IELTS Reading: Completion Tasks and Multiple Choice

The tasks where a perfectly correct answer scores zero for being one word too long.

1. What These Tasks Are

A family of tasks that ask you to fill gaps using words taken from the passage: summary completion, table completion, sentence completion, note completion, diagram labelling and short-answer questions. Multiple choice usually appears alongside them.

2. Format

Task	What you do
Summary completion	Fill gaps in a paraphrased summary of part of the passage.
Table / note completion	Complete a structured outline of the information.
Sentence completion	Finish sentences within a stated word limit.
Diagram labelling	Label a drawing from a technical description.
Short-answer questions	Answer factual questions briefly.
Multiple choice	Choose one from four, or several from a longer list.

Word limits apply to every completion task and are enforced literally. Hyphenated words count as one; contractions count as one.

3. What Is Actually Tested

Precision. The answer has to fit the grammar of the gap as well as the meaning, and it must be copied exactly as it appears in the passage — you cannot change the form of the word.

4. Strategies That Work

Read the whole sentence containing the gap before searching, so you know what part of speech you need.
Count your words every time. Three means three.
Copy the spelling exactly from the passage. Never correct or improve it.
For summary completion, remember the summary paraphrases the passage — the words around the gap will not match the text.
Where a word bank is provided, use it. Answers outside the bank score zero.

5. Worked Example

The Container Trade — sentence completion

Instruction: Complete the sentences below using words taken from the reading passage. Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.

The benefits of searching containers would be outweighed by the negative impacts on worldwide trade and industry due to the _____ → delays in delivery

The inventors must never have imagined that containers would _____ → cause problems

delays in delivery is exactly three words, which is the limit. Writing the delays in delivery makes it four and scores zero — the meaning is right and the mark is gone.

6. Common Mistakes

Adding the or a and breaking the word limit.
Changing a plural to a singular so it reads better.
Writing a synonym instead of the passage’s own word.
Ignoring a provided word bank and inventing an answer.

7. Questions People Ask

Does a number count as a word?

Yes. "No more than two words and/or a number" means you may add one number to two words.

Can I change the word’s form to fit the grammar?

No. If the required word does not fit grammatically, it is the wrong word.

Practise this task with real material on the IELTS Reading samples page, or review how it is marked on the Reading scoring page.

Written by Kirill O'Nayd

IELTS expert and educator at TestSucceed, with over a decade of experience preparing candidates for the Academic and General Training modules. Author of the Complete IELTS Preparation Course on Udemy ★★★★★★4.7