Organising your response when describing an image for the PTE test is essential. You need to be able to use the 25 seconds of preparation time you are given to get everything you need to say in a logical order.
Use the following pattern to organise your response:
(a) General content
(b) Main trend / notable point
(c) Detail
(d) Concluding statement
The first step is to look at the image you are shown and decide what the general content is. That is, what is it about? What does it show?
The next step is identify the main points – if it is a graph, then describe the main trends. If it is a map, what areas or countries does it show?
The third step is to give some details about what you see. These can be specific statistics if they are provided, or specific names of places for example.
The final step is where you give a concluding statement. This can be an overview of the graph, an opinion on the image, or a speculation or recommendation based on what you see.
On the next page, you can practice organising your response when describing an image for the PTE test. We will see an example of how this works with a graph.