PTE Answer Short Question is the last question type before the Writing section.
What happens in this question type is, you listen to short audio, about 3-9 seconds and then answer with a single word or a few words within 10 seconds.
There is only one key to getting a good score in this section. And that is to ensure that you understand common phrases, idioms, and how things are described. This means you must have a wide range of general knowledge.
Let’s take a look at a few examples before we dive into some things you need to remember during the exam.
Would you measure the volume of bottled water in litre or kilogram?
Answer: Litre
Who sits in the cockpit of an airplane?
Answer: Pilot
What do you call a list in front of a book which outlines the structure of a book?
Answer: Table of Contents
How many years are there in a silver jubilee?
Answer: 25 years
If you want to find the map of Australia, what type of book should you use?
Answer: Atlas
Which part at the end of a book can be used for further reading? An index or a bibliography?
Answer: Bibliography
What do we call the thread in the centre of the candle?
Answer: Wick
Now… looking at the above questions, you can see that the answer always is made up of a word or a few words. This brings us directly to our first tip…
Don’t give long answers
To illustrate this point, let’s take a look at another example.
What does a sundial measure?
Answer: Time
DON’T SAY: a sundial measures time.
Remember, the time you have is limited. Don’t waste it on saying full sentences. You will get 1 point for the right answer, regardless of the length of your answer. That’s why… be short.
Moving on…
Your vocabulary matters
Here’s the thing… the more words and their meanings you know… the better you will score in this section. In the above examples, you may have noticed that almost all the questions describe something.
So, what does it mean for you?
It means… you must keep practicing your English vocabulary. You can look at the list of PTE Academic collocation list to help you practice and improve your vocabulary.
Next…
Give the first answer that comes to you
You know… sometimes… the moment you hear a question, an image comes to you and you know what the answer is. When that happens, just say the word out loud. This does 2 things.
First, you give an answer in the allocated time.
Second, you stop yourself from over-thinking and doubting your answer. The first word that comes to you when you hear a description is often correct.
Another key thing to remember is to…
Concentrate
Sometimes… it is easy to discount this question type is easy… and when we do that… we usually stop concentrating. So, what I want you to do is… JUST CONCENTRATE. It doesn’t matter how easy you think the question type is… if you lose your concentration… you lose your points. And that means… you could potentially get a lower score.
Just one word here. CONCENTRATE!!!
And finally…
Don’t Pause for a long time
Remember… you only have 10 seconds to answer. And sometimes… you will start thinking of multiple possible answers. If you keep thinking about the best possible answer, you will only be wasting your time. That’s why… keep the timer in mind and answer as soon as you get the first answer. As we discussed earlier… the first answer that usually comes is almost always the correct answer.
That’s it for the tips. We can go on rambling on about PRACTICE! But you already know that.
Keep practicing. If you need expert trainers to guide you in your PTE journey, then contact us
You can read more about getting a good score in PTE or about the PTE test format.
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