PTE Academic: Free Resources – A compilation by Mukesh Nayak (PTE SCORE: 90)

Dear fellow PTE aspirant,

Greetings!!

I am Mukesh Nayak, a businessman by profession. I appeared for my PTE-Academic last month in

April’19 (My First Attempt) and I am fortunate to have scored 90 in each (Score report on the last page)
of the four modules in the very first attempt. (with a preparation time of less than a month and about
one hour every alternate day). Now, I wish to help as many people as I can in getting a high score by
sharing my experiences. Hence I have compiled all the resources and some tips in this PDF.

The following PDF might help you clear some if not all of your doubts, reservations and uncertainties
about PTE. This write up is intended to sincerely extend a helping hand to those who are seeking more
information on the intricacies of PTE and I shall be as honest, candid and elaborate as I can in trying to
portray a comprehensive picture of my PTE escapade.

Ever since I have posted my results with a perfect 90 in all, I have been inundated with numerous
queries, questions and doubts from fellow PTE aspirants. Rightly so, as this exam is a ladder to scale up
the upper echelon that every applicant yearns to reach in the overall point test system devised for
Australian immigration and visa purpose.

On one hand, all this adulation and attention gives me an opportunity to bask in the glory of my
supposedly momentous achievement, I am also equally intrigued as anyone else about the score I have
attained. If truth be told, I am not really certain how to answer questions like "how did you do it," or
what strategies and tactics you used", as no candidate ever goes out there thinking of getting a full
score. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I would accomplish this. After all, it’s the efforts
that are in our control and not the results. (Bhagdwad Geeta, ofcourse)

So while I might not have answers to general questions like how to crack PTE, all I can do with all the
humility at my disposal is share my experiences of the efforts I did, the hardwork I put in and the
practice I underwent to approach this exam.

Before I talk about that, let me give you a background to this score. Just a few weeks ago I was sailing in
the same boat as many other friends, having scored an overall 8 bands in IELTS (March’19) even though I
needed 8 in each module to score 20 points for superior English. (My IELTs score LRWS was 8/9/7/7.5
respectively, yet not enough, unfortunately.) I was dejected and shaken. But I quickly gathered myself
up and a friend suggested that I should appear for PTE (which I had no prior knowledge of until 9th
March’2019). From here started my journey to prepare for one of the most intimidating yet interesting
exam formats there is to test one’s knowledge of English language, “(THE) PTE”.

So whatever is your present state, no matter how many attempts you may have given, all I can say is,
“don’t give up”. Chase your dream. I shall consider myself fortunate if my experience could result in
positive consequences for you.

Please go through the following pages and follow the resources diligently. PRACTICE as much as
possible. Success will knock on your door, soon.

With Best Wishes,

Mukesh Nayak

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PTE Academic: Free Resources – A compilation by Mukesh Nayak (PTE SCORE: 90)

Pearson’s Test of English (PTE) Academic Exam (https://pearsonpte.com)

TEST FORMAT https://pearsonpte.com/the-test/format/ - PLEASE REFER THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE FOR

MORE DETAILS ON EACH TASK)

TASK SCORE/ 360

Part 1: Speaking & Writing 360
(77 – 93 minutes)
Personal introduction 0
SPEAKING 148
1 Read aloud 44.3
2 Repeat sentence 51.8
3 Describe image 22.2
4 Re-tell lecture 20.9 Prepare for ONE
5 Answer short question 9 TASK at a time.
WRITING 31.9 Don’t keep jumping
6 Summarize written text 20.7 from one task to
7 Essay (20 mins) 11.2 the other like a
nomad.
Part 2: Reading 69.6
(32 – 41 minutes)
8 Multiple choice, choose single answer 1.5
9 Multiple choice, choose multiple answers 3
10 Re-order paragraphs 5.9
11 Reading: Fill in the blanks 14.8
12 Reading & writing: Fill in the blanks 44.4

