Tips for PTE Academic: Write Essay

What PTE Writing tips work the best?

Essay writing for PTE Academic can be one of the most difficult tasks to achieve success in. It requires an understanding of the question, structure, grammar, vocabulary, spelling and punctuation. Do not use a writing essay template, but rather memorise a structure and develop your grammar and vocabulary. The best tips for writing well are: repeated practice, and feedback.

What does the PTE Writing question look like?

This is a long-answer writing task type that tests all your writing skills. You have 20 minutes to write a 200-300 word persuasive or argumentative essay on a given topic. In the test you will do 1 or 2 Write Essay tasks.

Example

This is how the question appears in the test:

How do I get 90 in PTE Writing?

To score 90 in PTE Writing, you will need to plan and write quickly and accurately under timed conditions. Our E2Language method can deliver a 90 score every time, once you nail it. Here’s how to go about it:

The prompt, or question will appear in the same format each time. It may look like this one:

Completing university education is thought by some to be the best way to get a good job. On the other hand, people also say that getting experience and developing soft skills is more important. Choose which position you most agree with and discuss why you chose that position. Support your point of view with details from your own experiences, observations or reading.

Method

Plan, write and review

You should divide the time for your 20 minute essay into these parts:

2 minutes planning + 14 minutes writing + 2 minutes reviewing

2 minutes planning means understand the question and find the key words. You must make sure you respond to all the keywords in the prompt in your essay. Your task is to answer the question, which really means “respond to all the key words”!

Write planning notes for your essay on the erasable pad in short phrases. Make sure you can read your own handwriting.

Preparation for your essay

Before you write your PTE a essay, you will need to know: 

• which side of the argument you support most strongly (you will state this in the third sentence of your introduction, which we call the thesis statement). 
• subjects for the topic sentences of both body paragraphs. These subjects will represent the main ideas from both sides of your arguments. It is wise to have a positive argument in body 1, and a negative argument in body 2.
• some support ideas for each paragraph
• examples to illustrate your main ideas
• what you are going to conclude

Plan your essay structure

In our example, your notes might look like this:

Intro:

Thesis: University better in the long term

Body 1:

Main idea: Qualification and professional career

Support: Teaching

Example: Learning and experience

Body 2:

Main idea: Work is practical learning

Support: Mastery on the job

Example: Jobs that do not need university

Conclusion: Professional career based on your interests

The essay will be four paragraphs long:

Paragraph 1: Introduction
Paragraph 2: Body 1
Paragraph 3: Body 2
Paragraph 4: Conclusion

Each sentence you type will have a purpose. Your PTE a essay should be (E2Language style) structured like this:

Introduction

1. General background about the topic.
2. Rewrite the question
3. Tell the reader what side of the argument you will present in this essay.

Body 1:

1. Main idea
2. Support idea
3. Example
4. Link (to main idea, question or next paragraph)

Body 2:

1. Main idea
2. Support idea
3. Example
4. Link (to main idea, question or next paragraph)

Conclusion:

1. Summarise your two main ideas
2. Tell the reader what you told them

To see the completed essay, and understand what a 90 score essay looks like, how it is structured and how it answers the question, click this link here: 

How is Writing scored?

The computer algorithm will assess your essay. You will be marked on:

Written discourse: your skill at presenting a structured, logical argument
Coherence: the overall reasoning and sense
Vocabulary: word choice, appropriateness variety
Grammar: verb tenses, prepositions, agreements etc
Spelling and punctuation: accuracy

Do I need  PTE Writing template?

No. You need to memorise this structure. It will work every time!

How do I write a perfect essay?

Practice and feedback are the keys! Memorise our PTE Academic essay structure and stick to it. Develop your grammar and vocabulary. Read good examples and understand why they are good. Practice, practice and practice some more under timed conditions. Join our E2Language Writing Live classes and Live mock tests. Book a tutorial. Get started!

Do More. Be More.

Written by David