Hi everyone! Welcome back. In this post I am going to explain how to write an essay, which is the second task in PTE writing section. I will explain how to write the essay using the template as well as a key strategy that will make much easier to write an accurate and a high scoring essay.
The most important thing to understand about the PTE essay writing task is that it needs to be written according to the PTE-specific format. With this in mind, I would like to share you with some strategies, which help you to organise written ideas in a clear, logical and grammatical way and improve your essay score.
Just a quick look on what we are going to cover, we will see how to
Understand the task
Scoring structure
Different types of Essays
One universal template for all type of Essays.
And on top of that instead of using the template, we will see how to
Use the method
Few tips and strategies to avoid mistakes.
Understand the PTE Essay writing task
Let us understand the task first. As per Pearson the word limit should be between 200 to 300 but the recommended word limit is between 230 to 260 words. Sometimes you may get 1 or 2 essays in PTE writing. Each question has 2 to 3 sentences.
20 minutes to write an essay. Make a plan to think about the ideas, write the essay and then allocate some time to review it. Spend atleast 3 to 5 minutes to review in order to check the spellings, grammar and correct the sentences if required. This task contributes only for writing section.
Use cut, copy, paste buttons on the screen instead of keyboard shortcuts – we have already discussed this in SWT. Don’t use keyboard shortcuts as it will not work properly. Use the one which is shown in the screen.
Scoring structure
This task contributes 11.2 marks. It is scored based on our ability to write a convincing essay on the given topic. And it affects the scoring of grammar, spelling, vocabulary and written discourse. Also the score is awarded based on the below factors.
Content
Content is scored by determining if all aspects of the topic have been addressed in your response. If your essay does not address the topic, you will not receive any score points for your essay on any of the factors, which we are discussing now. Your essay will be scored zero in PTE writing section. Also you have to support any arguments with details, examples and explanations.
Development, structure and coherence
These are scored according to the organization of your response. Make sure the essay writing in PTE contains an introduction, two body paragraphs and a conclusion that relate to the topic of the essay. Within the paragraphs, ideas should be clearly presented and supported with details, examples and explanations. Transitions between paragraphs must be smooth.
Form
Scored by counting the number of words in your response. You will receive full credit if your essay in PTE writing section is between 200 and 300 words. Writing less than 200 words or more than 300 words will decrease your score. Zero marks will be given for all the factors if your essay contains less than 120 words or more than 380 words.
General linguistic range
This is scored if you accurately communicate your ideas. Provide clear descriptions to highlight key ideas without any doubt and ensure clear communication. And use complex sentences rather than using simple sentence structures and use academic vocabularies appropriately. These are all give full credits to your response.
Grammar, Vocabulary and Spelling
Grammar is scored by examining sentence structure, punctuation and capital letters wherever is required. Use variety of academic words. And use synonyms in the introduction to paraphrase the topic sentence. But avoid repetition of same words. Most importantly PTE Academic recognizes English spelling conventions from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada. But use only one spelling convention consistently in all your responses. Don’t mix the spelling content from different countries. This is very important point to be noted.
PTE Essay Writing prompts
These are the different types of essay in PTE writing section that we get in the test.
Agree or disagree
Discuss about the topic and state your points as why you agree or why you disagree. If the question is about agree or disagree such as, Is the fast food good for health or not? You can mention some points on why it is bad for health in first paragraph and how it benefits for lower income people in second paragraph and conclude with your statement on one side. This will give clear picture of the topic with many supporting points.
Discuss two opinions
You have to talk about two sides of the argument in paragraph1 and paragraph2 and say which one is best in the conclusion. Talk on both the sides so that you will get lot of points.
Causes and Effects
For example, why people like travelling and what are the effects when they travel such as tasting different food, experiencing different culture.
Problems and Solutions
Advantages and Disadvantages
We will see each type of essay in PTE writing with examples using the same template for all type of essays.
PTE Essay Writing Universal Template
One of the conspicuous trends of today’s world is a colossal upsurge in the number of people believing that <negative point of the topic>. There is a widespread worry that this will lead to a myriad of concerns in one’s life. However, I do not entirely accept this and I will explain why in this essay.
There are a number of arguments in favor of my stance. Most preponderant one is that <positive point of the topic> and there are numerous other benefits in various fields. Thanks to the wide range of advantages it offers, not only one benefit more when it comes to being effective, but they can enhance productivity and quality of their lives, with much ease, efficacy, and convenience. Needless to say, all these merits stand one in good stead, as far as augmenting the chances of prosperity and excellence is concerned.
