PTE Study Plan 2026: The New Time Allocation That Actually Works

ByAlex

PTE Study Plan 2026: The New Time Allocation That Actually Works

Quick Answer: The August 2025 PTE and DHA updates flipped the optimal study time allocation. Speaking and Writing now require higher scores than before (88 and 85 for Superior English), while Reading only requires 69. You should now spend 60% of your study time on Speaking and Writing, with less than 15% on Reading. This is the opposite of what most old study plans recommend.

Hey guys, Alex here.

I want to talk about something that is silently costing students weeks of wasted preparation time.

Most PTE study plans – including some of my own older videos – were built around one key assumption: reading is hard, reading takes time, reading needs the most attention.

That assumption made sense under the old scoring requirements.

Under the new requirements that came into effect with the August 2025 PTE update and the updated Department of Home Affairs English standards, that assumption is wrong. Following it will cost you time, money, and potentially another failed exam sitting.

This article explains the new time allocation, why the numbers changed, and how to restructure your study sessions right now.

Last updated: 18 June 2026

In this guide:

Why the Old Split No Longer Works

Under the pre-August 2025 requirements, a student aiming for Superior English (the 8-band equivalent needed for most skilled migration visas) needed:

  • Speaking: 79
  • Writing: 79
  • Reading: 79
  • Listening: 79

Every section had the same target. Logical conclusion: spend roughly equal time on each.

Since reading has a lot of unfamiliar academic vocabulary and feels difficult for most non-native English speakers, most coaches (including me) pushed students toward spending extra time on reading. In my own classes, we used to spend nearly 50% of class time on reading skills.

Here are the new DHA requirements for Superior English:

Section Old Target New Target Change
Speaking 79 88 Up 9 points
Writing 79 85 Up 6 points
Reading 79 69 Down 10 points
Listening 79 Lower Down

Reading dropped by 10 points. Speaking went up by 9. Writing went up by 6.

The new targets are not symmetric. They are not equal. They tell you exactly where to focus your time – and it is not where most preparation resources still point.

For the full breakdown of all DHA English level requirements (Superior, Proficient, Competent), see PTE Score Requirements for Australian Visa – New DHA Update.

The New Time Allocation

Based on the updated score targets and how our classes have had to adapt:

Section Old Class Time New Class Time Direction
Speaking ~25% ~35% Up
Writing ~15% ~30% Up significantly
Reading ~50% ~15% Down dramatically
Listening ~10% ~20% Up

Speaking and Writing together now receive approximately 60-65% of total study time.

Reading now receives less than 15%.

This is the opposite of what most old-format study plans recommend. If you are following a guide or course built before August 2025, the section weightings it gives you are likely wrong for your current targets.

The Math Behind the Shift: Why 88 in Speaking Changes Everything

Let me show you why the shift to speaking-heavy preparation is not optional.

90 is the maximum PTE score. You need 88 in speaking for Superior English. That means a margin of only 2 points. In practice: almost every speaking question matters.

PTE breaks the overall speaking score across multiple question types. Describe Image is the highest-weighted single speaking task at roughly 31% of your speaking score. Retell Lecture is next at around 13%. Summarize Group Discussion at 19%. Repeat Sentence at 16%.

If you have a bad Describe Image run – your fluency collapses, your flexible language patterns are not well practised, you stall – you can lose the 3-4 points from those questions that you literally cannot afford to lose if you need 88.

Compare this to Reading: you need 69. That means you can score approximately 20 incorrect answers across all reading questions combined (including cross-section questions from SWT and listening) and still achieve your target. You have significant room to absorb bad question sets, unfamiliar vocabulary, or simply a topic that was not in your preparation.

The lower your required score, the more margin you have. The higher your required score, the less you can afford to under-prepare.

Speaking at 88 is a near-perfect requirement. Reading at 69 is a generous target. Your time allocation should reflect this.

How to Restructure Your Daily Study Sessions

Here is a practical daily framework based on this allocation, designed for a student with 2-3 hours available per day:

Daily sessions (2-3 hours total):

  • Speaking practice: 60-70 minutes
  • Writing practice: 35-45 minutes
  • Listening practice: 25-30 minutes
  • Reading practice: 15-20 minutes

Within speaking practice, prioritise the highest-weighted tasks:

  1. Describe Image (most important – highest weight, 31% of speaking score)
  2. Summarize Group Discussion (19% of speaking score)
  3. Repeat Sentence (16% of speaking score)
  4. Retell Lecture (13% of speaking score)
  5. Respond to a Situation (13% of speaking score)
  6. Read Aloud and Answer Short Question (lower weight)

Within writing practice, Writing tasks affect two sections. Summarize Written Text (SWT) moves both Writing and Reading scores simultaneously, making it the most efficient writing task to practise. See PTE Summarize Written Text: The 50-60% Paraphrase Rule.

Write from Dictation, though technically a listening task, contributes 23% to your Writing score. It belongs in your daily practice for its writing impact. See PTE Write from Dictation Tips 2026.

Why Writing Now Gets More Time

Before August 2025, we could teach the writing section in a couple of hours of class time. The essay had a stable structure. SWT was mostly a copy-and-connect exercise.

Writing now gets closer to 30% of class time – a significant increase – for two reasons:

First: The human assessment layer changed SWT and Write Essay strategy fundamentally. Students cannot rely on near-verbatim SWT responses or shared essay templates anymore. They need to develop genuine paraphrasing habits and unique structural approaches. That takes more training time.

Second: The Writing target for Superior English is 85 – only 5 points below the maximum. Like Speaking, there is very little room for error. A poorly executed essay or a flagged SWT response can cost you the writing score directly.

