IELTS Reading Summary, Note, Table and Flow-Chart Completion

These four formats work the same way. You see a shortened version of part of the passage, laid out as a summary (a paragraph), notes, a table or a flow chart, with gaps to fill. Depending on the instructions, you either:

• take words from the passage, within a word limit such as NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS; or
• choose from a box of options, usually more options than gaps, and write the letter.

They appear in both Academic and General Training Reading. In Academic Reading, the first passage often has a summary or flow chart about a process or development.

What it tests

• Understanding how ideas connect: steps in a process, causes and effects, categories in a table.
• Recognising paraphrase, since the summary rewords the passage.
• Grammar awareness: the answer must fit the sentence or note it completes.
• Accuracy with word limits and spelling when you copy from the text.

Step-by-step strategy

1. Check the instructions. Words from the passage, or letters from a box? What is the word limit?
2. Read the title or headings of the summary, table or chart and find which part of the passage it covers.
3. Read the gapped text and predict the type of word for each gap: noun, verb, adjective, number.
4. For a word box, group the options by part of speech. Usually only two or three options fit each gap grammatically.
5. Locate each gap in the passage. Use the words just before and after the gap, which are often paraphrased.
6. Match meaning, not just grammar. Several options may fit grammatically; only one matches what the passage says.
7. For tables and flow charts, read the layout. Column headings and arrows tell you what kind of information goes where.
8. Reread the completed text for grammar and sense.

Common traps

• The near-synonym in the wrong role. Two box options mean similar things, such as charge and pay, but only one fits who does what in the passage. A customer pays; a company charges.
• The right word, the wrong part of speech. The box includes the same idea as a noun and as an adjective, such as success and successful. Only one fits the grammar of the gap.
• True but not in this part. An option is mentioned in the passage, but in a different section from the one the summary covers.
• Over the word limit. For text-based answers, adding extra words, such as an article or adjective, loses the mark.
• Changing the word. For text-based answers, you must copy the word as it appears in the passage, not a synonym or a new form.

Try it: mini-example

This passage is original practice material written for Bee English.

How tea is processed

After picking, fresh tea leaves are spread out on racks so that they lose some of their water and become soft. They are then rolled, which breaks the cell walls and releases natural oils. Next, the leaves are left in a warm room, where they react with oxygen and darken in colour. Finally, they are heated to stop this reaction and dried so that they can be stored without spoiling.

Part 1: Flow chart. Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.

leaves are spread out on racks to become (1) …… → leaves are rolled to release (2) …… → leaves react with (3) …… in a warm room → leaves are heated and dried

Part 2: Summary with a word box. Complete the summary using the list of words, A to F.

Drying the leaves at the end allows them to be (4) …… for long periods. Without this step, the leaves would (5) …… .

• A. stored
• B. storage
• C. spoil
• D. darken
• E. rolled
• F. soft

Answers and explanations

1. soft. The leaves "become soft".
2. oils. Rolling "releases natural oils". Natural oils is two words, so it breaks the ONE WORD ONLY limit.
3. oxygen. The leaves "react with oxygen".
4. A (stored). The passage says the leaves can be "stored without spoiling".
   • B is the wrong part of speech: to be storage is not grammatical.
   • E fits the grammar (to be rolled), but rolling happens earlier in the process and has nothing to do with long periods. This is the true but not in this part trap.
5. C (spoil). The final step stops the leaves from spoiling.
   • D is true but not in this part: darkening happens earlier, in the warm room, and is a normal step, not what drying prevents.

Related guides

• IELTS Reading: complete guide
• Sentence completion
• Diagram labelling
• Listening form, note, table and flow-chart completion

Sources

• IELTS, Academic Reading format and question types
• IELTS, General Training Reading format