PTE Academic Reading – Tips you need to know to ACE this section!

I conducted a recent survey to find out what challenges were people frequently facing with the PTE Academic Exam. What did people have to say about the reading section??

Issues in overcoming the reading section was mentioned in more than 50% of the responses!! 

This article will give you tips and insights on what is required to ace the reading section.

The PTE Academic exam will ask you a wide range of questions meant to assess your reading skills. These include:

Let’s look at what is being tested in the reading section.

For you to do well in the Reading section, you need to be aware of the specific skills that are being tested. As the name implies, the Reading section of the PTE Academic tests your…. you guessed it, reading skills!

However, lets try to break reading skills down furthers so we can be more specific. When you break it down to specific skills, you have something tangible that you know you can work and improve upon.

The two main skills to do well in the reading section of the exam are:

1. Reading Comprehension

Reading comprehension is you ability to understand a text after you have read it. For questions like MCQ and reorder paragraph you need to be able to comprehend (understand) text accurately and relatively quickly.

There is a difference between passively reading and actively reading. When you read text at the surface level (also called as skimming through text) you seldom understand the passage well enough to answer questions about it correctly. However, if you actively read and deeply understand what is presented, the chances of you selecting the correct answer go up. This is also true for the ‘reorder paragraphs’ section.

2. Use of Vocabulary 

The use of vocabulary is mostly tested in the ‘Fill in the blanks’ question type within the reading section. Not only is your knowledge of words being tested, you also need to know how words are used appropriately in sentences. Even in the ‘Multiple choice question’ question type, if you don’t know the meaning of words in the passage, you will not understand it correctly and the chances of you picking the correct answer goes down.

Let’s now look at the individual question types. We’ll be going over some guidelines that you can use for all the questions. 

Multiple Choice Questions

A key skill being tested in the MCQ is how well you deeply understand the meaning of the passage. The options for answers in the multiple choice questions are generally tricky in nature. Often times they will include keywords from the questions in certain options, however, it does not mean that it’s the correct option. Let’s take a short example to go over this concept. (Note that you will get a longer passage in the exam. I’ve kept it short here to explain the concept)

Passage:
A significant amount of the methane naturally released into the atmosphere comes from the ocean. This has long puzzled scientists because there are no known methane-producing organisms near the ocean’s surface. A team of researchers has made a discovery that could help to answer this ‘ocean methane paradox.’

Question:

Which one of the following is true based on the passage?

1. The ‘ocean methane paradox’ is about how we can add more methane-producing organisms in the ocean.
2. Methane-producing organisms are found near the oceans surface.
3. A notable amount of the methane found naturally in the air, originates from the earth’s major water bodies.
4. Scientists are puzzled because they are unable to identify how methane is produced by organisms near the ocean’s surface.

Take a minute or two to solve this question. Note down your answers before scrolling down. I‘m watching you (<_<)

The correct answer to this question is answer 4.  Let’s take some time to go over the options and understand them.

1. The ‘ocean methane paradox’ is about how we can add more methane-producing organisms in the ocean.
   This is not the correct answer because ‘ocean methane paradox’ is about not knowing why so much methane is released into the atmosphere even when there are no methane-producing organisms near the earths surface.
2. Methane-producing organisms are found near the oceans surface.
   The opposite is true as there are no known methane-producing organisms near the ocean’s surface.
3. A notable amount of the methane found naturally in the air, originates from the earth’s major water bodies.
   Not true. There are no known no known methane-producing organisms near the ocean’s surface.
   
   
4. Scientists are puzzled because they are unable to identify how methane is produced by organisms near the ocean’s surface.
   
   This is true and is the correct an. Note that although the vocabulary used in the above statement is different from what has been given in the passage, it essentially means the same and hence is the correct answer. In the passage it has been stated, ‘A significant amount of the methane naturally released into the atmosphere comes from the ocean.’  The answer contains synonyms such as:-
   -“Notable amount” for “Significant amount
   – “Air” for “Atmosphere”
   – “Earth’s major water bodies” for “Oceans”

While initially reading the passage, If you understood it well you would know that this option is true because it means the same thing. Here is where having good reading comprehension skills comes into use. Having a diverse vocabulary and understanding how it is being used is also being tested here as you need to be aware of how different words can be appropriately substituted for each other.

Notice anything common in the incorrect options for above example?

They all include ‘keywords’ or words exactly from the passage. It would easy to assume that any of these could be the correct answer if you haven’t gone through the passage carefully. This is something to watch out for as the exam is designed to make it confusing. Keep in mind that answers with same ‘keywords’ from the passage could also be the correct answer.

In short, as long as you read with the intent of understanding the content, you find it easier to answer the question correctly.