Another pivotal factor in the aforementioned proposition is that it is only likely to help one thrive and excel in varied areas. Besides, when only one follows such a system, can they broaden their horizons, thus learning such attributes as dedication and perseverance. Hence, it is apparent why many are in favor of <positive key point>.
In the views of the arguments outlined above, one can conclude that the benefits of <positive key point> are indeed too great to ignore.
This is one universal template, which we can use for any type of essays. Start with an introduction, two body paragraphs and conclusion at the end. Again, with this template you can get 79+ but you have to make sure that the other writing tasks should be attended well without any mistakes. Don’t worry about the different prompts such as agree or disagree or advantages or disadvantages, you can use the same template for all types of essays. Using this template you can score in grammar, spelling, vocabulary and written discourse as well.
Now we will see example for each type of essays.
Agree or disagree
Big salary is much more important than job satisfaction.
Do you agree or disagree? Provide relevant examples if necessary.
Here they have directly given as agree or disagree. Sometimes they will not mention this and we have to identify by understanding the topic. Always mention the negative side of the topic in the first paragraph. Some contradicting point relevant to the main idea in the second paragraphs and supporting points in the subsequent paragraphs..
Using Template
One of the conspicuous trends of today’s world is a colossal upsurge in the number of people believing that low salary is more disadvantageous. There is a widespread worry that this will lead to a myriad of concerns in one’s life. However, I do not entirely accept this and I will explain why in this essay.
There are a number of arguments in favor of my stance. Most preponderant one is that job satisfaction gives people a sense of fulfillment and there are numerous other benefits in various fields. Thanks to the wide range of advantages it offers, not only one benefit more when it comes to being effective, but they can enhance productivity and quality of their lives, with much ease, efficacy, and convenience. Needless to say, all these merits stand one in good stead, as far as augmenting the chances of prosperity and excellence is concerned.
Another pivotal factor in the aforementioned proposition is that it is only likely to help one thrive and excel in varied areas. Besides, when only one follows such a system, can they broaden their horizons, thus learning such attributes as dedication and perseverance. Hence, it is apparent why many are in favor of job satisfaction.
In the views of the arguments outlined above, one can conclude that the benefits of job satisfaction are indeed too great to ignore.
Here, there is a widespread worry and leads to a concern. People are worrying that low salary is a concern. However, I do not entirely accept because low salary is fine for me as long as I get job satisfaction. Please make a note of this point. Since we are not agreeing, always mention the negative point in the introduction and the contradicting point should be positive in body paragraph1. In this way, you can follow the same template for any essay in PTE writing. Also you will not go out of the topic.
Big salary is much more important than job satisfaction. I am going to mention low salary is disadvantage instead of big salary is advantage. Because I am going to support points for job satisfaction. Big salary is not important for me compared to job satisfaction. Therefore, I am mentioning big salary as negative point. Myriad – is an academic vocabulary. We have enough vocabularies in this template like this.
There are number of arguments in favour of my stance. Most preponderant one is that job satisfaction… here job satisfaction is a contradicting point to low salary. Wide range of advantages, benefit, broaden their horizons – These are all supporting points to this sentence. Hence it is apparent why many are in favour of job satisfaction. In conclusion also job satisfaction are indeed too great to ignore. After replacing the points just read the entire essay once again to make sure that the points are fit to the template in terms of content and grammar. And also check the spelling mistakes if any. Here we are getting 227 words and it is totally fine.
Discuss two opinions
Some people point that experiential learning can work well in formal education. However, others think a traditional form of teaching is the best. Do you think experiential learning can work well in high schools or colleges?
What type of essay is this? ‘Experiential learning and traditional form of teaching’. So two points mentioned here and ‘Do you think’ is asking our opinion. So discuss two opinions is the prompt.
Again mention which one you don’t support in the introduction paragraph, but negatively. People believing that experiential learning is best compared to traditional way of education. Here I am mentioning traditional way of education is not the best as negatively. And it is mentioned as concern to people but I am not accepting it. I am supporting experiential learning is the best. Hence, mention some points of experiential learning in body paragraph1. In body paragraph2, it is apparent why many are in favour of experiential learning and even in conclusion as well. Read the entire essay once for proofreading.
