Lessons / Reading / Sentence completion
IELTS Reading
Sentence completion
Finish a sentence with words copied exactly from the passage.
The instructions, word for word as the test writes them
Complete the sentences below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
What this task is
Each question is a sentence with a gap, and the rubric's three key words are "from the passage". The answer must be words that literally appear in the text. A synonym in your own words, even a perfect one, is wrong.
The sentence frame paraphrases the passage. The gap is filled with the passage's own words. So the job is: find the place, recognise the paraphrase, copy the exact span.
The traps
These are built in on purpose. Know them by name and half the danger is gone.
You will not find the question's sentence in the passage. You find its meaning, expressed differently, with the answer words sitting inside it.
Another phrase nearby fits the grammar and almost fits the meaning. Read the completed sentence against the passage. Only one span makes them agree.
What to do next time
- Copy, do not compose. Once you find the span, take it exactly as printed. Same form, same spelling, same number.
- Count words before you commit. "No more than two" is checked before anything else. A three-word answer is wrong even when its content is right.
- Predict the word class of the gap from the frame. It narrows what you are scanning for.
Now meet it under a clock. Start a free mock. Every sentence completion question you get wrong comes back with the sentence that proves the answer, and the reason the trap was tempting.