Week 1:
I spent more than a week understanding the pattern and collecting material. I printed out reading tests because it is better to do it rather than attempting it using pdf.
I prepared a notebook to write down important points, strategies, methods etc.
E2 language webinars appeared to be most useful.
For writing, I stuck to ieltsadvantage.com because his essay structure was so good.
I decided that there was plenty of free material available online so didn't want to spend anything on buying except pearson official gold kit.
Most importantly, I stayed away from tutorials, tedtalks, podcasts by non native speakers and avoided listening to american accent as well except steven fernandes. This helped me focus on british /Australian pronunciation.
Week 2:
By looking at strategy given by steven fernandes, i decided to practice all sections and then attempt first test in gold kit to evaluate myself. Believe me, although strategy of steven fernandes might appear simple, it is hard to stick to but extremely useful.
I started by solving reading practice test in pearson software CD without timing myself. Then I dId self evaluation using answer key and found that I had made several mistakes even after enjoying luxury of exra time.
I did thorough research of every mistake I made. Tried to learn those words and their forms whenever I made a mistake.
Week 3:
I gave listening test and it was simpler because after practising ielts listening for a long while, anyone would find PTE listening easier. However, PTE aspirants please stay away from ielts listening.
However there are some sections where I found hard to evaluate myself like essay, sst, swt etc. But still I tried to compare my answer with key and tried to figure out how they expect solutions to be.
Week 4
I had already written a lot of essays during ielts preparation but still I wanted to practise typing essays so I solved sample questions in pearson official CD. Most importantly, tried to compare them with answer key.
Hilariously, I spent more time evaluating and researching my mistakes than solving actual questions.
Mistakes are like debt. When they add up, they trap you. So deal with them with a sharp sword of research and excessive practice.
(to be continued)
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