Build a Sentence opens the Writing section: ten short exchanges in which you put word groups in order to make a correct reply. Each item takes seconds once you see the pattern behind it, and the same patterns come back again and again. This guide gives you a five-step method and eight worked items, one for each pattern, with the extra word group explained. For sample answers to all three Writing tasks, see the Writing sample answers page.
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Each item below is new. The blanks stand for the word groups; the words before and after them are already in place.
Classmate: Where did you leave the lab report?
You: I (3 blanks) .
Word groups:
Answer: I left it on the professor’s desk before class. The verb comes right after the subject, then where, then when. “leaving” is the extra group: it cannot be the main verb without a helper such as “was”.
Not needed: “leaving”
Friend: I spent the whole weekend at the city’s science festival.
You: Which (4 blanks) ?
Word groups:
Answer: Which event did you enjoy the most? The question mark calls for question order: the question word and its noun (“Which event”), then “did”, the subject and the base verb. “you did” is statement order, so it is the extra group.
Not needed: “you did”
Classmate: The professor moved our seminar to a different room.
You: Do you remember (3 blanks) ?
Word groups:
Answer: Do you remember which building it is in? The question inside the sentence uses statement order: “it is in”, not “is it in”. The question mark belongs to “Do you remember…?”, so “is it” is the extra group.
Not needed: “is it”
Roommate: Whose camera is that?
You: It belongs to (4 blanks) .
Word groups:
Answer: It belongs to a classmate who takes photos for the university website. “who” describes a person and comes right after the noun it describes. “which” is for things, so it is the extra group.
Not needed: “which”
Classmate: Have the exam results come out yet?
You: They (4 blanks) .
Word groups:
Answer: They will be posted online on Friday. The results do not post anything; someone posts them, so the sentence needs the passive, “will be posted”. The place comes before the time.
Not needed: “posting”
Friend: Did you send your application?
You: Not yet. I (3 blanks) .
Word groups:
Answer: Not yet. I still haven’t written the cover letter. “Not yet” and “still” point to the present perfect: it has not happened up to now. “still” goes before a negative helper verb.
Not needed: “didn’t write”
Classmate: Why do you always study at the science library?
You: It’s (4 blanks) .
Word groups:
Answer: It’s much quieter than the one in the student center. “quieter” is already a comparison, so “more” is the extra group. “than” introduces what you compare it with.
Not needed: “more”
Teammate: What time should we get to Saturday’s game?
You: The coach (4 blanks) .
Word groups:
Answer: The coach suggested meeting at the field an hour early. “suggest” is followed by an “-ing” form, so “to meet” is the extra group. Learn verbs with the pattern that follows them: “suggest doing”, “decide to do”, “remind someone to do”.
Not needed: “to meet”
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The extra group is rarely random. It is usually the right word in the wrong form:
If two groups look almost the same, the difference between them is the question.
About 6 minutes for ten items gives you about 30 seconds each. Start with the subject and the verb; most items fall into place after that. If an item takes much longer, make your best choice and move on: an empty item earns nothing.
Practice Exam 01, Prepiva’s free full practice test, starts its Writing section with ten Build a Sentence items, and its score report includes a Writing rating after a free sign-up. Prepiva Pro adds Writing practice sets with more items and AI evaluation of your emails and discussion posts. Next, learn the other two Writing tasks: Write an Email and Write for an Academic Discussion, or take the full practice test.
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Ten, at the start of the Writing section.
About 6 minutes for all ten. The Writing section takes about 23 minutes, and the email and the discussion take 17 of them.
No. Each item is right or wrong, worth one point.
No. Some items include one group you do not need.
Often, yes. The first or last words of the reply may be given, as in ETS’s own sample.
