Sentence completion and short answers
Complete sentences and answer short questions with words copied exactly from the passage. Obey the word limit, fit the grammar, count hyphenated words and numbers correctly, and spell every answer perfectly.
By the end of this lesson you will be able to:
- Read every word-limit instruction correctly and count words, numbers and hyphenated words
- Predict the word class and meaning of the missing answer before you scan
- Copy answers in the exact form used in the passage and make sure they fit the grammar
- Avoid the spelling, plural and 'extra word' mistakes that cost easy marks
Sentence completion
Questions 1–6
Complete the sentences below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.
3 The Ideal X was originally a ……………… that had been adapted.
Short-answer questions
Questions 7–11
Answer the questions below.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.
9 What type of crane was designed to move containers between ship and shore?
The rules that never change
- The answer comes from the passage. You copy words; you don't invent them.
- Copy the exact form. Don't change fittings to fitting, or standardisation to standardise.
- Questions follow the order of the passage in both task types.
- Going over the word limit scores zero, even if the right word is inside your answer.
- Spelling must be correct. British or American spelling is fine, but a misspelling is wrong.
- Capital letters don't matter. You may write in capitals or lower case.
- Contracted forms (don't, it's) are never tested.
- The completed sentence must be grammatical. The gap itself tells you what kind of word is missing.
Word limits decoded
| Instruction | What you may write | ✓ Accepted | ✗ Wrong |
|---|---|---|---|
ONE WORD ONLY | exactly one word | tanker | a tanker / oil tanker |
ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER | a word, a number, or one of each | 58 / containers / 58 containers | 58 steel boxes |
NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS | one or two words | dockworkers / corner fittings | the corner fittings |
NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER | up to two words, plus one number if needed | April 1956 / 16 cents | less than 16 cents |
NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER | up to three words, plus one number if needed | twenty-foot equivalent units / less than 16 cents | the twenty-foot equivalent units |
How to count
| Item | Counts as | Notes |
|---|---|---|
break-bulk | 1 word | Hyphenated words always count as one word. |
twenty-foot equivalent units | 3 words | twenty-foot (1) + equivalent (2) + units (3). |
1956 / 58 / 6.15 | a number | Numbers can be written as figures or as words. Figures are safer because there's no spelling risk. |
fifty-eight | a number | A number written in words is still a number, but you must spell it correctly. |
16 cents | a number + 1 word | Allowed under 'ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER'. |
the / a / an | 1 word each | Articles count. Leave them out unless you need them and have room. |
dockworkers vs dock workers | 1 word vs 2 words | Copy the word exactly as the passage writes it. This can decide whether you stay within the limit. |
Sentence completion: the method
- 1
Check the limit
Circle the word limit before you do anything else. It changes from task to task, even within the same test.
- 2
Predict the gap
Read the sentence and decide: noun, verb, adjective or number? Singular or plural? And what kind of meaning: a place, a material, a person, a reason?
- 3
Pick your locators
Underline the words most likely to survive paraphrase: names, dates, numbers and technical terms. Expect everything else in the sentence to be worded differently in the passage.
- 4
Scan, then read closely
Find the locator (remember the passage order), then read the whole sentence it's in, plus the sentences before and after it.
- 5
Copy exactly
Take the word(s) from the passage letter for letter. Don't add, change or 'improve' anything.
- 6
Check three things
Read the completed sentence. Is it grammatical? Is it within the limit? Does it say the same as the passage?
Predict from the gap
| Clue around the gap | Expect | Example |
|---|---|---|
a / an / the + gap | a noun (singular after a / an) | originally a ……… → tanker |
adjective + gap | a noun | the basic ……… of measurement → unit |
gap + plural verb (are, were, fell) | a plural noun | ……… in port fell → turnaround times |
can / will / to + gap | a base verb | allowed ships to ……… → spend |
more / less / very + gap | an adjective or adverb | far more ……… → efficient |
carried ……… boxes | a number | carried ……… boxes → 58 |
in / during / since + gap | a time, place or period | in ……… → 1956 |
Text
Opened in June 2022, the Padma Bridge links Dhaka with the south-western districts of Bangladesh, which had previously depended on ferries to cross the river. The 6.15-kilometre structure has two levels: a four-lane road on the upper deck and a railway on the lower deck. Engineers faced an unusual challenge in the river itself. The Padma's bed is made of soft, constantly shifting sediment, so the foundations had to be driven exceptionally deep, and the bridge was fitted with special bearings designed to reduce earthquake damage.
Questions 1–3. Complete the sentences. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the text for each answer.
1 Before the bridge opened, the south-western districts relied on ……… to cross the river.
2 Trains cross the river on the bridge's ……… .
3 Because the river bed consists of shifting ………, the foundations had to be very deep.
Question 4. Answer the question. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the text.
4 What were the special bearings intended to reduce?
Answers: 1 ferries · 2 lower deck · 3 sediment · 4 earthquake damage
- Q1 → ferries'relied on' = 'depended on'. The gap needs a plural noun. 'ferry' would be wrong, because you must copy the form in the text: 'ferries'.
- Q2 → lower deck'the bridge's ………' needs a noun, and 'Trains' = 'a railway'. Writing 'the lower deck' would be three words, which is over the limit.
- Q3 → sediment'shifting' is already in the sentence, so don't repeat it. 'sediment' is the one word the gap needs. Adding more words from the text only creates risk.
- Q4 → earthquake damageShort answers are usually noun phrases. Don't write a full sentence ('They reduce earthquake damage'), because that breaks the limit.
