This task type tests reading and writing skills. A passage will be shown, which includes roughly 120 to 200 words. In the passage, there will normally be 4 to 5 blanks. For each blank, there are 4 to 5 options, included in a drop-down box. Your task is to select the most appropriate option for each blank.

Exam Tips

Normally, the information needed to answer the blanks lies in the part of the passage before the blank, at most one more sentence after the blank. So there is no need to read through the whole passage at the very beginning. When you're reading, pay close attention to all the details that might be related to the blank, which are words with similar meanings, or words that discuss similar subjects. You also need to improve your vocabulary and collocations, and the dictionary is always the best teacher. Grammar knowledge is also very important. It can help you with analyzing the structure of a sentence, especially long sentences.

Practice Goal

50 points: At least half of the blanks are correct.

65 points: At most 2 blanks of each question are incorrect.

79 points: At most 1 blank of each question is incorrect.

Start with the first blank and substitute each option one by one

Next in our PTE Reading Writing Fill in the blanks tips and tricks: Substitution! Each blank in this question has its own set of options. Click on the drop down and see all the options and put them in the blank one by one. You can leave out those which seem obviously wrong – for e.g. illogical or wrong grammatical form.

Determine correct answer on the basis of what is required in the sentence

This means that you should check how the selected option fits in the whole sentence. Requirement is both logical and grammatical. Your chosen option should satisfy both.

Don't spend too much time on one blank

If one blank is difficult, move to the next. In the end you can make your best guess for the remaining blanks.

Use logic if confused

If you can't understand all the options or don't feel confident about the grammar, use logic to find the correct answer. This is like making a guess on the basis of the rest of the sentence.

Learn common collocations

PTE Academic is a test of your English ability in academic scenarios. Therefore, learn the common PTE collocations. Collocations are words that often appear together, so if you learn those you will have an easy time in questions where the right option is part of a collocation.

Review the academic word list

This will help you a lot not only in the PTE Reading and Writing Fill in the blanks questions, but also other question types in PTE Academic. Learn the words – their meanings and their usage in sentences!

If words are unfamiliar guess the meaning by context

Next in our PTE Reading Writing Fill in the blanks tips and tricks list: Guess by context! If the options include a word that you are not familiar with, then guess its meaning by context. If you understand the remaining sentence it is often possible to tell what that one word means.