Using Template
One of the conspicuous trends of today’s world is a colossal upsurge in the number of people believing that experiential learning is best compared to traditional way of education. There is a widespread worry that this will lead to a myriad of concerns in one’s life. However, I do not entirely accept this and I will explain why in this essay.
There are a number of arguments in favor of my stance. Most preponderant one is that experiential way of learning provides practical knowledge and there are numerous other benefits in various fields. Thanks to the wide range of advantages it offers, not only one benefit more when it comes to being effective, but they can enhance productivity and quality of their lives, with much ease, efficacy, and convenience. Needless to say, all these merits stand one in good stead, as far as augmenting the chances of prosperity and excellence is concerned.
Another pivotal factor in the aforementioned proposition is that it is only likely to help one thrive and excel in varied areas. Besides, when only one follows such a system, can they broaden their horizons, thus learning such attributes as dedication and perseverance. Hence, it is apparent why many are in favor of experiential learning.
In the views of the arguments outlined above, one can conclude that the benefits of experiential learning are indeed too great to ignore.
Problems and Solutions
Some universities deduct students’ marks if work is given late. What is your opinion and recommend some alternative actions for this problem?
Here it is mentioned as problem and asking for solution. Recommend some alternative actions – solution. So it should be problems and solutions. Negative point of the topic – already the topic itself has some negative point – Deduct students’ marks. Mention it in introduction.
People believing that some universities reduce students’ marks for late submission of their assignments. Is this a concern? No I do not entirely accept this. Because students learn to manage time. Here it is not necessary to provide new solution. Time management is the solution here. Remember that we can write an essay in PTE writing section using many different ideas. But the structure and relevant information are the key to score more points. In body paragraph2, it is in favour of time management and in conclusion as well.
Using Template
One of the conspicuous trends of today’s world is a colossal upsurge in the number of people believing that some universities reduce students’ marks for late submission of their assignments. There is a widespread worry that this will lead to a myriad of concerns in one’s life. However, I do not entirely accept this and I will explain why in this essay.
There are a number of arguments in favor of my stance. Most preponderant one is that students learn how to manage time and there are numerous other benefits in various fields. Thanks to the wide range of advantages it offers, not only one benefit more when it comes to being effective, but they can enhance productivity and quality of their lives, with much ease, efficacy, and convenience. Needless to say, all these merits stand one in good stead, as far as augmenting the chances of prosperity and excellence is concerned.
Another pivotal factor in the aforementioned proposition is that it is only likely to help one thrive and excel in varied areas. Besides, when only one follows such a system, can they broaden their horizons, thus learning such attributes as dedication and perseverance. Hence, it is apparent why many are in favor of time management.
In the views of the arguments outlined above, one can conclude that the benefits of time management are indeed too great to ignore.
Causes and Effects
The time people devote in job leaves very little time for personal life. How widespread is the problem? What problem will this shortage of time cause?
Here also there is a problem statement but here solution is not asked. What effects will this problem can create? So causes and effects is the prompt here. Shortage of time for personal life leads to many family problems – negative side of the topic.
Explain why this is not a problem – in long term perspective one can achieve high standard of living, variations in lifestyle, luxurious life with the family – these are the effects, positive effects. There are negative effects as well such as disputes among families, stress and depression due to lot of work but that is not required to mention. And in body paragraph2, mention why many are in favour of – spending less time for family. Same point in conclusion as well.
Using Template
One of the conspicuous trends of today’s world is a colossal upsurge in the number of people believing that shortage of time for personal life leads to many family problems. There is a widespread worry that this will lead to a myriad of concerns in one’s life. However, I do not entirely accept this and I will explain why in this essay.
There are a number of arguments in favor of my stance. Most preponderant one is that in long term perspective one can achieve high standard of living, variations in lifestyle, luxurious life with the family and there are numerous other benefits in various fields. Thanks to the wide range of advantages it offers, not only one benefit more when it comes to being effective, but they can enhance productivity and quality of their lives, with much ease, efficacy, and convenience. Needless to say, all these merits stand one in good stead, as far as augmenting the chances of prosperity and excellence is concerned.
Another pivotal factor in the aforementioned proposition is that it is only likely to help one thrive and excel in varied areas. Besides, when only one follows such a system, can they broaden their horizons, thus learning such attributes as dedication and perseverance. Hence, it is apparent why many are in favor of spending less time for family.
In the views of the arguments outlined above, one can conclude that the benefits of spending less time for family are indeed too great to ignore.
