Reading habits develop over time but when you have a clock on your head (not literally😉 ), you got to learn some skills that can get you through PTE Academic Reading Section. Even if you have brilliant reading skills, you may want to pursue the art of skimming and scanning. 

A step by step approach can do you a lot of good:

Read The Instruction

If you are familiar with PTE Academic Exam Pattern, then you already know what kind of question it is. But it’s a good idea to quickly read the instruction in order to avoid any mistake.

Skim Through The Passage

It’s a selective reading method where the reader focus on the main idea. Here you can read the first or last line of the paragraph to get an idea of what you can expect. We do this in our everyday life, like skimming through the newspaper and then reading the article that interests you. The difference is here you are doing it for the question.

You can just move your eyes quickly over the text to know what’s the passage is about. 

Read The Question And Options

This usually won’t take too much of your time so just read the question at your normal pace. It’s important to know what is the question in order to scan and focus on that particular detail. But don’t let it distract from reading the whole passage word by word in the end.

Scan The Passage

You have to look for specific details so you can speed it up. So what is this specific detail we are looking for? Firstly you need to read the question and options properly as already mentioned. This will automatically answer your question about what we are looking for. Now look for it by reading the paragraph quickly. 

Deep Read

You already scanned and skimmed through the passage, it actually makes it easier to read the passage word by word. Because this time, you are making sure that your answer is what you think it is. As multiple Choice, etc can create confusion. 

This is a much easier way to read and answer Reading Section Questions. If you just read the passage first and then read the question, it will take you too much time. Reading the passage first is a good idea only if there is no time limit. You can try it, you will end up reading the passage again in order to answer the question which will cost you time.

This is one way to use reading techniques and you can figure out your own by practicing for PTE Academic with our free 50+ mock tests. Get them (and evaluation vouchers) free when you Book PTE Academic with PTENOTE!

Let’s look at an example:

Here’s What You have to do:

1. Read The Instruction: Now we know it’s Multiple Choice, Single Answer Type Question.
2. Skim Through The Passage: You can tell from the first line that the paragraph is going to talk about Slavery.
3. Read The Question: This Particular question asks you about the captives of the wars in ancient times. Now read options.
4. Scan The Passage: Look for ‘Captives’. We are able to find lines such as ‘Captives were often considered the property of those…’ and ‘The Dominant group in the area might take captives and turn them into slaves’. Both the lines favor option ‘C’.
5. Deep Read: Read the whole passage to eliminate other options and doubt about the option you are considering.