PTE Magic Handbook

Trainer: Peter Pham

MAGIC HANDBOOK
STRUCTURE

1) SPEAKING
1. READ ALOUD
2. REPEAT SENTENCE
3. DESCRIBE IMAGE
4. RETELL LECTURE
5. ANSWER SHORT QUESTION

2) WRITING
6. SUMMARIZE WRITTEN TEXT
7. WRITE ESSAYS

3) READING
8. MCQ -SINGLE ANSWER
9. MCQ – MULTIPLE ANSWER
10. FILL IN THE BLANK - R&W (DROPDOWN LIST)
11. FILL IN THE BLANK - R (DRAG & DROP)
12. RE-ORDER PARAGRAPHS

4) LISTENING
13. SUMMARIZE SPOKEN TEXT
14. FILL IN THE BLANK – L
15. MCQ – SINGLE ANSWER
16. MCQ – MULTIPLE ANSWER
17. HIGHLIGHT CORRECT SUMMARY
18. SELECT MISSING WORD
19. HIGHLIGHT INCORRECT WORDS
20. DICTATION
(Please note the number of questions are approximate)

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PTE Magic Handbook
Trainer: Peter Pham

SPEAKING
Speaking & Listening are the two main modules that contribute greatly
to your final PTE score. Understanding the requirements will help you
perform this task proficiently.

CRITERIA

1) FLUENCY
- Continuity/Flow: the ability to speak fluently with minimal effort
as well as making correct pauses
- Speed: the ability to speak naturally with proper speed and
control the pace and rhythm of speech skilfully.

2) PRONUNCIATION
- Syllable: the ability to correctly and clearly pronounce every
syllable, especially for 3-4 syllable words
- Ending sound: the ability to clearly pronounce popular ending
sounds such as “k, t, s, ge, ch” and others.

3) CONTENT
- Translation: based on correct pronunciation, the words got
translated from speech to text correctly to score the content
mark.
- Content: the ability to utilize all of the information given in the
text, graph or recording.

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PTE Magic Handbook
Trainer: Peter Pham

1. Read aloud – 6 questions

Task: Read the given text within the timeframe

PREPARATION – 35 seconds
- You HAVE TO read through that paragraph ALOUD to find out any
long or difficult words/phrases. Practice through a few times.
- Stop practicing at about 2-3s before the “beep” sound, take a good
deep breath for a smooth start.

RECORDING TIME – 40 seconds

- Don’t start the para too fast, you may trip over.
- Maintain consistent flow – speed – voice.
- Try to finish within 17~23s for 3-line text or 20~27s for 4-line text.
- As soon as you finish, click NEXT

*NOTES:

- Consistent speed (Natural to fast pace)

- Clear syllable + Audible ending sounds

- ONLY read what is written, avoid adding words.

- Important for all targets.

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PTE Magic Handbook
Trainer: Peter Pham

2. Repeat sentence – 10~12 questions

Task: Repeat the sentence exactly as you hear

- Listen and use your short memory to repeat.

- You can take note if that helps.
- Speak with calmness – Maintain fluency
- Maximise the words that you can remember to repeat them correctly,
even if only a few words from the sentence, still speak them out
clearly. Don’t forget the ending sounds.
- Do not need to repeat as fast as the speaker, in case you have any
problem with pronunciation or remembering

*NOTES:
- All about short memory => the key is to do a lot of practice in the
MAGIC website & Question bank (50~100/day)
- There are normally 6 shorts and 4 longs.
- Extremely important for 65+ and 79+.

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PTE Magic Handbook
Trainer: Peter Pham

3. Describe image – 6 questions

Task: Describe the given picture within the timeframe.

PREPARATION – 25 seconds
- Find out the title, categories, max & min, other keywords.
- Speak out the keywords so your mouth gets used to them.
- Write down on paper for the hard pictures.

RECORDING – 40 seconds
- Speak with the template to maintain the fluency.
- Speak KEYWORDS – Clearly (to get the content point)
- Repetition of keywords/ideas if needed.
- Speak from 30s~37s (the best is 35s)

*NOTES:

- 4 Types: Data (Graphs & Charts), Process & Cycle, Map, and
Random.
- The key words can be anything that you see from the picture, try to
note as many as you can see.
- Maintain the same speed as RA & RL , clear pronunciation.
- Remember, it’s DESCRIBE not ANALYSE image.
- You MUST remember the TEMPLATE by heart.

