5 Common PTE Mistakes and How Students Can Avoid Them
Learning from our mistakes is one of the most effective ways to improve, especially when preparing for challenging exams like the PTE Academic. Many students make similar errors during their preparation, but understanding these pitfalls can help boost their performance. Here are 5 common PTE mistakes students often make, along with tips on how they can avoid them:
1. Reading: Reordering Paragraphs
In the PTE Academic Reading section, one of the tasks involves reordering jumbled paragraphs. Test-takers are presented with a set of sentences from an academic text that are in the wrong order, and they must drag and drop the sentences into the correct sequence. This task assesses how well students understand the structure of a text in English. However, many students struggle with this because they don’t focus on important language clues, such as linking words, introductory phrases, or concluding statements that help determine the correct order.
5 Common PTE Mistakes
How to Avoid This Mistake:
Teach Language Clues: Focus on language structures like “first,” “secondly,” “finally”, or “in conclusion” that help identify the order of ideas.
Practice Reordering Paragraphs: In class, use short texts like news articles, blog posts, or academic excerpts. Cut the text into paragraphs and mix them up, then have students work in groups to reorder the paragraphs. Afterward, ask them to explain their choices using the linking words or introductory phrases they identified.
5 Common PTE Mistakes
Review Common Patterns: Encourage students to recognize patterns in academic writing, such as cause and effect, arguments with supporting examples, and chronological order.
2. Listening: Summarizing a Spoken Text
The Summarize Spoken Text task in the Listening section asks students to listen to a lecture or spoken text and then summarize the key points in 50-70 words. A common mistake here is that students tend to copy directly from the audio instead of paraphrasing the information in their own words. While recognizing words from the audio is important, the ability to summarize and express the main ideas using a range of vocabulary and grammar structures is what the exam assesses.
5 Common PTE Mistakes
How to Avoid This Mistake:
Paraphrasing Practice: Encourage students to summarize spoken content by using synonyms, rephrasing ideas, and avoiding copying exact phrases. For example, watch a short TED Talk or a documentary, and have students take notes and then summarize the key points with their own words.
Group Activity: After listening, have students pair up to compare and discuss their summaries. The pair that uses the most varied vocabulary and avoids direct copying can win.
Focus on Key Points: Teach students to focus on the main ideas and essential details, and practice organizing their notes into clear bullet points to make it easier to paraphrase.
3. Speaking: Describing an Image
The Describe Image task in the Speaking section requires candidates to describe a graph, chart, table, or picture they see on the screen. A common mistake is that students memorize responses to images they’ve seen before, resulting in generic descriptions that do not match the actual image they are presented with. This can lead to poor scores, as the PTE exam specifically looks for accuracy and fluency in responses.
5 Common PTE Mistakes
How to Avoid This Mistake:
Practice with a Variety of Images: In class, regularly practice describing different types of images, such as graphs, maps, and photographs. Make sure students do not memorize responses but instead practice spontaneously describing the features of the image.
Record and Review: Have students record their descriptions and then listen to them to identify areas for improvement, like vocabulary gaps or unclear explanations.
Use Visual Prompts: Encourage students to focus on key elements in the image, such as numbers, trends, and relationships, and practice linking them logically in their description.
5 Common PTE Mistakes
4. Writing: Writing an Essay
In the Writing section, students are required to write an essay on a given prompt, such as expressing an opinion, agreeing/disagreeing with a statement, or analyzing a situation. A common mistake is failing to meet the word count. The PTE scoring guide states that essays shorter than 120 words or longer than 380 words will receive a zero score, so managing the length is crucial. Additionally, students may fail to properly organize their ideas or develop a strong argument.
How to Avoid This Mistake:
Practice Under Time Constraints: Have students practice writing essays within the 20-minute time frame, making sure they focus on planning, organizing, and developing their argument.
Word Count Monitoring: Teach students to quickly count the words at the end of each paragraph to stay within the allowed range. They can also practice by swapping essays with classmates and asking them to check the word count.
Essay Structure: Focus on the structure of essays—introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion—and emphasize the importance of staying on topic and developing their argument with supporting details.
5 Common PTE Mistakes
5. Not Checking Answers
One of the most common yet easily avoidable mistakes is failing to proofread written responses before submitting. Students often rush through tasks and make simple errors in spelling, punctuation, or grammar, which can reduce their scores. Additionally, test-takers may forget to complete all parts of the question, leading to incomplete responses.
How to Avoid This Mistake:
Practice Proofreading: Build proofreading into class activities. Have students proofread each other’s work and provide constructive feedback on common errors.
Create Proofreading Exercises: Provide students with a short text containing spelling, punctuation, and grammar mistakes, and have them work in pairs to identify and correct the errors. This will develop their proofreading skills.
5 Common PTE Mistakes
Teach Effective Time Management: Advise students to leave 5 minutes at the end of each section to review their answers, especially in the writing tasks. Encourage them to check their answers for clarity, grammar, and spelling.
By understanding and avoiding these common mistakes, students can significantly improve their performance in the PTE Academic exam. Whether it’s mastering the reordering of paragraphs, summarizing spoken texts, describing images accurately, writing well-structured essays, or simply proofreading their work, consistent practice and awareness of these pitfalls are key. With targeted practice and effective strategies, students can approach the exam with greater confidence and increase their chances of achieving a high score.
5 Common PTE Mistakes
5 Common PTE Mistakes