Failed APTIS twice — finally passed with 3 weeks prep, here's what worked

Okay so I've been lurking here for ages and figured it's time to actually contribute something useful. I took the APTIS exam twice last year and bombed both times — mostly because I underestimated the reading component and completely ignored the grammar section. Third attempt I gave myself a proper three weeks and actually followed a structured APTIS study guide instead of just winging it.

The biggest game-changer for me was drilling the part 4 reading tasks under timed conditions. The format is so different from IELTS or Cambridge exams that it genuinely throws you off if you haven't seen it before. I probably did 15-20 full APTIS practice test sessions in those three weeks, timing myself strictly. I went from a B1 to a solid B2+ on the reading section alone.

Writing was still my weak spot — I got a B2 overall which is what my employer needed, but I know I left points on the table. Anyone else find the writing tasks oddly hard to pace? I always ran out of time on part 3.