# PTE-A--79+ Scorers-Please Comment



## MahmudRochy (Mar 4, 2015)

I am starting this thread to get feedback from those who have scored 79+ in any of the sections in PTE-A exam. Hopefully others can get lots of useful information to hit 79+ without moving too much around in the forum. There have been other threads in PTE-A, however those became so long that after scanning couple of pages, we get tips to score well.

I would like to invite 79+achievers in this thread to comment and help others. Please comment on section heading (such as reading/writing/speaking/listening) or question heading in each sections (such as Read aloud/Repeat sentence...etc). I appreciate others for not asking questions without reading the thread from the beginning so that The thread does not gets too looong...


79+ Scorers Please help by providing your own personalized trick in every section and don't forget to mention your score for our inspiration..

Thanks and regards..


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## fakebaniya (Sep 6, 2015)

Hi there....
I have been wanting to write about PTE-A since the day I got my result...

Here's my story -
Got to know about PTE-A from a friend, booked a slot immediately since IELTS had long waiting queue...
Bought official PTE guide, subscribed to PTE Practice and started practicing...I have a 8 month old baby, and so preparation and practice was limited to 1-2 hours twice a week...huh...not much I thought...
During this time, I came across this forum and I must say I owe so much to the great folks in this forum, I kept reading their experiences, tips and tricks and thought of getting 65+...to get much needed 10 points...
Just 3 days before the test, I gave Scored Practice Test A and scored horribly. When I saw 43 in Speaking section, I literally lost all hopes...I considered myself a very good speaker, communication skills were always my greatest assets...but my scores were telling a different story altogether....
Since I had just 3 days left, I focused entirely on Speaking - Describe Image and Retell Lecture...
And then finally with a broken heart and lowest possible self-confidence, I reached the test center...
After going through initial formalities, I moved to the test room and was further broken to see one more computer beside mine, separated by just a wooden partition.....sick....
Not to forget, I was down with cough and cold and AC in the test room was running at 21 degrees...
I somehow was attributing my low speaking score to my laptop's built-in mic and was super anxious to check the microphone provided. I was busy checking this when the test administrator told me that my natural voice in itself is loud and I should speak slowly....
Final nails in the coffin...I could hear everything that the girl on the adjacent computer was saying, in fact I could also hear the voices from her microphone....

Speaking section - 
-------Describe Image went bad...I could not complete 2 images (exceeded 40 seconds limit) and could not understand 1 image (just spoke whatever came to my mind).
-------Retell Lecture was worst..I could not understand two of the lectures, repeated whatever I could think of...
-------Read Aloud, Answer Short Question went very good
-------Repeat Sentence....had to focus a lot to remember the sentence due to noise coming from adjacent seat

Other sections -
-------Reading was alright, did guess a couple of words in 'Fill in the blanks' section, limited myself to sure short answers in Multiple choice, multiple response question
-------Writing has always been my strongest point (was evident from the mock scores as well)...2 summarize text and 2 essays (1. Voting should be made mandatory or not 2. Opinion on Extreme Sports)
-------Listening was also good, I could not complete one summarize lecture the way I thought to cause I missed certain sections of the lecture

During the entire test, I made sure that I strictly stick to the timelines...

The next day, when I saw my scorecard...I could not believe my eyes...I asked my husband to check the report once again to see if this is actually my score card....

When I re-winded the entire experience, couple of things became very clear...and yes these are my tips to score awesome in PTE-A -
1. Long preparations are not required if you are good in English
2. Mock tests are way difficult than the actual tests, make sure when you attempt any online mock test, you check your equipment properly
3. In Speaking section, the key is to speak continuously for the given time. Do not stop or go back to correct yourself. Be fluent and pronounce your words very clearly...Always remember a computer is going to assess your speaking skills...include as many words you heard in the lecture
4. In Writing section, be very particular about your sentence formation, grammar and spellings
5. In Reading and Listening sections, beware of the negative marking questions...multiple choice, multiple answers and highlight incorrect words...do not try and do guess work in these
6. Always stick to the timelines...else you may loose easy marks you can get in Listening last section (write from dictation)

I strongly recommend PTE-A to aspiring candidates....with a well structured preparation, it is really easy to get good scores...

Apologies for such a long post...I hope it can prove beneficial for you all...


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## manvingo (Aug 20, 2015)

Hi,

Thanks to all sharing their experience and learnings in this thread.

I am looking to score 79+ in PTEA. My scores in IELTS were L-9, R-9, W-7.5, S-7. Can I expect to score 79+ in the first attempt with 2 weeks (1-2 hours daily) preparations? Are there any tips on how to prepare in such short time?


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## terry3218 (May 14, 2013)

Great thread. Soon, I will write my story here.


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## sultan_azam (Sep 9, 2015)

@fakebaniya.. that was quite informative... thanks for sharing ur experience


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## sultan_azam (Sep 9, 2015)

btw... how many days it takes for PTE, does it gets over in one day or done in two days like IELTS ???


