IELTS Listening Sentence Completion: Examples, Patterns & Practice
Quick answer: IELTS Listening sentence completion gives you a sentence with a gap that you fill using exactly the words you hear, within a strict word-limit (usually NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER). Predict the grammatical part of speech before the audio plays, listen for the topic word, and write the words exactly as spoken — no paraphrase, no plurals you didn't hear.
This guide is part of the WitPrep IELTS Hub. It is updated for 2026 with the current IELTS format, fees, and band descriptors. If you want a personalised band estimate before reading, run the free IELTS diagnostic.
What sentence completion looks like in IELTS
Sentence completion in IELTS Listening typically appears in Sections 2 and 4. You see 5–10 sentences with a single gap each. Above the questions is a strict word-limit instruction such as "NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER" or "NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS". Exceeding the limit is automatic zero marks for that question, regardless of correctness.
The gap is filled by words you hear in the audio, in the order they are spoken. Unlike summary completion in Reading, you do not select from a word bank — you transcribe.
Spelling matters. American and British spelling are both accepted, but a misspelt word is marked wrong. Numbers can be written as digits (15) or words (fifteen), but mixing them (15 fifteen) is wrong.
The 30-second prediction technique
Before the audio plays, you have 30 seconds. Use it to predict the grammatical category and meaning category of each gap. Read each sentence and ask two questions: what part of speech fits (noun, adjective, verb, number)? And what topic word would the speaker need to mention near it?
For example: "The library opens at _____ on Sundays." The gap requires a time. Listen for words like "Sunday", "library", "opens", and grab whatever number follows.
If you predict noun and you hear a verb, you have the wrong gap — keep listening. This single check catches most off-by-one errors where candidates write the answer to question 4 in the question 3 box.
- Singular vs plural: predict from the article (a/an = singular, no article + countable noun = plural)
- Verb tense: predict from surrounding verbs in the sentence
- Number type: predict from units (km, kg, dollars, years)
Worked examples by topic
Example 1 (Section 2 — community talk): "The new community centre includes a _____ for children under 5." You hear: "…and we've added a soft-play area for our youngest visitors, those under five." Answer: "soft-play area" (3 words — within a 3-word limit). Note the paraphrase "youngest visitors" → "under 5".
Example 2 (Section 4 — academic lecture): "Marine biologists believe coral bleaching is mainly caused by rising _____." You hear: "The principal driver of bleaching, as most marine biologists now agree, is sea surface temperature increase…" Answer: "sea surface temperature" (only valid if the limit is 3 words; otherwise "sea temperature" or "temperatures"). Always re-check the word limit.
Example 3 (Section 2 — tour): "The factory tour takes about _____ minutes." You hear: "Plan on roughly 45 minutes for the full tour…" Answer: 45.
The five most common traps
Trap 1: paraphrase. Candidates write the synonym in their head instead of the speaker's word. "Children" in the question, "kids" in the audio — write "kids".
Trap 2: word-limit overshoot. The speaker says "a beautiful old wooden bridge" and the limit is 2 words. Pick the most specific 2 ("wooden bridge"). The grammar of the sentence usually tells you which 2.
Trap 3: distractor numbers. The speaker says "originally 30, now 50". The question asks about now. The signpost "originally" warns you the first number is the distractor.
Trap 4: spelling. Common errors: "accommodation" (double m, double c), "questionnaire" (double n), "business" (no 'i' before 'n'). Practise these before test day.
Trap 5: grammar mismatch. You write a plural noun but the sentence already contains "a". The grader marks it wrong even if the meaning is right.
After every practice test, list every word you spelt wrong. Re-write each five times. Spelling errors cost more bands than any other Listening mistake.
Strategy by section
Section 2 sentence completion is usually about facts — numbers, opening hours, locations. Pre-decide for each gap whether it is a number, a place name or a time.
Section 4 sentence completion is more abstract. Gaps are often noun phrases describing concepts in the lecture. Listen for definitional cues such as "that's why we call this" or "the term used is".
Both sections move at lecture pace. If you miss one, draw a line through the answer box and immediately re-anchor on the next sentence — you cannot afford to lose two answers chasing one.
How sentence completion is scored
Each correct gap is worth one mark. There are no half marks for partial answers. Correct meaning + wrong word = 0. Right word + wrong spelling = 0. Right word + over the word limit = 0.
On the official IELTS conversion, getting all 8 sentence-completion items in a typical Section 4 correct is worth roughly half a band on its own (8 of 40 marks → from band 6.5 to band 7).
Most band-7 candidates lose 2–3 sentence-completion marks per test from spelling or grammar mismatch — fixable issues, not English-knowledge issues.
Practice this with WitPrep
Reading about IELTS only gets you so far — band gains come from rubric-graded practice. Open the IELTS Listening practice to drill this exact skill with band-by-band feedback. If you have not yet baselined your level, start with the free IELTS diagnostic (free, ~10 min).
Related WitPrep reading
Frequently Asked Questions
What does NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER mean?
It means your answer can be one word, two words, a number, one word and a number, or two words and a number. "Library 9 a.m." is two words and a number — accepted. "At the library 9" is three words and a number — rejected.
Are hyphenated words counted as one or two?
Hyphenated compounds (e.g., "high-speed") are counted as one word by IELTS.
Do I need to copy capital letters from the audio?
Capitalisation is not graded. Write in lower-case or upper-case — both are accepted as long as the spelling is right.
What if I write the answer in the wrong gap?
It is marked as wrong for both gaps. Always cross-check that your answer matches the grammar of the sentence.
Can I write digits or words for numbers?
Either is accepted — "15" or "fifteen". Mixed forms like "15 fifteen" are rejected. For times, both "3pm" and "3 p.m." are accepted; "three pm" is risky.
How fast should I read the questions during preview?
Aim for 20 seconds reading and 10 seconds predicting. If you finish reading early, re-read your gaps and underline one keyword per sentence.
Is sentence completion harder on computer IELTS?
Equally difficult, but the on-screen format makes word-counting easier (the box highlights when you exceed the limit). Spelling is still a manual problem.
How we verify this content
Every fact on this page is sourced from primary IELTS publishers — IELTS.org, the British Council, IDP IELTS Australia, Cambridge Assessment English, or the relevant national immigration authority. Our IELTS team re-checks these sources at least once per quarter. Where we cite institution-specific scores, we link to that institution's own admissions or visa page. If you spot anything out of date, please contact our editors.