Introduction
The Pearson Test of English (PTE) assesses your proficiency in four core skills: speaking, writing, listening, and reading. Whether you’re applying for university admission, immigration, or a work visa, it’s essential to first confirm that PTE scores are accepted for your specific purpose.
If you’re asking, “How do I start preparing for PTE?”—chances are you’ve already confirmed its eligibility. This post will guide you through the first steps to begin your PTE preparation with confidence and clarity.
Target score
Before starting your PTE preparation, define a clear target score based on your specific goals. Review the score requirements of your chosen university or the visa guidelines for your destination country. Once you know the minimum score, aim at least 10 points higher to give yourself a performance buffer.
Having a target score not only gives you a clear goal but also provides a benchmark to track your progress throughout your preparation.
Decide on a style of English
One of the key decisions in your PTE preparation is selecting a consistent style of English—British, American, Australian, or Canadian. The PTE Academic test accepts all major English variants, but mixing them can negatively impact your score.
To perform well, choose the English style you’re most comfortable with and use it consistently throughout your preparation and during the exam. Avoid switching between spelling and usage conventions (e.g., “color” vs. “colour” or “organize” vs. “organise”).
For Indian test-takers, British English is often the most familiar, as it aligns with the Indian education system.
Study material
After you have set a benchmark the next step is to start preparing for the test. Just like any other test you will need preparatory material. you will need the official PTE books, scored practice tests and question bank.
Books
- The official guide for PTE Academic for test takers by Pearson
- PTE Practice Test Plus with Key, Vol 1 and 2
Scored practice test and question bank
The scored practice tests are a great tool to measure your performance at a fraction of the price of the actual PTE tests. A common mistake people make is to practice for a few days and attempt the PTE exam directly. The PTE exam is an expensive exam and if don’t get your target score you end-up being in a cycle of re-attempting the test, to avoid this vicious circle it is advisable to first gauge your performance level by attempting a scored practice test which tries to replicate the exact PTE test.
The question bank comes in handy when you start practicing the twenty question types that you get in the PTE exam.
Tools
- Laptop / Desktop – To prepare for the test you will need a Laptop or a desktop. Since the test is a computer based test that is administered on a desktop, it will be better to use a desktop, but if you don’t have one, a laptop will do just fine.
- Keyboard – To replicate the real test environment it is advised to use a usb keyboard, but in case you don’t have one use whatever is available.
- Headset – Use a headset which has a microphone integrated. As you will get one during the test.
- Erasable note pad and a temporary marker – In the real test you will get an erasable note pad and marker, so it is advisable to use this, however this is not mandatory and you can also use normal note pad and a pen or a pencil during practice.
- Grammarly – Use Grammarly to check for grammatical errors specially for writing tasks like Write Essay. After you practice writing essays with Grammarly you will begin to see a pattern of repeated grammatical errors. These are the errors you need to improve upon, to improve your writing scores.
- Word counter – I used word counter.net to count the words for my essay, this helped me save time when I used to practiced.
Test format
Understanding the PTE test format improves your changes of getting a good score in the test. if you know the format well you will save time in identifying and attempting each question and this will positively impact your overall comfort level with the exam. A good way to identify if you know the format well is to ask yourself the question “Is my transition between sections and tasks smooth?”, if the answer to this is yes then you have a better chance of success. If your answer is no then you need to invest more time in understanding the format.
Points to consider when familiarising yourself with the test format are
Parts – PTE has 3 parts
The PTE test is divided into 3 main parts.
- Speaking and writing
- Reading
- Listening
Task / question types
There are 20 types of questions or tasks in a PTE test.
Question prompt
Question prompt is the verbiage of each question type or what the question entails. You should be familiar with the prompt for each question type. This will help you save time when you attempt the actual PTE test as you will be able to quickly glance at the question and identify what needs to be done.
Time limit for each question type
There is a time limit for attempting each task and to score for a task you need to complete and submit each task in the specified limit. You must know these time limits by heart as many questions in the PTE test have a limit in seconds, which means you will not have much time.
Test scoring
Invest time in understanding how the test is scored. PTE test is scored using Artificial Intelligence. The scoring e range is between 10 to 90 marks. The overall score is based on the overall performance in the test.
Full credit
There are question types in the PTE test for which your answer can will either be correct or it will be incorrect for such question types you will get full marks if your answer is correct and zero marks if your answer is incorrect.
Partial credit
There are question types in the PTE test you will get a partial credit for parts of your answer which are correct, while marks will get deducted for any incorrect answers.
Traits scored
Each of the twenty question types in the PTE test is scored based on certain traits. You need to understand these traits deeply because you will need to develop your skills for scoring in these traits.
To understand deeply how PTE test is scored check this post
Task level strategies
Each question type is unique and you need a strategy to effectively attempt each task. The strategy will help break the task in smaller and workable steps and help you approach the question in a structured way. It is important to begin by first understanding these strategies before you begin practicing so that you can practice using the strategies to answer the questions.
You can check the task level strategies here
Practice
Once you have the task level strategies you need to practice using the question bank or you can use material from PTE books. The idea is to practice till you are smooth in attempting each task / question within its time limit. if you feel you are ready remember to attempt a scored practice test to validate your claim before you book the actual PTE test.
Conclusion
Preparing for the PTE Academic exam requires a strategic and well-informed approach. From setting a realistic target score and choosing a consistent English style, to using the right study materials, tools, and understanding the test format—each step plays a crucial role in your overall success.
Consistency in practice, awareness of scoring criteria, and familiarity with question types will significantly improve your performance. Don’t skip scored practice tests—they’re essential for measuring your readiness and avoiding costly reattempts.
Whether you’re aiming for academic admission, immigration, or a work visa, following this structured PTE preparation plan will put you in a strong position to achieve your desired score.