Vocabulary · Free lesson
IELTS Reading: keep a completion within the word limit
Finding the right detail is only part of the job. An extra word can make a correct idea an invalid completion. This original drill isolates one IELTS Academic Reading skill.
Professor Scott MendozaThe short answer
For a completion that asks for words from the text, your answer must fit the sentence and the stated limit. “No more than two words” allows one or two, not three. Do not copy an article that is already outside the gap.
Read the instruction, then read across the completed gap.
Use the words required by the task, preserve the necessary meaning, and count only what you put in the gap. The surrounding sentence may already supply a, the, or a preposition. A shorter answer is not automatically better: it still has to identify the requested detail.
An original museum example
Tickets are collected at the east entrance.
Tickets are collected at the ___.
east entrance
The completed sentence says “at the east entrance,” not “at the the east entrance.”
Three checks
Find the exact detail
the east entrance
Fit and count the gap
east / entrance = 2 words
Try it now
Choose the valid completion
Read all answers and explanations
Source: “Tickets are collected at the east entrance.” Use no more than TWO words from the text: “Tickets are collected at the ___.”
east entranceEast entrance uses two source words and fits after the. The three-word answer repeats the article; eastern door changes the source wording.
Source: “Visitors leave bags in lockers.” Use ONE word from the text: “Bags are left in ___.”
lockersLockers is the required place and one word. The lockers exceeds the limit; bags names the objects, not their location.
Source: “Maps are available at the information desk.” Use no more than TWO words: “Maps are available at the ___.”
information deskInformation desk is the two-word place. Information alone does not name the desk, and the article is already supplied.
Put it into practice
Repair an overlong answer
Source: “Coats are stored in the cloakroom.” Gap: “Coats are stored in the ___.” Use ONE word from the text.
the cloakroom
See a model answer
cloakroom
Do not change a compound’s spelling just to alter the word count.
A little more clarity
Common questions
A few useful details before you move on.
Must I always use the maximum number?
No. A maximum is a limit, not a target. Use a shorter answer when it fully fits the gap and source.
ONE word: lockers
Should I always remove articles?
No. Check the full sentence. Remove a repeated article, not one the completed sentence needs.
at the ___ → east entrance
Take it into your day
A valid completion needs the right meaning, grammar, source wording, and length.
Your next step · Available on Udemy
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The English Grammar and English Speaking Master Course develops broader grammar, sentence-building, and communication foundations. Sentence structure helps you see what a gap already contains. The dedicated exam course is coming soon; the available main course is not a complete exam-preparation program.
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