- All About PTE Academic Writing Tasks
- What are the 15 Effective PTE Writing Tips for Beginners to Improve Your Score?
- What are Some Steps to Write a PTE Essay?
- What are the PTE Writing Mistakes That One Should Avoid?
- Scoring Criteria of PTE Writing
- How to Practise PTE Writing Online with Alfa PTE?
- Frequently Asked Questions
PTE Writing Tips: Strategies to Improve Your Score

- 9 min read

You all might be familiar with the writing section of the PTE academic exam, which is not only important but many candidates find it difficult.
However, this is not the case because all you have to do is to understand the given question, think of your ideas, and complete each task as per the time limit using correct grammar.
But for the students who find the writing section hard, we are here with some effective PTE writing tips that will help you prepare better and score good.
All About PTE Academic Writing Tasks
There are two main writing tasks in the PTE Academic Exam.
In Summarize Written Text task, the candidate is supposed to read the passage and summarize the main ideas in one line of no more than 75 words. Don't forget to include the main ideas in your answer to score good marks in this task. As far as the response time is concerned, you will have 10 minutes to answer your question and the skills assessed in this task are Reading and Writing
In the Write Essay task, your goal is to write a 200-300 word essay in not more than 20 minutes. It is essential to ensure the essay has an introduction, body paragraphs with supporting points, and a conclusion in order to achieve a higher PTE Score.
What are the 15 Effective PTE Writing Tips for Beginners to Improve Your Score?
Following are the tips that will help you score better in the PTE writing section.
Tips 1–7: Improve Your Writing Fundamentals
1. Understand what the question is asking. On priority, you have to read the prompt thoroughly and understand it to the best of your knowledge. Basically, you have to spend more time on understanding everything about the question demand and what you have to write in so that you do not give irrelevant answers.
2. Focus on the Main Ideas. Second and the most important tip is to make your answers clear and focused on main points only. We suggest you not give any extra details and include only that information which is related to the question. It is so because if you will add unnecessary details, that will only lead to increased no of words and not the exam score.
3. Use a Clear Structure. While writing your answers, make sure that readers can easily follow your ideas. Make sure to include an introduction, two body paragraphs and a relevant conclusion when it comes to writing essays. Whereas for summaries, you can write one complete sentence that has the main ideas in it.
4. Build Topic-Related Academic Vocabulary. Work on developing vocabulary around some common academic subjections like education, technology, health or the environment. We do not recommend using complex and difficult vocabulary but yes you can use meaningful words to express your thoughts clearly.
5. Use Linking Words Naturally. Apart from PTE Grammar and PTE Vocabulary building, you can also use linking words to help you connect sentences and paragraphs. Linking words include however, therefore, furtherfore, or for example. But don't start using them all over your answer. Use only where they fit it because adding linking words to every sentence can make the writing look repetitive and unnatural.
6. Work on your Grammar and Sentence Structure. When it comes to Writing, grammar is very important. Therefore, start practising subject verb agreement, tenses, articles, and the punctuation. Starting from basic sentences is a good idea and then you can move to the complex ones later once you get a grip on all the grammatical concepts.
7. Check Spelling, Punctuation and Capitalization. Checking for spelling, punctuation marks, and capital letters is very important since small mistakes can lower the clarity of your answer. After you finish your answer, check for all possibly misspelled words, commas, and full stops.
Tips 8–12: Improve Your Essay Writing
8. Analyse the Essay Prompt. Before answering, you need to identify the topic first, the question type and the question requirements. For example, if the prompt asks you to agree/disagree, you need to first decide on your position. If it asks you to discuss both view points, make sure you address both sides of the story in your answer.
9. Write a Clear Introduction. Start your reply with an appropriate introduction. Make sure to avoid adding extra details. Get to the point without much delay, making the response simpler and easier to understand.
10. Develop Body Paragraphs with Reasons and Examples. Once you have completed the introduction, you must pay attention to the body paragraphs. Each body paragraph should discuss one main argument. Your argument should be supported by clear examples or any other evidence. Always remember to give good examples of your argument to make it more convincing and obtain high marks.
11. Write a Relevant Conclusion. Last but not least, write a concluding paragraph that not only summarizes your main arguments but also clarifies your position. Please avoid introducing a completely new idea at this stage.
12. Follow the Word Limit and Manage Time. For your answer, you need to take care of the word limit and manage your time accordingly. For example, your essay must be around 200-300 words so make sure that you complete your answer within the same word count. Do not add irrelevant or unnecessary information in your answer. Apart from this, you need to manage your time too. You should have enough time at the end that you can review your mistakes once.
Tips 13–15: Improve Summarize Written Text
13. Identify the Central Idea and Supporting Points. To understand the overall message, you need to read the passage first. After that you need to identify the details that support the message.
14. Combine Related Ideas into One Sentence. While writing the summary, you need to write one grammatically correct sentence of 75 words. Your summarized answer must express the original meaning accurately.
15. Check Sentence Structure and Word Count. Once your answer is finalized, you have to check that:
- It contains one complete sentence.
- It meets the word limit.
- Correct Usage of subject-verb agreement
- Correct Punctuation
- Logical connection between ideas
What are Some Steps to Write a PTE Essay?
Below are the steps that can help you in writing an essay for the PTE exam.
- Planning: 2–3 minutes
- Writing: 13–15 minutes
- Reviewing: 2–3 minutes
What are the PTE Writing Mistakes That One Should Avoid?
There are certain mistakes that even candidates with good English skills can make. Here is a list of those mistakes that should be focused on.
Never use prepared answers or templates while answering questions in exams.
It is important to write your answer within the prescribed limit, that is, between 200-300 words for an essay and up to 75 words for a summary.
Avoid using difficult words and use only those words that you can understand and use properly in your answer.
Do not repeat yourself and ensure that each paragraph has a different idea.
Practice answering questions within the prescribed time limit in order to get sufficient time for reviewing your answer.
Scoring Criteria of PTE Writing
It is important to understand the scoring criteria of PTE Writing practice because it not only helps you in your preparation but also helps you get good scores.
The scoring criteria of PTE Writing practice is based on the following factors:
Relevance
Is your answer relevant to the question asked?
Grammar & Clarity
Is your answer grammatically correct and easy to understand?
Vocabulary
Did you use the right vocabulary to communicate your ideas effectively?
Word Limit & Format
Does your answer fit within the required word limit and format?
For more information, please check Pearson's official PTE academic scoring guide to understand better.
How to Practise PTE Writing Online with Alfa PTE?
It is important to do regular PTE practice since it helps with developing writing skills and preparing for the PTE academic exam.
But don't worry because Alfa PTE is here to offer you all the preparation resources online. This way candidates can practise different questions and review their performance too.
Not only this but Alfa's platform also provides practice tests, AI-based scoring, and performance analytics to help with the exam preparation.
However, it is important to note that the scores are estimates only and do not guarantee your official PTE Result.
Learn more about the Alfa PTE website to explore all the available resources.
Have questions about PTE Writing or need guidance with your exam preparation?
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