PTE Exam – The Most Difficult Parts, Common Challenges and Ways to Overcome Them

Test-taking is a difficult yet never-ending process in a student’s life. The stress of marks, results, and the aspiration of acquiring a good score does not let the students stay focused while preparing for any exam. PTE is not an exception.

Undoubtedly, PTE is an excellent choice to realize your aspiration of study or migrate to Canada, however, at the same time, taking the PTE exam is a quite challenging chore.

Most Difficult Part of the PTE Exam

The PTE Exam primarily consists of three sections namely,

• Speaking and writing
• Reading
• And listening

Among the three, the PTE Reading is considered the most complicated part of the PTE exam. A large number of test-takers miss most of their points in their reading proficiency.

The PTE reading aims to judge the test taker’s ability to read and understand English. The test comprises several different types of tasks including

Multiple Choice Questions, Choosing Single Answer

The task presents a text of around 300 words to the test-taker. The candidates are required to read, analyze and understand the text and pick the correct answers from the given choices. Time management is a crucial aspect pertaining to the task. The task must be completed within 2-3 minutes of the display of the text.

Tips to prepare

• Have a rapid look at the questions prior to reading the passage. This will aid you to find and concentrate more on the important information.
• Be attentive while reading the passage.
• Take care of your time management. Do not give a surplus of time to solve a particular question.
• Try to attempt all questions. Even if you are not sure about the answer, if you make the right guess, this will help you to secure more marks.

Multiple Choice Questions, Choosing Multiple Answers

The format of this task type is similar to the former one. The difference here is – in this task type, the candidates are required to select more than one correct answer from the given options. Also, the task is more tricky and tougher than the above one.

Tips to prepare

• Be careful while reading the given information.
• Have a look at the questions and options once before reading the given text.
• Do not waste much time on finding the answer to a particular question.
• If you are not able to judge the right answers, try removing the ones that have higher chances of being wrong.

Reorder Paragraphs

This task type wants test-takers to rearrange the given passages presented in random order into a logical order.

Tips to prepare

• Focus on nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and phrases. The presence of these components will help you to have a swift understanding of the correct order.
• Search for the independent topic sentences to commence your ordering in the right direction.
• Strive to finish each paragraph reordering within 3 to 4 minutes.

Fill in the Blanks (Reading)

This task type shows a passage to the test-taker with a group of missing words. The candidates are provided with a collection of individual words at the bottom of the screen and are required to drag correct words to their respective places.

Tips to prepare

• Try to understand the core of the passage.
• Look for the presence of phrases and try to complete them with the help of correct words.
• Comprehend the accurate meaning of your chosen word and check if it goes with the context of the sentence before placing it to the blank.
• Manage your time properly. Do not spend more than 2 minutes to solve each question.

Fill in the Blanks (Reading and Writing)

Same as the former one, this task type presents a text with multiple gaps to the test taker. The difference here is the right word has to be selected from the drop-down presented next to the blank space instead of the group of words given at the foot of the screen.

Tips to prepare

• Go through the entire passage with an aim to understand its overall meaning.
• Take some time to understand the exact meaning of the words before making a selection. Don’t make the choices in a hurry.
• Have a look at the entire sentence pertaining to the blank before choosing a word to fill the space.

The second most difficult part associated with the PTE exam is PTE Writing.

Tips to prepare for PTE writing

• Read the given instructions carefully.
• Use clear and concise paragraphs.
• Do not use jargon.
• Use correct spellings only.
• Make proper use of punctuation.
• Use strong vocabulary and faultless grammar while writing the answers.
• Avoid long sentences for better comprehension and accuracy.
• Take proper care of case styles while writing answers. Make sure to use capital letters wherever required.
• Do not exceed the given word limit while writing answers. Also, make sure the answers are not too short.

PTE Exam – Challenges for the Test-Takers

Existence of Crowd

PTE Exam is completed at the designated testing centers. The presence of a large number of people while taking the test can be daunting for many candidates. In such a scenario, it is important to keep in mind that others are also in the same boat. Where everyone has a goal to secure the required score in mind, nobody has the time to notice you or listen to your answers. Hence, forgetting about the surrounding and focusing more on the test can be more beneficial.

Time Management

As we all know, the PTE test is composed of three parts and the allotted time to complete the test ranges around two to three hours. In a situation where there are specified time-frames for each section, proper management of the time under huge pressure can be really challenging. The test-takers must avoid giving too much time to a single question to prevent probable mismanagement of the time.

Anxiety

Anxiety i.e. nervousness is very common while encountering decisive exams such as PTE. Staying calm is important yet challenging in the situation. Finding a little extra help to stay focused is really essential to perform PTE Study and crack the exam with an appreciable score.

How to Overcome the Stress of PTE

Know the Test Format

The very first thing you must be familiar with before commencing your PTE Preparation is the format of the PTE test. We all know the PTE test is composed of four modules – speaking, reading, writing, and listening. Each of these modules presents distinct question types and items to the test-taker. Hence, having an accurate understanding of the number and type of questions associated with each module type is crucial to secure the desired score and realize your dream of migrating or Study in Canada.

Understand the Exam Environment

When you will appear in the PTE Exam, you will get a huge crowd of candidates in the examination hall. Hence, you may find the exam environment quite noisy and annoying especially while attempting the speaking module. Hence, performing practice in a slightly noisy atmosphere will help you to ease your trouble while taking the actual exam.

Get Familiar with the Computer

As PTE is a computer-based exam, working on your typing speed and getting familiar with the other computer operation is crucial to reduce the associated stress and take the test with comfort.

Practice a Lot

Practice is the most powerful way to build up your confidence while appearing in the PTE exam. Practice as much as you can. Lots of online PTE portals and practice tests are available to help you fulfill the job.

Dear friends, though the completion of the PTE exam is difficult, it is a pretty good option to achieve your ambition of study or Migrate to Canada. Luckily, you can find many PTE experts in your surroundings offering the right guidance and adequate support to prepare well and crack the PTE exam with ease. If you need one, our team is happy to assist you!