IELTS General Training Reading – Task Type 4

Task Description

What are candidates required to do?
There are two variations of this item type.

• Type A: candidates are asked to complete the sentence in a given number of words taken from the text.
• Type B: candidates are given the first half of a sentence based on the text and asked to complete it from a list of possible options. They may be told that they can use an option more than once.

In Type A candidates will be told in the instructions the maximum number of words that they can use to complete the sentence. The instructions for this type usually state ‘NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER’, but sometimes they may call for one word, two words or four words. Numbers can be written as figures or words.

In Type B candidates will have to choose the best option from a list. Candidates will have more options to choose from than there are questions.

Is it possible to use grammatical clues when matching beginnings with endings?
Not usually. In most cases where the candidate is required to match sentence beginnings with sentence endings, all the endings are grammatically possible. The candidate must decide which ending is correct according to meaning.

Does the information being tested come in the same order as in the passage?
Yes.

How are candidates asked to write their answers?
Where candidates are required to supply the words to complete the sentence, the words should be taken directly from the passage and written in the space on their Answer Sheet as they work through the questions. When choosing an answer from a box of possible answers, candidates should write the letter of their chosen answer on the Answer Sheet.

Are candidates penalised for writing more than the required number of words?
Yes. If candidates write more than the number of words asked for, they will lose the mark even if their answer includes the correct words.

What about contractions, or hyphenated words?
The rules relating to Short-answer questions also apply here. Contracted words will not be tested. Hyphenated words count as single words.

Understanding the Task

To see examples of this task type please click on the link below.

Examples of Task Type 4

To understand better how candidates need to approach this task, it may help you to do the task yourself and analyse what you had to do to find the right answer.

Look at this sample Task Type 4. Complete the task, thinking about how you are doing it.

Sample Task Type 4 Task (PDF)
Answers

Things to consider

Now look at these questions about how you approached the task and consider your answers.

1. How did you go about locating the answers?
   
   
2. Did you read through the whole passage before trying to complete the sentences?
   
   
3. Did finding the right ending for each beginning involve finding a single word or phrase?
   
   
4. Did you read all the possible endings before choosing an answer?
   
   
5. What skills are being tested in this item type?