For the full picture of what gets scored in Write Essay, see PTE Write Essay Scoring: 7 Traits 2026.

The Reading Section Under the New Requirements

Reading at 69 is genuinely achievable for most students without heavy preparation, especially when you factor in the cross-section contributions:

  • Summarize Written Text contributes 23% to your Reading score – and you practise this as a writing task anyway
  • Highlight Correct Summary and Highlight Incorrect Words in the listening section also contribute to Reading

This means that significant portions of your Reading score are built by tasks you practise under Speaking/Writing/Listening labels.

What this means for your preparation: you do not need to spend heavy time on the most difficult reading tasks – Re-order Paragraphs, Multiple Choice Multiple Answers – if your reading score is already comfortably above 69 from your cross-section practice.

The reading tasks worth focused attention are:

  • Fill in the Blanks (Dropdown) – these used to contribute to Writing as well, but now only count for Reading. See PTE Reading and Writing Fill in the Blanks 2026.
  • Fill in the Blanks (Drag and Drop) – high volume of questions, good return on practice time

For students who find reading vocabulary particularly difficult, 15% of preparation time can still be spent on targeted academic vocabulary development. But 50% is no longer justified by the score targets.

A Special Note for Proficient English Candidates

The same logic applies if you are targeting Proficient English (IELTS 7-each equivalent) for skills like nursing, teaching, or certain visa pathways.

New Proficient English targets: Speaking 76, Writing 69, Reading 58, Listening 59.

Speaking still requires the highest individual score. Writing is also higher than Reading and Listening. The study allocation principle is the same – weight your time toward Speaking first, Writing second.

Use our PTE Score Calculator to check exactly which scores apply to your specific visa category and English requirement level.

Adjusting Your Plan Based on Your Mock Test Results

The allocation above is a starting point, not a rigid formula. Your mock test scores should inform where you deviate.

If your Reading score is already 74 and your target is 69 – you have a buffer. Pull reading time down further and redirect it to Speaking or Writing.

If your Speaking score is 82 and you need 88 – Speaking deserves even more than 35% of your time until you close that gap.

The logic is simple: spend the most time on the sections where you are furthest from your target, weighted by the size of the gap and the difficulty of moving the score.

For a day-by-day structured plan across a 30-day preparation period, see PTE 30-Day Study Plan for Australia 2026.

Our practice platform gives you accurate per-section scores so you can identify your real gaps before exam day:

platform.dreamenglish.com.au/pte-practice

Related Reading from Dream English

Frequently Asked Questions: PTE Study Plan 2026

How much time should I spend on PTE reading in 2026?

Under the new DHA requirements, Reading only requires 69 for Superior English – down from 79 previously. With cross-section contributions from SWT and listening tasks also building your reading score, most students need less than 15% of total preparation time on reading-specific practice. This is a major change from pre-August 2025 advice that put reading at 40-50% of prep time.

Why is Speaking more important than Reading now?

Because the score targets are no longer symmetric. Superior English requires 88 in Speaking but only 69 in Reading – a 19-point gap between the two requirements. The higher the required score, the less margin you have for error, and the more practice time that section needs to reach and maintain that level.

Is this new time allocation the same for all visa types?

The core principle is the same for all DHA English levels – Speaking and Writing targets are proportionally higher than Reading and Listening at every level. The specific scores differ (Proficient requires Speaking 76, Competent requires a lower target), but in all cases, speaking and writing deserve more preparation time than reading after the August 2025 update.

My practice scores are even across all sections. Should I still shift to speaking?

If you are evenly scoring below your targets in all sections, shift the additional focus to Speaking and Writing first. If you are evenly scoring above your targets in all sections, you are already in a good position – but if Speaking is at exactly your target (88), any variance in your actual exam performance could cause you to miss it. Treat a thin margin as a reason to keep practising that section.

How long before the exam should I take a full mock test?

Aim to take a full scored mock test at least 2-3 weeks before your exam date. This gives you enough time to identify weak areas and practise targeted improvements before sitting the real exam. Take another mock test in the final week to verify your scores are where they need to be.

Does the new time allocation apply to Competent English candidates?

For Competent English (the IELTS 6-each equivalent, needed for some visa categories), the score gap between sections is less extreme than for Superior or Proficient. However, Speaking and Writing targets are still proportionally higher than Reading and Listening even at this level. The same principle of weighting study time toward speaking and writing applies, though less dramatically than for Superior English candidates.

Watch the Full Breakdown

Alex explains the complete August 2025 strategy shift – including the exact new DHA score requirements, the 60/40 time allocation principle, and the study focus changes that are getting students across the line:



Alex s. – director, dream english education

Alex S.

Director & Head Coach, Dream English Education

Alex S. is Australia’s leading PTE coach with 8+ years of experience and over 5,000 students helped to achieve their target scores. Dream English Education is trusted by students across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and online Australia-wide — with 700+ five-star reviews.

Find Your Score Gap on the Practice Platform

The best way to apply this time allocation framework is to start with scored practice that shows you exactly where your per-section scores currently sit:

platform.dreamenglish.com.au/pte-practice

Dream English has helped 5,000+ students across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, and online achieve their PTE targets – with 700+ five-star reviews.

Message me on WhatsApp: +61 423 058 115

  • Alex, Director, Dream English Education

DHA score requirements sourced from the Department of Home Affairs (homeaffairs.gov.au) updated requirements pages for Superior English and Proficient English, and from Pearson’s official August 2025 update at pearsonpte.com.

Similar Posts