Part 3: Listening 110

(45 – 57 minutes) SEE THE NEXT PAGE
13 Summarize spoken text 25 FOR WHICH TASKS
CONTRIBUTE
14 Multiple choice, choose multiple answer 2.6
MAXIMUM TO YOUR
15 Fill in the blanks 14
SCORE AND PREPARE
16 Highlight correct summary 2.8
ACCORDINGLY.
17 Multiple choice, choose single answer 1.3
18 Select missing word 1.3
19 Highlight incorrect words 16.7
20 Write from dictation 46.5

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PTE Academic: Free Resources – A compilation by Mukesh Nayak (PTE SCORE: 90)

WEIGHTAGE OUT OF 360 MARKS - Although the total score is 90 per module, the weightage is NOT, as
in PTE there are many tasks where you end up getting score for more than one module. (For example, in
READ ALOUD, over and above the speaking, you also get marks for reading & so on...) for more details
you can refer the PTE SCORE GUIDE available in Pearson official website.

Here’s the link to download SCORE GUIDE

https://pearsonpte.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Score-Guide.pdf

The weightage of each task is as below

 Speaking = 148.2 (41%)

 Listening = 110.2 (31%)
 Reading = 69.6 (19%)
 Writing = 31.9 (9%) This means Essay and SWT are not the only tasks to get score for writing.
TOTAL = 360 (100%)

In order of importance all individual tasks are listed below with their contribution.

Task
Order Name of Task Marks Section Speaking Writing Reading Listening
2 Repeat sentence 51.8 Speaking 32.1 19.7
20 Write from dictation 46.0 Listening 26.8 19.7
12 Reading & Writing: Fill in the blanks 44.4 Reading 22.3 22.1
1 Read aloud 44.3 Speaking 22.2 22.1
13 Summarize spoken text 25.0 Listening 11.9 13.1
3 Describe image 22.2 Speaking 22.2
4 Re-tell lecture 20.9 Speaking 11.1 9.9
6 Summarize written text 20.7 Writing 10.4 10.3
19 Highlight incorrect words 16.7 Listening 8.9 7.9
11 Reading: Fill in the blanks 14.8 Reading 14.8
15 Fill in the blanks 14.0 Listening 7.4 6.6
7 Essay (20 mins) 11.2 Writing 11.2
5 Answer short question 9.0 Speaking 2.5 6.6
10 Re-order paragraphs 5.9 Reading 5.9
9 MCQ, choose multiple answers 3.0 Reading 3.0
16 Highlight correct summary 2.8 Listening 1.5 1.3
14 MCQ, choose multiple answer 2.6 Listening 2.6
Multiple choice, choose single 1.5
8 answer 1.5 Reading
Multiple choice, choose single 1.3
17 answer 1.3 Listening
18 Select missing word 1.3 Listening 1.3
TOTAL 360 90 90 90 90

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PTE Academic: Free Resources – A compilation by Mukesh Nayak (PTE SCORE: 90)

From the above it is clear that Speaking is the single most important module of PTE that you must focus the
maximum as it contributes to more than 40% of your score. (For instance, say if you have 100 hours left to
prepare give atleast 40 to 50 hours, i.e. half the time to the first 5 tasks of speaking only. (Min 40, Max. 50)

So devote your preparation time based on the table above.

SOME TIPS FOR IMPORTANT TASKS

READ ALOUD:

1. Oral Fluency: SPEED IS THE MOST IMP ASPECT OF THIS TASK. “BE FAST. BE CLEAR.”

Try to Read aloud the sentence atleast twice before you begin speaking quickly in the 35 seconds you get before
the actual recording begins.

One you start speaking after the beep, finish the sentence in 15 to 20 seconds only instead of utilizing the full 40
seconds. As soon as you are done, DON’T WAIT OR LOOK HERE AND THERE.. Just click the next button without
wasting anytime and move on to the next sentence. Don’t take too many pauses or don’t just read the sentence
word by word. Read the phrases together. Read the entire sentence in one go, and pause only when there are
commas or full stop.

2. Try to speak like a native speaker wherever you can. For e.g. “K’ is spoken as “kh”, “P” as “Ph” and “T” as “Th”

For e.g My car is parked near the cafeteria. = My khar is pharked near the cafetheria.

