Answers and Discussion

1. Did you read through the whole passage before you tried to fill the gaps?
   You should read through the whole passage first. When you have located the part or parts of the passage the summary relates to you should read that part very carefully.
   
   
2. Did you think about the sort of information that needs to go into each gap?
   When you begin to fill the gaps you need to consider the sort of information that is missing.
   
   
3. Did you choose several possible words or phrases before you decided on the correct word or phrase?
   You may find that at first a number of options appear to be possible, but that on careful reflection you will end up deciding that only one fits the gap exactly.
   
   
4. Did you read the language around the gap particularly carefully?
   It is essential to read the whole sentence in which the gap is located as the sentence will be a paraphrase of a sentence or sentences in the original passage. In particular it is important to read the words immediately around the gap as they help you predict the type of information that has been left out.