PTE template · Framework
PTE Reading Fill in the Blanks Template: drag-and-drop by collocation and grammar
Reading Fill in the Blanks (RFIB, drag-and-drop) shows you a short passage of up to 80 words with 4 to 5 blanks and a bank of roughly 8 to 10 draggable words. You drag each word into a blank; the bank has more words than blanks, so some are distractors. There are 4 to 5 items per PTE Academic test. Scoring is partial credit with no negative marking. The framework below is a 4-cue elimination method that turns each blank from a guess into an evidence-based match.
Quick answer
The Reading Fill in the Blanks (drag-and-drop) template is a 4-cue elimination method: identify the required part of speech for each blank from the surrounding grammar, look for collocation partners with the neighbouring words, check grammar fit (tense, number, article, preposition), and match meaning to the passage's argument. Sort the word bank by part of speech first to shrink the search space, then work each blank in order. There is no negative marking, so fill every blank.
Read this first
There is no memorisable template answer on Reading Fill in the Blanks, because the passages and word banks change every item. What you can standardise is the 4-cue elimination method. Do not spend more than 90 seconds per item, and never leave a blank empty: unfilled blanks score 0 exactly like wrong answers, but a considered guess sometimes hits partial credit.
The framework
How the framework works
Read the sections in order. Each one is a step of the framework, with adaptable sentence starters you fill from the actual prompt.
The 4-cue elimination method (per blank)
1. PART OF SPEECH. What word class does the grammar demand here? Is it a noun (after 'a', 'the', 'his'), a verb (after a subject), an adjective (before a noun), or an adverb (before a verb or adjective)? Eliminate any bank word that is the wrong class. 2. COLLOCATION. Which bank words naturally pair with the neighbouring words? 'Make a decision' but not 'do a decision'; 'reach a conclusion' but not 'catch a conclusion'. 3. GRAMMAR FIT. Does the bank word match tense, number, article, or preposition rules? A singular verb after a plural subject is out. A past-tense verb in a present-tense sentence is out. 4. MEANING. Does the word's meaning support the passage's argument? If the sentence describes an increase, an option meaning 'reduced' cannot be right. Work through the 4 cues in order and you will usually be down to 1 or 2 candidates per blank.
Pre-sort the word bank before touching the first blank
The word bank has 8 to 10 words with more than the number of blanks. Distractors are chosen to look plausible for one or two blanks but wrong for all of them. First move: mentally sort the bank into part-of-speech groups. - NOUNS: 'evidence', 'increase', 'method', 'outcome' - VERBS: 'demonstrate', 'establish', 'reveal', 'suggest' - ADJECTIVES: 'significant', 'considerable', 'remote', 'immediate' - ADVERBS: 'gradually', 'rapidly', 'primarily' With the bank pre-sorted, each blank now only needs matching against 2 to 4 words instead of all 8 to 10. This is the single biggest time-saver on drag-and-drop FIB.
Collocation patterns worth knowing (drag-and-drop specific)
Because the passages are short (up to 80 words), collocation is the dominant cue. Build recognition of these families: - VERB + NOUN: 'conduct research', 'reach a conclusion', 'draw a distinction', 'raise concerns', 'establish evidence', 'address the issue'. - ADJECTIVE + NOUN: 'significant impact', 'considerable effort', 'strong evidence', 'growing demand', 'wide range'. - ADVERB + VERB: 'rapidly declined', 'gradually increased', 'significantly improved'. - VERB + PREPOSITION: 'depend on', 'result in', 'contribute to', 'lead to', 'refer to', 'consist of'. If a bank word belongs to the wrong collocation family for the surrounding text, it is almost never correct even if grammatically valid.
The 5-step method (aim for under 90 seconds per item)
1. READ the passage once at normal speed, treating blanks as gaps (15 to 20 seconds). Note the topic and overall argument. 2. PRE-SORT the word bank into noun/verb/adjective/adverb groups (10 seconds). 3. WORK each blank in order (40 to 50 seconds total across 4 to 5 blanks). Match by part of speech first, then collocation, then grammar, then meaning. 4. LOCK a word into each blank via drag-and-drop. If two candidates are equally plausible, pick the one whose meaning better fits the passage argument. 5. RE-READ the completed passage at speed (10 to 15 seconds). Check every blank reads naturally in context. Budget: 60 to 90 seconds per item, times 4 to 5 items = about 5 to 7 minutes total on RFIB across the whole test.
What Pearson scores on Reading Fill in the Blanks
Partial credit, no negative marking, per the July 2025 Score Guide: - Each correctly filled blank scores 1 point. - Each incorrect or unfilled blank scores 0. - A 4-blank item can score 0 through 4; a 5-blank item can score 0 through 5. Because there is no negative marking, ALWAYS fill every blank. An unfilled blank scores 0; a wrong-fill blank also scores 0; a lucky-guess-fill blank sometimes scores 1. Filling is the mathematically dominant strategy on this task.
The most common Reading FIB mistakes
- Ignoring the distractors. The bank has more words than blanks, so 2 to 4 words in every item are designed to look wrong for every blank. Failing to recognise them as distractors leads to forcing them into blanks they do not fit. - Working blank-by-blank without reading the whole passage first. Short passages (up to 80 words) fit in one glance; using the topic and argument to guide word choice is essential. - Choosing the most impressive-sounding word. Complex vocabulary is not automatically correct. Match by collocation and grammar, not by which word 'sounds most academic'. - Leaving a blank empty because you are unsure. No negative marking means an empty blank scores 0 exactly like a wrong one, but a considered guess sometimes hits. - Not re-reading after dragging. A word that looks right in isolation can jar when read in the full passage. The re-read is where you catch the last-minute swap.
