PTE Academic Writing Skills 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: When planning a PTE Academic essay, which approach best supports the 'Development, Structure & Cohesion' scoring dimension?
- Writing as many sentences as possible without a plan
- Outlining an introduction, 2–3 body paragraphs with supporting details, and a conclusion (Correct answer)
- Using only personal anecdotes as evidence
- Focusing entirely on vocabulary variety and ignoring structure
Correct answer: Outlining an introduction, 2–3 body paragraphs with supporting details, and a conclusion
A clear outline with an intro, developed body paragraphs, and a conclusion demonstrates organized thinking, which is directly assessed by the Development, Structure & Cohesion dimension.
Question 2: Which cohesive device is most effective for signaling contrast between two ideas in a PTE essay?
- Furthermore
- In addition
- However (Correct answer)
- Therefore
Correct answer: However
'However' is a contrastive cohesive device that clearly signals a shift or opposition between ideas.
Question 3: A PTE essay prompt says 'Discuss both views and give your own opinion.' Which essay structure is most appropriate?
- Present only your opinion with no acknowledgment of the other view
- Describe one view, then the other, then state and justify your own stance (Correct answer)
- Write a narrative story illustrating the topic
- List advantages and disadvantages in bullet form
Correct answer: Describe one view, then the other, then state and justify your own stance
For a 'discuss both views' prompt, you should present each perspective fairly and then clearly state and support your own position.
Question 4: What is the primary purpose of a topic sentence in a PTE essay body paragraph?
- To introduce a new unrelated idea
- To restate the essay thesis word-for-word
- To signal the main point of that paragraph (Correct answer)
- To provide a concluding remark for the essay
Correct answer: To signal the main point of that paragraph
A topic sentence states the controlling idea of its paragraph, helping scorers track the logical development of the essay.
Question 5: Which type of evidence is most academically appropriate to support a claim in a PTE essay?
- Personal feelings and emotions
- Generalised examples, statistics, or reasoned argument (Correct answer)
- Slang and colloquial expressions
- Lengthy personal narratives
Correct answer: Generalised examples, statistics, or reasoned argument
PTE essay scoring favours academic register, so supporting claims with examples, data references, or logical reasoning is expected.
Question 6: In a PTE essay conclusion, which action is most appropriate?
- Introduce a completely new argument
- Repeat the introduction paragraph verbatim
- Summarize the main points and restate the position using different wording (Correct answer)
- Ask the reader a series of rhetorical questions
Correct answer: Summarize the main points and restate the position using different wording
A strong conclusion synthesizes the main arguments and restates the thesis using paraphrase, reinforcing the essay's position without adding new content.
Question 7: How does using passive voice excessively in a PTE essay affect the 'General Linguistic Range' score?
- It always improves the score by sounding formal
- It may lower the score by reducing syntactic variety (Correct answer)
- It has no effect on any scoring dimension
- It automatically disqualifies the response
Correct answer: It may lower the score by reducing syntactic variety
While some passive constructions are appropriate in academic writing, over-reliance limits syntactic variety, which can reduce scores on General Linguistic Range.
PTE Academic Writing Skills 3
When planning a PTE Academic essay, which approach best supports the 'Development, Structure & Cohesion' scoring dimension?