IELTS Sentence, Summary, Note and Table Completion: word limits and method

Completion questions give you text with gaps and ask you to fill them using words from the passage. IELTS uses several layouts: sentences, a summary, notes, a table or a flow chart. The rule that decides most marks is the same in all of them: stay inside the word limit and copy what the text says.

What are completion questions in IELTS Reading?

In sentence completion each question is a single sentence with a gap. In summary, note, table and flow-chart completion you get a shorter version of part of the passage with several gaps. IELTS describes the flow chart as "a series of boxes or steps linked by arrows to show the order of events, with some of the boxes or steps empty". In one variation you take words from the text; in the other you choose from a list of words.

How do IELTS word limits work?

Every set of instructions gives a limit, and it changes from task to task: IELTS says to "read the instructions very carefully as the number of words or numbers you may use to fill the gaps can change". Go over the limit and you lose the mark, even if the answer is right.

• A hyphenated word counts as one word, so "check-in" is one.
• Contracted words such as "they're" will not be tested.
• "AND/OR A NUMBER" means a number can be part of the answer. A numeral and its spelled-out form both appear on the practice items below, because the passage may give either.

How do you find the answer?

1. Predict the type of word. Read the gap sentence and decide whether a noun, adjective or number fits. IELTS says you will "need to think about the type of word(s) that will fit into a gap".
2. Find the section by its keywords. Use the words around the gap, not its position. For summaries, notes, tables and flow charts the answers may not come in text order. Sentence completion does follow the text order.
3. Copy the words exactly as the passage has them. Do not change the form or paraphrase, and copying also fixes your spelling.
4. Read the finished sentence aloud in your head. If it is not grammatical, you have probably taken the wrong word.
5. Count. A correct answer that is one word too long scores zero.

Which mistakes cost the most marks?

• Going one word over the limit. The answer can be right and still score nothing.
• Changing the word. In item 1 the passage has "automatic systems"; writing "automatically" would break the grammar and miss the key. Take the words as written.
• Using the nearest number. A paragraph can contain several numbers. Check what each one measures.
• Answering from what you already know. The answer must be in the passage, even when you know a better word.

Do the passages differ between IELTS Academic and General Training?

Completion questions are shared by both versions, but the passages differ. Academic Reading texts come from “books, journals, magazines, newspapers and online resources”, with 2150–2750 words in total. General Training has three sections of increasing difficulty: everyday texts such as notices, advertisements and timetables; work texts such as job descriptions, contracts and training materials; and one long general-interest text, with 2150–2375 words in total. Sources: the Academic and General Training Reading format pages, checked 15 and 16 October 2026. Not sure which version you need? Start at the IELTS hub.

Practice items from the ScoreFluent bank (not real exam questions)

These are ScoreFluent bank items written to the published format, not real IELTS questions. Each shows the paragraphs that hold the answers and only the gaps those paragraphs fill. Try each one before opening the answers.

Practice item 1: sentence completion (lighthouses)

Excerpt: paragraphs 6 and 7 of 7. The other five paragraphs and four of the six sentences are left out.

During the twentieth century, electricity and automatic controls made much of this work unnecessary. Lamps could be switched on by light sensors, and the lenses were rotated by electric motors. Keepers were gradually replaced by automatic systems that were monitored from a distance, and the last staffed lighthouse in many countries closed in the 1990s. Satellite navigation has since reduced the importance of the lights, although most authorities keep them as a back-up in case electronic systems fail.

Many lighthouses are now valued as part of the maritime heritage of their nations. Some have been converted into museums, holiday accommodation or visitor centres, and volunteers have formed societies to preserve those that are no longer needed for navigation. They remain popular subjects for painters and photographers, and their distinctive silhouettes appear on coins, postage stamps and the emblems of countless coastal communities.

The development of lighthouses

Complete the sentences. Write no more than three words for each gap.

• Keepers were gradually replaced by (5) ........ systems that were monitored from a distance.
• Many lighthouses are now valued as part of the maritime (6) ........ of their nations.