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## kabir007 (Sep 10, 2015)

fakebaniya said:


> Hi there....
> I have been wanting to write about PTE-A since the day I got my result...
> 
> Here's my story -
> ...




congratulation and thanks for the motivational text
could you please share some tips on how you managed to pull REPEAT SENTENCE section? it would be much needed help for someone like me out here who have short memory deficiency
once again thanks


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## sudeepdai (Jan 26, 2015)

Hey 
Ac
I think it is better to talk in the PTE Academic thread. 

http://www.expatforum.com/expats/australia-expat-forum-expats-living-australia/672738-pte-exam.html

Lots of other people there who have high experienes. Better to keep all the information in one place.

Cheers


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## fakebaniya (Sep 6, 2015)

azam_suleman said:


> btw... how many days it takes for PTE, does it gets over in one day or done in two days like IELTS ???


Hey..
PTE-A is a 3 hour long test..four sections Speaking and Writing, Reading and Listening.
Thanks.


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## fakebaniya (Sep 6, 2015)

kabir007 said:


> congratulation and thanks for the motivational text
> could you please share some tips on how you managed to pull REPEAT SENTENCE section? it would be much needed help for someone like me out here who have short memory deficiency
> once again thanks


Hi kabir007,

Thanks for your words.
For Repeat Sentence, key is to understand the meaning of sentence. Even if you miss some words, do not panic, get hold of the meaning of the sentence and then repeat.
You need to concentrate really hard, cause there may be noise from adjacent cubicles. You will get 3 seconds before recording. During those 3 seconds, concentrate on the sentence, keep repeating (say loudly if you want).
I thing for sure, these are small sentences and not hard to understand, just focus and you will do good.
My suggestion is to practice and practice till you achieve confidence.

Thanks.


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## fakebaniya (Sep 6, 2015)

I am not sure if we should continue discussing in this thread.
There is another thread dedicated to PTE-A, understand it is looooooong...

Moderators, please suggest...


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## MahmudRochy (Mar 4, 2015)

Basically I wanted to accumulate the views of very high achievers in PTE-A exam. As the other thread is quite highly dense and difficult to get advises from Superior Candidates, please superiors put your views/story for achieving great score in your exam.

Thanks


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## Nicusha (Sep 12, 2015)

MahmudRochy said:


> Basically I wanted to accumulate the views of very high achievers in PTE-A exam. As the other thread is quite highly dense and difficult to get advises from Superior Candidates, please superiors put your views/story for achieving great score in your exam.
> 
> Thanks


MahmudRochy, it's a good idea to create this thread.


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## kennedy07 (Nov 25, 2016)

*Scored a 90 in PTE*

Hello!

So I gave the PTE yesterday and my scores came in today (that was fast!). Do note that this was the first time I was giving the PTE. I am an Indian so English is my second language.

I scored 90 in every section. Yep, 90 in every section. Including the ‘Enabling skills’. Okay I am showing off a bit now!

The key here, believe me or not, is to introduce English into your daily life. Because I have lived in so many parts of India, English (rather than Hindi because apart from North India, Hindi isn't the primary language) became my primary language. So, this meant that subconsciously, I started ‘thinking’ in English.

This part is, in my opinion, the most important. To become conversational in a language, you need to think in the same language.

Fast forward to a week before test day. I looked at the test center booking window and could only find a slot available in nine days.

I panic. But then my brain goes, “Meh, I will book it, find out how the test feels like and then pick up on my preparations later.” I book the test.

Later that afternoon I refer to the format of the test and visit blogs written by candidates who had already achieved desirable (79) scores.

Summary of all that? KISS. Keep It Simple, Stupid. Yep. That's it.

Re-tell lecture? Note down three key words. Summarise. Done.

Describe picture, graph blah blah? Three key indicators. Summarise. Done.

Summarise paragraph? Three key ideas. Conclude. Done.

79+? Done.


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## lakhvinder1 (Apr 5, 2016)

1 Speaking: Try not to use any accent, speak in plain language, system will understand. Speak in natural flow, not too fast not too slow. Test the mic(Record a message and listen to it, then adjust). in speaking : tone and fluency and pronunciations matter more than content.

2. Listening: This is as per me most important part of the exam as it effects the score of all the sections(Except Reading). Focus on every detailed words and try to remember it. As you will not have time to write it down, better repeat the words after the speaker(This practice needs more time). in Fill in blank, I always type in screen a few words. it helped me remember and guess the correct word in case of confusion.

3. Reading: This is easiest of all, if you grammar is good you will crack it easily. Focus on grouping. such as " Known" will always be followed by "to" this way you can fill correctly.

4. Writing: This is little practice. Prepare a draft version of your essay and fill it will appropriate topic. This will help you save time and an organized essay fetch more marks.

All the best


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## deepakmurthyin (Mar 7, 2018)

Thanks for sharing your experience. It really boosts our confidence while reading such forums. I would like to know how difficult was the repeat sentence as it's a nightmare to me . At most how many words were there in any question?


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