Improving Your Skills
Reading skills for PTE Academic
General reading skills
You will be tested on different reading skills in
PTE Academic. To prepare, you will need to:
• practise reading a variety of texts – this is
essential in order to become familiar with
different text types and build your vocabulary.
• set reading goals: how much you will read and
when; what you are practising/looking for each
time you read.
• read academic level texts but in portions – in
PTE Academic you will read short but authentic
academic texts.
• evaluate your current reading skills and identify
areas to improve.
The tasks in PTE Academic will require you to:
• understand topics, main ideas and supporting
information.
• understand specific details, facts, opinions and
definitions.
• summarise what you read.
• understand the purpose, tone and attitude of
the writer.
• understand academic vocabulary.
• work out the meaning of words that are
unfamiliar to you.
• understand the organisation and connections
between pieces of information.
• read under timed conditions.
How to practise reading: What
should you read?
When you practise reading for the test, it is a good
idea to choose texts that are similar to what you will
find in PTE Academic, such as the types of text listed
below.
1a Tick (✓) the types of text that you read regularly
in English.
• articles with a factual, academic focus,
such as those in scientific or geographic
magazines
• newspaper articles that cover topics such
as the environment, animals, technology
and urban planning
1 The Official Guide to PTE Academic, Digital Resources
• university campus material (found,
for example, on university websites
and in course outlines) including course
descriptions, library notices and events
on campus
• non-fiction books and introductions
to books
You will need to read texts on a lot of different
topics in the exam. Keep a list of what you read
and make sure that you are reading about a wide
range of topics in English.
1b Tick (✓) the titles that you would expect to
find in the PTE Academic reading tasks. Put
a cross (✗) next to the titles that you are not
likely to find.
1 The role of grandparents in early
childhood development
2 Planning a winter escape? Look no further
than Wilson’s Prom.
3 65,000 year-old plant fossils reveal the diet
of early humans
4 How spending time in nature improves
patients’ moods
5 New XYZ phone not as good as it seems
6 Reality TV star caught in embarrassing
situation
7 Library upgrade during semester break
1c Look at the titles with a cross next to them.
Why do you think the texts would not be
suitable practice for PTE Academic?
Specific reading skills to improve
Reading for gist
When you first look at a text, you need to skim it to
find out what it is about. This should only take a few
seconds. Look at any headings, the first sentence of
the text, the first sentence of each paragraph and any
key words or phrases that appear several times – this
will give you an idea of the topic. Don’t read every
word at this stage.
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Before you read a text, ask yourself Wh- questions
about it. They will give you an idea of what it is about.
Read the Wh- questions in the table.
Question Example
Who? Who is the writer? e.g. a journalist?
an academic?
Who is the intended audience?
e.g. students? an educated member
of the public?
Who are the people mentioned in
the text? e.g. experts? artists? the
subjects of research?
Where? What places are mentioned? Are they
important?
Where was the text written?
When? Are any important dates mentioned?
If there is a sequence of events, what
happened first?
Why? If the writer expresses a view, what
reasons are given?
If there is a surprising outcome,
why is it surprising and what was
expected?
What? What is the topic of the text?
What is the most important
information in the text?
How? How does the writer feel about … ?
How many people … ?
How long was the … ?
2 Read the text and answer as many Wh-
questions as you can.
Of all the great apes, chimpanzees have the
widest habitat range, reaching from central to
western Africa. While they primarily live in tropical
rainforests, they are also found in woodlands and
grasslands. They typically build themselves nests
of leaves and sleep in Ugandan ironwood trees,
which provide them with a firm, secure retreat.
Chimps also eat while they are up in trees. Though
fruits and plants comprise most of their diet, they
also consume insects, eggs, nuts and many other
things they find around them. They enjoy eating
meat, and have been known to eat small antelope,
and even tortoises.
Reading for detail
For some PTE Academic tasks, you will need to scan
the text for detail. This means that you will need to
look for specific information. If you are scanning for
information to answer a question, the question itself
supplies the keywords and will tell you what to look
for. Follow these steps:
1 Read each question completely before starting
to scan. Choose your keywords from the
2 The Official Guide to PTE Academic, Digital Resources
question itself. These are words that carry
the important meaning or information.
2 When you locate a key word, read the
surrounding text carefully to see if it is
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relevant. The word might not be exactly the
same as it appears in the question. Sometimes
words with similar meanings can be used to
refer to the same thing, e.g. the question might
mention a problem but the text might refer to
a challenge.
3 Reread the question to determine if the
information you found answers this question.
3a Read the text and answer the question. Use the
techniques above.
The first recognised study of traffic flow based
on observation was published in 1933 by Bruce
Greenshields, a researcher from the USA.
Remarkably, this came just twenty-five years after
