How to Crack PTE Reading Test?

 

PTE Reading has the following Question types:-

1.     Multiple-choice, choose single answer:- Choose the single correct option for a question

2.     Multiple-choice, choose multiple answers:- Choose the multiple correct options for a question based on 300 words passage.

3.     Re-order paragraphs:- Put in correct sequence for the jumbled sentences.

4.     Reading: Fill in the blanks:- Blanks needs to be filled based on given options.

5.     Reading and writing: Fill in the blanks:- Choose the correct option for the blank.

 

 

Multiple-choice, choose single answer

 

In this question type, a small passage will be given and on the basis of it one question you have to answer. Only one option you need to choose. Total 2 to 4 questions will be there. You need to understand the given options and the key word of the question. This is a multiple-choice item type that assesses reading skills. It requires test takers to read, analyze, understand and assess a short text and choose a single correct response. Skills assessed: Reading.

 

You need to ensure that you

 

·        Read the question before you read the text. This will tell you what information you will be reading for. 

·        Scan the answer choices to further help you focus on the information you will be reading for.

·        Skim the text to get an idea of its general content and the main idea. You should be able to answer the question "What is the passage mainly about?" in your own words.

·        Read the entire text again carefully. Pay attention to details that support the main idea.

·        Read the question and the answer options again. Select the correct answer if you know it. If you are not sure about the answer, eliminate any options that are obviously incorrect, and choose from those that remain.

·        The question could pertain to the main idea, or detail, or inference, purpose, organization.

·        Try to relate but do not worry much about unfamiliar words,

·        If you do not know the answer, and are unable to eliminate any options, guess. Never leave the question unanswered. If you leave the question unanswered, it will be marked as incorrect. By guessing, you have the possibility of answering correctly.

 

The key to finding the answer is to catch the key words of the written text. An easy way to do this is to locate phrases that most options use. The answer will most likely lie among such options. Eliminate patiently incorrect options by simply using a yes/no format. Choose the one that you are not able to eliminate.

 

 

 

Scoring Parameters

 

Partial credit: 

1 Each correct choice

0 Minimum score

 

Multiple-choice, choose multiple answers

After reading the text, student has to choose multiple answers for multiple choices. Length of the written text is about 300 words. Read the text and answer the question by selecting all the correct responses. You will need to select more than one response. Quickly read through the response options and note any words that are repeated, particularly adjectives (e.g., ‘multigrade’) or nouns (e.g., ‘classes’). If the same noun phrase occurs in a lot of the options, the answer is probably related to this phrase. Skills assessed: Reading. Best PTE Institute in Gurgaon

 

l  Read the directions carefully.

l  Know if each question has one or more correct option by reading the instructions carefully.

l  Since there is negative marking in this question type, so you will be penalized for guessing.

l  Choose the options you are absolutely sure as the right choices.

 

 

Scoring Parameters

Partial credit: 

1 Each correct choice

-1 for Each incorrect choice

0 Minimum score

Re-order paragraphs

Some jumbled up paragraphs or sentences will be given and you need to put them in correct sequence. Total 2 to 3 questions will be there. Skills assessed : Reading.

 

• Skim each of the paragraphs to get a general idea of the topic.

• Identify the paragraph that is the topic paragraph or main idea. This probably goes first.

• Note any paragraph that begins with conjunctions such as However, Nevertheless, But, Also, Furthermore, and so on. Such sentences cannot go first.

• Paragraphs that contain pronouns such as he, she, it, they, them are probably referring to something mentioned in an earlier paragraph.

• Look for any obvious clues to the logical order or chronology of events, for example, sequencing words such as first, second, lastly, finally, next, then, after, and so on.

• Keep track of your time using the on-screen timer. PTE Classes in Gurgaon

 

Quickly and quietly read the content of the text boxes to yourself. While you are reading, listen for one text box that sounds complete by itself and is clear on its own. This sentence is likely be the most logical introduction to the paragraph or topic.

 

Once you have identified the introduction or topic sentence, quietly read the remaining boxes to yourself again to listen to how they sound together. While you are reading, look for language patterns that will help you identify a sequence. Check the language patterns in each box to confirm your sequence (i.e., use of connectives, use of indefinite articles for first reference, definite articles for further reference, use of pronouns, etc).

 

Quietly read the boxes to yourself in the order that you have sequenced them. This will help you check whether the sentences run smoothly from one to the other, and whether the passage makes sense and sounds logical and correct as a whole.

