Which PTE reading task also contributes to your writing score?

Fill in the Blanks (dropdown / 'Reading and Writing: Fill in the Blanks').

How do you find the first box in Reorder Paragraph?

Find the sentence that stands alone with no backward-pointing words (this, they, however), usually the one naming the topic in full.

Why be cautious on 'Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers'?

Wrong selections lose marks, so only select the options you're confident are correct.

How is the Reading section timed?

It's section-timed overall, not per question, so you must budget time across the tasks.

What's the fastest way to answer Fill in the Blanks?

Read the words on either side of the gap and pick by grammar and collocation — the word that simply fits.

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PTE Reading: The Five Task Types

Fill in the Blanks, Multiple Choice and Reorder Paragraph — what each asks and where the easy marks are.

The big picture

PTE Reading tasks
- Fill in Blanks (dropdown) — Pick words from menus (reading + writing)
- Fill in Blanks (drag-drop) — Drag words into gaps
- Reorder Paragraph — Drag jumbled boxes into order
- MCQ, single answer — One correct option
- MCQ, multiple answers — Careful — wrong picks lose marks

Fill in the Blanks — the reading workhorses

Two versions: dropdown (choose the right word from a menu in each gap — this one also feeds your writing score) and drag-and-drop (drag words from a box into gaps). Both reward grammar and collocation sense — which word simply *fits*.

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Real example: Gap: 'a ___ increase in prices' → the options might include 'sharp', 'sharply', 'sharpen'. Grammar picks 'sharp' (adjective before noun). Read the words around the gap, not just the gap.

🧠 Memory hook: The words either side of the blank tell you the answer. Read the collocation.

Reorder Paragraph — find the opener first

You get jumbled text boxes and drag them into the logical order. The trick: find the sentence that can stand alone as an opener (no 'this', 'they', 'however' pointing back), then follow the referring words and linkers to chain the rest.

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Real example: A box starting 'However, this later failed…' can never be first — 'However' and 'this' point backward. The opener is usually the one naming the topic in full.

🧠 Memory hook: The opener has no backward-pointing words. Then follow this/these/however like breadcrumbs.

Multiple Choice — mind the negative marking

Single answer: pick the one correct option (safe). Multiple answers: select all correct options — but wrong selections lose marks, so only tick what you're sure of. Don't select everything hoping to catch them all.

💡

Real example: On a 'multiple answers' question, picking 3 options where only 2 are right can score the same as picking just the 2 you're confident about — guess-all is a trap.

🧠 Memory hook: Multiple-answer = only tick what you're sure of. Wrong picks bite back.

Speed and timing

Reading is section-timed, not per-question, so budget your time and don't sink minutes into one Reorder Paragraph. Answer the quick single-answer and fill-in-blanks items first, then spend leftover time on the fiddly reorder.

💡

Real example: Stuck on a reorder after 90 seconds? Lock in your best order and move on — an imperfect reorder still earns partial marks for correctly-adjacent pairs.

🧠 Memory hook: Quick wins first. Reorder gives partial marks — never let it eat the clock.

Frequently asked questions

Which PTE reading task also contributes to your writing score?: Fill in the Blanks (dropdown / 'Reading and Writing: Fill in the Blanks').
How do you find the first box in Reorder Paragraph?: Find the sentence that stands alone with no backward-pointing words (this, they, however), usually the one naming the topic in full.
Why be cautious on 'Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers'?: Wrong selections lose marks, so only select the options you're confident are correct.
How is the Reading section timed?: It's section-timed overall, not per question, so you must budget time across the tasks.
What's the fastest way to answer Fill in the Blanks?: Read the words on either side of the gap and pick by grammar and collocation — the word that simply fits.

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