Why a mock every day is not a PTE daily practice routine
A mock that long tells you where you lose points. It does not fix them. Sit one every evening and you spend two hours finding the same leaks, with no time left to repair them.
The routine on this page is BandLadder advice, not a Pearson rule. It splits the week into two jobs: six short training days of 45 minutes, and one mock day that measures whether the training worked. The mock then decides what you train next week.
The 45-minute PTE daily routine, block by block
The two daily blocks are the tasks with many items or two skills at once. The score guides call these integrated questions: their scores count towards both skills they assess.
One session (BandLadder advice)
| Block | Minutes | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Warm-up | 8 | Eight Repeat Sentence items, one attempt each, recorded. |
| 2. Dictation | 7 | Five Write from Dictation sentences, typed after one listen. |
| 3. Focus | 20 | Today's task from the weekly rotation below, timed like the exam. |
| 4. Review | 10 | Replay only what you missed and add each miss to your error log. |
Total: 45 minutes. Keep the order: voice and ear first, the hard task while you are fresh, review last.
The review block is where the score moves. Do not replay a whole recording: replay only the stretch you missed and write down exactly what you lost. Here is a log from one day, built on an original dictation sentence.
Heard: The bell foundry kept a ledger of every casting since the eighteenth century. Typed: The bell foundry kept a ledge oflost every casting in the eighteenthlost century. Log: 'ledger' (spelling: the -er ending); 'since' heard as 'in' (small word after a noun: listen for it next timefix).
- → Each correct word earns a point, so this answer still scores most of its words. The two misses are the only things worth reviewing.
- → 'In' is still grammatical, so a grammar check will not catch it. If misses like this fill your log, see How to improve your PTE listening score.
Heard: Migrating moths navigate by the moon when the wind turns against them. Said: Migrating moths navigate by moon when winddropped turns against them. Log: dropped 'the' twice; content words all kept. Tomorrow: say the small words before the content words in practice.
- → Repeat Sentence content counts replacements, omissions and insertions, so two dropped articles are two errors.
- → For this habit, see Repeat Sentence small words.
PTE practice schedule: what goes in the focus block each day
The focus block rotates so the main task types each get real time every week. Academic and Core differ in a few tasks, so pick your column.
Weekly rotation (BandLadder advice)
| Day | PTE Academic focus | PTE Core focus |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Read Aloud and Describe Image | Read Aloud and Describe Image |
| Day 2 | Both reading Fill in the Blanks tasks: Reading & Writing and Reading | Both reading Fill in the Blanks tasks |
| Day 3 | Retell Lecture or Summarize Group Discussion, then Respond to a Situation | Summarize Spoken Text, then Respond to a Situation |
| Day 4 | Summarize Written Text and one Write Essay | Summarize Written Text and one Write Email |
| Day 5 | Reorder Paragraphs and Highlight Incorrect Words | Reorder Paragraphs and Highlight Incorrect Words |
| Day 6 | Full mock (replaces the routine) | Full mock (replaces the routine) |
| Day 7 | Mock review, then the focus task the mock flagged | Mock review, then the focus task the mock flagged |
Item counts that shape it: Describe Image 5–6 (Academic) and 3–4 (Core); Write Essay 1 (Academic); Write Email 2–3 (Core). Academic guide pp. 18, 34; Core guide pp. 27, 32.
This is a whole-test routine. If one skill is clearly behind, give a skill plan two focus blocks a week: How to improve your PTE listening score (longest audio first), How to improve your PTE reading score (a weekly split), or How to improve your PTE speaking score with the record-and-compare loop in How to practise PTE speaking at home.
How many mock tests for PTE? Use one a week, then review it
BandLadder advice: one full mock a week is enough to see whether the routine is working, and it leaves six days to act on what it shows. Treat Day 7 as part of the mock, not a day off.
Mock day and review day
- 1
Sit it straight through. Take a full PTE mock test in one sitting, at the time of day your real test is booked, with no pausing.
- 2
Find the three leaks. Next day, list the three tasks that lost the most points. Skill scores alone are too broad to act on.
- 3
Re-plan the week. Give the worst leak two focus blocks next week. Keep the warm-ups whatever the result.
- 4
Compare with last week. Check only the three leaks from last week. If one has closed, it goes back into the normal rotation.
