Background

The PTE Writing section consists of two parts; Summarize Written Text and Essay Writing, respectively. Candidates will have 10 minutes to complete the SWT and 20 minutes for the Essay Writing. Candidates will get 2-3 SWT and 1-2 topics for their Essay writing.

1. Use templates

The PTE Academic is a computerized test. Therefore, it really does not care if you use a template so long as you write grammatically sound sentences with proper punctuation and spellings within the given time. Using templates also helps you concentrate more on the content and the spelling, rather than the structure.

Remember! the computer is not able to pick on the semantics of your structure. I will give you an example to make my point clear. If your essay topic is about water shortage and ways to curb the problem, you can write the following sentences and the computer would find them grammatically and semantically alright.

“Water shortage these days is a serious problem all over the world. Everyone should try their best to take some procedures to stop wasting water. My cat Sally, for example, has stopped using the spa every day. She now uses the spa only once a month. My dog Bob, on the other hand, collects the spa water from Sally’s along with the rain water in a water tank and uses that to water the garden and drinking purposes. Sally and Bob are really into saving water and they have won several awards on innovating ways to save water.

Sally, for instance, …”

Now, to a computer there is no problem with this piece of writing. The spellings are OK and the grammar is in order as well. It is not off topic since it is talking about ways of conserving water. What the computer fails to recognize is the fact that animals cannot do the aforementioned responsible, green acts. To a computer, cats and dogs are just the subjects of their respective sentences and that is absolutely fine. It does not distinguish human acts from animal’s. In other words, semantic is the computer’s Achilles’ heel.

For learning about our online classes along with all templates and tricks of the trade, book an online free trial class with us via this link.

2. Practice typing in the Notepad

Don’t type your essays and SWT in the Microsoft word. This means your wrong spellings are automatically corrected and you think to yourself “Oh, what a great speller I am!”

Your spelling bubbles will be popped once you see your spelling score in your PTE score report. To avoid this, practice in the Notepad and then copy and paste your notes in the Microsoft Word to see your real spelling capabilities. Alternatively, you can practice your SWT and essays topics on our PTE practice platform. 

3. Use a desktop keyboard to practice typing

If you have a laptop, you may consider connecting a keyboard to your laptop (or a wireless keyboard via blue tooth) for practicing purposes. Always try to practice PTE under a test like situation.

Need more information?

For learning the tricks of how to ace the PTE academic test, and for doing a free scored PTE mock test and practicing real PTE materials on our PTE practice platform, visit our website at www.thepte.com, where you can also book a free online PTE coaching with one of our Melbourne-based expert PTE trainers via the zoom app.