The PTE (Pearson Test of English) is known for its time-sensitive format. Test takers find the writing section tough due to content and managing time effectively. Whether you are attempting the Summarize Written Text or Essay Writing task, mastering time management can make all the difference in achieving a higher score.
1. Understand the Structure and Time Limits
Before diving into strategies, it’s crucial to understand the time structure for each task:
- Summarize Written Text: You have 10 minutes to read the passage and write a summary of 50-70 words in a single sentence.
- Essay Writing: You are given 20 minutes to write an essay of 200-300 words on any topic.
It is important to understand the time limits for each task to manage responses effectively.
2. Develop a Pre-Writing Routine
One of the most effective time-saving strategies is to have a pre-writing routine for both tasks.
For Summarize Written Text:
- Skim the passage: Take the first 2-3 minutes to skim the passage and identify the main ideas.
- Highlight key points: You should focus on the core ideas and any evidence or examples that support them.
- Write your summary: Once you have identified the main ideas, begin writing your summary.
For Essay Writing:
- Plan your essay: You should spend the first 3-4 minutes brainstorming your ideas. You should write with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.
- Organize your thoughts: You should jot down the main arguments you want to make and ensure that each paragraph has a distinct purpose.
3. Avoid Overthinking
You should keep your responses clear, concise, and relevant.
For Summarize Written Text:
- You should focus on the main points but do not get lost in the minor details.
- You should not use complex sentences or vocabulary. Instead, you should use simple and clear language will often do the trick.
For Essay Writing:
- You should stick to the point and ensure your arguments directly answer the essay prompt. Do not add unnecessary information that will take up extra time.
4. Practice Writing Quickly
Speed is critical in the PTE Writing section. To improve your writing speed without sacrificing quality, you should practice in a real-time environment. For practice, you should use a QWERTY Keyboard as per the final PTE exam.
- Real-time Environment: Use online PTE practice software to prepare yourself for the exam in a real real-time environment.
- Focus on quantity, not quality: In the beginning, focus on getting your ideas down quickly.
5. Review, but Don’t Overdo It
During the exam, you will need to leave a few minutes for rechecking. You must have a few minutes in your hand to review and correct your spelling and grammatical mistakes.
- Summarize Written Text: Once you have finished writing your summary, quickly read over it to check for spelling or grammatical mistakes.
- Essay Writing: After completing your essay, spend the last 2-3 minutes reviewing your work. You should correct your spelling, grammar, or coherence. Do not try to rewrite large parts of your essay.
6. Stay Calm and Keep Track of Time
Time management is not just about dividing your time between tasks but also staying calm throughout the exam.
- Stay aware of time: Keep an eye on the clock, but do not panic over it. You can set a mental timer or glance at the clock every few minutes to ensure you are on track.
- Don’t rush: Don’t rush to complete your task quickly, but you should take time to structure your answers will give you a better result than rushing through the task.
7. Use Templates and Structure for Essays
Using a simple essay structure can save you a lot of time during the essay-writing task.
- Introduction: A brief 2-3 sentence introduction, including a thesis statement.
- Body Paragraphs: Two or three paragraphs that discuss the main arguments, supported by examples.
- Conclusion: A conclusion should include an overall explanation of your essay.
Having a clear structure in mind will help you to organize your ideas properly during the exam.
8. Optimize Your Environment
Creating a distraction-free environment during your practice can help you simulate the test conditions. If you are preparing at home or in a study center, ensure you limit distractions such as social media and phone calls.
For practicing at home, test takers can use sumlingo practice software to prepare well for the exam. This software helps students to get a higher score in the writing section by getting instant AI scoring and getting access to sample answers.