the first Ford Model T motorcar was manufactured
in 1908.
Greenshields measured the traffic flow by taking
consecutive pictures with movie cameras set to
a constant time interval. Since then, many more
data collection and modelling techniques have
been developed. Today, the most advanced
method to measure and monitor traffic in cities
uses anonymous location data from mobile phones
with sophisticated mathematical and computer
simulation models. The most recent example
of such powerful data sources and analysis
techniques are the community mobility reports.
What did Greenshields use to collect data about
traffic?
1 mobility reports
2 movie cameras
3 mobile phones
4 computer simulation
3b How did you find the answer? What key words
did you look for?
What to do if you see a word you don’t
understand
Practise reading texts that are a little above your
level. To find a suitable text, look for one where you
understand most of it – about 70 percent of what
you read. It may have some difficult grammar and
vocabulary that you do not know. If you choose a text
that is too easy or too difficult, you will not be able to
build on your skills as effectively.
When you read a word you don’t understand, ask
yourself if the word is important in the text. If you
think it is important, look at it carefully and ask and
answer the questions:
1 Does it contain a ‘base word’ that you already
know? For example, in the word carefully, the
base word is care.
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 2 Is there a prefix or suffix that might help you?
A prefix comes before the base word, e.g. un-,
meaning not in unforgettable. A suffix comes
after the base word, e.g. -less, meaning without
in flavourless.
4 Guess what the underlined words mean. Use
the questions above to help you. Then check
your answers in a dictionary.
1 overmedicated patients
2 maladapted species
3 subconsciously believe
4 inaudible lecture
You can use context to help you guess the meaning
of a word. Use your knowledge of the topic and the
words in the sentence that you already understand.
Think whether the word is a noun, verb, adjective, etc.
5 Read the sentences. What can you guess about
the words in bold?
1 Workers in the mine suffered from
pneumoconiosis and other serious health
conditions that affected their breathing.
 a noun, a health condition
2 The sudden deluge caused a great deal of
water damage.
3 The subjects of the experiment were told that
they could turn down the thermostat if the
room was too warm.
4 The author admitted that she procrastinated
and would not have finished the book if it
weren’t for a strict editor and a clear deadline.
5 The ruler’s power reached its zenith at the end
of the century. However, soon afterwards his
rivals gained influence.
6 The modern interior of the building contrasted
with the vintage exterior.
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Be aware of linking words and reference
words
In the PTE Academic Re-order paragraph task, you
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have to put the sentences of a paragraph in the
correct order. To do this, you need to understand
how a text is organised and recognise words that
will help you.
6a Read the text. Sentences a–d are in the wrong
order. Use the underlined words to help you put
the sentences in the correct order.
a This was sold due to economic difficulties in
the 1970s but, very fortunately, was returned
to the Coleman Theatre in 1996.
b Today, it can still be heard providing the
musical accompaniment to a range of classic
silent films, just as it did in 1929.
c Built by George L Coleman Senior, the iconic
Coleman Theatre was constructed in 1929.
d Originally serving as a cinema, the theatre had
an original ‘Mighty Wurlitzer’ pipe organ.
6b How did the underlined words help you?
6c How did you know which sentence to start with?
6d What does this refer to in a?
6e What does it refer to in b?
Build your vocabulary
You can find useful information about words
in specialised dictionaries such as the Longman
Dictionary of Contemporary English. Look at the
example:
3 Word Family (noun) suspect suspicion (adjective) suspect
1
suspected unsuspecting suspicious (verb) suspect
sus·pect¹ /sə ˈspekt/ W3 verb [transitive] 
1 to think that something is probably true, especially bad
suspect (that)
 I suspected that there
5 was something wrong
with the engine.
2  She strongly suspected he was lying to her.
 She's not going to be very happy about this,
I suspect.
2 to think that something bad has happened or is
happening
 The doctors suspected pneumonia. 4
suspect murder/foul play
 The position of the body led the police to suspect
murder.
suspect something/nothing/anything
 He never suspected anything.
1 Pronunciation 3 Related words
guidance 4 Use in a sentence
2 Meaning 5 Collocation
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When you find a new word that you want to
remember, it is important to keep a record of it.
Write down as much information as you can about
the word, for example:

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• spelling
 suspect
• pronunciation
 ‘suspect /ˈsʌspɛkt/ (noun)
 sus’pect /səˈspɛkt/ (verb)
• meaning
 suspect (verb) to think that something is
probably true, especially something bad;
to think that something bad has happened or
is happening
• word family
 suspect (noun/verb), suspicion (noun),
suspicious (adj), suspected (adj)
• use in a sentence
 The police suspect a local business leader of
stealing money.
• collocations
 to suspect someone of something,
to suspect that something is the case

7 Make a list of ten words you have recently

learnt or come across when reading that you
think are useful. Find out the meanings, related
words and collocations that each word has. Use
the example above to help you. Then practise
using each word in different ways.

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