Reading: Fill in the Blanks · Part 2: Reading

Plainness

643 students marked "I sat this"Added 16 Apr 2020Question #110002

Drag words into the blanks.

Now that doesn't mean that plainness is the only good style, or that you should become a 1 to spare, unadorned writing. Formality and ornateness have their place, and in 2 hands complexity can carry us on a dizzying, breathtaking journey. But most students, most of the time, should 3 to be sensibly simple, to develop a baseline style of short words, active verbs, and relatively simple sentences 4 clear actions or identities. It's faster. It makes arguments easier to follow. It increases the chances a busy reader will bother to pay attention, and it lets you 5 more attention on your moments of rhetorical flourish, which I do not advise 6 altogether.

Word box (alphabetical)

abandoningavailablecombiningcompetentconveyingdevelopingexpertfocuspaysayingslavestrive

More Reading: Fill in the Blanks questions

Reading: Fill in the Blanks format (Pearson)

Pearson's name: Fill in the Blanks (Drag and Drop)

PromptText up to 80 words
Time to answerNot set per question (Part 2 lasts 23–30 minutes)
Skills assessedReading

How it is scored

  • The box has more words than there are gaps.
  • Partial credit applies: a partly correct response still scores.

Source: Pearson, PTE Academic & UKVI test format, Part 2: Reading, checked 9 October 2026.