Which Test should I take, PTE or IELTS? Today we are going to talk about some of the similarities and differences. So the article is all about PTE vs IELTS. We are going to tell what we think the challenges of each exam and possibly which one is easier. It’s a bit complex so please read it carefully before opting to any of the English exam PTE or IELTS.
PTE vs IELTS Academic – Which Test Is Better
PTE Academic
First of all, PTE academic is done on a computer. Obviously, this has many benefits one of which particularly is for writing because you get to type. The other is for speaking because you don’t have to talk to a human being, it’s a lot less intimidating.
IELTS
Ielts in general is around for a lot longer and it’s a good test. When you get to test, it is well organized.
Let’s look at each test sections
First of all, let’s talk about “Speaking”.
As we mentioned PTE academic is done on the computer.
- The first thing you have to do is Read Aloud
- The second thing is Repeat Sentence
- The third thing you have to do is Describe a Graph
- The fourth thing you have to do is Retell a Lecture
- The fifth thing you have to do is Answer a Short Question
So there are a variety of different speaking tasks in the PTE academic.
What’s in IELTS
Basically, in IELTS it’s really just a conversation.
There are these sections in IELTS –
- Small talk
- The second part you need to speak at length for a minute or two on a topic
- In the third part, you will have a more abstract discussion
Which English text is easier PTE vs IELTS?
IELTS Academic
As per our experience, we think IELTS is easier for “Speaking.” First of all, you don’t have to describe a graph. In IELTS you’re being asked questions and so you’re responding to things, you don’t just have to speak. We mean the task card section the long turn in the IELTS is a challenge because you need to prepare for that, you need to speak for one minute but the task cards are very simple. You have to keep in mind that for IELTS academic it’s the same as IELTS general. They are testing both people who are going to university or for migration. They use the same speaking tasks so it’s non-academic.
PTE Academic
PTE Academic speaking tasks are very academic. As it consists describing the graph, retelling the lectures etc.
Human aspect PTE vs IELTS
The human being aspect of IELTS is very interesting in some ways, it makes you feel comfortable because you’re speaking to a lovely person and examiner. On the other hand, it can make some people nervous because you’re speaking to a person. They’re not judging you, all different thing going on psychologically.
In PTE you’re not talking to a person, you’re just talking to a computer. But it goes both ways, some people prefer face to face but some prefer giving the test on computer. Some prefer or like the nervousness of the IELTS speaking to the examiner. It makes some people excited that what will they ask me to speak. Whereas speaking to the computer it’s not a two-way conversation.
Writing section PTE vs IELTS
This section is a bit more complex and I think they’re about equivalent. In IELTS academic writing you have to describe a graph and you have to write and essay. In PTE academic you have to summarize a written text into a single sentence, you have to summarize some spoken text, a lecture into 70 words and you have to write an essay.
How do they compare?
Let’s talk about essays first – So the IELTS essay is 250 words in 40 minutes; various question types. The PTE essay, in contrast, is 200 to 300 words in 20 minutes.
Pros and Cons –
In IELTS, you get more time however you have to write with a pencil. So some people feel very difficult writing an essay with a pencil. Because it’s not something that they have done for last years.
In PTE, you are tying with facilities like you can move text or you can delete text and add stuff in there with the use of a mouse. It makes it a lot easier. Although IELTS is 40 minutes and PTE in 20 minutes, you can write more and be more accurate by using the keyboard. This is one pro of PTE.
Another thing of IELTS is that you will get various question types. But in PTE it’s always an argumentative essay. Therefore the structures a bit more solid. So this is another thing to consider.
IELTS writing task 1: you need to describe a graph which is a real challenge.
“As per our opinion, the writing is about the same level of difficulty we would perhaps say that ILETS writing is a little bit more challenging than PTE writing”.
Reading section PTE vs ILETS?
In IELTS reading, you have different question types and you have not quite academic texts.
In the PTE you have various tasks like reorder paragraphs or multiple choice, for example, fill in the blanks, but very academic texts.
When we compare both exams, it seems PTE text is more complicated in terms of the overall easiness, we say they’re about equivalent. If you understand the IELTS question type, you’ll be safe or if you understand the PTE tasks and practice them, you’ll also be safe.
Listening section PTE vs IELTS?
Now keep in mind that IELTS academic listening is also used for IELTS general listening, therefore they are non-academic. We are not saying they’re easy though they’re very challenging. It’s very fast paced, keeping pace and filling in those blanks and answering the questions as you’re going. If you lose your attention you could be in trouble with IELTS listening.
PTE listening has various tasks which we called more academic tasks. Ultimately though we would say there is not much of a difference between the two exams.
So to wrap this up we would say that for IELTS and PTE listening and reading is about the same level of difficulty. We would say that IELTS speaking is easier or we can say less challenging as compared to PTE. When we talk about PTE writing it’s slightly easier.