3. Don’t add a new word which is not there in the sentence. (NO ADDITION) especially articles like a, an, the or any
other word

4. Don’t forget to read a word which is already there in the sentence. (NO OMMISION)

5. Don’t replace an existing word – Speak exactly the way it is written in the sentence. (Including small but
important things like articles e.g “an” umbrella must not be spoken as “a” umbrella or “the” umbrella on your
own.)

REPEAT SENTENCE

1. DON’T REMEMBER EACH AND EVERY WORD SPOKEN. JUST BREAK THE SENTENCE INTO PHRASES.

For e.g The university cafeteria is located behind the library.

The university cafeteria (1) + is located (2) + behind the library. (3) ( You have to remember just three phrases and
not 8 words )

2. While speaking be clear, be fast and use the same intonation as that of the speaker you just heard.

3. In case you did not understand a certain word, don’t worry…just speak whatever words you could hear. There is
a partial scoring for each word spoken correctly. So don’t panic if you could not remember the entire sentence.
Just SPEAK.

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PTE Academic: Free Resources – A compilation by Mukesh Nayak (PTE SCORE: 90)

DESCRIBE IMAGE - Please don’t read the image nor analyse the image. Just describe it, as the task says. This would
mean you have to paraphrase and use some of your own words (synonyms) wherever possible. Also make sure
that every single DI has an introduction, two to three more sentences explaining the image and one last sentence
as conclusion. Maximum number of sentences you can speak per image is five, if you are looking to finish well
within time. Don’t try to describe everything that you see. Just pick up the most important aspects only.

Practice different types of DI generally asked so you are not surprised in the real exam when something comes up.

Conclusion is a must for every DI. So even if you think there is nothing to conclude, just say in the end of every DI
Task, “In conclusion, the image/graph/pi-chart/map gives a clear picture of…………( just say introduction again)

TRY AND FINISH EACH “DI” TASK in 30 SECONDS or MAX 35 SECONDS…NOT MORE THAN THAT. YOU DON’T GET
EXTRA MARKS FOR SPEAKING MORE….REMEMBER !! More you speak, more mistakes you might make, and loose
on grammar, fluency and pronunciation. So 30 to 32 seconds is optimum timing.

RE-TELL LECTURE - Use the principle of elimination here. You would observe that the lecture is always longer than
the time you get to speak. So you need not remember all the details spoken. Make notes as much as you can. Just
note down key words only. DO NOT WRITE FULL SENTENCES. If you are able to write 10 to 12 words in the entire
lecture, you would be easily able to speak for 30 seconds (which is more than sufficient). Try to note down Proper
Nouns if spoken, such as the name of a person, place or a thing etc. n mention them in your description.

Every retell lecture must start with an introduction, three more sentences explaining the other aspects spoken in
the lecture and one last sentence as conclusion. Maximum number of sentences you can speak per lecture is five
to six only, if you are looking to finish well within time. Don’t try to speak everything that you heard. Just pick up
the most important aspects only.

Conclusion is a must for every re-tell lecture. So even if you think there is nothing to conclude, just say in the end
of every RTL Task, “the lecture concluded by focusing on………….., …………………and ………………………….”

TRY AND FINISH EACH “RTL” TASK in 30 SECONDS or MAX 35 SECONDS…NOT MORE THAN THAT. YOU DON’T GET
EXTRA MARKS FOR SPEAKING MORE….REMEMBER !! More you speak, more mistakes you might make, and loose
on grammar, fluency and pronunciation. So 30 to 32 seconds is optimum timing.

I used the following template for this task. There are a total of 9 sentences. Even if you speak any five well by just
adding the words from your NOTES, you would do well in this task.

1. The talk/lecture delineates/describes a detailed picture regarding……………………

2. The speaker also mentioned………………………..
3. He/She also said…………………………
4. …………………………was also established in detail during the lecture.
5. The lecture also focused on …………………………
6. Besides all these ideas, arguments and propositions, the lecture also highlighted………………….
7. He/she not only discussed…………………….but also explained………………………
8. In addition to taking about…………………, the speaker also described………………..
9. The lecture concluded by focusing on …………….., …………………… and ……………………….

