Part 2: Reading

There is a passage with some missing words. Beside each gap, there is a button with a drop-down list. Left-click on this button to reveal the drop-down list of response options for that gap. Choose the option you think best fills the gap.

To change your mind, left-click on a different option. 

If you understand the general meaning of the whole text, this will help you choose the correct word for each blank. For example, if you skim the passage below, you will find key ideas and words which point to a main topic of ‘change’.

When you click on the drop-down arrows, you may find options that are also related to the main topic. You can then check grammar and overall meaning to see whether the words fit the blanks:

The response options in the drop-down menus may look quite similar, but they will have different meanings and usage. You can look at the surrounding context to help you choose the appropriate word.

In the example below, only ‘access’ fits in the phrase ‘gained …………. to technologies’. You need to pick words that match both the meaning (gain access) and grammar (‘access to’). Reading either side of the blank will help you to narrow down the choices you have to make.

Scan the text for the repeated words. Then read around them to find the answer more quickly:

Your response is judged on your ability to use contextual and grammatical cues to identify words that complete a reading text. If you fill all the blanks correctly, you will receive the maximum score points for this question type. If you fill one or more blanks incorrectly, partial credit scoring applies.

Please note:

• This question type affects the scoring of reading and writing.

• Your listening and speaking skills are not tested by this question type.

• For more information download the PTE Core Score Guide.

Read the instructions carefully and remember that more than one response option is correct. You will score points for any correct options but you will lose points for any incorrect options.

These include options that you have clicked on as correct but which are wrong. If you click on all the options because you do not know the answer, you will lose score points.

Quickly read through the response options and note any words that are repeated, particularly adjectives (e.g., ‘multigrade’) or nouns (e.g., ‘classes’). If the same noun phrase occurs in a lot of the options, the answer is probably related to this phrase.

Scan the text for the repeated words. Then read around them to find the answer more quickly:

Your response is judged on your ability to analyze, interpret and evaluate a short reading text on an academic subject. If all your responses are correct, you will receive the maximum score points.

If one or more response options are incorrect, partial credit scoring applies.

Each correct option is given one point, but one point is deducted for each wrong option, so make sure you are confident in your choices.

Please note:

• This question type affects the scoring of reading

• Your listening, speaking and writing skills are not tested by this question type

• For more information download the PTE Core Score Guide.

Read the text boxes in order to understand the main idea of each one. You can do this by noting the key words.

Next, use the key words to form an overall idea of what the original text is about. This will help you find the logical order for the ideas in the text boxes:

Every well-written paragraph has a topic sentence. It is usually a clear statement about the topic, and all the other sentences are related in some way to this sentence.

The topic sentence can stand alone; it does not begin with a linker or a pronoun that refers back to something or someone (e.g., ‘he’ or ‘this’), nor does it does refer back to information or actions previously mentioned through the use of things like passive verb tenses (e.g., ‘No link was found’):

Your response is judged on your ability to understand the organization and cohesion of an academic text. If all text boxes are in the correct order, you will receive the maximum score points.

If one or more text boxes are in the wrong order, partial credit scoring applies.

Please note:

• This question type affects the scoring of only reading

• Your listening, speaking and writing skills are not tested by this question type

• For more information download the PTE Core Score Guide.

Remember that some words often go together to form a familiar phrase. This is called ‘collocation’. Using collocation can help you recognize the correct word for each blank.

For example, the phrase ‘the general public’ is a common collocation, so you can quickly see that ‘public’ might be a good choice for the first blank in the sentence below:

Read around the blank in the text and decide what part of speech the missing word is. In the example below, ‘beginning to’ tells you that an infinitive verb form is missing (to + verb).

Next, look at the response options and rule out any words that are not the correct part of speech, e.g., ‘world’ is a noun and ‘formal’ is an adjective. Also, rule out any verbs that are not in the infinitive form.

Finally, choose the word that has the correct meaning from the words that are left: ‘view’ and ‘look’ mean ‘see’, but we ‘quote’ or ‘cite’ references, so you can see that only ‘cite’ fits the blank:Every well-written paragraph has a topic sentence. It is usually a clear statement about the topic, and all the other sentences are related in some way to this sentence.

Your response is judged on your ability to use context and grammatical cues to identify words that complete a reading text. If you fill all the blanks correctly, you will receive the maximum score points. If you fill one or more blanks incorrectly, partial credit scoring applies.

Please note:

• This question type affects the scoring of only reading

• Your listening, speaking and writing skills are not tested by this question type

• For more information download the PTE Core Score Guide.

The prompt may be a question or a sentence that you have to complete. Whatever type of prompt you get, make sure you read it carefully because it will tell you what information you need to find in the text.

If you focus on the key words in the prompt, you will find the answer more quickly and need to spend less time reading the text.

The response options may be words, phrases or sentences. Use your own knowledge to decide whether any of them are unlikely to be correct, or likely to be correct. You can do this before you read the text.

If you read the text but cannot answer the question, choose the option that you think is most likely to be correct. This strategy also applies to multiple-choice questions with more than one answer.

Your response is judged on your ability to analyze, interpret and evaluate a short reading text on an academic subject.

Your response is scored as either correct or incorrect. No credit is given for no response or an incorrect response.

Please note:

• This question type affects the scoring of only reading

• Your listening, speaking and writing skills are not tested by this question type

• For more information download the PTE Core Score Guide.