By now, some of you may have realized that it’s ‘easier’ to pass some skills than the others. Most students can pass, say. Listening and Writing, fairly more readily than say, Reading and Speaking. So, what does it take to pass ALL skills? Here are five (5) PTE secrets revealed!

1. Really get to know the Score Guide. Seriously, some students lose valuable marks just because they misunderstand the scoring system. You want to earn as many marks as possible, while avoiding losing as few marks as possible.
2. Devise appropriate strategies and stick to them. Once you know what criteria each test item is based on, practise to improve that criterion. For example, good fluency without undue gaps in all speaking item types will not only help boost your score in Fluency, but a high fluency mark can compensate for a lower Pronunciation mark, pushing you across the threshold of your target score.
3. Focus and maintain. You need to devote more hours to address your weaknesses, yet still practise on those areas you have passed. Your scores for each skill may go up or down by 10 or even 20 points. Do NOT ignore any part altogether.
4. Allow yourself ample time to prepare for the test. Students who have average scores of around 65 would need roughly 3-4 months of concentrated efforts and at least three trials of the test before achieving over 79 in all bands. PTE is not a ‘trial and error’ or ‘just in case I’m lucky this time’ test!
5. Understand the score. Some students may achieve, say around >80 in enabling skills, but only get 70 in communicative skills. The reverse can happen too. Lower enabling skill scores but 10 point higher communicative skill score! Weird! The secret? The Main Points! So, make sure you practise taking notes of main points in writing and listening too!

25 January 2017
Telaga