Fill in the Blanks (Drag and Drop) at a glance
How Fill in the Blanks (Drag and Drop) works
- A passage of up to 80 words appears with several gaps.
- You drag words from a bank into the gaps; there are more words than you need.
- There is no separate item timer, so the task uses the Reading section time.
What your response is scored on
Each correctly completed gap contributes credit toward the item score.
Incorrect gaps do not erase credit earned on other correctly completed gaps.
This drag-and-drop task contributes to Reading, not Writing.
Pearson does not publish the complete scoring algorithm or raw-to-scale conversion. PrepEx feedback and 10-90 scores are practice estimates, not official PTE results.
Sample-style fill-in-the-blanks task
Public libraries continue to Drop word here their services as community needs change. Many now provide digital resources, study spaces and workshops that Drop word here access to practical skills.
This is an original PrepEx example designed to demonstrate the response format. It is not an official Pearson test item.
How to improve at Fill in the Blanks (Drag and Drop)
- Read the complete passage first so each gap is solved within the overall meaning.
- Identify the required part of speech, then test collocation and precise meaning.
- Use each completed sentence to constrain the remaining word-bank options.
Learn the strategy here, then practise filtered Fill in the Blanks (Drag and Drop) items in the Practice Hub.
A 15-minute Fill in the Blanks (Drag and Drop) practice loop
Preview the rules
Re-read the timing, scoring traits and common mistakes on this guide before opening practice.
Run focused attempts
Open the filtered Practice Hub view and complete several Fill in the Blanks (Drag and Drop) attempts without switching task types.
Review and repeat
Use your activity history and target plan to decide whether to repeat this task or move to the next weak family.
Stay on this task for a short focused set, then review whether it should remain your priority.
Common mistakes
- Choosing a word because it matches the topic but not the grammar
- Ignoring common collocations around the gap
- Using every word even though the bank contains distractors
- Solving gaps independently without rereading the passage
Checked against Pearson's current format
Task format, timing and published scoring traits were checked against Pearson's current PTE Academic test-format guidance on June 23, 2026. Pearson remains the final authority and may update the test.
Primary source: Pearson PTE Academic test format.