PTE Preparation Tips – How to Make Study Plan for PTE Success?
FEBRUARY 2026
If you’ve read the book “Outliers” by Malcolm Gladwell, he recommends devoting 10,000 hours of intensive and correct practice to excel in a field. That’s a decade of practicing your craft for 20 hours each week.
Thankfully, your PTE preparation online won’t take as long.
With a well-structured study plan and strategy, 1-2 months should be adequate.
In this guide, we will look at practical tips for creating a study plan that keeps you organized, accountable, and motivated.
Table of Contents
How to Create a PTE Study Plan to Get the Top Score
Tip #1: Know Your Timeline
Most PTE candidates are busy. You’re likely balancing work, study, family, or all of them at once. That means your study plan has to fit your life — not the other way around.
An unrealistic schedule leads to skipped sessions and unnecessary stress. A realistic one helps you stay consistent.
Be honest when planning:
- How many weeks do you have before the exam?
- Which days are genuinely available for study?
- What time of day do you have enough energy to focus?
You don’t need to study every day. 3–5 focused sessions a week can be enough when your plan is clear and doable.
Tip #2: Know Your Starting Point
Your PTE study plan should be personalised to your situation, not copied from someone else’s schedule. Where you’re starting from determines what you need to study — and how long it will take.
If you’re a first-time PTE taker, start with a full mock test.
This gives you a clear baseline and shows which skills and question types need the most attention.
If you’re taking PTE again, start by analysing your previous score report.
Look for patterns — which sections or task types consistently pulled your score down.
A study plan that is personalised to your circumstances keeps your preparation focused and helps you become exam-ready faster, without wasting time on areas that don’t need much work.
Tip #3: Build Your Study List from Results
Once you know your starting point, the next step is deciding what to study. This is where many test takers go wrong — they try to study everything at the same time.
Instead, let your results guide you.
Use your mock test results (for first-time takers) or your previous score report (for repeat takers) to create a short, focused study list. This list should highlight the skills and question types that will give you the biggest score improvement.
For example:
- Repeat Sentence accuracy
- Write From Dictation
- Reading Fill in the Blanks
- Essay structure
Very Important: Invest
Tip #4: Put Your Plan on a Calendar
Having a study plan in your head isn’t enough. If your study time isn’t scheduled, it’s easy for work, classes, or daily responsibilities to take over.
Putting your plan on a calendar turns intention into action.
Block specific days and times for PTE study, just like you would for a meeting or class. This removes the daily decision of when to study and helps you stay consistent.
- Schedule fixed study slots each week
- Treat them as non-negotiable where possible
- If you miss one session, return to the next scheduled block — don’t abandon the plan
A calendar doesn’t make your schedule rigid. It makes your study time protected.
Tip #5: Schedule Study Breaks
Studying non-stop doesn’t lead to better results — it usually leads to mental fatigue. Your brain needs breaks to process information and stay sharp.
Plan your study sessions with breaks built in from the start.
Aim for 60–90 minutes of focused study, then stop. If you want to continue, take a proper break first. Avoid pushing beyond 2 hours in one sitting, as focus and retention drop quickly after that.
- Treat breaks as part of your study plan, not a reward
- Step away from your screen during breaks
- If you’re mentally tired, stop and resume another day
Well-timed breaks help you stay consistent and prevent burnout over the long term.
Tip #6: Plan an English Fun Day
Do you know that we still learn even when we don’t study?
Our brains are amazing supercomputers — and they love learning, especially if it’s a fun way of learning. So instead of picking up a dictionary or bingeing on mock tests every single day, schedule one English Fun Day each week.
Here are some easy and effective ideas:
| What you can do | Best for… |
|---|---|
| Watch English movies, YouTube videos, or TV series | Improving pronunciation, enunciation, listening skills, and building vocabulary |
| Listen to podcasts | Improving focus and active listening for Listening tasks |
| Read articles or books | Expanding vocabulary and picking up good sentence structures |
| Speak casually in English with friends or family | Improving fluency and confidence in speaking |
The key is to choose something you genuinely enjoy. Treat it like a cheat day— because it is.
But here’s the trick: even when it feels effortless, your brain is still learning.
Passive. Easy. And surprisingly effective.
Tip #7: Do Regular Mock Tests
Mock tests are the most impactful part of PTE preparation — and often the easiest to avoid. Like exercise, they’re not always comfortable, but there’s no shortcut around them.
Mock tests don’t just practise your English skills. They build your confidence, stamina, and muscle memory for a two-hour continuous exam.
Why regular mock tests matter
- Train exam stamina for a full, uninterrupted test
- Simulate real conditions — no breaks, no pausing, no checking answers
- Boost confidence as you see yourself reach your target score
- Reduce nerves because the exam feels familiar
When and how often to take mock tests
- Day 1: one mock test to assess your current level
- Early preparation: at least one per week (aim for two if possible)
- Final week: daily or every other day
Mock tests are the hard training — but they’re also what make exam day feel manageable.
What’s Next? Turn Your Study Plan into Real Results
A solid study plan only works if you practise under real exam conditions. That’s where mock tests make the difference.
Benchmark PTE provides realistic, up-to-date mock tests that simulate the actual PTE exam — from timing and task flow to platform navigation. With regular mock practice, you don’t just prepare for the test — you train for it.
If you want to build confidence, improve execution, and walk into exam day knowing you’ve done this before, start practising with Benchmark’s mock tests today.
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