Common PTE mistakes and how you can avoid them

The PTE Academic exam measures a candidate’s language proficiency in preparation for professional designations and admission to prestigious universities. Three sections make up the test. This article will discuss common PTE mistakes made by test-takers  and how to avoid them.

Even after spending several months preparing for the PTE exam, many candidates become angry when they receive low scores. Many PTE Academic test takers have been seen to repeat the same errors repeatedly, failing to achieve high exam scores. This post will address these errors, along with advice on avoiding them for a high PTE score.

10 common PTE mistakes made by  test takers.

1. Using Casual or Informal Language

A low score on the PTE Academic exam may be the result of using informal and casual language. For all PTE test portions, it is advised to utilize formal and academic language.

2. Preparing without a plan

Some applicants waste a lot of time preparing for just one area of the test because they do not feel the need to create a proper schedule for their PTE preparation. For a study that is focused on results, it is important to give enough time to each test task.

3. Speaking too fast

Some test-takers struggle with the speed required for fluency and try their hardest to talk too quickly. The fluency ratings suffer as a result. Speaking too quickly affects both fluency and pronunciation. To avoid sounding either too quick or too slow, you should speak slowly. Maintain a compatible pace throughout the entire speaking segment by following it.

4. Inability to adhere to the word limit 

The word limit is very important for the PTE Writing Section. Avoid going over the word limit in the written summary, and limit your essay to 200–300 words for the PTE writing section. Your grade could suffer as a result, if you write more or less than the space provided.

5. Taking Long and Regular Pauses

Your confidence may suffer if you frequently take long pauses while Speaking. Also, if you pause for longer than three seconds, the PTE recording program will stop recording audio. You must therefore avoid making this minor yet important mistake in your speaking test.

6. Use of the Incorrect Grammatical Structure

Candidates occasionally explain the situation in the incorrect tense. The meaning of the statement will alter, for instance, if the simple present tense is used in place of the past tense. Therefore, the best solution is to quickly correct any errors after reading your answer again.

7. Failure to complete the task by the time frame

Keep in mind that the PTE Academic Exam is time-sensitive. You must determine how much time is left to do additional tasks. Spending too much time in one section will cut into the time you have available to do other activities.

8. Use of Filler Sounds Frequently

We frequently use filler words like “Ummm,” “ahm,” “ahh,” etc., when giving speeches. It may negatively affect your fluency, lowering your score. The greatest technique to eliminate fillers when speaking is to use speaking templates. You will get more adept at avoiding the fillers as you use these words more frequently.

9. Not Understanding the Scoring Pattern

Negative marking is used for multiple-choice and multiple-answer questions. So, before choosing your response, you must read the question twice. Many students frequently receive low PTE scores because they don’t comprehend the meaning of a question.

10. Not using the proper punctuation and spelling.

Grammar in writing is equally as important as spelling and punctuation. Although spelling mistakes are frequently seen as minor faults, you must be attentive when writing and pay special attention to spelling and punctuation. The PTE Academic Exam frequently contains the above-mentioned mistakes. You won’t perform well on the PTE test if you don’t pay attention to these minor details. Therefore, using mock practice exams to identify your errors and correct them is the ideal strategy to achieve a high PTE score.

Tips for Avoiding Mistakes on the PTE Exam

Speaking

• Don’t stop reading if you make any mistakes. Your grades will be impacted if you go back to fix them.
• Your accent is unimportant; instead, focus on your oral fluency, intonation, and pronunciation.
• Be patient; don’t rush. To make your content understandable, keep your pace and tone authentic.
• Before the microphone opens, avoid speaking. Instead of exercising.
• All of the points, connections, consequences, and conclusions in the Describe the image and Retell lecture should not be overlooked. They need to be adequately described.
• Part answers and misspelled words should be avoided in short answer questions.
• If there is a longer than 3-second pause, the microphone will automatically go off.

Writing

• When summarizing written text, Do not write more than one sentence and finish with a full stop.
• Keep your writing free of word repetitions. Use synonyms and paraphrases instead.
• Focus on the clock and the word count.
• Examine spelling, grammar, punctuation, coherence, and task response because they are crucial components of writing.
• Use as many high vocabularies so that there can be high chances of scoring your desired scores.
• Correctly format your essay. An essay should start with an introduction, followed by body text, then a conclusion.

Reading

• Don’t worry about unfamiliar words. Consider interpreting the word’s meaning based on the sentence’s content.
• Because there is a negative marking option, choose your answers wisely for the multiple-choice questions. If you choose the incorrect answer, you will be penalized.
• Eliminate the choice with the illogical or improperly spelled words in the fill-in-the-blanks exercises. Always read before and after the blanks to format the correct grammatical structured sentence .
• For both Multiple Choice questions, you shouldn’t read the passage first. Scan and skim tactics should be used instead after reading the question.

 Listening

• The recording will be played only once. So pay attention while you listen.
• Don’t exceed the word limit.
• Watch the “Time remaining” display.
• Verify the spelling, grammar, vocabulary, and form.
• Do not try to read while you are listening. Highlight accurate summary
• Be sure to remove any inaccurate or incomplete information.
• Listen carefully and concentrate on the major points.
• While taking notes, avoid copying them completely.

Conclusion

The suggestion I have for you is to make sure, before entering the testing facility, that you completely understand the PTE format. Build appropriate strategies for each type of question that you can utilize on both the original PTE and all practice exams. Stay away from these errors if you want to ace the PTE. Use PTE preparation software or internet practice questions to get lots of practice from CCLHUB for PTE. You’ll be more confident on test day and achieve greater scores if you feel ready for everything.