16 Useful PTE Reading Tips and Strategies for Beginners

PTE Exam demands thorough practice and effective learning strategies for outstanding results. PTE exam will evaluate your English Language skills in four sections: Listening, Reading, writing, and speaking. Regardless of whether you are a native English speaker or not, you require Best Practice Tips and Strategies to ace the PTE Exam.

As a first-time test-taker, you must dedicate a sufficient amount of time to the PTE Reading test, as your overall PTE Score will be decided based on scores in individual sections. This article will give the Best PTE Reading Tips & Tricks to Ace the PTE Reading Test in your first attempt.

But, before we begin with our practice strategies and PTE Reading Tips & Tricks for the PTE Reading Test, let us look at the test format for the same for better understanding.

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Helpful PTE Reading Tips & Strategies

Here are some of the best PTE Tips and Tricks which can help you score more in PTE Exam.

1. Understand The Question

The first and foremost thing for any test is that you should get what is asked in the question. If you do not understand the question, you will be unable to answer it. Read the question twice if you do not get it at first.

2. Scanning and Skimming

Develop the practice of quickly skimming through the text to get the overall idea of the text. This technique will save your time by helping you locate the answer soon. You can learn this strategy by reading articles in newspapers and online blogs.

3. Highlight The Keywords

You can always highlight the keywords you think will lead to the correct answer. Facts, figures, names, and locations can be essential keywords that will help you find the right answer.

4. Analyse The Text

Once you have gone through the passage and identified the meaning, read the passage in detail to get a precise sense of the content and look for the answer that matches the information in the question.

5. Use an Elimination Strategy

This is the most powerful strategy for answering difficult multiple-choice questions. When you are unsure about the right option, eliminate the possibilities you think are irrelevant, and you are most likely to get the correct answer.

6. Use Your Time Effectively

Learn how to manage your time wisely, as most students fail to complete the test on time. Hence, spend more time on the tricky questions as it requires full concentration.

7. Double-Check Your Answers

Train yourself to always check the answers for error correction. The habit of checking the answers will reduce the chances of losing marks for spelling and grammatical mistakes.

8. Use Right Collocation

Some words are often linked together to form a familiar or common phrase. This is called “collocation.” You can quickly identify the answer by filling in the blanks with common collocation used for a specific word.

Know More: PTE-A Exam: Essential Tips & Strategies for Read Aloud Questions

PTE Reading Tips & Tricks Based on Question Type

Some of the best PTE Tips and Tricks Based on Question Type are mentioned below.

1. Multiple-Choice, Single Answer

Understand the question and scan the test to find the answer. Then use the elimination technique to find a single answer from a list of possible answers. Choosing a single option may be difficult, as other options may seem appropriate for the question. Hence, you should take some time to analyse the text for the correct answer.

2. Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers

Multiple-choice answers are easy to answer. But, these types of questions have negative markings. So, be mindful while you select multiple answers for the given question.

3. Reorder Paragraph

Arrange the sentences in a logical sequence. Try to reorder the sentences in a way that it will convey clear meaning. There is one mark for each correct pair.

4. Fill in The Blanks

Focus on the part of speech before and after the text, it will help you fill the space with the right answer. Most of the time the missing word has a synonym in the text. You need to have a good vocabulary range and grammar for these types of questions.

Explore: PTE Reading Fill in the Blanks – Task and Tips Explained

PTE Reading Tips & Tricks for the First Time Examinees

Reading for an exam can be a tedious task sometimes. Thus, you must maintain your interest till the test day by using different study materials for compelling reading.

1.  Read What Interests You

Reading can be a monotonous activity; students often lose interest after a few days of practice. To keep yourself engaged in reading, read e-books, newspapers, magazines, studies, and biography.

2. Note Down New Words

You will encounter many new words while preparing for the PTE test. Making a record of different terms with their meanings will improve your vocabulary remarkably.

3. Get Help From Family And Friends

While some students prefer to study alone in a quiet environment, others choose to study with friends for a fun learning experience. Friends can share their knowledge and help you with difficulties in reading.

4. Increase Your Reading Speed

Practice reading at a fast pace. PTE reading can be very competitive as the test finishes in a fixed time. Hence, you must prepare yourself to read in a test environment.

Explore: PTE-A Reading Tips – Improve Your PTE Exam Score Like a Pro

PTE Reading Test Format

PTE Reading Test evaluates a candidate’s ability to read and comprehend academic English. The PTE Reading test is about 29-30 minutes long and has five different question types.

Question Type	Task	No.  Of Questions
Fill in the blanks –reading & writing	You will be given a text with blanks to fill  in. you have to choose the correct word to fill in the blank spaces from the given drop-down button.	5-6
Multiple choice, choose Multiple answers	There will be more than one correct response. Read the passage and find the correct answers.	1-2
Reorder paragraph	On the left side you will have multiple paragraphs or sentences. Drag the sentences in the correct order and place them on the right side.	2-3
Reading- fill  in the blanks	A  passage on the screen will have several gaps.  You will be given different words below the passage. Choose the correct words that fit into the gaps.	4-5
Multiple Choice, Single answer	There are multiple choices given, but you have to select a single answer that you think is correct.	1-2

Which Books Are Recommended For the PTE Reading Section?

The top books for the reading portion of the PTE are:

• An Introduction to PTE Academic
• PTE Prep: Offline Practice Test
• PTE Practice Test Plus with Answer Key
• Books 1 and 2 of the Expert PTE Academic Coursebook
• PTE Exam Preparation 2023
• 2020 – 2022 PTE Academic Official Vocabulary
• The Official Guide to PTE Academic.
• Expert PTE Academic Coursebook B1 & B2.
• PTE Academic Practice Test Plus – Volume 1 and 2.
• Wiley’s PTE Advantage For The Academic Module (WIND)
• PTE Academic Official Vocabulary 2020-2021.
• Bonus: The PTE Academic Official Preparation App.
• The Official Guide to PTE Academic by Pearson

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Conclusion

PTE Exam tests your English Language communication skills; hence, it requires thorough preparation with strategies to master the exam. First-time Examines must have detailed knowledge of the PTE Test Format and Score Calculation. Candidates should thoroughly learn about each question type to ace the PTE Reading Test.

First-time takers constantly get distracted by myths and misconceptions about the PTE test and find themselves helpless on exam day. But, if you follow the PTE Reading Tips & Tricks mentioned above, you will be able to score the highest in your first attempt at the PTE exam.

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