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PTE Magic Handbook
Trainer: Peter Pham

4. Retell lecture – 4 questions

Task: Retell a lecture within the time frame
- 4 lectures given, each lasts 1.00’ ~ 2’.00, 10 seconds of preparation.

LISTENING
- Note down on paper the topic + 4 keywords (for target 50+), or 6
ideas (for target 65+ and 79+).
- In this note, try to catch ideas with S + V + O.
- Write down anything – DON’T be picky.
- In 10s to prepare, fix the writing to see & read easily.

RECORDING – 40 seconds
- Use Magic Template + fillers (The first idea is….)
- If out of ideas before 30s or before the last sentence, speak all of the
previous ideas again.
- Speak up to 35s.

*NOTES:
- Maintain fluency at all time. Avoid uhm..oh…
- Remain good pronunciation for listening marks (syllable + ending
sounds)
- REMEMBER the TEMPLATE by heart.
- Keep speaking no matter what.

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PTE Magic Handbook
Trainer: Peter Pham

5. Answer short question – 10 questions

Task: Answer the question asked in short form

- Speak the answer TWICE (to avoid mispronunciation or missed

answer)
- There is a question bank to practice but still it depends largely on your
knowledge.
- After the question is read, wait for the recording starts, repeat twice
with the same answer.
- If you don’t know the answer, say “something” or say anything that
you can think of, don’t leave the mic for 2 secs, it will stop recording.

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PTE Magic Handbook
Trainer: Peter Pham

Writing
When it comes to writing, there are 4 main criteria you need to focus on:

- Structure: the length, the division of each paragraph, the number of

words used.
- Grammar: Correct grammar. This is crucial because incorrect
grammar will result in great loss of marks. Keep grammar simple,
avoid sophisticated grammar.
- Spelling: Be careful with spelling as you don’t have the spell check in
the exam. Fast typing without caution can cause a lot of spelling
mistakes.
- Content: Focus on what you’re writing, the words you use, the ideas
you pick

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PTE Magic Handbook
Trainer: Peter Pham

6. Summarise written text – 2~3 questions

Task: Summarise a given text in ONE sentence within 10’

- Only ONE CAPITAL letter at the beginning and ONE full stop at the
end of your sentence.
- Length: 50-70 words.
- Copy the first and the last sentence, make some changes (active tense
to passive or vice versa) but keep the keywords.
- Pick about 2 main ideas from the middle of the given text.
- Use comma “,” or semi colon “;” and some linking words between
sentences to make connection (furthermore, moreover, however, yet,
because, although…)

*NOTES:
- For 79+, the method is to find all the key ideas then put them
together, not just simply copy + paste anymore.
- Be extra careful with grammar and spelling.
- You don’t have to paraphrase too much, keep it simple and close to
original text.
- Pay attention to the length of the text.

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PTE Magic Handbook
Trainer: Peter Pham

7. Write Essays – 1~2 questions

Task: write an argumentative essay within 20’

- There are two types of questions: 2-sided question and Problem-

Solution question.
- To save time, use MAGIC template (recommended).
- Find ideas in 3’~5’ – Writing in 10~13’ then spend the rest checking.
- Write INTRO and CONCLUSION first and then BODY, in case of
running out of time, your essay is still finished.
- Key words used must be related to the topic given.
- Pay attention to grammar, spelling – you should spend a few minutes
to check throughout the work.

*NOTES:
- Remember to have 1 INTRO + BODY 1 + BODY 2 + CONCLUSION
- Remember to have in each BODY: 2 ideas + 2 examples.
- Remember to choose the example with specific information.
- Keep the grammar simple – avoid complex sentences and sophisticated
grammar (If clause 3, Inversion, etc.) – Too risky.

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PTE Magic Handbook
Trainer: Peter Pham

Reading
Reading is all about your actual reading ability – that’s why the step of
checking is compulsory for all tasks

8. Fill in the Blank – R&W (DROPDOWN LIST) – 7 questions

Task: Choose the right option for each blank within 2’

- Firstly, skim through the sentence before and after the blank.
- Use the meaning of the text to find out which option to fill in.
- Avoid changing options too frequently.

