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1. What is Complete the Words?
Complete the Words is the first reading task on the new TOEFL. You see a short paragraph of about 70 words with several incomplete words. For each blank, some letters of the word are visible, and you must type the missing letters in a small text box.
Quick facts
- One short paragraph (around 70 words).
- 10 blanks per task.
- Blanks usually appear in the middle or at the end of words.
- Focus on vocabulary, grammar, and spelling, not long reading passages.
2. Task details & timing
Number of tasks & blanks
- Each task has 10 blanks to complete.
- You will see about 2–5 Complete the Words tasks on the test.
How much time?
- Recommended pace: 2–3 minutes per task.
- That is roughly 10–15 seconds per blank, plus time to read the paragraph.
Points & accuracy
- Each correct blank = 1 point.
- No partial credit: your spelling must be exactly correct (including single letters and endings).
3. What Reading Task 1 tests
Although the task looks simple, it actually checks several important reading and language skills.
Context understanding
- Can you understand the main idea of a short paragraph?
- Can you use the words before and after the blank to guess the missing word?
Grammar and part of speech
- Can you identify whether the missing word is a noun, verb, adjective, or adverb?
- Can you use grammar clues like articles, prepositions, and verb forms to choose the right ending?
Word families & spelling
- Are you comfortable with common academic word families (e.g., cognitive, cognition)?
- Can you spell common prefixes and suffixes correctly under time pressure?
4. Core strategies for Complete the Words
Read the whole paragraph first
Before filling any blanks, read the entire paragraph at normal speed. This gives you the main idea and makes it much easier to guess vocabulary later. The official training slides emphasize reading the full paragraph first and understanding the main idea.
Use context clues
Look at the words directly before and after the blank. Ask yourself:
- What kind of word fits here: a noun, verb, adjective, or adverb?
- What word would make sense with the surrounding meaning?
In the official sample, the paragraph is about ancient humans performing group dances. The context of art, history, and survival helps you choose words like might, that, people, and basic rather than random vocabulary.
Know grammar & word endings
Many blanks are missing only the end of the word. The slides highlight using grammar and known word families to predict endings like -ing, -tion, -ly, -ive.
- Look at the letters you can see:
cogn_ _ _ functions su_ _ as reasoningbecomes cognitive and such. - If you know the base word (cognition), you can choose the correct adjective form (cognitive).
Count the underscores
Each underscore represents one missing letter. Count them and match your guess to the length.
- Example from the slides:
rec_ _ _has three underscores, so the finished word has six letters. - record fits the length and the sentence meaning ("from the record").
- If your word does not match the number of underscores, it cannot be correct.
Move on if you're stuck
Don't lose time on a single blank. The official tips clearly say: make a logical guess and continue, then come back later if you have time.
- Fill easier blanks first — later context may help you solve the difficult ones.
- Never leave blanks empty. A reasonable guess has a chance to earn a point; an empty box earns zero.
5. Example paragraph with blanks
The official training materials show a paragraph about early humans and group dances. The paragraph describes how cave drawings prove that dance was important in prehistoric societies, not only basic survival. Ten words in the paragraph are partly hidden, and you must type the missing letters.
Sample snippet (simplified)
We mi__t think th_t prehistoric peo___ concentrated on__ on ba___ survival. Howe____, it i_ clear fr__ the
rec___ that dan____ was important to them.
When you use context, grammar, and the number of underscores, you can fill the blanks:
might, that, people, only, basic, however, is, from, record, dancing.
This example shows how each blank is part of a normal English sentence, not a separate vocabulary question. You are reading and writing at the same time.
6. Common mistakes to avoid
1. Filling blanks without reading
- Students sometimes jump straight to the blanks.
- This leads to random guesses and inconsistent grammar.
- Always read the whole paragraph once before typing.
2. Ignoring grammar signals
- Articles like a, an, the tell you a noun is coming.
- Auxiliary verbs (is, are, have) tell you a verb or adjective follows.
- Check agreement: singular vs. plural, verb tense, etc.
3. Wrong word length
- Sometimes the meaning is right but the length is wrong.
- If your word has more or fewer letters than the underscores, it cannot be accepted.
- Try a synonym or a different form of the word.
4. Leaving blanks empty
- Because there is no penalty for wrong answers, an empty box is always a lost point.
- Make a smart guess based on context and length, even if you are not 100% sure.
7. Practice ideas for Reading Task 1
Practice 1 – Create your own "gap" paragraphs
- Take a short paragraph (60–80 words) from a textbook or article.
- Delete 8–10 parts of words and replace them with underscores.
- Later, try to fill them in using only the context and number of letters.
Practice 2 – Word family lists
- Make lists of common academic word families: economy–economic–economical, analyse–analysis–analytical.
- Cover one form and test yourself by writing the missing endings.
Practice 3 – Dictation & spelling drills
- Listen to short sentences and write them down.
- Check your spelling carefully; pay attention to endings like -tion, -sion, -ment, -ence.
Practice 4 – Timed mini-tests
- Create or find small Complete the Words exercises with 10 blanks.
- Set a timer for 3 minutes and try to finish all blanks.
- Review your mistakes and identify which word endings cause trouble.
8. Frequently asked questions
Where to practice Complete the Words?
More than 100+ Complete the Words samples with scoring and explanations you can find on testsucceed.com.
Do I need to know very advanced vocabulary for this task?
Not usually. Many blanks use high-frequency academic words and function words such as however, only, basic, record. The real challenge is using context and grammar quickly, and spelling them correctly.
Can I use capital letters in my answers?
In most digital test systems, answers are not marked wrong for capitalization, but the safest habit is to type in lower-case unless the word is a proper noun (a name or place).
Are hyphens or spaces ever part of the blank?
No. The blanks in TOEFL Reading Task 1 always cover letters inside one word. You will not need to add spaces or punctuation inside the box.
Should I answer in American or British spelling?
TOEFL is based on North American English, so American spelling (for example, color rather than colour) is safest. Most official items are designed so that only one spelling fits the number of letters.
How can I improve both reading and spelling at the same time?
Read short academic texts every day and highlight new words. Then write sentences using those words, cover the endings, and try to rewrite them from memory. This mimics the Complete the Words task and strengthens your reading, vocabulary, and spelling together.
