IELTS Reading: Summary, note, table and flow-chart completion
You complete a summary of part of the passage — sometimes laid out as notes, a table or a flow chart. It comes in two forms that need different methods: with a box of words to choose from, and without one.
The two forms
| Without a word box | With a word box | |
|---|---|---|
| Answers come from | The passage, copied exactly | The box, which usually paraphrases |
| Word limit | Applies, and is strict | None — you write one option |
| The skill | Locating and copying | Matching meaning |
| The trap | Going over the word limit | Picking a word that fits the grammar but not the sense |
The box version catches people out because there are more words than gaps and several fit grammatically. Grammar narrows it; only the passage decides it.
Method
- Read the whole summary first — it tells you which part of the passage is in play and what it is about.
- Mark the word class each gap needs before going near the passage.
- Find where the passage covers this; a summary normally covers a continuous stretch, so locating the start locates most of it.
- Fill the easy gaps, then use the remaining options on the hard ones.
A summary usually covers only part of the passage. Work out where it starts and ends before you begin — hunting the whole text for every gap is where the time goes.
Summary completion — FAQs
2 questions
No, it is the same official type in a different layout. The rules about word limits and copying are identical.
Within the summary, yes — the gaps run in the order the passage covers the material.
Practise Summary completion
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Sources
Written from the test board's own published material and checked on 1 October 2026.