IELTS Reading: Sentence Completion – Tips & Practice

. June 30, 2020

IELTS Reading Sentence Completion Practice with Essential Tips. These questions require excellent paraphrasing skills and the ability to locate information quickly. Below are two practice reading lessons with techniques for tackling the questions. Having the right approach is essential. IELTS reading is a time sensitive test – get used to the questions now so you can save time in your test.

IELTS Reading Sentence Completion Tips

These are usually a short collection of sentences which are incomplete. They have gaps in them which you need to fill with a word, words and possibly numbers.

Instructions for Sentence Completion Reading Questions

IELTS Reading Sentence Completion Question

You need to answer using No More than Three Words and/or a Number. This means you can have less that three words, three words but not more than three words (not four words). And your words can be with a number or it is possible to have a number only.

Not noticing the word limit is one reason people lose points this with type of question.

Essential Tips for Success

Many people think these types of questions are familiar and therefore not worth practicing. That is a big mistake. These questions can be very challenging. Read the tips below very carefully so that you get your mind into gear for this type of reading question.

Tip 1: Grammar

In the question, you can see there is a gap missing in the sentence. Grammar will definitely help you because the answer you add to the sentence must make the whole sentence grammatically correct. The grammar will tell you what type of answer fits in the gap. For example, if you see the word “a”. before the gap, you know you are looking for a noun.

  • We use articles (a/the) before some compound nouns, such as a book shop. Compound nouns are individual nouns made of two or more words.
  • We also use an article before an adjective with a noun, such as a white feather.
  • The article “a” also means you are looking for a countable noun, not an uncountable noun. For example, we cannot have a traffic congestion because traffic congestion is uncountable. Click here for a list of common uncountable nouns.

This with this knowledge, you can now look for a very specific word or words in the passage. Once you know what you need for your answer, return to the passage to locate the information in one of the paragraphs. Then analyse meaning of that area of the passage carefully to decide the answer.

Tip 2 – Keywords

The question will also have keywords which you need to identify. These keywords will help you locate the area of the passage where that information is located. These words can sometimes be words that have no paraphrase, in which case you can look directly for that word. For example, the word “penguin” has no equal so if it is in the question, you’ll also find it in the passage.

Other keywords might be paraphrased so prepare those paraphrases before you try to locate the answer in the passage. For example, in the image above of the example sentence completion question, one of the keywords is the word imminent and the other keyword would be water pollution. Those words will help you locate the answer.

Tip 3 – Paraphrasing

To locate the answer in the passage. This requires the use of your paraphrasing skills and this can involve synonyms. You might be looking in the passage for a single word with the same or similar meaning as in the question. Looking back at the image of the example sentence completion question, one of the keywords is imminent. What synonyms could be used to paraphrase that word in the passage? Well, possible synonyms are: impending, fast approaching, unavoidable, immediate. As you see, some of those words are perfect synonyms and others only similar in meaning depending on the context. Also, the paraphrase might not be one word matches one word, but instead it could be a phrase, for example, on the horizon or about to happen.

However, paraphrasing isn’t always about synonyms (matching words). Instead, it might be that the meaning is found scattered in various sentences. For example, water pollution might not be paraphrased with a synonym, but instead illustrated throughout three sentences:

There has been a lot contamination in various areas of the town. There have been reports of this in the central lakes around the city center which have affected trade for tourism. Furthermore, some of the rivers on the outskirts have also been hit.

Tip 4 – Read Around the Keywords

This leads directly on from Tip 3. When you locate the sentence or sentences with the keywords in the passage, you must read around that area. Keywords are mostly about helping you locate the area of the passage that the answer is in. But deciding the correct answer might mean reading a few sentences before and after the keywords. So, you will read backwards and forwards in the passage to understand all details and context before deciding your answer. One of the biggest mistakes people make is focusing only on one sentence in the passage. Certainly, you can do that for some questions, but definitely not for all.

Tip 5 – Writing answers correctly

The answer will always be a word, words or numbers taken directly from the passage. You do not paraphrase or alter the word for your answer. You must write the precise word as it is shown in the passage. And don’t forget that spelling counts. Luckily, on the computer test, you can copy and paste words.

Tip 6 – Don’t waste time

Also note – answers will come in order in the passage. This is essential to know so that you don’t waste time reading all over the passage for an answer. If you struggle to find the answer to question 4, carry to to question 5 and then come back to question 4 after. Once you have the answer to question 5, you will know that you can find question 4 answer in the area of the passage between the answer for 3 and 5. Success in IELTS reading often relies on strategy. And strategy often relies on your knowledge of the test.

IELTS Reading Sentence Completion Practice Lessons

Below are two reading passages for you. The aim is to develop your understanding and technique to approach these types of reading questions. Enjoy!

Reading Practice Lesson 1

Neighbourhood Badgers

Badgers in gardens can be a delight. A nightly treat that householders all over the country look forward to. But for some, they are at the very least unwelcome visitors, threatening cherished pristine lawns and carefully cultivated vegetables because badgers find food where they can and have little respect for people’s efforts in gardening. Often unseen and unheard, they wander quietly into gardens at night, feeding on the earthworms, grubs, snails and slugs they find in lawns and borders before moving on. In their wake, they leave only the slightest clues, an odd small snuffle hole here and there, showing where they obviously sought out their nightly treat. If it is suspected there is a badger sett in a garden, expert advice should be sought. It’s easy to know if there is one by the many holes you’ll find which tunnel down to various living chambers in their underground sett. People should not try to interfere with them in this situation, as it is against the law. Badgers will not cause people any harm or pass on diseases so they should be left to live quietly in their residence but their presence should be reported to an expert who can rehome them if necessary.