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PTE Academic: Free Resources – A compilation by Mukesh Nayak (PTE SCORE: 90)

What did I do for my preparation & how did I practice ?

I referred the following “FREE” (who doesn’t love it) resources on the web to prepare for various tasks.

1. https://www.pte-practice.com/ (Australian Institute of Language) - MOST RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

It is a Chinese website, but a damn good one for practice. (Oops! yet again, China to our rescue)

So don’t panic if you notice some words written in Chinese language. It’s a very useful site. Don’t forget the “-”
between PTE and Practice when you login as there is another site “ptepractice.com” also, which is the official
Person site for practice. I have mentioned about that too in the later pages.

You need to register (Create a login) for the first time to avail the material in this site. It’s free! (Just like
many other great things in life that comes free). Once you login you would see the following screen as
you scroll down:

Select FREE SAMPLES (ofcourse!!)

And you would get enough to practice for all the 20 tasks with suggested answers for most tasks.

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PTE Academic: Free Resources – A compilation by Mukesh Nayak (PTE SCORE: 90)

2. https://www.ptepractice.com/

This is the official Pearson website for Practice with enough Free Material to get acquainted with the
test format and question types. I would strongly recommend that every test taker must go through this
site.

You are required to create a LOGIN for the first time to be able to use the material. (It’s ok to give away
some basic details in return for some very good practice material. After all, there are no free lunches.)

Once you login, you would see the following screen

Go through all the sample questions first.

Then, if your time and budget permits, you might try the PAID Online Practice Tests too. (I didn’t find
the need, but in case you want to be doubly sure, it’s a good idea to invest before actually taking the
test)

INVEST IN A GOOD HEADPHONE AND MICROPHONE FOR PRACTICE. Don’t just read books or material.
PRACTICE ALL TASKS ON A DESKTOP COMPUTER TO GET REALLY READY BEFORE THE ACTUAL EXAM.

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PTE Academic: Free Resources – A compilation by Mukesh Nayak (PTE SCORE: 90)

3. Youtube Videos – These 4 Channels mainly. (See these videos only for tasks where you think you
need help. No Need to see all the videos on all the suggested channels. ) I had only watched about 2 or 3
videos on each of these channels. NOT MORE. If you have time and patience, or if you need more
practice, you can watch more.

A) Language Academy by Varun Dhawan (Very good videos. Varun has an Indian accent just right for
most people from India, quite easy to understand. He speaks slowly and clearly with conceptual clarity. I
saw his videos for retell lecture and essay writing. I found them useful. You may refer more videos on his
channel if you wish to know more.

Link https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-yXI8Y7cry-D5uuNGbYbsw

B) E2 Language by Jay (saw some videos that are good and helpful but his accent could be a problem for
many Indians to comprehend what he is saying on some occasions. However, if you looking at how a
native speaker speaks, you must see this channel, as Jay is a native speaker, and he is undoubtedly
good.) Link https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvSdD8_0DAKn-ThHWhAhoAg

* E2 language is also Pearson’s trusted online test preparation partner.

C) PTE Academic Gold - This is another YOU TUBE CHANNEL very good for FREE Practice. I used this
specifically to practice for READ ALOUD.

Link https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmfdDoEJmPtIop6GWm68Tbg

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PTE Academic: Free Resources – A compilation by Mukesh Nayak (PTE SCORE: 90)

There are several other channels on YouTube that you might come across as you start surfing. If you find
a particular style of any teacher interesting and useful, there is no harm in exploring the same. I have
only mentioned those that I had referred, but by no means is this an exhaustive list. You can discover
some more by yourself. There are channels like Sonny English, Moni PTE Magic and many more that you
might want to take a look. (I didn’t use them much though, just came across while watching other
videos)

4. PTE Tutorials by Aussizz group

- PTE Tutorial website https://ptetutorials.com/ also has a lot of practice material and mock tests.

