There are about 2 to 3 questions that are based on the ‘Listening-Fill in the blanks’ format in a PTE Academic test. For this reason, how well you understand this section and how well you score in it will largely affect your final score in your Pearson Test of English Academic.
In this task, a text is displayed on the screen and its corresponding audio is played on the microphone, only once. The text has about 5 to 7 blanks and the candidates are required to fill these with the correct words while simultaneously listening to the audio.
The candidates get an erasable note board booklet to make rough notes.
Here are a few tips you can use to improve your scores in this task. Do not forget to practice the PTE practice test though! The time stimulation is much required before the PTE exam to get a real-time experience. A full-length PTE mock test will help you to make a practice to sit for 3 hours at a stretch. As the listening section comes last, you must be enough prepared with PTE mock test or the section-wise PTE practice to make a habit of sitting for a longer period.
Top 6 tips to improve your scores in ‘PTE Listening fill in the blanks’ task
- There are 7 seconds before the audio starts to play. This time can be ideally used to take a glance at the text and the exact position of the blanks that need to be filled.
- Pay special attention to the words that precede the blanks when the audio begins to play. This will give you the hint to look for the correct answer.
- It is advisable to position your cursor on the first blank so you can type the first answer without wasting any time.
- Type a short form for the answer word in its respective blank, the moment you hear it. For instance, type ‘cmpny’ in place of ‘company’ and move on. This will not just save you time but will also get you the correct answer immediately. You can complete the words once the audio ends.
- Once you have filled the first blank with the correct word, program your mind to move the cursor to the next blank, and still listen to the transcript at the same time. How efficiently you can do both of these tasks will completely depend on the number of PTE mock tests you practice.
- If you are not comfortable typing while the audio is playing, you can note down the answer one below the other and then transfer the answer to the blanks. Ultimately it will depend on you to develop your techniques in which you are comfortable. You can start practicing from the PTE mock test to master any of the techniques you feel is comfortable.
Things to remember
- It is important to double-check the spelling of the word you write since no mark is credited even if the answer is correct but the word is misspelled.
- Remember to follow UK English while writing the spellings. Also, take care of plural/singular nouns and other similar rules that can affect the spelling.
- Do not skip answering a blank even if you are unsure of the correct answer. Since there are no negative markings in the task, you will not lose a thing even with a wild guess.
- Do not waste a lot of time on the task once the audio is over. Give it only the time it deserves! You can move to the next task only once you click ‘Next’ at the bottom of the page. The more time you take to click on that, the less time you get for your other tasks.
You can also read this article: Time Management in PTE Listening
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