Reading & Writing: Fill in the Blanks

Reading & Writing: Fill in the Blanks

The "Reading & Writing: Fill in the Blanks" task is a key part of the PTE Reading section. It tests both your reading comprehension and your writing skills, as it requires you to select the exact word that fits grammatically and contextually into a passage. It can feel challenging because the options often seem very similar, but a systematic approach can make a big difference.

Here’s a breakdown of the format, key strategies, and practice samples for this task.

Overview of the "Reading & Writing: Fill in the Blanks" Task

Feature	Details
Number of Questions	Typically 5 to 6 per test.
Number of Blanks	Each passage contains 4 to 5 blanks.
Time per Question	Aim for about 2 to 2.5 minutes per question. The whole Reading section is about 29–30 minutes.
Task Format	A passage (up to 300 words) with several blanks. Each blank has a drop-down menu with four options. You must select the correct word for each blank.
Scoring	Partial Credit (No negative marking). You get +1 point for each correctly answered blank. Wrong answers are simply marked as 0, so you should always guess rather than leave a blank.
Skills Assessed	Reading (comprehending the passage) and Writing (choosing the right word to complete a sentence correctly).

Key Strategies for Success

Use a 3-Step System

Don't just read and guess. Follow a process.

Step 1: Read the Full Sentence

Before looking at the options, read the whole sentence that contains the blank. Understand its meaning and grammatical structure.

Step 2: Analyze the Gap

Look closely at the words immediately before and after the blank. Ask yourself:

• Is the missing word a noun, verb, adjective, or preposition?
• Is there a common word pairing (collocation) that fits here?

Step 3: Eliminate and Choose

Now look at the dropdown options.

• Immediately eliminate options that don't fit the grammar.
• Eliminate options that don't make logical sense.
• You might be left with two similar words. Read the sentence with each option to see which sounds more natural and fits the precise meaning.

Leverage Grammar

Grammar is your most powerful tool. Use it to eliminate choices that are simply impossible. For instance, if the sentence requires a plural verb, any singular option can be instantly removed.

Think About Collocations

A collocation is a pair or group of words that are often used together (e.g., "make a decision," "heavy rain"). Look for these familiar word partnerships. If you know what words naturally go together, you can often find the answer without even fully analyzing the grammar.

Understand the Context

Skim the entire passage briefly to grasp the main idea. This "gist" will help you make the right choice if you're stuck between two options that both seem grammatically correct.

Never Leave a Blank Empty

Since there is no negative marking, you have nothing to lose by making an educated guess if you are unsure.

5 Practice Samples with Answers and Explanations

Here are practice questions based on the official PTE format. Try to apply the strategies above to each one.

---

Sample 1: The Nature of Happiness

Read the text below and select the correct word from the dropdown menu for each blank.

Want to know what will make you happy? Then ask a total stranger—or so says a new study from Harvard University, which shows that another person's experience is often more (1) ______ than your own best guess. "Rather than closing our eyes and (2) ______ the future, we should examine the experience of those who have been there," says the lead researcher. Previous studies show that people have difficulty predicting what they will like, which (3) ______ them to make a wide variety of poor decisions. Interventions aimed at (4) ______ the accuracy with which people imagine future events have been generally unsuccessful.

Options for each blank:

Blank 1:
[Informal, informative, positive, predictable]

Blank 2:
[Imagining, imitating, predicting, visualizing]

Blank 3:
[Leads, forces, requires, compels]

Blank 4:
[Reducing, improving, advancing, controlling]

 

Answers & Explanations:

Informative: The sentence contrasts experience with your own guess. "Informative" (providing useful information) is the only word that makes logical sense here.

Imagining: The text says we should examine the experience of others instead of "closing our eyes and ___ the future." "Imagining" is the best fit, as it means trying to picture something unknown, which aligns with the paragraph's theme of predicting personal happiness.

Leads: The subject "which" refers to the fact that people have difficulty predicting. This difficulty "leads" (causes) them to make poor decisions. While the other options are close in meaning, "leads" is the most natural collocation.

Improving: The sentence discusses "interventions aimed at ___ the accuracy." The goal of an intervention would be to make the accuracy better. "Improving" is the correct and most logical choice.

---

Sample 2: A New Type of Aircraft

Read the text below and select the correct word from the dropdown menu for each blank.

