IELTS · Guides · October 23, 2026 · 4 min read

IELTS Reading summary completion: with and without a word box, a worked example

Summary completion gives you a short paragraph that retells part of the passage, with gaps. You fill each gap either with words from the passage or with a letter from a box of words. The instruction tells you which, and the two forms need slightly different methods.

Two forms of the task

1. Words from the text.

Complete the summary below. Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.

You copy words exactly as they appear in the passage. The word limit is strict: if it says ONE WORD ONLY, a two-word answer is wrong even if the meaning is right. NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER allows one word, two words, a number, or one or two words plus a number.

2. Words from a box.

Complete the summary using the list of words, A–H, below.

You write the letter, not the word. There are more words in the box than gaps, and the words in the box are often not the words used in the text: they are synonyms. Spelling cannot cost you marks here, but paraphrase can.

In both forms the summary usually covers one part of the passage, often two or three paragraphs, and the answers usually, but not always, come in the order of the text. A summary often has a title, which tells you which part of the passage to look in.

Method

1. Read the title and the whole summary first, without filling anything in. Find which paragraphs it retells.
2. For each gap, predict the type of word. After a or the you need a noun; after more you probably need an adjective; after have it may be a past participle. Check whether a noun should be singular or plural.
3. Find the matching sentence in the passage. The summary paraphrases the text, so look for the idea, not the same words.
4. Fill the gap and read the sentence again. It must be grammatically correct and say the same as the passage.
5. For a word box, go through the options that fit the grammar of the gap first. Usually only two or three do, and the choice is between them.

A worked example

Glaciers in the Alps have lost more than half of their volume since the middle of the nineteenth century, and the losses have speeded up since the 1980s. Small glaciers below about 3,000 metres are expected to disappear first. The water they release in late summer, when rain is scarce, keeps many rivers flowing and supplies hydroelectric plants, so their loss will be felt far from the mountains.

Complete the summary. Choose ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.

Since the 1850s, Alpine glaciers have lost over half of their (1) ____. The rate of loss has been faster since the (2) ____. Glacier water matters most in late (3) ____, when there is little rain, because it supports rivers and the production of (4) ____ power.

Answers:

1. volume. Lost more than half of their volume → lost over half of their volume. The gap follows their, so it needs a noun.
2. 1980s. The instruction allows a number, and the passage gives it in figures.
3. summer. In late summer, when rain is scarce → in late summer, when there is little rain.
4. hydroelectric. The gap comes before power, so it needs an adjective. Water would be grammatical (water power), but the passage says hydroelectric plants, and the summary must match the passage.

Now the same summary with a word box:

A mass B height C 1850s D winter E summer F solar G hydroelectric H 1980s

The answers are A, H, E, G. Gap 1 is a paraphrase: the box offers mass for the passage’s volume. Height is the trap: glaciers are said to be below 3,000 metres, but the passage never says they lost height.

Common mistakes

• Breaking the word limit to “be safe”. Writing their volume in gap 1 loses the mark.
• Changing the form of the word. If the passage says glaciers, do not write glacier, unless the summary’s grammar needs the singular and the passage also uses it.
• Spelling. A copied word must be spelled exactly as in the text. British and American spellings are both accepted, but a misspelling is not.
• Writing the word instead of the letter in the word-box version. The answer is G, not hydroelectric.
• Answering from general knowledge. Every answer must be supported by the passage.

Practise on real-format texts

Summary completion with words from the passage:

• Why cities run hot: one word only
• The language of bees: five gaps, one word only
• Seeing in colour

Summary completion with a list of words, A–H:

• Roads of silk
• The value of salt
• The secret of Roman concrete

Notes and sentences work in the same way; see sentence completion and short answers. All question types are listed in the IELTS Reading guide.

Common questions

Do I need capital letters? No. Answers are not case-sensitive, so summer and SUMMER are both accepted.

Does a number count as a word? Only if the instruction says AND/OR A NUMBER. Then the number is counted separately: TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER allows, for example, 2 large rooms. Numbers can be written in figures or in words.

Is a hyphenated word one word? Yes. Well-known or check-in count as one word.

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