Gap Fill: Word Bank
12 pts12 questions · 12 points · ~15 minutes
Task 4 tests your vocabulary knowledge and your ability to understand how words function within a text. You are given a passage with 12 gaps and a word bank containing 14 words. You must choose the correct word for each gap from the bank. Two words in the bank are distractors and will not be used. Each word can only be used once.
Read the full passage without filling gaps
Read the entire text from start to finish, skipping over the gaps. Understand the topic, the tone, and the general flow of ideas. This overview helps you make better vocabulary choices because you understand the context each gap sits within.
Study the word bank and categorise the words
Look at all 14 words and group them mentally by part of speech: nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, and so on. This categorisation helps you narrow down which words can possibly fit each gap based on grammatical requirements.
Determine what part of speech each gap needs
For each gap, look at the words before and after it. If the gap follows 'the' or 'a', you likely need a noun or adjective. If it follows a subject, you likely need a verb. If it comes before a noun, you might need an adjective. Grammar tells you what type of word is required.
Fill in the easiest gaps first
Start with gaps where only one word from the bank makes grammatical and contextual sense. Write in these answers and cross off the used words immediately. This reduces the word bank and makes harder gaps easier to solve through elimination.
Use context clues for remaining gaps
For trickier gaps, look for context clues in the surrounding sentences. Collocations (words that naturally go together, like 'make a decision' or 'pay attention'), topic-related vocabulary, and logical connectors can guide you to the right word.
Re-read the completed text
Once all gaps are filled, read the passage from beginning to end with your answers in place. Every sentence should flow naturally and make logical sense. If something sounds wrong or awkward, reconsider that word choice. You should have exactly 2 unused words remaining in the bank.
- •Cross off words as you use them. This prevents accidentally using the same word twice and makes the remaining choices clearer.
- •Pay attention to collocations and fixed phrases. For example, if the text says 'take ___' the answer might be 'advantage', 'place', or 'part' depending on context.
- •If two words seem to fit the same gap, check whether one of them is a better fit for a different gap. One word should clearly belong somewhere else.
- •Look at the verb tenses in the passage. If surrounding verbs are in past tense and the gap needs a verb, the word bank verb should match the tense pattern.
- •Prepositions and linking words are often the trickiest gaps. Read the full sentence and think about which preposition or connector logically joins the ideas.
- •Build your vocabulary by reading regularly. The more collocations and phrases you know naturally, the faster and more accurately you can complete this task.
Allocate about 15 minutes to this task. Spend 2 minutes reading the passage for overall meaning and 1 minute reviewing the word bank. Then spend about 8 minutes filling gaps, starting with the easiest. Use the final 4 minutes to fill remaining gaps using elimination and to re-read the completed passage. Since there are 12 gaps, aim for about 40-50 seconds per gap on average, but remember that easy gaps take 10 seconds and hard ones might take over a minute, so do not worry if your pace is uneven.