A mini helicopter model based on flying tree seeds could soon be flying overhead. Evan Ulrich and his colleagues at the University of Maryland (1) ______ the biological world for inspiration. The complex (2) ______ of full-size helicopters becomes inefficient when shrunk, (3) ______ that standard mini helicopters use most of their power just to stay stable. It turns out that nature (4) ______ them to it. The seeds of trees such as the maple have a single-blade structure that (5) ______ them to fly far away and drift safely to the ground. These seeds need no engine to (6) ______ through the air, thanks to a process called autorotation.

Options for each blank:

Blank 1:
[turned to, came across, stayed within, dropped in]

Blank 2:
[overhaul, gauge, imagination, design]

Blank 3:
[denying, meaning, objecting, proving]

Blank 4:
[never leads, will drive, had beaten, is holding]

Blank 5:
[charges, pushes, allows, hampers]

Blank 6:
[spin, fluctuate, drift, bob]

 

Answers & Explanations:

Turned to: The researchers "turned to" (looked to) the biological world for inspiration. This is a standard collocation.

Design: The "design" of the helicopters is what gets inefficient when shrunk. This is the most logical choice.

Meaning: "Complex design gets less efficient, meaning that... they use most of their power." The phrase "meaning that" is used to explain a consequence.

Had beaten: The researchers realized that nature "had beaten" them to it, a common idiom meaning nature had already found the solution first.

Allows: The structure "allows" them to fly far away. The verb "allows" means makes it possible.

Drift: The seeds need no engine to "drift" through the air, meaning to float or move gently. "Spin" is incorrect as it means to rotate.

---

Sample 3: The Problem of Plastic Waste

Read the text below and select the correct word from the dropdown menu for each blank.

A giant turtle made from discarded plastic trash will greet visitors to a science festival this week. The art installation (1) ______ commissioned by a university with the aim of raising awareness of plastic waste. The director of the university's institute said: "Marine pollution is a mounting global challenge, which is (2) ______ having devastating consequences. We have a duty to protect these fragile environments and the marine life and ecosystems which we (3) ______ home. The university has commissioned this installation as a physical (4) ______ of what is ending up in the oceans."

Options for each blank:

Blank 1:
[has, being, have, was]

Blank 2:
[only, already, otherwise, yet]

Blank 3:
[settle, call, originate, go]

Blank 4:
[reminder, receipt, reinforcement, recognition]

 

Answers & Explanations:

Was: The installation "was commissioned" is the correct passive voice construction in the past tense.

Already: The pollution "is already having devastating consequences," meaning it is currently causing damage, fitting the context of a "mounting global challenge."

Call: The ecosystems "which we call home" is a common and natural collocation.

Reminder: The installation is a physical "reminder" (something that makes you remember) of what is in the oceans.

---

Sample 4: The Art of Delegation

Read the text below and select the correct word from the dropdown menu for each blank.

The process of delegation comprises the decision to delegate, the briefing, and the follow-up. At each of these points, (1) ______ the potential problems. When you delegate, you are delegating the right to perform an (2) ______. It is important to be (3) ______, as the person to whom you delegate may have a better and faster way of completing a job than you.

Options for each blank:

Blank 1:
[Learn, anticipate, summarize, think]

Blank 2:
[Action, exercise, observation, execution]

Blank 3:
[Smart, clever, feasible, flexible]

 

Answers & Explanations:

Anticipate: You should "anticipate" potential problems, which means to expect or foresee them before they happen. This is the most logical and professional choice.

Action: You are delegating the right to perform an "action." While "execution" is similar, "action" is a more direct and common fit in this context.

Flexible: It is important to be "flexible" because the other person may have a better way to do the job. This means you shouldn't be rigid in your expectations.

---

Sample 5: The Road Not Taken

Read the text below and select the correct word from the dropdown menu for each blank.

The poem "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost is about the (1) ______ that one makes in life. It tells about a man who comes to a (2) ______ in the road he is traveling upon. He feels (3) ______ that he cannot travel both paths as he must choose one. Frost uses this fork in the road to represent a point in the man's life where he has to choose the (4) ______ he wishes to take in life.

Options for each blank:

Blank 1:
[Fork, choices, both, direction, sorry]

Blank 2:
[Fork, choices, both, direction, sorry]

Blank 3:
[Fork, choices, both, direction, sorry]

Blank 4:
[Fork, choices, both, direction, sorry]

 

Answers & Explanations:

Choices: The poem is about the "choices" (decisions) that one makes in life. This is the central theme.

Fork: The man comes to a "fork" in the road, which is the literal split in the path.

Sorry: He feels "sorry" that he cannot travel both paths, as he must choose one and miss the other.

Direction: He has to choose the "direction" he wishes to take, meaning the path or course for his life.