 

MORE TIPS

·        Note the usage of Articles, Common Nouns and Proper nouns.

·        Look for Pronouns and time phrases

·        Common noun preceding with article THE is usually referring to something specific. It will follow the proper noun mentioned in the passage.

·        Skim each of the paragraphs to get a general idea of the topic.

·        Identify the paragraph that is the topic paragraph or main idea. This probably goes first.

·        Note any paragraphs that begin with conjunctions such as However, Nevertheless, But, Also, Furthermore, and so on. Such sentences cannot go first.

·        Paragraphs that contain pronouns such as he, she, it, they, them are probably referring to something mentioned in an earlier paragraph.

·        Look for any obvious clues to the logical order or chronology of events, for example, sequencing words such as first, second, lastly, finally, next, then, after, and so on.

·        Keep track of your time using the on-screen timer.

 

Pretty straight forward, if you identify the topic sentence. OK, what is a TOPIC sentence? Sentence which can stand alone and looks like a statement then having some kind of reference or relation to other sentence in the given list. Sometimes a concluding sentence would also sound similar; however, major difference b/w topic and concluding sentence is that conclusion sentence try to recommend or predict or draws a conclusion.

 

 

Scoring Parameters

 

Partial credit:

1 Each pair of correct adjacent text boxes

0 Minimum score

Next Question Type is Reading: Fill in the blanks

A small paragraph will be given with blanks and below that options will be given. Options will be always more than your requirement. You have to drag and drop the correct option to the correct box. So, you can't use one option twice. Total 4 to 6 questions will be there. Skills assessed : Reading.

 

1.     Skim the text to get the flow.

2.     Look for clue words to fill each blank(and, but, while, etc).

3.     Eliminate ungrammatical/illogical words among the options.

4.     Always start with the fillers that you are sure about. First fill the easier ones and then predict fillers for the rest.

5.     Keep eliminating (progressively) the words that you have used and the words you will the not use.

6.     Never leave the question unanswered.

7.     In English, there are many words often used together. These are known as collocations. For example, though strong and powerful are synonyms, in English we can use the former to qualify tea and the latter for computer and not vice-versa. So, an awareness of collocation can help you arrive at the right answer.

8.     Your knowledge of grammar can also help you get right answer. For example, certain prepositions can help you judge the correct word for the blank.

9.     Try to understand the flow of the text and predict the answers. Make sure also to predict Part of the speech for the filler, that is, whether you need a noun, a verb or an adjective.

  

10.   Make sure you skim-read the whole paragraph for overall meaning first.

11. Do not simply work your way through the text sentence-by-sentence.

12. If you have an idea of what the text is about, you will almost certainly save yourself time because you’ll have more of a sense of where certain words will fit before you even begin selecting them.

13.Try to understand the meaning of paragraph while reading to fill up the correct words in blanks.

14.   If you don't know the meaning of options given for a particular blank, firstly eliminate the options which does not match with the meaning of the paragraph.

15.  Now try to fill the blanks according to tense of the sentence if you don't know the meanings.

 

16. First read the whole text quickly to make sure you understand the general topic and meaning.

 

17. Look at the context around the gap and try to predict the word or type of word that could logically fill each gap before you look at the word options.

 

18. Look at and analyze the options. Choose the one that best matches your predictions.

 

Scoring Parameters

It is scored +1 for each correct option and no negative marking for incorrect choice but if you leave one blank then the whole answer will be taken an incorrect.

Next Section is Reading and writing: Fill in the blanks

For the “Reading & writing: Fill in the blanks” task you will be presented with a reading text containing 300 words or less. The text will be missing some key words, represented by blank text boxes. You must use your mouse to click a drop-down menu and select the correct word to complete each sentence. You will receive credit for every correct word you insert into the paragraph, so it’s better not to leave anything blank, even if you are unsure about your answer. It is also important for you to know that none of the reading tasks are timed individually. This means that you will have a set amount of time (30-40 minutes) to complete the entire reading section, and you must use your time wisely for each task. Skills assessed : Reading and writing. PTE Coaching in Chandigarh

 

l  First by reading the sentence try to get what type of parts of speech you require so that you can eliminate some options from the given list.

l  Now still if you have doubt between 2 or 3 options then try to understand the sentence formation.

l  You should understand the usage of a particular vocabulary.

l  Collocation (phrase) is also important to know.

 

It is scored +1 for each correct option and no negative marking for incorrect choice but if you leave one blank then the whole answer will be taken an incorrect.