Tips for taking the Cambridge Pet Exam

1. PET (Preliminary English Test) B1 Cambridge CEFRL
Reading and Listening Tips
DO Listen and Read everything. Don’t worry about vocab you don’t know, but more
so understand the importance of the sentences to the questions being asked because
everything is relevant and included for a reason either to confirm or negate one of the
choices. Lookout for conjunctions such as both, since, after, while, because, but,
although, however, even though, still, instead, also, neither, and, or, nor,
therefore, despite, etc. These indicate transitions and whether something agrees or
disagrees with the first idea: She eats sweets, but she really likes apples and
oranges. It is raining, therefore we aren’t going to the concert.
DO pay attention to phrases like You like sweets, no? Or Your favorite food is
sweets, isn’t it? It is very common in UK English to add the extra question at the
end. (In American English you will most commonly hear right? at the end) It’s the
equivalent of saying vero? or giusto? at the end in Italian.
DO know all the instructions beforehand so that while they are being explained you can
use the time to read the questions (but do not ignore the instructions). For the listening
try answering all the questions the first time, and use the second reading to decide
between the ones you are doubtful about. Remember that everything is sequential so
the questions are ordered in the same respect that the information is presented to you.
However each question may refer to any of the information already given
They are not ordered according to difficulty.
DO trust your first instinct
DO pay close attention that you are marking your sheet in the correct order
DO be extra careful with numbers and quantities
DO write only one or two words for Listening Part 1
DO remember that you are told which speaker is which for Listening Part 4
DO recognize that the exact phrasing of the questions will not be found
or heard in the information given. You may hear
She eats sweets, but she really likes apples and oranges, the
question being What is her favorite food? Reading the questions
before the information is given to you and being alert to the above
conjunctions will help. If anything seems a little too easy, as if you just
needed to match the same words, it’s probably a trick and you should
reconsider it.
DO take notes (I imagine you will be provided paper)
DO remember a lot of prefixes are similar to Italian.
(Famine/fame for example) If you’ve never seen a word before, try
guessing based on it’s prefix.
DON’T leave anything blank
DON’T make early assumptions without first considering all the
information given.
DON’T rush
DON’T pause at vocab you don’t know at all
DON’T spend too much time on a question you are unsure about. First
answer all the ones you know, and go back to the difficult ones after.

2. PET (Preliminary English Test) B1 Cambridge CEFRL
Writing Tips
DO focus on answering the question and including all the information requested. This
is more important overall than your grammar and spelling. Grammar and spelling make
the difference between a Band 3 and Band 4 grading.
DO read the details of the question very carefully. If you are asked to suggest an
activity, you have to suggest something specific, not just say we will do something
tomorrow. If it says to change the time; change only the time, not the day or subject.
Again, give a specific time rather than just saying earlier or later. If it is a reminder,
nothing should be changed, but you will just restate the details of the appointment. Be
mindful of needing to ask for information versus having to provide or give information.
DO follow a chronological order. First sentence/2 sentences are to be an introduction,
next sentences addressing each task, and last sentences make up a conclusion.
DO match tenses. If you use present in the beginning of the sentence, the rest of the
sentence must be in the present. Same for past and future.
DO write directly on the answer sheet. If your answer is not there, you will not
get any points.
DO proofread and use appropriate articles and pronouns (mainly
the which is very common for foreign speakers of English to exclude)
DO use the bulk of the time to write the longer essay of Part 3
DO answer only one of the 2 options given in Part 3.
DO attempt to use a variety of vocabulary regardless of not being
100% sure of spelling. Even if a more difficult word is not spelled
right it is awarded more points.
DON’T write more than 3 words in the blanks for Writing Part 1
DON’T write in pen