Writing skills assesses the test taker’s ability to communicate in the academic language with grammar and spelling. PTE Academics speaking and writing are paired together and they are allocated 77-93 minutes. This means the allocated time is split between speaking and writing. There are three tasks in writing namely summarize the written text, write an essay and summarize the spoken content. In this article, I will go over the details about what each task entails and ways to prepare for writing in order to score high in PTE Academics.

Summarize written task

This task assesses reading and writing. It is allocated 10 minutes. The task is to summarize a written task of length 300 words with 5-75 words sentence. It might be confusing and seems almost impossible to summarize 300 words with a simple written one sentence. Below are the tips to show you how you can tackle this without sweating through the whole process.

Tips on how to answer Summarize written task

Read to understand

There is a difference between reading to understand, skimming and scanning. These terms are all used in reading. Skimming means is reading quickly only to focus on the main ideas of the task by skipping some words. Scanning is reading that is concerned with specific catchy information. However, for this task, the test taker has to read with the aim to understand the content of the essay. This may require reading more than once depending on the individual.

Note the keywords or key phrases

Summarizing is delivering the main points or ideas of the passage, therefore, the key points or key phrases are important to understand the content of the written passage. When outlining the keywords or key phrases it is best if test taker uses his/her own words. Some of the words to look out for that structure the summary properly are names, places, dates event and similar aspects. If the original text has these key points it is imperative for the test taker to include in summarizing.

Proper sentence structure

Complex sentences and other forms that are used by people who are knowledgeable with the English language are prone to grammatical errors. Therefore it is best to stick to simple sentence structure to avoid mistakes. However, it is also best to practice complex sentences.  Complex sentences use conjunctions and other clauses which may come highly important for this task.

Essay writing

The task is to write a 200-300 words essay in 20 minutes. The written essay should follow an academic structure; this means it must have an introduction, body and conclusion. The structure of the essay has to be well-developed and coherent. This means all the three section of the essay (introduction, body and conclusion) have to serve their intended purpose in the English language writing. Moreover, there should be a natural flow in the way the points are presented and linked from each section to section.

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This is a writing task which means the test taker has to be aware of grammar, vocabulary, spelling and content. Content basically means the test taker’s ability to stick to the topic and deliver understandable work. Below are a few tips on how to answer this task during the exams.

Tips on how to answer Essay writing

Understand the topic

It is very important to understand the topic and the type of essay. There are four major types of essays namely narrative, descriptive, expository and persuasive essay. This means the way they are communicated or presented to the reader varies with each type. Therefore, the test taker has to take time to formulate the points of the essay which will better increase understanding the topic.

Do not stray off topic

For any question asked in the test, delivering a wrong answer gets one penalized and this applies to essays as well straying off the topic will cost you marks.  This can be improved better by understanding the topic.  Taking enough time to write the necessary points that outline your topic will help you address all the requirements of the essay. Moreover, using jargon information or jargon words must be avoided. This only makes your essay stale and takes it further away from the topic. Be creative and but stick to the topic at hand.

Avoid grammar and spelling mistakes

300 words length is almost half of an A4 page. This is the longest section that assesses reading and writing skills, therefore, the test taker will benefit to minimize mistakes as much as possible. Avoid using long sentences since this will require conjunctions and proper use of punctuation marks. It is not about the complexity of the words but about delivering a clear essay that flows with ease. Therefore using simple English words will get your point across easily instead of complex words that the user may not know what they mean.

Summarize spoken text

This task is allocated 10 minutes and assesses listening and writing skills. The test taker has to listen to 60-90 seconds of audio and summarize its contents in 50-70 words. The audio plays once therefore it is beneficial to pay close attention.

Listen attentively

This task needs imperative listening skills. Listening to understand while taking notes can be tricky for a lot of people. Some people have a problem with concentration and it may work against them in this task. It is beneficial for the test taker to be able to concentrate on the audio and take notes at the same time.

Take note of the keywords

Taking notes doesn’t mean write the contents of the entire audio. Keywords are the important words that are distinctive to the story and will make it easier for the test taker to remember some parts of the content.  Take note of the main ideas since they make the subject of the story. Dates, names and events are examples of keywords.  NB! It may sound clichéd but when taking notes and keywords use legible handwriting. Yes, it happens to the best of us; we write quickly in messy handwriting when taking a message but at the end of the message we are as vague as before. So outline your note taking in a manner that someone will be able to read it. It’s for your benefit too!

Rough draft

It is better to write a quick draft of your response at the end of the audio. Writing the draft response without concentrating on word limit will help the test take to remember all the points hence increase a chance to provide a correct summary after editing 

General comments for writing section!

NB! Remember to proofread your work before you submit to reduce spelling and grammatical errors.