

Line/Bar Graph:

The line/bar graph projected on the screen is the presentation of variables from research entitled ______.

The horizontal axis represents the ______ while the vertical axis represents the _____.

The highest sector is _____ with _____ while the lowest sector is ______. It is surprising to see that ______ is the second highest sector with _____. Overall, this graph seems accurate and concise and can be used as a reference to future studies.

Table

The table projected on the screen is the presentation of variables from research entitled ______.

It is subdivided into ____ columns and _____ rows.

The highest sector is _____ with _____ while the lowest sector is ______. It is surprising to see that ______ is the second highest sector with _____. Overall, the information seems accurate and concise and can be used as a reference to future studies.

Pie Graph:

The pie graph projected on the screen is the presentation of variables from research entitled ______.

It is subdivided into ____ different portions.

The largest area is _____ with _____ while the smallest area is ______. It is surprising to see that ______ is the second largest area with _____.

Overall, this graph seems accurate and concise and can be used as a reference to future studies. (edited)
Images

The image projected on the screen represents (describe what you see)

Overall, this picture is very informative and can be used for future studies.

Write Essay

These days, there is an ongoing debate between people about _____. While it is possible to claim that_______, my view is that the disadvantages outweigh the advantages.

In this essay, I shall explain my point of view by analysing both sides of the argument.

(Body 1)
There are several reasons why ______. One of them is that _____. It can be argued that ______.

(Body 2)
Those who argue for ______ have different view and say that it can actually be a good thing. Firstly, it is claimed that ______. Then, there are concerns about ______.

(Conclusion)
While there are strong arguments on both sides of the case, my personal opinion is that _____. I would strongly recommend that ______. (edited)

Madeniakirikay · April 2019

Hi! May mga discount vouchers ba kayong pwd ma share? Hehe maraming salamat. Planning to book and exam this week

enginiyer · April 2019

@edge sir ano po name nung pinag exam-an nyo sa trident? sorry newbie po planning to take PTE-A.

TIA

zacc · April 2019

@ChemisTine may specific strategy ka ba sa repeat sentence? Lalo na dun sa mahahabang sentences.

Supersaiyan · April 2019

@kathrine @haleydee welcome po. Glad to help and very happy na you get your desired scores and found our posts to be helpful. God bless po sa next steps.

Supersaiyan · April 2019

@jdtolentino88 bro same struggle tyo naranasan ko din yan out of 20 attempts ko.

For OF, isapuso lagi ang templates yung tipong kahit konti lang details ng image eh kaya pa din gamitin yung template, big factor pra tumaas ito ay yung pagsasalita mo non-stop and consistency ng pacing throughout all speaking tasks.

For Pronunciation, weakness ko ito pero ang strategy na ginawa ko sa last attempt ko since 1 time ko lang napataas ito out of 20 attempts is nagrerely ako heavily sa madaming keywords and keypoints sa bawat speaking tasks and I see to it that I speak for at least 35-38 minutes every speaking tasks. Di mo man masuperior Pronunciation pero magiging superior nman Speaking mo yun eh kung hirap ka tlaga pataasin yung Pronunciation gaya ko pero kung kaya mo nman, much better. God bless po.