Advantages and Disadvantages
With the increase of digital media available online, the role of the library has become obsolete. Universities should only procure digital media rather than constantly updating textbooks. Discuss both the advantages and disadvantages.
So we have to discuss both advantages and disadvantages. Advantages of digital media outweighs drawbacks in library is the negative point. So the contradicting point is digital media provides latest information in one click. Therefore, many are in favour of digital media. Simple.
Using Template
One of the conspicuous trends of today’s world is a colossal upsurge in the number of people believing that advantages of digital media outweighs the drawbacks of traditional way of reading in the library. There is a widespread worry that this will lead to a myriad of concerns in one’s life. However, I do not entirely accept this and I will explain why in this essay.
There are a number of arguments in favor of my stance. Most preponderant one is that digital media provides more latest information in just one click and there are numerous other benefits in various fields. Thanks to the wide range of advantages it offers, not only one benefit more when it comes to being effective, but they can enhance productivity and quality of their lives, with much ease, efficacy, and convenience. Needless to say, all these merits stand one in good stead, as far as augmenting the chances of prosperity and excellence is concerned.
Another pivotal factor in the aforementioned proposition is that it is only likely to help one thrive and excel in varied areas. Besides, when only one follows such a system, can they broaden their horizons, thus learning such attributes as dedication and perseverance. Hence, it is apparent why many are in favor of digital media.
In the views of the arguments outlined above, one can conclude that the benefits of digital media are indeed too great to ignore.
So this is how we can use the same template for all types of essays. Read the topic, write the template quickly in the textbox and then modify the topic sentence and supporting points. Finally verify if everything is correct. However if you still have dilemma whether you can use the template or not, you can use the method, which we will discuss now. Before moving on to the method, we will quickly see some tips and strategies to avoid any mistakes and utilize the 20 minutes time wisely.
PTE Essay Writing Tips and Strategies
Before you start writing, you need to plan what you are going to write. Read the topic and plan your ideas in the first 2 minutes. Gather some relevant points, your experience related to the topic and some supporting points if any. Take 15 minutes to write and review in the last 3 minutes. This will save you from having to stop and restart from the beginning. Check the grammar and spelling mistakes if any. You have to read the entire essay, word by word to make sure error free text and get full points in grammar and spelling.
Always use the structure and limit the number of lines. Introduction, 2 body paragraphs and a conclusion. This will do to write around 230 to 260 words, which is more than enough. But how will you check if you will be able to complete your essay in PTE writing within the word limit. Though you can see the word count at the bottom, even when you complete the first body paragraph itself, sometimes you will be reaching around 180 to 200 words. Therefore, limit the number of lines for each paragraph as mentioned below.
Introduction – not more than 2 lines.
Body paragraphs – 3 and 1/2 to 4 lines each.
Conclusion – 1 to 1 and 1/2 lines.
This itself will bring you around 270 words. Here I am just talking about the number of lines based on the textbox given in the PTE test. In each line we can write around 25 to 30 words. Therefore, for 10 lines we can easily get around 260 to 270 words. Don’t write many points in body paragraph1 itself. Then you need to reduce your points in paragraph2. If you reach up to 4 sentences in first paragraph then complete the sentence and start writing the next paragraph. Believe me! You can save much time if you follow this strategy.
Avoid very long sentences. The more you extend your sentences, the more likely you will be to make grammar and punctuation errors. Make it simple and clear. Use complex sentences though but not very big sentences. Build your vocabulary skill by reading newspapers or hearing BBC news channel without video. Hear only the audio news to concentrate more.
Let us see how you have to structure your essay using the method.
PTE Essay Writing Method
Even in the method as well, you have to stick to the structure to get more points in written discourse. Always start with introduction, 2 body paragraphs and a conclusion.
Introduction
Let us have a look on how to write the introduction. For introduction, just paraphrase the topic sentence and add a supporting point. You can start the introduction as, It is often argued that, It is commonly believed that etc.
Body Paragraph1
Start the first body paragraph as To begin with, First of all or Firstly. And then continue the paragraph with supporting points using Secondly and Finally.
Body Paragraph2
Start the second paragraph with Nevertheless or However with some contradicting points for the first paragraph and mention how it can be resolved. You can also extend your second paragraph by supporting the paragraph1 instead of arguing against it using Moreover or Furthermore.
In addition, support your points with some examples. You can include any relevant examples from your own experience or knowledge. Start the example using For instance, To illustrate, In my own experience etc. If you support your points with examples, you will get more points to add and you can easily make it relevant to the topic.
