What Is Fill in the Blanks (Reading)?

You read a passage with blanks. Each blank is a dropdown menu with 4–6 options. Unlike Reading & Writing: Fill in the Blanks, this task contributes only to the Reading score and there is no drag-and-drop — you select from a dropdown.

Scoring

Contributes to Reading only. Each correct answer = 1 point; no penalty for wrong answers.

Strategy

  • The blank is surrounded by context — use the full sentence to identify the meaning needed.
  • Focus on grammar: check subject-verb agreement, tense consistency, and article usage.
  • Focus on collocation: which word naturally follows or precedes the adjacent words?
  • If two options seem equally possible, choose the one that is more precisely matched to the surrounding text’s register (formal/informal).

Vocabulary Focus Areas

  • Academic verbs: acquire, allocate, assess, demonstrate, establish, indicate, maintain, obtain, sustain
  • Noun-verb pairs: make/reach a conclusion, conduct/carry out research, draw/form an inference
  • Preposition patterns: associated with, based on, concerned about, result in, consistent with

Quick Reference

Number of items 4–5 per test
Skills assessed Reading only
Format Dropdown selection