Focus on the main information in the image

(SPEAKING: Describe image)When you look at the image ask yourself ‘‘What is the main idea being shown by the image?’’ and ‘‘What are the details relating to the main ideas?’’. Use your erasable noteboard booklet to note down key ideas and phrases that relate to the main information and the explanatory details. These can be put into sentences when you start to speak:

Listen to the phrasing of the sentence as it is read aloud

(Speaking: Repeat sentence)
You will be scored on the correct word sequences that you produce for this item type, so the more phrases you understand, the better your reproduction of the sentence will be. For example, there are three phrases in this sentence, separated by /, and each one carries a separate message that has its own meaning:

If you listen for meaningful phrases in the sentence, you will have a better chance of repeating what you hear accurately.

Use punctuation to help you decide where to pause when you read

(Speaking: Read aloud) 
You have 30-40 seconds to look at the text before the microphone opens, so use this time to break the text up into meaningful chunks, using the punctuation as a guide. This will show you the places where you can make a tiny pause and alter your intonation – going up when you begin reading a chunk and falling a little when you end a chunk. 

Using appropriate pausing helps you to read more fluently and give the full meaning of the text. This will improve your score. Look at where the pauses / are indicated in the example:

30 Prepare, Practice, Perform!

Before you take PTE Academic, we encourage you to use the valuable Learning Resources available through the PTE Academic website to ensure your success. There are several key ones to help you prepare and practice for PTE Academic:

• PTE Academic Tutorial – in this free tutorial you can become familiar with the screen format, the parts of the test, and how to respond to tasks 
• The Official Guide to PTE Academic– purchase the guide  to review and practice all the item types, the subskills tested, and understand how responses are scored 
• Skills pod for PTE Academic – this free web tool directs you to over 90 on and offline resources to help you develop the subskills tested in PTE Academic 
• Unscored Practice Test – take an unscored practice test and review the feedback (free when you register for PTE Academic) 
• Scored Practice Test – purchase and take a scored practice test to find out if you are ready to take PTE Academic.