Worked examples
The framework applied
Same framework, different prompts. Each answer is filled with real content, not a memorised script.
Passage (approximately 70 words) with 4 blanks and a bank of 8 words, on the topic of solar energy.
Framework-filled answer
[1] expanded. Part of speech: past participle after 'has'. Collocation: 'has expanded rapidly' is the standard growth-verb pairing. 'Grown' would also work, but 'expanded' matches the scale reference (one thousand gigawatts) more precisely. [2] primary. Part of speech: adjective before 'drivers'. Meaning: 'the two primary drivers' is a standard academic collocation for identifying leading causes. [3] popular. Part of speech: adjective before 'household'. Meaning: rooftop solar being widely adopted supports 'popular'. 'Common' is possible but weaker; 'popular investments' is the stronger collocation. [4] adapting. Part of speech: gerund after 'are'. Collocation: 'adapting to' fits with 'variable supply' as an ongoing response. 'Reducing' would need a direct object; 'grown' is wrong tense. Unused (distractors): grown, common, tools, reducing. Score: 4 out of 4.
Why this scores: Pre-sorting the bank by part of speech: nouns = 'tools'; verbs = 'grown', 'expanded', 'adapting', 'reducing'; adjectives = 'common', 'primary', 'popular'. This immediately rules out 'tools' as a candidate for any blank (there is no noun-slot after an article or determiner). Once part of speech narrows the field, collocation and meaning finish each blank.
Passage (approximately 75 words) with 5 blanks and a bank of 10 words, on the topic of urban tree canopy.
Framework-filled answer
[1] moderate. Part of speech: verb. Collocation: 'moderate temperatures' is the standard climate-science pairing. [2] shade. Part of speech: verb after 'trees'. Meaning: 'trees shade hard surfaces' is the direct mechanism. 'Planted' or 'linked' would not describe the shading action. [3] considerable. Part of speech: adjective before 'cooling effect'. Meaning: emphasises magnitude. 'Mild' would understate; 'considerable' matches the passage's tone. [4] linked. Part of speech: past participle after 'have'. Meaning: 'studies have linked X to Y' is a standard research-writing collocation. [5] achieve. Part of speech: verb after 'to'. Meaning: 'achieve a target' is the standard verb-noun pairing for reaching a set goal. Unused (distractors): direct, planted, gradual, mild, buildings. Score: 5 out of 5.
Why this scores: 'Buildings' is a distractor because there is no noun slot; 'gradual' and 'mild' are adjective distractors that fit grammatically but not by magnitude; 'direct' and 'planted' are alternative verb candidates that lose to collocation. Pre-sorting by part of speech saves 30 seconds on this item.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best PTE Reading Fill in the Blanks strategy?
A 4-cue elimination method: match each blank by part of speech first, then collocation, then grammar (tense, number, article, preposition), then meaning in context. Pre-sort the word bank by part of speech before touching the first blank. Never leave a blank empty because there is no negative marking.
How many Reading FIB (drag-and-drop) items are on the PTE Academic test?
4 to 5 items per test per Pearson's July 2025 Score Guide, each drawn from a passage of up to 80 words with 4 to 5 blanks and a bank of roughly 8 to 10 draggable words. RFIB sits in Part 2 (Reading) alongside the two Multiple Choice types, Reorder Paragraphs, and Reading and Writing Fill in the Blanks (dropdowns).
Does Reading FIB have negative marking?
No. Reading Fill in the Blanks is partial credit with no negative marking. Only three PTE Academic tasks have negative marking: Reading Multiple Choice Multiple Answers, Listening Multiple Choice Multiple Answers, and Highlight Incorrect Words. On RFIB, always drag a word into every blank.
What is the difference between RFIB and R&W FIB?
RFIB (drag-and-drop): short passage (up to 80 words), 4 to 5 blanks, you drag words from a shared bank into the blanks. Reading score only. R&W FIB (dropdowns): longer passage (up to 300 words), 4 to 6 blanks, each blank has its own dropdown of 4 options. Reading score only (as of 7 August 2025). Both are partial credit with no negative marking.
How much time should I spend on each Reading FIB item?
60 to 90 seconds per item: 15 to 20 seconds reading the passage, 10 seconds pre-sorting the word bank by part of speech, 40 to 50 seconds working the blanks, 10 to 15 seconds re-reading the completed passage. Reading has 22 to 30 minutes total across 5 task types.
How do I handle the extra words in the bank?
The bank contains 2 to 4 more words than blanks; those extras are distractors chosen to look plausible for one or two blanks but wrong for all of them. Pre-sort the bank by part of speech: any word that does not match the part of speech of any blank is an obvious distractor. Meaning and collocation eliminate the rest.
What is the single strongest cue on Reading FIB?
Collocation. Because passages are short (up to 80 words), the surrounding words strongly constrain each blank. Once part of speech has narrowed the candidates, the collocation that naturally pairs with the neighbouring word almost always wins. Grammar and meaning are usually confirmations rather than tiebreakers.
Reach your target PTE score faster.
The framework protects your Form marks. A full mock tells you the real score.
Last reviewed 2026-07-17. Based on the current PTE Academic format (updated 7 August 2025) and Pearson's Test Taker Score Guide.