PTE reading assesses the student’s ability to read and interpret academic English. It is divided into distinct tasks for assessing the ability of the student to analyze and comprehend academic vocabulary and information.
The information can be presented in an implicit or explicit manner in the form of words, phrases, and abstract information.
The test-taker must identify the topic given, the key points supporting the topics, context, and examples in which the text is written.
The PTE Academic reading lasts for 32-41 minutes (Approximately).
The PTE academic reading consists of passages and the questions based on the passage to assess your reading skills. It is a single timed section. You have to read the instructions and answer each question carefully before answering them.
The below list is the major PTE Academic Reading Tips to help you crack the reading section with a good score.
- Understand the main idea
- Skimming and Scanning
- Time Management
- Do not spend more than 2 minutes on this task
- Develop good vocabulary
- Follow the Elimination Rule
- Get familiar with Paraphrasing
- Take care of the technicalities
Understand the Main Idea
The main idea is the most important and central to the passage. It states the purpose and sets the passage direction.
You can identify the main idea easily as it is expressed directly in the text.
Moreover, they appear at the paragraph beginning and in conclusion sentences.
Skimming and Scanning
This is one of the most important tips to consider for PTE reading. If it is speed reading, skimming and scanning are your accelerators.
Skimming
On defining them, skimming focuses on the central idea of the given paragraph and therefore, you require to read only a part of the given text.
This is not new! You do this very often while searching for news in the newspaper, researching in a long article.
You will read the first sentence (if needed, the second also) and the last sentence of the paragraph to understand the main idea of the text.
Scanning
This is done when you have to search for a phrase or a keyword in the text. While doing this, you have to underline the particular details like dates, places, names or events, etc. they might be useful for you at any point in the test.
Take the keyword from the question and scan the text for it. This technique would help you save time.
Time Management
Make sure that you manage time with prior attention. Plan it beforehand at your test prep time. Otherwise, it might become clumsy at the test time. Still, keep an eye on your watch at the test time.
Do not spend more than 2 minutes on this task
Try and solve the question in around 1.5-2 minutes. Avoid spending more time on each question. As the length of the paragraph is shorter, it is easy for you to skim through it and get an idea about the words and blanks.
Develop good vocabulary
To ace the PTE academic reading test, it is essential to use reading skills like skimming and scanning. But most test-takers have achieved the best scores without practicing these skills for months or years.
Here you will get a doubt that how they achieved higher bands without practice, the answer is simple Vocabulary; the reading test is not a test of your reading skills, of course, a test for your vocabulary.
In addition to vocabulary, you should be aware of lots of synonyms. To improve your vocabulary thus reading score, practice reading newspapers, and books of your interest. Doing this enough times will help you to emerge the pattern and start to see synonyms automatically. However, you can learn from your mistakes.
Follow the Elimination Rule
The elimination process is best when executed to answer the PTE reading.
It is not trying to identify the correct option but trying to eliminate the wrong ones. With this, there is the least possibility of getting confused.
In addition, you can save time by following this elimination rule.
Get familiar with Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing is nothing but replacement in words of a sentence with the words which bring the same meaning.
You might get confused with some paraphrases where you cannot relate the concept of the question.
So, it’s suggested that you should practice paraphrasing skills.
Take care of the Technicalities
You are supposed to drag and drop the word in the blank box. Here taking care of technicality means dropping the correct word in the given blank. Recheck whether you filled the blank correctly.
In order to score in PTE academic reading, developing an effective PTE reading strategy is equally important. The key to creating strategies is recognizing the text in the section that relates to the question. We hope that the above list is reliable if you include them in the PTE test prep sessions.
