Strike PTE Writing

In that thread we speak English only.
Here we discuss how to improve your Writing part of PTE.

That's the most easiest of all. Just make sure, that you don't make silly mistakes in spelling or grammar.

• Tips are general for all English exams
• Use correct punctuation for writing tasks. Use full stops, capital letters, commas, etc.
• Essay and summarize text is only 50% of the mark, other 50% are from reading and listening

Summarize written text:

• Summarize written text: Make sure your answer is one sentence of 5-75 words. If you write more or less than the word limit or more than one sentence, this will affect your score.

Essay:

• 200-300 words, not more! If the word contains mistake, it is not counted.
• 4 paragraphs. The meaning is not so important, but the vocabulary, linking words, etc is.

 

Let's go and see in-depth how to fulfil one of the writing tasks which is "Summarize the written text" by using a proven method.

Conditions of the task are:
a) Summarize the text within 1 sentence.
b) Make sure that the word's range in a sentence is between 5-75.
c) Taken into account that writing a sentence with more than 75 words will negatively affect your score.

Method:
1. Read (2 minutes)
2. Write (7 minutes)
3. Edit (1 minute)

Step 1 (Read the text for a 1 minute)
a) Read attentively and absorb the information.

Step 2 (Read the text AGAIN for a 1 minute)
a) Write down keywords
b) Ignore details

Keywords can include:
a) Nouns (THINGS)
b) Verbs (DO WORDS)
c) Adjectives (DESCRIPTIONS)

10 keywords are enough. Try to write mostly nouns but it would be also good to write some adjectives.

Step 3 (Turn keywords into a sentence)

After all 3 steps were done ASK yourself:
1. Who did that?
2. What happened?

By asking the above-mentioned questions, you can create a sentence in your mind.

Possible sentence structures:
1. Who did what?
2. Who did what, which did what?
3. Who did what that did what?
4. Who did what when who did what?
5. Who did what and did what?

DO NOT:
a) Don't include your own ideas.
b) Don't steal whole phrases (borrowing words is okay)
c) Don't refer to the passage, such as: "the text says"
d) Don't use grammar you aren't comfortable with
e) Don't use the vocabulary you aren't comfortable with
f) Don't include too many details!

Advice:
a) Try to write roughly 30-35 words (There is no necessity to write all 75, it will not give you an additional score).

Punctuation:
a) Make sure you start with a CAPITAL LETTER.
b) End sentence with a full stop.

Be sure:
a) Your articles are correct.
b) You have the right singular or plural versions of words.
c) The verbs matches the subject.

 

Let's go and see in-depth how to fulfil one of the writing tasks which is "Write essay" by using a proven method.

In a nutshell, do the following:
a) See the question prompt.
Usually, the first sentence is the general statement. It sets the background of the debate.
b) After reading it STOP and THINK.

Essay structure:
1. Introduction.
2. Paragraph 1.
3. Paragraph 2.
4. Conclusion.

Essay structure sentence by sentence:

1. Introduction

Sentence 1: Rewrite "General Statement".
Just paraphrase it. Don't add any new information.

Sentence 2: Briefly mention Side 1 and Side 2.
Rewrite in your own words opinion of the sides.

Sentence 3: Give your OVERALL opinion.
Choose a side. You can begin the sentence with the phrase "This essay will discuss why..."

2. Paragraph 1

Sentence 1: Restate "Side 1"
Paraphrase the statement of the Side 1 and add a few details.

Sentence 2: Give reason/s
Give REASON why.

Sentence 3: Give example/s
Give EXAMPLE. You can start your sentence with "For example,..." or "For instance,...".

Sentence 4: Conclude Side 1.
You can start your sentence with the phrases "As a result (of),..." if your conclusion is positive or "As a consequence (of),..." if your conclusion is negative.

3. Paragraph 2

Do the same structure as in Paragraph 1 but with the Side 2.

4. Conclusion

Sentence 1: Rewrite "General Statement" by capturing the same meaning.

Sentence 2: Give your OVERALL opinion.
You can start the sentence with the phrase "In my opinion,...".
Continue to support the same side which you chose at the beginning.

Advice:
At the end check your essay for a 1 minute.

Tips:
a) Length must be between 200-300 words. Please take into account that 300 words exactly will not give you additional points. You can stop even at 201 and it will be assessed positively but not less than 200 or more 300. If you wrote more than 300 you will be assessed negatively.
b) Show good development and logical structure.
c) Show consistent grammatical control of complex language. Errors must be rare and difficult to spot.
d) Have a good command of vocabulary.
e) You should have correct spelling.

Good luck

 

Yes it is. And it won't take so much time to learn that.

 

Advantage/Disadvantage type of the essay.

Typical Question Words:

a) Discuss the advantages and disadvantages.
b) Discuss the advantages and disadvantages and give your own opinion.

Structure for this type of the essay:

1. Introduction

Sentence 1: Paraphrase question
You can begin this sentence with the following phrase
"It is argued that..."

Sentence 2: Outline sentence
You can use the following structure for this sentence
"This essay will firstly, discuss ... as one of the main advantages of this and secondly, outline... as one of the main disadvantages."

2. Main Body Paragraph 1

Sentence 1: State ONE Advantage
You can begin this sentence with the following phrase
"One of the principal advantages of..."

Sentence 2: Give the reason why this is an advantage.

Sentence 3: Give EXAMPLE.
You can start your sentence with phrases
"For example,..." or "For instance,...".

Sentence4: Result.
You can start your sentence with phrases
"As a result (of),..." if your conclusion is positive or "As a consequence (of),..." if your conclusion is negative.

3. Main Body Paragraph 2

Do the same structure as in Paragraph 1 but with stating ONE disadvantage instead of an advantage.

4. Conclusion

Sentence 1: Summary your essay by rewriting "General Statement" with capturing the same meaning.
You can begin this sentence with the following phrases
"To conclude,..." or "In conclusion,..."

Sentence 2: Give your OVERALL opinion.
You can begin this sentence with the following phrases
"Overall,...", "From my point of view,...", "In my opinion,...".

 

Agree or Disagree type of the essay.

Typical Question Words:

a) What is your opinion?
b) Do you agree or disagree?
c) To what extent do you agree or disagree?
d) Direct question.

Structure for this type of the essay:

1. Introduction

Sentence 1: Paraphrase question.
You can begin this sentence with the following phrase
"It is argued that..."

Sentence 2: Thesis Statement.
You can use the following structure for this sentence
"It is agreed.../It is disagreed"

Sentence 3: Outline sentence.
You can begin this sentence with the following phrase
"This essay will discuss..." or "This essay will first look at... and then discuss..."

2. Main Body Paragraph 1

Sentence 1: Topic sentence.

Sentence 2: Give the REASON why you agree.

Sentence 3: Give EXAMPLE.
You can start your sentence with phrases
"For example,..." or "For instance,...".

3. Main Body Paragraph 2

Do the same structure as in Paragraph 1 but expand reasons of your agreement.

4. Conclusion

Sentence 1: Summary and Opinion.
You can begin this sentence with the following phrases
"To conclude,..." or "In conclusion,..."