There are some fascinating facts about badgers. Badgers are extremely clean animals and do not take food into their setts preferring to eat out in the open and retain a clean living area underground. They are remarkably suited to their purpose of digging, having powerful claws and limbs. American badgers even have a third eyelid that keeps out grains of sand and soil. Interestingly, the idiom we know as “to badger someone” comes from an old sport of Badger Baiting rather than their actual character. The idiom actually means to tell someone to do something or to question them again and again and again – incessantly without let up. No wonder badgers sometimes get such a bad rep.

Questions 1 -6: Use no more than two words and/or a number for your answer.

  1. While badgers are seen as a delight by some people, others see them as ………………IELTS Reading Sentence Completion Practice Lessson: About Badgers
  2. A ………….. is a sure way to know a badger has visited a garden.
  3. It is best not to …………… with badgers if they have made a home in your garden.
  4. Badgers do not transmit ………….. to humans.
  5. Badgers are built for digging and some also have a protective ……………….. .
  6. The idiom “to badger someone” is unrelated to the ……………….. of badgers.

VOCABULARY & ANSWERS

Click below for vocabulary review and answers.

Vocab Builder

  • cherished = to hold something dear to you / close to your heart
  • pristine = immaculate / unspoilt
  • lawn – garden
  • in their wake = what is left behind when someone leaves
  • grubs = larvae of insects
    • note, the word “grub” is also a very informal slang word sometimes used meaning “food”. For example, “My son loves his grub” means he loves his food.
  • snuffle = sniff / a noise made with the nose
  • badger sett = a badger home which has underground chambers connected by tunnels
  • limbs = arms and legs

ANSWERS

  1. UNWELCOME (VISITORS)
  2. SNUFFLE HOLE
  3. INTERFERE
  4. DISEASES
  5. (THIRD) EYELID
    1. In answer keys, the brackets are used to show when a word is optional in the answer.
    2. You cannot use brackets in your listening test.
  6. CHARACTER

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Reading Practice Lesson 2

Water Pollution

Clean and plentiful water provides the foundation for prosperous communities. We rely on clean water to survive, yet right now we are heading towards a water crisis. Changing climate patterns are threatening lakes and rivers, and key sources that we tap for drinking water are being overdrawn or tainted with pollution. NRDC experts are helping to secure safe and sufficient water for people and the environment by:

  • Promoting water efficiency strategies to help decrease the amount of water wasted;
  • Protecting our water from pollution by defending the Clean Water Act and advocating for solutions like green infrastructure;
  • Helping prepare cities, counties and states for water-related challenges they will face as a result of climate change; and
  • Ensuring that waterways have enough water to support vibrant aquatic ecosystems.

Dirty water is the world’s biggest health risk, and continues to threaten both quality of life and public health in the United States. When water from rain and melting snow runs off roofs and roads into our rivers, it picks up toxic chemicals, dirt, trash and disease-carrying organisms along the way. Many of our water resources also lack basic protection, making them vulnerable to pollution from factory farms, industrial plants, and activities like fracking. This can lead to drinking water contamination, habitat degradation and beach closures. NRDC is working to protect our water from pollution by:

  • Drawing on existing protections in the Clean Water Act, and working to ensure that the law’s pollution control programs apply to all important waterways, including headwater streams and wetlands, which provide drinking water for 117 million Americans;
  • Improving protections to reduce pollutants like bacteria and viruses, which threaten Americans’ health and well being; and
  • Establishing new pollution limits for top problem areas, such as sources of runoff and sewage overflows.

Questions 1-5

Complete the sentences below with the correct word(s) taken from the passage. Use no more than three words and/or a number.

  1. The keystone to any thriving society is to have …………..and ……….. water.
  2. With the increase in water pollution a ………………. is imminent.
  3. One way to help keep water clean is by the construction of …………………..
  4. Dirty water can be a ………………. as chemicals and other pollutants enter the water supply.
  5. Due to a lack of ……………….., some of our water resources are at risk of pollution.

Note: If you struggle with these questions, go back and read Tip 6 again.

Answers

Click to reveal the answers below:

Answers

  1. clean plentiful
    1. you should not put the word “and” in your answer because it would make the sentence grammatically incorrect.
    2. you must have both words for a correct answer.
  2. (water) crisis
  3. green infrastructure
  4. health risk
  5. basic protection /protection
    1. In answer keys, optional answers are usually written like this – (basic) protection. The use of brackets shows the option or options for extra words in the answer. You cannot do this in your test. You must choose one answer only.

All reading exercises on ieltsliz.com have been written by myself to help you prepare for your IELTS test.

Liz

Vocab Builder

  • foundation = keystone / bedrock
  • prosperous = thriving / flourishing
  • key = vital / critical / major
  • tainted = contaminated / polluted / fouled / spoiled
  • advocating = backing / supporting
  • vibrant = alive / energetic
  • toxic = lethal / deadly / poisonous

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I hope you found the lessons useful. All the best

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