Conclusion
Finally, write the conclusion as In conclusion or To conclude, and mention which statement is most convincing to support the topic sentence.
Each of these paragraphs need only a few sentences to clearly get your point. And finally proofread your content to make sure you don’t do any spelling or grammar mistakes. Now we will see how to use the method for this topic. We have already seen this example using template. Apply all the points that we discussed now.
Big salary is much more important than job satisfaction. Do you agree or disagree? Provide relevant examples if necessary.
Use the below structure.
It is often argued that
First of all,
For example,
Secondly,
For instance,
Thus,
In conclusion,
Using Method
It is often argued that it is more advantageous to choose a job with high wage, even if it does not appeal to you at all. I completely disagree with this opinion and think that job satisfaction is much more important than salary.
First of all, I believe that job satisfaction gives people a sense of fulfillment that no money can guarantee. Even if someone is earning a high salary but feels tensed, this person would not enjoy his life. While pursuing one’s interests will always bring pleasure and feeling of satisfaction. For example, a lot of famous researchers made their career choices not because of appealing wages, but because they were passionate about science. That is why it is more important to choose the kind of work that makes you happy than to look only at a high salary.
Secondly, doing what you like keeps you motivated and therefore leads to a career growth. In other words, there is a strong relation between job satisfaction and productivity. People who love their jobs can easily excel in their fields of work than those, who put salary on the first place. For instance, in my company many people are working for more than 25 years despite a good wage. Consequently, others moved out for high salary but struggling to achieve better results. Thus, advantages of jobs that keep you satisfied outweigh the drawback of low salary in a long-term perspective.
In conclusion, I strongly believe that job satisfaction is more beneficial than high salary because it makes people happy and motivated.
So this is how it should be. Paraphrase the introduction – instead of more important you can mention as more advantageous. Don’t use abbreviations and colloquial language. Always expand the words and maintain academic English. Here I am disagreeing the statement of big salary, adding points for job satisfaction and the supporting points with examples using my own experience and then the conclusion part. Here I did not use much vocabularies but use atleast few words. So this is how we can use the method. And don’t forget to proofread your essay.
Allow one space between each paragraph. This is not mandatory but leaving one space will be good to show the completion of the paragraph. And you can use delete or backspace button anytime. That is not a problem. You can correct your content until you write error free essay. You can paste this sample in pte.tools to check how many lines we will get for 260 words in the real exam. 1 and 1/2 lines for introduction, 3 to 4 lines for body paragraphs and 1 line for conclusion and we got 260 words. This is how you can limit the number of words based on number of lines.
Sentences to increase the word count
Here are some sentences that I have gathered from some sample essays. This helps to bring you some ideas related to the topic using which you can build your own points. I always add two or more sentences from this list in my essays, which save my time while thinking about the ideas.
- Helps the country’s economy to be stable.
- The research is quite possibly biased on one side.
- It is the government that needs to take measures to ameliorate such problems.
- Admittedly, this may be cumbersome to administer, however, an attempt could be made to get it off the ground.
- Attempts should be made to redress the imbalance.
- It is often the case that people would rather not use.
- I would argue there is sufficient evidence to demonstrate that this is not the case, and, therefore, steps must be taken to improve it.
- Which socio-economic group consumes more (either lower income people or wealthier people).
- Governments offer large subsidies to farmers.
- It is destroying traditional forms of communication such as letter writing, telephone and face-to-face conversation.
- The children accessing unsuitable websites and viruses is inevitable.
- An ocean of opportunities.
- In conclusion, despite the fact that there are benefits.
Brush up these sentences before going to the exam and try to remember as much as possible.
Conclusion
That’s all I have for essays. Use the 20 minutes time wisely for understanding the topic and plan your ideas in the first 2 minutes, write the essay within 13 to 15 minutes, review and correct it in the last 3 minutes. Also, write only a maximum of 10 lines. Introduction – 2 lines, body paragraphs – 3 to 4 lines each and conclusion – 1 to 1 and 1/2 lines. Along with checking on the word count, you can count the lines and structure your essay in this way.
Paraphrase the topic in the introduction, highlight the supporting points and contradicting points in body paragraphs with some examples in your own experience and then conclude with some solution or on one side of the topic depends upon what type of topic that you get. Remember that anyone can write the essay within the given timeframe if they have the right tools. I hope with these information, writing an essay will be very easy for you. Thank you for reading my post till the end.