*NOTES:

- Time management – Do each question within 2 minutes

- Fill in the blanks within the first 1 minute, then spend the next
minute reading all over again to final check and make any adjustment.

- The answer is often more specific & more academic

- Important for targets 65+ and 79+

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PTE Magic Handbook
Trainer: Peter Pham

9. Fill in the Blank – R (DRAG & DROP) – 5 questions

Task: Drag the right word to the blank within 2’.

- Firstly, find out what type of word the blank N, V, Adj.

- Identify & Group the options (in terms of meaning and/or word type)
- Drop the options in the box accordingly.

*NOTE

- Time management – Do each question within 2 minutes

- Fill in the blanks within the first 1 minute, then spend the next minute
reading all over again to final check and make any adjustment.

- Revise the basic grammar (Structure of a sentence) to reinforce the skill

of doing this task.

- Important for 65+ and 79+

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PTE Magic Handbook
Trainer: Peter Pham

10. Re-order Paragraph – 2~3 questions

Task: Re-order the given paragraphs into a correct sequence

- Find the independent paragraph (by skimming)

- Using keywords to quickly group the paragraphs
- Try to understand the link/connection of the paragraphs

*NOTES:

- This task is marked by pair – try to get as many correct pair as possible.

- Try to get a draft sequence within 1 minute, then spend the next minute
reading and making adjustments.

- When practicing this at home, try to figure out and learn the links of the
paragraphs in each question as they will be repeated (e.g: time sequence,
event sequence, etc.)

- INTRO idea is more generic and inclusive, less specific.

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PTE Magic Handbook
Trainer: Peter Pham

Listening
13. Summarised Spoken Text – 2~3 questions
Task: Listen to a recording then summarise in one
paragraph within 10’.

LISTENING:
- Note down the ideas, possibly the FIRST and LAST sentence.
- Capture as many ideas in long form (S + V + O) as well as short form
(keywords) as possible.
- Number of words for note of each target:
o Target 50+ : 40 words min.
o Target 65+ : 50 words min.
o Target 79+ : 60 words min.
- Don’t worry too much about spelling of notes.

WRITING:
- Use the notes to write up to 65~70 words (at least 60 words for
target 50)
- Do not mix up ideas.
- Write in 7’~8’, spend the rest checking grammar and spelling.
- Very important for all targets

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PTE Magic Handbook
Trainer: Peter Pham

14. Fill in the Blank – 2 questions

Task: Listen and fill in the blank exactly as you hear.

- Firstly, quickly locate the positions of all blanks.

- Listen and write the words in the blanks carefully. Pay maximum
attention when the speech comes to the blanks.
- Pay attention to the words filled. Decide if it with “s” or not, with “ed”
or not, by checking the grammar and tense of the sentence.
- If 2 boxes are too close to each other, listen & write both words in 1
blank then correct them later.

*NOTES:
- Try not to leave any blank unfilled.
- Sometimes the words filled in the box is mentioned elsewhere in the
text, so some skimming would be helpful.

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PTE Magic Handbook
Trainer: Peter Pham

19. Highlight incorrect words – 2 questions

Task: Listen and click at the wrong words heard.

- Normally there are about 5~7 incorrect words

- Read with your eyes/mind or whisper along with the text.
- Click in the wrong words as soon as you hear.
- Do not change the option once done, unless the 2nd thought is 100%
correct.

*NOTES:
- There is negative marking in this task. Minimum point is 0.
- You’d rather miss the words than randomly select the incorrect
words.

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PTE Magic Handbook
Trainer: Peter Pham

20. Write From Dictation – 3~4 questions

Task: Write down the sentence exactly as you hear.

- Listen and take down the notes immediately.

- Rewrite the sentence with correct spelling and correct sequence.
- Check the first letter is in uppercase and the sentence ends with a full
stop (.) .
- If unsure of the word, write both versions (singular / plural, the / a, is /
are, etc.)

*NOTES:
- Pay attention to spelling and sequence.
- Learn from the 100 most repeated questions from MAGIC’s bank.
- Practice taking notes + short memory for this task.
- Extremely important for all targets.

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