IELTS Reading question type

IELTS Reading Summary Completion (and Note Completion): How to Answer

In IELTS Reading summary completion you fill the gaps in a short summary of part of the passage, either with words taken from the text or by choosing from a box of options. Note completion is the same task set out as notes instead of a paragraph. Both are marked right or wrong, one mark per gap.

Updated 3 October 2026 · LingoLeap IELTS Content Team

IELTS Reading summary and note completion at a glance

What you do: Complete a summary of a part of the text — written as continuous text or as notes — using words taken from the text. In a second variation you choose from a list of words to fill the gaps.
Where it appears: IELTS Academic and General Training Reading. It is one official type: summary, note, table and flow-chart completion.
How many questions: IELTS does not fix a number per set. The whole Reading test has 40 questions in 60 minutes.
Word limit: For words from the text, the instructions set a limit, for example “NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER”. Writing more than the limit loses the mark. Hyphenated words such as “check-in” count as one word.
Order of answers: The answers may not come in the same order as in the text, but they will usually come from one part of the text rather than the whole text.
Marking: Each correct answer receives 1 mark. IELTS says spelling mistakes in Reading are marked as wrong.

From the text: you copy one or more words from the passage into each gap.
From a box: you write a letter (A, B, C…). The box has more options than gaps, and the options usually paraphrase the text rather than repeat it.
Notes: the same task with bullet points and fragments, so grammar gives fewer clues and meaning matters more.

Practice: summary and note completion questions with a short passage

An original passage and questions written by LingoLeap in the IELTS style — shorter than a real section, so you can practise this one question type. Give yourself about 9 minutes.

The longest commute in nature

AFew animals travel as far as the Arctic tern, a slender seabird weighing little more than 100 grams. It breeds during the northern summer on coasts around the Arctic, then flies south to spend the southern summer near the edge of the Antarctic pack ice. Because it moves between two polar summers, it probably sees more daylight each year than any other animal.

BFor a long time the length of this journey was estimated from sightings at sea and from birds that had been ringed at their colonies. The picture changed when researchers began fitting terns with geolocators, tiny devices weighing about as much as a paper clip that record light levels. From the times of sunrise and sunset, scientists can calculate a bird's approximate position each day. One study of terns from Greenland and Iceland found that the average round trip was around 70,000 kilometres.

CThe tracks also showed that the birds do not take the shortest route. On the way south, most paused for several weeks in an area of the North Atlantic where cold and warm water meet and food is plentiful. They then followed either the coast of Africa or the coast of South America. On the return flight, they travelled along a huge S-shaped path through the middle of the Atlantic. This longer route appears to save energy, because it allows the birds to take advantage of the prevailing winds.

DFeeding on the journey is essential. Terns rarely settle on the sea, so they feed on the wing, catching small fish and krill near the surface in brief dives. Since many individuals live for more than thirty years, a single bird may cover a distance in its lifetime roughly equal to three trips to the Moon and back.

EResearchers are now asking how a warming climate will affect this pattern. If the feeding area in the North Atlantic becomes less productive, terns may need to stay there longer or search for new feeding grounds, adding to an already demanding journey.

Questions 1–3 and 7: choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer. Questions 4–6: choose the correct letter, A–H.

Questions 1–3: complete the summary with words from the passage.

Tracking the Arctic tern

The Arctic tern breeds in the far north and spends the southern summer near the edge of the Antarctic (1) __________. Early estimates of its journey relied on sightings and on birds that had been (2) __________ at their colonies. Today scientists attach small devices called (3) __________, which record light levels and allow a bird's daily position to be calculated.

Questions 4–6: complete the summary using the list of words, A–H.

On the way south, most terns stop in a part of the North Atlantic where food is (4) _____. Their return route is (5) _____ than a direct flight would be, but following the winds means that it saves (6) _____.

A abundant

B scarce

C longer

D shorter

E energy

F time

G daylight

H warmth

Question 7: complete the notes with words from the passage.