✗ Sitting a mock every evening in the last fortnight.
✓ One mock a week, with the last one three or four days before the exam.
A daily mock leaves no time to repair what it found, and the last days are for rest and light warm-ups.
✗ Putting your favourite task in the focus block every day.
✓ Following the rotation, and giving extra blocks only to what the mock flagged.
Comfortable tasks feel productive; the mock shows where the points actually leak.
How long to study for PTE each day
Pearson does not set a number. BandLadder advice: 45 focused minutes, six days a week, beats a long weekend session, because short daily practice keeps speaking and listening habits warm. Change the length, not the shape.
Scaling the routine (BandLadder advice)
| Time you have | Keep | Drop or add |
|---|---|---|
| 15 minutes | Blocks 1 and 2 | Skip the focus block; log misses in two lines |
| 45 minutes | All four blocks | Nothing: this is the standard day |
| 90 minutes | All four blocks | Add a second focus block from the next day's rotation |
Preparing over one month gives you four mocks and about two dozen training days; over two weeks, two mocks, so the first should come early. If you practise on BandLadder, AI practice gives you a score and what to fix, question by question, which is what the review block needs.
Your turn: plan your PTE practice week
Pick the best answer, then check the reason.
- You have only 15 minutes today. What keeps the routine alive?
- A. One Describe Image item
- B. Repeat Sentence warm-up and Write from Dictation
- C. The first 15 minutes of a mock
Show answer
Repeat Sentence warm-up and Write from Dictation
Both are integrated tasks that count towards two skills, and they fit in 15 minutes.
- Your weekly mock shows Reorder Paragraphs as the biggest leak. What changes next week?
- A. Take a second mock mid-week
- B. Give Reorder Paragraphs two focus blocks
- C. Drop the warm-ups to save time
Show answer
Give Reorder Paragraphs two focus blocks
The mock picks the leak; the focus blocks repair it. Warm-ups stay whatever the result.
- Which daily warm-up task is scored for both Listening and Speaking?
- A. Read Aloud
- B. Repeat Sentence
- C. Write from Dictation
Show answer
Repeat Sentence
The score guides list Repeat Sentence under Listening and Speaking; Write from Dictation feeds Listening and Writing.
- You are taking PTE Core and keep misreading words in Read Aloud. Which skill besides Speaking is losing points?
- A. Reading
- B. Writing
- C. Listening
Show answer
Reading
In PTE Core, Read Aloud is scored for Reading and Speaking.
BandLadder questions
Practise it now
Use the method on original BandLadder questions. Attempt them free and see your score.
Questions
FAQ
How long do I need to study for PTE?+
There is no official figure; it depends on your starting level and target. BandLadder suggests 45 focused minutes, six days a week, with one full mock a week to show whether you need more weeks. On a busy day, keep the 15-minute warm-ups rather than skipping.
How many mock tests should I take before the PTE exam?+
BandLadder advice is one a week, reviewed the next day, with the last one three or four days before your test. More mocks without review rarely move the score.
What should a PTE study plan for 30 days include?+
About four weekly cycles: six training days with daily Repeat Sentence and Write from Dictation, a rotating focus task, and one mock a week that decides next week's focus.
Can I prepare for PTE in 15 days?+
Fifteen days gives you two weekly cycles. Take the first mock early so you know which tasks to train, and keep the routine short and daily rather than cramming. No plan can promise a score in a set number of days.
Sources
- PTE Academic Score Guide for Test Takers (July 2025): p. 6 (65–75 questions, 22 types, integrated questions); p. 14 (2 hours 15 minutes); p. 15 (Read Aloud); p. 16 (Repeat Sentence); p. 18 (Describe Image); p. 34 (Write Essay); p. 44 (Write from Dictation)
- PTE Core Score Guide for Test Takers (January 2026): p. 24 (2-hour maximum; Read Aloud); p. 25 (Repeat Sentence); p. 27 (Describe Image); p. 32 (Write Email); p. 38 (Write from Dictation)
IELTS is a registered trademark of the University of Cambridge, the British Council and IDP Education Australia. PTE is a trademark of Pearson. BandLadder is not affiliated with either.
© 2026 BandLadder. Written and checked by the BandLadder team. You may quote or cite this page with credit to BandLadder and a link to it; republishing it in full needs our written permission. Content use policy