If you are sitting to write the PTE soon, you have probably heard a number of tips and tricks that claim to help you score high in the exam.
It is quite common for most people, especially those who are writing the test for the first time to fall for these tricks but a lot of what you find online is often just a myth.
This article can help you differentiate between what is real and helpful advice as supposed to more questionable advice that is most likely just a myth. We will debunk a few common misconceptions about the PTE exams that can confuse you.
Myth 1: Don’t use the backspace button
The use of backspace in the PTE is attributed to the loss of marks by many people. But the truth is it has absolutely nothing to do with the reason behind any lost marks.
The score for a particular task could be low because of incorrect spellings, mistakes in the sentence structure, or other minute mistakes that the test taker might have made, but it is not because they pressed backspace during their exam.
It doesn’t affect your PTE score in any manner.
This is a misguided thought and causes unnecessary anxiety in stress during the test. Students need not worry about using the backspace.
If you make spelling mistakes, that will cost you marks, so it is more beneficial for you to fix those mistakes.
However, this also depends on your time management because the time you save by avoiding backspaces can be used to reread and check what you wrote later. That can help you reduce your chances of giving an incorrect answer.
Myth 2: Speak louder to get a higher score
Test takers often worry if their voice is loud and clear enough for the examiner to understand. They can often be misguided into thinking that they need to speak louder during the exam to get good scores.
However, this is a complete myth. You do not need to talk louder in the PTE exam to get good scores.
It uses more of your energy for no reason, doesn’t work, and it can be a distraction to other candidates attempting the test as well.
You are given noise cancellation headphones to use during the exam, so your audio will be free from background noises. Talk as normally as you can, without consciously trying to increase the volume of your voice.
However, if you are a generally soft-spoken person, you must talk as loud as you would when talking to someone else who does not know you.
Myth 3: Speak faster to get a high score
Speaking faster isn’t easy for a highly accurate way to boost your scores in the PTE. You can get high scores by speaking fast, but you also need to be speaking naturally and with fluency.
This means that if you speak fast but have lots of pauses in between or miss a few words or meanings, then you will not score high.
If you have any unnatural gaps in between your words or sentences, then speaking faster will not help in getting a high score, it will instead cause your scores to be lower.
So, if you trust that you can speak fast while also maintaining a high level of accuracy and fluency, only then should you speak faster.
Since PTE has automatic scoring, pauses play a huge role in determining your score.
You can speak naturally at a slower speed or a faster speed and still get the high score you want; it just depends on if you are able to do it with consistency.
Myth 4: Use accents to score better
It is useful for you to practice listening to various accents when practicing for your PTE exam, but it is not necessary for you to practice speaking in different accents.
The PTE exam does not assess you based on your variety of accents, and you will not score better because of it.
Rather, the exam would prefer that you speak in a natural tone that is most comfortable to you so you can speak consistently and fluently.
Do not try to fake an accent; this will be futile and perhaps even counterproductive for you.
The computer that is assessing your speech is already trained with a number of accents from all across the world and will be able to grasp your accent.
However, your pronunciation of words does matter to a certain degree. So, rather than trying to fake an accent, practice words pronounced differently in your own accent to make sure you say them correctly during your exam.
Don’t worry about sounding a particular way, maintain a natural voice, accent, and speed to get the highest score possible.
Myth 5: Choose all options in Multiple Choice Questions
This is a popular PTE trick to assure you a high score, where you choose all the options available in the Multiple Choice, Multiple Answer.
However, it is completely misleading and is more likely to cost you marks rather than the opposite. You are much better off answering fewer options rather than choosing all the options if you aren’t completely sure of the answers.
Being conservative in this particular question is more favourable as you lose a point for every question you answer wrong and it is almost always true that there are equal to or more incorrect options among the choices than the correct ones.
Therefore, if you select all of the options on “multiple choice, multiple answer” questions, you will receive zero points as the incorrect choices will cancel out the score you obtain from the correct choices.
A better way to approach this question would be to answer at least one option even if you are unsure about it. That way, you will either get 1 point if you are right or 0 if you are wrong.
This is the situation that can get you the most points if you do not know the answer.
Myth 6: Memorising the answers of previous questions
It is common knowledge that referring to older question papers or practice questions can be beneficial when you are studying for the PTE;
however, many people seem to think that they will be able to get a good score simply by memorizing older questions. This is a myth.
You need to learn techniques of how to approach different questions and learn how to respond in the most effective way possible.
This is not possible only by memorizing older questions because each PTE has new and unique questions as well. It also does not do you any favour in actually developing the English language.
Rather, you should learn how to approach a question and understand how to apply practical knowledge to it, rather than having an exhaustive list of questions that you have memorized, which may or may not help you.
CONCLUSION
If you want to do well on your PTE exam, study and practice as you would naturally for any test. Do not trust any of these myths, as they can often misguide and confuse you.
It is also recommended that you get professional advice when it comes to PTE. Coaching in areas like speaking and writing can be extremely beneficial, especially if you have no prior experience in giving the PTE test.
At A One Australia, we consider our team to be our strongest asset. Our tutors have helped more than 20,000 students with the best PTE Coaching to get the scores they desired, and continue to do so every day.
Not only are they completely competent in what they teach, they are passionate about providing all the support that our client’s need.
Our feedback is always on a one-to-one basis, and we prioritize your need in order to make sure you get the scores you want.
We are here to give you the best chance possible to secure a score you can be proud of. Use the tips and techniques above to help practice for your test, and if you still need more help, we are here to provide that for you.
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