Feeding on the journey: rarely settle on the sea
Catch small fish and (7) __________ in brief dives

Answers explained

Show the answers and why

1. pack ice — Paragraph A: “near the edge of the Antarctic pack ice”. “Antarctic pack ice” is three words and breaks the limit — “Antarctic” is already printed before the gap.
2. ringed — Paragraph B: “birds that had been ringed at their colonies”. The grammar “had been ___” needs a past participle, so “ring” or “rings” is wrong even though the idea is right.
3. geolocators — Paragraph B: “fitting terns with geolocators, tiny devices… that record light levels”. The summary already says “small devices called”, so it wants the name. Keep the plural: “devices called geolocator” is ungrammatical.
4. A (abundant) — Paragraph C: “food is plentiful”. The box paraphrases “plentiful” as “abundant”; “scarce” (B) is the opposite.
5. C (longer) — Paragraph C: the birds “do not take the shortest route” and “this longer route appears to save energy”. “Shorter” (D) is the trap for readers who only see the word “shortest”.
6. E (energy) — Paragraph C: the route “appears to save energy, because it allows the birds to take advantage of the prevailing winds”. “Time” (F) is plausible from general knowledge but is not what the text says — a longer route saves energy, not time.
7. krill — Paragraph D: “catching small fish and krill near the surface in brief dives”. Note that questions 1–7 do not cover paragraph E at all: a summary covers part of the text, not all of it.

How to answer IELTS summary and note completion questions, step by step

1
Check the instructions: text or box?
If you must use words from the text, note the word limit. If there is a box, you write letters, and the right option is usually a synonym of the passage's wording.
2
Read the whole summary first
Read it as a paragraph before answering. Its title and first sentence tell you which part of the passage it summarises — usually one section, not the whole text.
3
Predict the word class for each gap
Look at the words either side. “had been ___” needs a past participle; “where food is ___” needs an adjective; “small fish and ___” needs a plural or uncountable noun.
4
Match the sentence, not the word
Find the sentence in the passage that says the same thing as the summary sentence. Summaries paraphrase, so look for the idea (“early estimates” = “for a long time… was estimated”).
5
Copy exactly, or eliminate in the box
With words from the text, copy the spelling and form exactly. With a box, cross out options that are the wrong word class first, then choose between the two or three that remain.
6
Reread the completed summary
Read each finished sentence. It should be grammatical, within the word limit and true to the passage.

Common traps

Copying words that are already printed

If the summary says “the Antarctic ___”, the answer is “pack ice”, not “Antarctic pack ice”. Repeating printed words can push you over the limit, and you lose the mark.

Choosing the box word that appears in the text

In word-box tasks the right option is often a paraphrase (“abundant” for “plentiful”), while a distractor echoes the text (“shorter” next to “shortest”).

Answering from general knowledge

A longer route might seem to cost time, and that may be true in life, but the summary must match what this passage says.

Wrong word form

“Ring” instead of “ringed”, or “geolocator” instead of “geolocators”, changes the word you took from the text and makes the sentence ungrammatical.

More practice

Try this question type on the free official IELTS samples next, then a full timed Reading section. LingoLeap's AI-graded practice covers IELTS Speaking and Writing.

Free official IELTS sample questions

FAQ

What is summary completion in IELTS Reading?

You complete a summary of one part of the passage, either with words taken from the text within a word limit, or by choosing words from a list. IELTS groups it with note, table and flow-chart completion.

Do summary completion answers come in order?

Not always. IELTS says the answers may not come in the same order as in the text, but they will usually come from one part of the text rather than the whole text.

Do you lose marks for spelling in IELTS Reading?

Yes. IELTS states that spelling mistakes in the Listening and Reading tests are marked as wrong.

What is the difference between summary completion and note completion?

Only the layout. A summary is continuous text; notes are short points. IELTS describes both as a summary of part of the text that you complete with words from the text.

In the word-box version, can I write the word instead of the letter?

Follow the instructions: when they say choose the correct letter, write the letter. Writing the word risks the answer not matching what was asked.

Sources

Format, instructions and marking rules are from IELTS (ielts.org). The passage, questions and advice are LingoLeap's own.