Sentence Completion – IELTS Reading Test

One of the easier task in the IELTS reading test, this is also where your scanning skills will be tested.  This task requires candidates to complete sentences in a given number of words. The instructions will be clear on how many words candidates should use in their answers.

Here are some things to remember when answering a sentence completion task:

·         Read the example (if there is an example provided) – the examples provided here will have answers from the actual passage, this doesn’t just provide clues as to what you need to do; the questions in this task are in the same order as the information in the passage, what this means is that the answer to the first question will be found before the answer to the second question.  This also applies to the example and thus eliminating the need to scan the parts before the answer to the example.

·         Skim and scan – skim through the questions to get an idea of what it is you are looking for, it also works as an indicator for when you are scanning for the answer and have missed the answer to the current question.

·         Mark the passage or the answer – by marking the answer on the passage, you can use this as an indicator for where you can start you next scan, if you missing a question and find yourself answering the one after that, you just have to scan the passage in-between the two marks.

·         Examine the keyword or phrase before you start scanning the passages, having an idea as to what you are looking for is better than mindlessly scanning the passage.

·         Choose the word or phrase that suits the sentence – consider first the maximum number of words allowed, grammar is still very important when considering the answer even with the limitation of word count.

To find out what to expect from the IELTS Speaking test click here

To find out how the speaking test are being scored click here

For other speaking tips check the Speaking Category