- PTE Tutorial Mobile APP (download from Google Play) Once you download their APP, you will also get
10 Mock test FREE. You may DOWNLOAD APP HERE.https://ptetutorials.com/mobile-app

The Mobile app too has a lot of practice material, which you can practice on the go, while travelling or
commuting. So it is a good resource for working professionals and all those who are short on time.

5. PAID Material by Aussizz PTE Tutorials (I found these pdfs very very useful personally and worth an
investment) - I purchased the following 4 PDFs out of 5 (all except retell lecture) from PTE Tutorials
@Rs.320 per PDF. Here is the link

https://ptetutorials.com/practice-materials

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PTE Academic: Free Resources – A compilation by Mukesh Nayak (PTE SCORE: 90)

Disclaimer – I am not advertising or endorsing the above material on behalf of PTE Tutorials. I genuinely
purchased it and found the above material useful. Please exercise your own judgment and buy only if
you think you need them.

These PDFs are prepared by Mr. Malcolm, who is a PTE-A Master Tutor. Later I also came to know that
there are several videos available on PTE Tutorials You Tube Channel also from him. You may go through
them if you wish. (I came to know about these videos only after the exam though !)

Lastly,

I took some mock tests which I got free from PTE Tutorials ( just 3 diff mock tests I took..). This will
prepare you for the real exam. As this is free, I highly recommend that you take these test as much as
time permits. ‘

You also have an option to make a payment to PTE Tutorial people and get your test scored to see
where you lack. I didn’t do it. If you find the need you may do it. The fees is pretty reasonable.

Additionally,

Person official website also provides a scored test for a fee…If your budget permits you may take that. I
did not. But many people say it was useful.

https://pearsonpte.com/preparation/practice-tests/

That’s it.

This is all I did.

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PTE Academic: Free Resources – A compilation by Mukesh Nayak (PTE SCORE: 90)

MOST IMP THING TO REMEMBER ABOUT PTE

PTE is not just a test of your English Language ability. It is also a test of your nerves. So Please keep calm.
Keep cool. Take enough rest before the day of the exam. Don’t stress yourself. Have fun and enjoy the
exam. You are likely to score more.

A DAY PRIOR TO THE EXAM

Please take proper rest on the night before the exam. It is very important that you allow your mind to
relax and recollect all that you have learnt in the past few months. PTE-A is a very intense examination,
hence a stressed mind would further add to your woes. Stay calm. Stop reading and worrying about the
exam and engage in the activities that you enjoy the most.

ON THE DAY OF THE EXAM & TIMING

It is important to book the exam timings that suit your biological clock. A very early morning test could
be problematic for some late risers. So is the case with tests conducted in the late afternoon, as it might
be difficult to concentrate after lunch. The best time to give the test is around 10 or 11 AM, as you get
enough time to gather your thoughts, have a light breakfast and then leave for exam. I would advise
people in metros and big cities to hire a cab instead of driving to the venue yourself or ask someone to
drop you to the venue. This way you can relax on the way to the exam. DO NOT READ ANYTHING
ABOUT THE EXAM ATLEAST 2 HOURS PRIOR. JUST RELAX. PRAY. SING YOUR FAVOURITE SONG.
REMEMBER THE HAPPIEST THINGS ABOUT YOUR LIFE. STAY POSITIVE.

I have made a tiny attempt to help you dear friend, in your endeavour to get good score. Hope this helps
you in getting your desired score. May you achieve all the success in life.

Wish you good luck in your efforts,

May the almighty lord bestow more power to you,

Respectfully yours,

Mukesh Nayak

P.S. Please note that the views expressed above are my personal views and not influenced by anyone and are
solely based on the information I got from my friends. No claim is made on their correctness or accuracy.
Readers are requested to exercise their best judgment before acting upon the advice. What worked for me may
not work for you. So do what suits your learning style.

If you have any further questions, I can be reached on muksnayak@gmail.com I would be more than
happy to help, if you have any specific questions that are not answered above.

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PTE Academic: Free Resources – A compilation by Mukesh Nayak (PTE SCORE: 90)

MY PTE SCORE REPORT (Just incase…)

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