How to Improve Your Essay Score for PTE Writing: PTE Writing Tips

The PTE writing section can be a little intimidating if English isn’t your strongest subject. You can do several things to improve your essay score for PTE writing; however, there are some specific tips you can follow in this article.

For the PTE writing section of the PTE Exam, you will be evaluated based on how well you have answered the questions and your grammatical accuracy and structure. Knowing how to write a good essay is a major plus point; however, certain rules should be followed to impress your evaluator.

After reading this article, we hope you can improve your performance in the writing section of the PTE exam.

How PTE Writing Exam is Scored

Before diving straight into the strategies and tips, firstly, let’s get to know how the PTE writing exam is scored. This will give you a brief warmup.

Evaluation of the PTE Writing exam scoring is done uniquely compared to other sections in the PTE exam. For each evaluation element, the highest score you get is 2, excluding the content factor, which has a maximum score of 3.

Deciding elements that affect your score in PTE writing, and which you must keenly focus on are:

Content

You should always be fully prepared with a content idea. Content is an element where, if you tackle and discuss the provided subject promptly, you will achieve a full score of 3.  

Furthermore, keep your focus solely on your subject. Good content always has a good chance of scoring high.

Form

Writing your essay with proper punctuation, allotted number count, and proper upper or lower case decides a good form of writing from bad. How you display your writing overall is dealt with by this category.

Development, structure, coherence

If you can develop words and sentences in an efficient way, you will undoubtedly score high. Also, maintaining structure in writing with coherent and logical content can get you your desired score.

Also, do not simply stuff sentences with filler words, which can be a major drawback.

Grammar, vocabulary range, and spelling

You can score much higher in the PTE writing section if you consistently practice your range of vocabulary, grammatical accuracy, and spelling. Each of these elements in this section carries 2 marks each.

These elements play a vital role in achieving your desired PTE writing score, also, putting in the dedication and effort ups your chance of acing the PTE writing section.

Tips to improve your essay score for PTE writing

Some of the top strategies and tips to improve your essay score for PTE writing are:

Learn the structure of essay writing for PTE writing 

For the essay section of PTE writing, break your essay into four paragraphs. This will help you develop content and follow the PTE writing structure.

Dedicate your first paragraph to the introduction and develop a good thesis statement. Furthermore, the next 2-3 paragraphs will be your body paragraph where you will provide points to support your arguments along with some examples.

Always remember that your next paragraph should link to the one before, and it must make sense. Doing this keeps your PTE essay in flow, making it easy for the reader and the test evaluator.

Lastly, it would be best to have a conclusion paragraph where you will summarize everything by clearly rephrasing your arguments from the body paragraph in less than 2 or 3 sentences. It’s recommended not to add any new ideas in the conclusion and keep your sentences short and precise.

Use descriptive language

Descriptive language is the language that paints a picture in the readers’ minds. When writing, it’s important to write descriptively.  

Also, the most effective descriptive language is the language that evokes a sensory response in the reader’s mind. While describing, it’s also important to use a variety of words to gain the readers’ attention. 

Making proper use of descriptive language can significantly improve your essay score for PTE writing.

Proofread and grammar check

In PTE writing, it’s important to proofread your essay. You wouldn’t want to get a low score because of a mistake or misuse of grammar. So, after you finish writing, read your essay and ensure everything is in order. If you find any mistakes, correct them and proofread again. 

Also, while writing, if you are planning on using any fancy words or synonyms, make sure you place them correctly. It’s common for students to make mistakes placing these words, ultimately resulting in a weak score.

Show your understanding

While answering the questions, it’s important to show that you have a good understanding of the topics, and this can be done through examples and metaphors. A good example could be a story you have experienced yourself.

A good example can be used to show how you have understood the topic, or you can even use an analogy or metaphor to explain a certain topic in another way. For example, if the topic is about deforestation, you can explain it differently by using an analogy of a tropical island being destroyed by a huge volcano.

Write regularly

It’s important to write regularly while you are studying; this can be as simple as reading a few paragraphs in your free time. You are recommended to write at least once or twice a day, which will help you get the writing practice without putting too much effort into it. 

Additionally, you can write whatever you feel like writing and not feel pressured to develop a specific essay firsthand. Doing this can significantly improve your essay score.

Get Feedback From Your Tutor/Professor

While practicing essays for the PTE writing section, getting feedback from your tutor/professor as often as possible is very important. Ask them questions, discuss your essays and get them to correct any mistakes you have made.

Furthermore, this will help you understand what you need and improve your essay score for PTE writing

Edit and Revise

Once you are done with your essay, you should edit it. This can be done by deleting unnecessary words and phrases, changing sentences’ structure, and combining words to create a better meaning.

The process of editing and revising can have a good effect on purifying your essay of filler words or inaccuracy that eventually leads to low marks.

Take Mock Tests

It’s recommended to practice with mock tests while you are studying, which will help you understand the type of questions you will be asked in the exam. Practice tests daily as it will help you understand the type of questions you will be asked in the exam. 

Also, you can find the best study materials for practice all over the internet. Practicing will help you to get used to the exam and help you to get a better score.

Be confident

Being under-confident in the PTE writing exam can get you in all sorts of trouble. Also, it will be best if you are neither under-confident nor over-confident for your PTE exam.

Being confident helps you bring more ideas and keeps your mind open to challenges. Although there are no guarantees to anything, we recommend you to be confident enough not to let the PTE test shake you and make you nervous.

Conclusion

The PTE writing section can be a challenging section for candidates. Not to mention, improving your essay score is as important as it is tough.

Lastly, to achieve your desired score in this section, follow the tips mentioned in this article and practice daily with good dedication and focus to ace the essay score for PTE writing.