- Order checkThe four answers appear in the text in the same order as the questions. If your answer to Q3 came before your answer to Q2 in the text, you would know something was wrong.
Same idea, different scores
Answers that score 0
Passage: '…international standards were agreed for container sizes and for the corner fittings used to lift and lock them.'
Gap (NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS): Standards covered container sizes and the ……… used to lift and secure containers.
- the corner fittings: three words, so over the limit
- corner fitting: changed to singular, but the passage says 'fittings'
- coner fittings: misspelt
- lifting devices: a paraphrase, not words from the passage
- fittings at their corners: four words
Answers that score 1
- corner fittings
- CORNER FITTINGS (capitals are fine)
Both copy the passage exactly and stay within the limit. They also fit the grammar, because 'the ……… used to lift' needs a plural noun phrase.
(If a student wrote just fittings, it would probably be accepted too, since it's the key noun. But the full phrase is the safer answer when it fits the limit.)
Finding the right place in the passage is only half the job. The other half is exact copying, the word limit, the plural and the spelling, and that's where band 6 becomes band 7.
Check your understanding
7 questions- 1
The instruction says NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER. Which answer breaks the rule?
- 2
How many words is 'well-known trading port' in IELTS counting?
- 3
Passage: 'Workers wash the fibres in clean water to remove any remaining gum.' Sentence (ONE WORD ONLY): Washing gets rid of the gum.
- 4
Passage: 'Seedlings were planted on open mudflats.' Gap (NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS): 'Young trees were placed on ……… .' Which answer is correct?
- 5
Find and correct the mistake:
The Ideal X carried 58 container from Newark to Houston.
- 6
In sentence completion, you may change the form of a passage word (for example, from a verb to a noun) to make the sentence grammatical.
- 7
Which TWO answers are within the limit 'ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER'?
Select 2.
Answer every question to check.
Short answers: the question word predicts the answer
| Question word | Expect | Example answer |
|---|---|---|
What / Which + noun | a thing, type or name | gantry cranes |
Who / Which group | a person, job or group | dockworkers |
When / In which year | a date, year or period | 1956 |
Where | a place | Houston |
How many / How much | a number, often with a unit | 58 / six dollars |
How (method) | a means or method, often a short phrase | by hand |
Three habits of accurate short answers
- Answer only what is asked. Write the noun phrase, not a sentence: gantry cranes, not They used gantry cranes.
- Respect the category word. What material…? means your answer must be a material, even if a tool or a person is mentioned in the same sentence.
- Watch for qualifiers. Words like first, originally, main or now often point to a different line from the first match you find. Who originally funded the survey? is a trap if the passage says one organisation started it and another took over later.
Practice: The Humble Steel Box
Work at exam pace. The timer is a guide — it won't stop you.
Final quiz: sentence completion and short answers
9 questions- 1
Which of these counts as ONE word in IELTS?
- 2
Passage: 'The museum attracts around 200,000 visitors a year.' Sentence (A NUMBER ONLY): The museum receives roughly visitors annually.
- 3
Passage: 'The survey, later taken over by the Ministry of Fisheries, was first paid for by a small coastal charity, Sea Watch.' Question (NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS): Which organisation originally funded the survey?
- 4
Both British and American spellings are accepted, as long as the word is spelt correctly.
- 5
Passage: '…the corner fittings used to lift and lock them.' Sentence (ONE WORD ONLY): 'Containers are lifted using special ……… at each corner.' What do you write?
- 6
Find and correct the mistake:
Goods were stowed in the ship's hold by teams of dockworkres.
- 7
Put the sentence-completion method in order.
Drag the cards (or use the arrows) into the correct order.
- 1Scan for the locators and read the surrounding sentences closely
- 2Underline locators in the sentence
- 3Predict the word class and meaning of the gap
- 4Copy the word(s) exactly
- 5Check grammar, limit and meaning
- 6Check the word limit
- 8
Which THREE habits help you avoid losing marks in completion tasks?
Select 3.
- 9
You've found a word in the passage that seems right, but it doesn't fit the grammar of the sentence. What does this usually mean?
Answer every question to check.
Key takeaways
Vocabulary from the passage
Saved as flashcards with a free accountstandardisation
noun/ˌstændədaɪˈzeɪʃn/
the process of making things of the same type follow the same rules, sizes or design (American spelling: standardization)
প্রমিতকরণ
The standardisation of phone chargers would reduce electronic waste.
turnaround time
noun/ˈtɜːnəraʊnd taɪm/
the time needed to unload, reload and prepare a ship, plane or vehicle for its next journey; more generally, the time needed to complete a task
খালাস ও পুনরায় যাত্রার প্রস্তুতির সময়
Faster cranes have cut the turnaround time of ships in many ports.
attribute (something) to
verb/əˈtrɪbjuːt/
to say or believe that something is the result of a particular cause
কোনো কিছুর কারণ হিসেবে ধরা
Economists attribute much of the growth in exports to the garment industry.
substantial
adjective/səbˈstænʃl/
large in size, value or importance
উল্লেখযোগ্য
The new bridge has made a substantial difference to travel times.
component
noun/kəmˈpəʊnənt/
one of the parts that combine to make a machine or system
উপাদান; যন্ত্রাংশ
Many car components are made in one country and assembled in another.
decline
noun / verb/dɪˈklaɪn/
a gradual decrease in quality, quantity or importance
পতন; অবনতি
The closure of the docks led to the long decline of the whole neighbourhood.
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