The PTA exam is a type of academic test that is designed to test foreign students on their skills and knowledge of the English language. It is conducted for people from non-English speaking countries when students want to enroll in universities based in native English-speaking places. This exam is constructed of several sections that candidates need to pass in order to prove their knowledge and understanding of the English language. It is sad that for this type of exam you would need to prepare a lot if you want to get a passing score. However, nowadays people from all over the world use English on a daily basis and this begs the question can you pass the PTE test without studying? Keep on reading to find out what you need to do to prepare and how long would you need to be able to pass the exam with flying colors.
Is it difficult?
The first question that every candidate has is if this academic test is difficult to pass. There is no exact answer to this question and it all depends on your overall knowledge and skills of the English language. It is said that even some native speakers can have trouble passing the exam if they needed to take it, and on the other hand, it has been shown that there are candidates from foreign countries who easily got the passing score without spending too much time studying and preparing.
The main thing you need to understand is that the chances of you being perfect in all parts of the test are pretty low and you probably have a strong side with one of the sections but you may fail another one. For example, most of the students say that the part where they need to read, comprehend, and answer questions is the most difficult part since they are timed and they need to be able to manage their time and at the same time be focused enough to understand the whole paragraph section that they are reading. Sometimes students suggest that they have an issue with the pronunciation of some words especially when it comes to words that they don’t normally use in their day-to-day life.
Overall, candidates who have passed the test suggest that it is far easier than some of the other exams that are designed to test your English knowledge but that doesn’t mean that you can easily pass it without any preparation and without any previous studying.
The easiest way to prepare for this exam is to start with the practice tests and many of the candidates have suggested that they have gotten some of the questions in the real PTE exam, so you should learn more about the mock tests and how they can help you prepare for the real thing.
Can you pass it without studying?
Now comes the question, can you easily pass it without studying and how much time do you need to prepare for the academic test? First and foremost you need to know that the exam format consists of about two dozen different question types and you will be tested in 3 main sections.
The first skills that are going to be tested include speaking and writing and you will have about one hour to finish this section and move on to the next one. Then your reading skills will be tested and you will have about 30 minutes to finish this part. Finally, you’re listening skills will be tested and you will have no more than 45 minutes to finish this part of the exam.
As we previously mentioned some of the candidates have strong listening skills and they have no problem listening to a paragraph, memorizing it, and they have no problem listening to a paragraph, memorizing it, and then answering questions regarding what they heard. However, that does not mean that the same candidate who is skilled when it comes to listening and comprehending is equally skilled when it comes to reading or even writing. Because of this, you need to be aware of what your strong skills are and you need to be aware of what you can get away with without studying and which parts you have to focus on if you want to easily score the passing score.
The best way to determine that is to take the trial exams and start preparing on time. The practice tests are going to help you figure out which are your weak points and you will see what you need to spend the most time with. If you can easily pass the mark tests and if you can check and determine that you are speaking, writing, reading, and listening skills are all at the highest level and you have no issues with any of the sections, then you can try to take the exam without any preparation.
Keep in mind that this test is designed to check your knowledge fully and it’s not going to be just like a day-to-day conversation that you have with your friends in English and it will not be like something that you just listen to when you watch a movie or hear a song.
Because of this, it is recommended for all the candidates to give themselves time and to prepare for the academic test. Even if you are certain that all of your skills are up to the needed level there will be no negative side to you deciding to prepare more and spend some time perfecting all of your skills. There is going to be no disadvantage of you taking the mock tests or studying for the exam and the only thing you can do is gain some new knowledge and new perspective of things that you were unsure about before.
You don’t need to start preparing a year or even six months in advance but try to give yourself time to not only study but also figure out your strong and weak points. Start preparing at least three months in advance so that you can see which sections you need to pay the most attention to and if you feel that you are skilled enough in every section then you can just go over the material a few weeks before the date of the exam comes.