Problem: PTE essays assert without support, repeat the same twenty faults, and grope for academic wording mid-sentence. Answer in brief: support every claim with an example or detail, clear faults from a top-20 error bank one by one, and stock reusable academic phrases for common moves. This guide teaches all three with a supported paragraph, and PTE Grammar — Course 4 provides examples training, the error bank and phrase bank with assessment.
Supporting with examples and details
Every claim needs one support: example (“For instance, several firms…”), detail (“by 30% since 2020”), or reason (“because commuting costs…”). Unsupported claims read as opinion regardless of truth; supported claims read as argument. The support habit — claim, then support, always — is the single biggest essay upgrade available. Drill it per paragraph until omission feels wrong.
The top-20 error bank: how to clear it
Twenty recurrent faults (articles, agreement, tense switches, prepositions, fragments, spelling patterns…) each with diagnosis, fix and rewrite drill. Clear three at a time: diagnose in own words, fix minimally, rewrite cleanly, re-test blind. The bank works because it is finite — twenty cleared faults means twenty faults gone, measurably. Log tallies; graduate fixed faults off.
Support, clear and stock supervised? The full PTE Grammar — Course 4 teaches example support with a top-20 error bank and academic phrase bank, plus final assessment. Explore the course →
Academic phrase bank: moves, not fillers
Phrases for real moves: concession (“While it is true that…”), causation (“This stems largely from…”), exemplification (“A clear illustration is…”), implication (“The consequence is likely to be…”), recommendation (“Policymakers should consider…”). Stock five per move, deploy one per paragraph. Phrases are tools for thinking made visible — never decoration, never memorised whole essays.
Worked paragraph: supported and polished
Fictional paragraph, newly written: “Remote work has cut city-centre footfall (claim). In several districts, lunchtime trade has fallen by a third since 2020 (detail + example). While it is true that (concession phrase) some firms report collaboration losses, the consequence is likely to be (implication phrase) repurposed districts rather than revived commutes. Councils should therefore (recommendation phrase) rezone vacant floors for housing.” Supported, banked, phrased — the polished paragraph.
FAQs
How many examples per essay?
One per body paragraph minimum — example, detail or reason. More is welcome where genuine; invented statistics are never acceptable.
Should I memorise phrases?
Stock moves, not sentences: five concession frames, five causal frames, and so on — filled fresh each essay. Memorised whole paragraphs mismatch tasks and read as template.
What is in the course?
Example and detail support with a top-20 error bank and academic phrase bank, plus final assessment tasks.
The matching course
PTE Grammar — Course 4 finishes writing craft: support every claim, clear twenty faults, stock academic moves — with final assessment. For essays that argue, correct and flow, finish here.
Sources and note
- PTE Academic format per the official PTE site: pearsonpte.com — PTE Academic. Check current official guidance before the test. No scores are guaranteed.
- Course details verified from its public staging page (read-only).
- Examples are newly written; other valid structures exist.