By Sameer, lead instructor at Precise PTE.
Listening Fill in the Blanks is scored word by word, and spelling counts. A student who hears every word perfectly but writes recieve instead of receive loses the same mark as a student who heard nothing.
Use the transcript on screen. Read ahead of the audio and predict the grammatical shape of each gap: is it a noun, a verb, a plural, a past tense? Prediction turns listening into confirmation, which is far easier under pressure.
Write shorthand while the audio plays and complete the spelling afterwards. Trying to type the full correct word in real time is what makes people miss the next two gaps.
Build a personal spelling list from your own errors. Twenty words you actually get wrong is worth more than a thousand word academic list you will never see again.
Finally, do not leave a gap empty. There is no negative marking, and a plausible guess based on grammar and context is scored occasionally correct, which is strictly better than zero.