Lessons / Listening / Flow-chart completion
IELTS Listening
Flow-chart completion
Complete the stages of a process, in the order the speaker walks through them.
The instructions, word for word as the test writes them
Complete the flow-chart below.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer.
What this task is
A process drawn as boxes and arrows. An application procedure, an experiment, how something gets made. Some stages have gaps.
The recording says the sequence out loud: "first", "once that's done", "the next stage", "after that", "finally". Those words are the joints of the whole task. The chart tells you how many stages to expect. The signposts tell you where you are.
The traps
These are built in on purpose. Know them by name and half the danger is gone.
A speaker sometimes names a later stage before its turn: "we'll come to testing in a moment". The signpost words tell you which box you are in, not the first mention.
Every stage depends on the last. Drift one box behind and every answer after it quietly goes wrong too.
What to do next time
- Number the stages in the preview and say the sequence to yourself. You are about to hear it in exactly that order.
- Listen for the signpost words above everything else. "Once that's done" means: previous box closed, next box open.
- The gap is usually a noun or verb phrase naming what happens at that stage. Predict it from the boxes before and after.
Now meet it under a clock. Start a free mock. Every flow-chart completion question you get wrong comes back with the sentence that proves the answer, and the reason the trap was tempting.