PTE Do's & Don'ts (2026): 10 Rules That Decide Your Score

I've scored a perfect 90 in PTE - 14 times. These are the 10 do's & don'ts that actually decide your score, including the Write from Dictation trick almost nobody uses: when you're unsure, type BOTH options - extra words are not penalised. 🎯 FREE full scored mock test + AI analysis: https://www.languageacademy.com.au/mock-test 📲 LA PTE Exam Practice app - 11,000+ AI-scored questions: Android App - https://www.shorturl.at/fixCR iOS/Apple App - https://www.shorturl.at/dHVZ8 📄 Free 10-point checklist PDF → see pinned comment In this video, Varun Dhawan - founder of Language Academy, 9 years of PTE teaching, 14× perfect 90 in PTE Academic - breaks down the exact strategy we use at Language Academy to get students to their target score. Every point works whether you need 65, 79 or a perfect 90. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN ► Why your PTE score is not an average - and which tasks count for two modules at once ► Why more than 50% of your Listening score comes from Speaking tasks (Repeat Sentence, Re-tell Lecture, Summarize Group Discussion) ► The question types you can safely spend less time on ► Why clarity beats fluency in PTE Speaking - and what fluency actually means ► Can you use templates in PTE? The honest answer for Speaking, Essay and Summarize Spoken Text ► Summarize Written Text: the copy-paste rule - change at least 3–4 words ► The 250–260 word essay approach that addresses the topic properly ► Where your Reading score really comes from (hint: it's not hundreds of reading blanks) ► Summarize Spoken Text: the 5-sentence, ~65-word structure ► Write from Dictation: the initials method + the "write both" trick ► BONUS: the only 3 negatively marked question types in PTE - never leave anything else unattempted 📌 FREE PDF - the full 10-point checklist from this video: https://tinyurl.com/mt7uba3p CHAPTERS 00:00 The 3 PTE facts nobody tells you 00:55 How the 10 do's & don'ts work 01:27 Free scored mock test + LA PTE app 02:08 #1 Focus on the tasks that count twice 03:05 #2 50% of your Listening score comes from Speaking 03:49 #3 Question types to spend LESS time on 04:55 #4 Clarity beats fluency in Speaking 06:12 #5 Templates vs real content in Speaking 07:42 #6 Summarize Written Text: change 3–4 words 08:46 #7 Essay: template, length and the off-topic zero 10:23 #8 Where your Reading score really comes from 11:39 #9 Summarize Spoken Text: 5-sentence formula 12:56 #10 Write from Dictation: when unsure, write both 14:25 BONUS: the only 3 negatively marked tasks 14:44 Recap — screenshot the checklist 15:26 Your next step: free scored mock test COMMON QUESTIONS Q: Can you use templates in PTE? A: A light structure is fine, but PTE scores your content first - memorised or off-topic responses can score zero, and many Speaking and Writing responses now face human checking. Real, relevant content wins. Q: Are extra words penalised in Write from Dictation? A: No. Only correct words earn points and extra words are not penalised - so when you're unsure between two options (toy/toys, a/the), type both. Q: How do I improve my PTE Listening score fast? A: Fix your Speaking tasks first. Repeat Sentence, Re-tell Lecture and Summarize Group Discussion contribute more than half of your Listening score. ABOUT LANGUAGE ACADEMY Language Academy has helped 50,000+ students achieve their desired PTE scores, with 11+ locations plus online classes worldwide, and the LA PTE Exam Practice app (4.8★) with AI scoring built to match the real test. Founded by Varun Dhawan — 14× perfect 90 in PTE Academic. 📞 PTE classes (online or on campus): https://www.languageacademy.com.au #PTE #PTEAcademic #PTETips #PTEMistakes #PTESpeaking #PTEReading #PTEListening #PTEWriting #PTEOnlineClasses #Score90 #LanguageAcademy #ptepreparation Song: Tatsunoshin & Slenderino - On My Mind Music provided by NoCopyrightSounds Free Download/Stream: http://ncs.io/TS\_OnMyMind Watch: http://ncs.lnk.to/TS\_OnMyMindAT/youtube