Fill in the double blanks with the same pair of letters to form a correct English word: v__lat__n. Which word completes this pattern?

Introduction / Context:
This is a pattern based word puzzle that asks you to insert the same two letter pair into two separate gaps within a word. The partial spelling v__lat__n gives a strong clue about possible English words, especially those ending in tion or ation. These kinds of puzzles test spelling, vocabulary and the ability to visualise word structure. The challenge is to find a real word that fits perfectly when you place the same two letters in both blank positions.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The pattern is v__lat__n with two identical two letter gaps.
• The same pair of letters must be used in both gaps.
• The resulting complete form must be a valid English word.
• Options include Violation, Valuation, Ventilation, Validation and None of these.

Concept / Approach:
The main idea is to test candidate words by mentally inserting letter pairs and checking whether they form a correct spelling. Because the base pattern starts with v and ends with n, and we see the sequence v _ _ l a t _ _ n, many learners will think of common words like violation or valuation. We must see which of these can be written using one two letter pair twice, fitting the exact positions of the blanks. This is a straightforward way to confirm the solution.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Write the pattern with labelled positions: v 1 2 l a t 3 4 n, where 1 2 and 3 4 are the missing letters. Step 2: Consider the word Violation. Its spelling is v i o l a t i o n. Step 3: Align Violation with the pattern: v (i o) l a t (i o) n. The pair i o fills both gaps. Step 4: Check that both blanks contain the same two letter pair io and that the result is the correctly spelled word Violation. Step 5: Test Valuation. The spelling v a l u a t i o n cannot be mapped to v__lat__n using one repeated pair because the structure around l a t differs. Step 6: Test Ventilation and Validation similarly. Neither fits cleanly into the v__lat__n skeleton with a repeated two letter pair in both positions. Step 7: Conclude that Violation is the only option that matches the pattern requirement perfectly.

Verification / Alternative check:
As an extra check, you can reverse the process by writing Violation and then replacing both occurrences of io with blanks. Doing that gives v__lat__n again, confirming that the puzzle pattern was indeed derived from this word. If you try the same procedure with Valuation or Validation, the resulting patterns do not match v__lat__n exactly, which proves they are not correct answers for this specific puzzle.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Valuation: Its internal arrangement after the letter v does not line up with v__lat__n when you try to drop a single repeated pair into both blanks.
Ventilation: This word is longer and has a different sequence of consonants and vowels, so it cannot be reduced to the given pattern by hiding the same two letters twice.
Validation: The letters a and i do appear, but they do not fit exactly in the positions required by the pattern with a repeated two letter block.
None of these: This is wrong because Violation clearly satisfies the puzzle conditions.

Common Pitfalls:
One common mistake is to rely only on pronunciation and quickly choose a similar sounding word like Valuation or Validation without checking letter positions carefully. Another pitfall is to forget the condition that the same two letters must fill both blanks, which eliminates words that might fit one blank but not the other. To avoid these problems, always write out the candidate spelling, align it with the blanks, and verify that both gaps use the identical two letter sequence. This disciplined approach makes word pattern puzzles much easier to solve accurately.

Final Answer:
The completed word is Violation, formed by inserting the pair io into both blanks to get v i o l a t i o n.