How Select Missing Word works
You see the topic of the recording and hear audio of 20 to 70 seconds. In PTE Academic, the last word or group of words is replaced by a beep. You then choose, from several options, the one that best completes the recording. On this page the audio simply stops where the missing part begins.
Unlike the other listening tasks, the answer is not something the speaker said. You have to predict it from how the talk has been building, which makes this a test of following an argument as it unfolds.
What is scored
The item is correct or incorrect, with no minus marking. Always choose an option.
How to answer
- Glance at the options before the audio if you can. Seeing that the choices are, say, four different conclusions tells you to track the argument, not the details.
- Follow the direction of the talk. Is the speaker listing benefits, building to a warning or contrasting two approaches? The ending almost always continues that line.
- Pay most attention to the final 10 seconds. The sentence that gets cut off holds the strongest clue. Listen for its grammar as well as its meaning. If it ends with an article such as a, the missing part must start with a noun or adjective.
- Test each option aloud in your head. Put it at the end of the last sentence and ask whether it fits both the grammar and the logic.
Clues hidden in the final sentence
- Contrast words. If the last sentence begins with however or but, the missing ending usually runs against what came before.
- Result words. Therefore, so and as a result point to a consequence of the earlier points.
- Repeated ideas. Speakers often return to the opening theme at the end. If the talk opened with a question, the ending may answer it.
- Fixed expressions. Phrases like in the long run, on the other hand or at the same time sometimes complete the sentence, so familiarity with common academic phrases helps.
Common mistakes
- Choosing an option that repeats a word from the recording without fitting the final sentence.
- Stopping concentration early because the recording feels long, then missing the setup sentence at the end.
- Picking an ending that is true in general but does not follow from this speaker's argument.
Select Missing Word is a good warm-up for the longer listening tasks. If you find prediction hard, practice Highlight Correct Summary too, since both reward tracking where a speaker is heading.