PTE Reading test is aimed at evaluating a candidate’s ability to read and interpret academic English. Dividing the reading test into various tasks, it assesses a test tasker’s ability to analyse and comprehend academic vocabulary, information presented in an implicit or explicit manner in the form of words, phrases and/or abstract information.
The candidate must be able to identify the topic, supporting points, examples and the context in which the text is written. Total time allotted for the reading test is approximately 32-41 minutes.
Below listed are the different types of tasks asked in PTE Reading Test. Following each task, there are some tips that will help you ace this module.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS, CHOOSE SINGLE ANSWER
This item type requires you to carefully read, analyse and comprehend the text on an academic topic and choose a single correct response. The objective of this test is to evaluate your ability to grasp the main idea, analyse the discourse of the text and understand the writer’s purpose to make inferences.
TIPS:
- Take a quick look at the questions before you start reading the given passage. This will help you locate only the information you want.
- Read carefully and try to understand the main idea behind the passage. You should be able to describe it in your own words.
- Once you recognise the key idea of the text, look for the supporting ideas and details
- Read the questions and options again, if needed. If you are able to find the correct answer, select it. Else, look for the ones that are absolutely incorrect. This will narrow your search process.
- Since the questions left unanswered are marked as incorrect, do not leave any of them unanswered. Try to choose the right option or make a guess.
- For effective time management, do not spend more than 1.5 minutes on one question
Multiple Choice Questions, Choose Multiple Answers
For this question type, you will be given a number of responses. More than one response out of the given is correct. You need to choose the right ones after reading the passage.
TIPS:
- Though it looks easy, multiple choice questions are quite tricky and challenging. So, read every given information carefully.
- Go through the questions and options given before you start reading the text
- Pay attention to adjectives, nouns and repeated words as it will help you find the correct responses quickly
- If you are not able to find out correct responses, start eliminating the ones which are least likely to be correct
- Spend no longer than 2 minutes on each multiple answer type question
Re-order Paragraphs
This item type requires you to restore the passage given in a random order in its original order. It assesses a test taker’s ability to understand the overall idea of the passage and to put them back in the right order that makes sense.
TIPS:
- Look for the topic sentence that can stand alone. Every paragraph written in a logical order begins with a topic sentence. Unlike other sentences that follow to support ideas, links, facts and other information later in the paragraph, the topic sentence does not begin with any linker and can give you the much needed opening.
- Search for the Nouns, Pronouns, Adjectives and time-related phrases. Pronouns such as he, she, they, these, those etc. will help you establish the right order quickly. Sentences beginning with Pronouns will never come first in the order.
- Pay attention to the clue-words
- Aim to spend no more than 3-4 minutes on any re-order the paragraph question
READING: FILL IN THE BLANKS
This item type consists of a passage with some missing words in between. You have to choose the right words from a list of words given to fill in the blanks. The number of words in the list are more than the number of gaps, so you will never be able to use all the provided words.
TIPS:
- Skim the text to grab the main idea of the passage
- Make use of ‘Collocation’ i.e. look for the words that often go together to form a phrase
- Search for the missing part of speech to choose the right word for the gap. Always understand the context of the sentence before choosing the word. For instance, hearing and listening infer different meanings.
- Spend approximately 2 minutes on each question.
READING & WRITING: FILL IN THE BLANKS
In this question type, you will see a text with a number of gaps on the screen. You are required to fill in the gaps by choosing a word from the drop down list provided just next to the gap.
TIPS:
- Read the passage to comprehend its overall meaning. This will help you pick the right word that fits in context to the given blank.
- Options provided in the drop down menu are quite deceptive and appear similar. However, they carry different meanings and are used in different contexts. So, do not rush in making the choices.
- Read either side of the gap to help yourself narrow the choices without wasting much time.
Now that you know the types of questions asked in the PTE Reading module and various tips to solve those questions, make sure that you remember these tips and practice them well before you book PTE Test.