Fill in the blanks

Now, let’s jump to the ‘Fill in the blanks’ from the reading question.

In this section there will be a text given, where some words are missing. Drag words from the options given to the appropriate place in the text. To undo an answer choice, drag the word back to the box below the text.

For fill in the blank it really comes down to your vocabulary, but more importantly your understanding of how this vocabulary is used in sentences.

Below is a sample question that you will receive for this question.

1. Reverse osmosis is a water purification ______ that uses a semipermeable membrane to remove ions, molecules, and larger particles from drinking water. Reverse osmosis can remove many types of ______ and suspended species from water, including bacteria, and is used in both industrial ______ and the production of ______ water. The result is that the solute is retained on the pressurized side of the membrane and the pure solvent is allowed to pass to the other side.

Options: factories, drink, potable, dissolved, technology, processes, theory

Correct Answer:

Reverse osmosis is a water purification technology that uses a semipermeable membrane to remove ions, molecules, and larger particles from drinking water. Reverse osmosis can remove many types of dissolved and suspended species from water, including bacteria, and is used in both industrial processes and the production of potable water. The result is that the solute is retained on the pressurized side of the membrane and the pure solvent is allowed to pass to the other side.

Here’s the thing:

In the above answer, if you are not sure why the correct answer is correct. You can lookup what the words mean in an online dictionary.

Most people with a regular reading habit do well in fill in the blanks.

Why?

Because reading(or listening) to high-quality English on a regular basis helps you identify word patterns. You get an intuitive sense of which words are commonly used together. These are also known as collocations. Pearson have published a set of commonly used Academic collocations which you can access here. For example, the word ‘potable’ in the above example is often used along with water.

If you have seen the words been used a few times before as you were reading you are more likely to intuitively know that ‘potable’ water is the correct option.

Keep in mind that no one is born with this type of intuition. It come from repeated reading and exposure to the English language. This is why we recommend people work on their overall English in addition to doing PTE specific practice. This is especially applicable to those who need a jump of 10+ points to get to their desired score in the PTE Academic exam.

Reorder Paragraph:

Let’s look at the reorder paragraph right now:

You will be given 5 sentences in a text panel (left) and a blank text panel (right). The text boxes in the left panel have been placed in a random order. Restore the original order by dragging the text boxes from the left panel to the right panel.

A common way to solve the reorder paragraph is to think of the passage as story. You need to put together parts of story in a way that makes logical sense. This is often a tricky segment in the exam and is one that I personally had to spend additional time on to master. I engaged in repeated practice and made sure to spend time learning from questions I got incorrect. Over time you start seeing patterns on how to spot the correct sequence.

Below is a sample question.

Question 1

1. During the war, both sides suffered many losses and even the White House was burned down in 1814.
2. It is said to have been sparked by British restrictions on American trade.
3. The War of 1812 was an armed conflict between the United States and the British Empire.
4. However, when the Treaty of Ghent was finally signed on December 24, 1814, it established the status quo ante bellum, which means that nobody lost any territory in the war.
5. The Americans resented the restrictions and were eager to prove their independence from the British Empire once and for all.

Take around 4 minutes to solve this question. Note down your answers before scrolling down. I‘m watching you (<_<)

Correct Answer:

3, 2, 5, 1, 4

Explanations:

1. The War of 1812 was an armed conflict between the United States and the British Empire.
   This is the first text box because it introduces the topic. All other text boxes follow from this.

2. It is said to have been sparked by British restrictions on American trade.
   This is the second text box because it is the start of the explanation of the cause of the war. It is not the fourth text box because logically the cause of the war is explained before its conclusion and because the fifth text box has a clear signal that it is the end of the paragraph.

3. The Americans resented the restrictions and were eager to prove their independence from the British Empire once and for all.
   This is the third text box because it references and further explains “restrictions” mentioned in the second text box.

4. During the war, both sides suffered many losses and even the White House was burned down in 1814.
   This is the fourth text box because it must precede the fifth text box due to the fact the two sentences’ topics are connected.

5. However, when the Treaty of Ghent was finally signed on December 24, 1814 it established the status quo ante bellum, which means that nobody lost any territory in the war.
   This is the fifth text box because it concludes the paragraph by explaining the end result of the war. It is not the fourth text box because it starts with “however,” a clear connection to the previous sentence. A further signal that this is the last sentence of the paragraph is the word, “finally.”

This was a short overview of how to tackle the reading section.

To download free preparation material and watch my exclusive video on what it take to clear the exam, click the link below. It covers what I have learnt from taking a 90 score in the exam. It also includes the top 3 factors for success in the PTE exam which I have observed after working with thousands of test-takers over the past few years.

****CLICK HERE – Download free material and Watch Exclusive Video****

Good luck with your exam!
Steven