Show the answers and reasons

• (5) automatic. The sixth paragraph says keepers were gradually replaced by automatic systems.
• (6) heritage. The last paragraph says lighthouses are valued as part of the maritime heritage of their nations.

Practice item 2: flow-chart completion (bird migration)

Excerpt: paragraph 2 of 7. The other six paragraphs and four of the six steps are left out.

The timing of migration is governed mainly by the length of the day. As daylight shortens in autumn, hormonal changes inside the bird alter its behaviour. Many species become restless at night, hopping and fluttering in their cages even when they are well fed, a condition that researchers call migratory restlessness. The same hormonal signals also cause birds to eat voraciously. Over a period of weeks, a small songbird may increase its weight by half, storing the surplus as fat, which provides a dense source of energy that can be burned slowly during flight.

The stages of a migratory journey

Complete the flow chart. Write no more than two words for each gap.

• Shortening (1) ........ length in autumn triggers hormonal changes in the bird.
• The bird eats voraciously and stores the surplus as (2) .........

Show the answers and reasons

• (1) day. The second paragraph says the length of the day governs the timing of migration.
• (2) fat. The second paragraph says the surplus is stored as fat.

Practice item 3: summary completion (permafrost)

Excerpt: paragraphs 1 and 2 of 7. The other five paragraphs and three of the five summary lines are left out.

In the far north of Russia, Canada and Alaska, large areas of ground have remained frozen for thousands of years. Scientists define permafrost as soil, rock or sediment that stays at or below freezing point for at least two consecutive years. It underlies roughly a quarter of the land in the northern hemisphere, and in some parts of Siberia the frozen layer extends to a depth of several hundred metres. Above it lies a shallow active layer that thaws each summer and refreezes in winter, and it is in this layer that the few plants of the tundra find a place to grow.

For millennia, the frozen ground acted like a vast natural freezer. Dead plants and animals that fell into the soil could not decay, and the carbon they contained was locked away. Estimates suggest that permafrost holds about twice as much carbon as the entire atmosphere. As the Arctic warms at a rate that is much faster than the global average, this stored material is beginning to thaw. Microbes become active in the newly unfrozen soil and break down the organic matter, releasing carbon dioxide and, where the ground is waterlogged, methane. Methane is a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, although it persists in the atmosphere for a shorter time.

Thawing permafrost

Complete the summary. Write no more than two words for each gap.

• Permafrost is ground that has stayed frozen for at least (1) ........ consecutive years, and it holds about twice as much (2) ........ as the atmosphere.
• When it thaws, microbes release carbon dioxide and, in waterlogged ground, (3) ........, which is a more potent greenhouse gas.

Show the answers and reasons

• (1) two / 2. The first paragraph defines permafrost as ground frozen for at least two consecutive years.
• (2) carbon. The second paragraph says permafrost holds about twice as much carbon as the atmosphere.
• (3) methane. The second paragraph says waterlogged ground releases methane, a more potent greenhouse gas.

How are completion questions marked?

Reading is marked against an answer key, and IELTS says: "The IELTS Reading test contains 40 questions. Each correct answer is awarded 1 mark." Each gap is one question, so a ten-gap summary is worth ten marks and can be lost one word at a time. For raw-mark-to-band figures see the table on the True/False/Not Given guide and IELTS scoring. Source: IELTS scoring in detail, checked 15 and 16 October 2026.

Reading practice on ScoreFluent is free with a daily limit (see pricing), and new accounts also get 40 free credits that never expire. Practise this task free → More Reading guides: short-answer questions, diagram label completion and True/False/Not Given. For the Listening equivalent, see form and note completion. The section guide is IELTS Reading and the exam overview is the IELTS hub.

Sources

The official sources are linked above and were checked on 15 and 16 October 2026. ScoreFluent is an independent practice platform and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to IELTS, IDP, the British Council or Cambridge University Press & Assessment. The practice items are ScoreFluent bank items, not real exam questions, and any score we show is a practice estimate, not an official result.