Top Strategies for Sentence Completion in the IELTS Reading Test

Understanding Sentence Completion Questions

Introduction to Sentence Completion in Reading Exams

Sentence completion is a type of question used in English language proficiency tests such as IELTS, TOEFL, and other academic assessments. These questions test your understanding of a reading passage by asking you to complete a sentence using information from the text. Typically, each sentence contains a blank space that you must fill in with the correct word or phrase.

This task may appear simple at first glance, but it requires a strong grasp of grammar, vocabulary, and reading comprehension. You must understand both the sentence structure and the passage’s meaning to supply the correct missing information.

Sentence completion questions are designed to test several different language skills at once. They evaluate how well you can:

• Extract specific details from a text

• Understand the meaning of words and phrases in context.

• Recognize paraphrasing and synonyms.

• Apply correct grammar in sentence structure.

• Follow strict word count and format rules.

Doing well in sentence completion means that you are a careful reader who pays attention to both details and general meaning.

What Makes Sentence Completion Challenging?

Several aspects make sentence completion a challenging question type, especially for non-native English speakers. Below are some reasons why test-takers often struggle with these questions:

1. Paraphrasing: The reading text will rarely contain the sentence from the question in the exact same words. The writers of the test often paraphrase the information, meaning the vocabulary and sentence structure will be different even if the meaning remains the same.

2. Synonyms: The words in the question are often replaced in the passage with synonyms. For example, “kids” in the question might appear as “children” in the passage.

3. Word Limit Restrictions: Sentence completion questions usually have specific instructions such as “no more than two words” or “no more than three words and/or a number.” If you exceed the word limit—even if your answer is correct in meaning—it will be marked wrong.

4. Grammatical Accuracy: The word or phrase you use to complete the sentence must fit grammatically. If the sentence requires a noun and you insert a verb, your answer will be considered incorrect even if it comes directly from the passage.

5. Locating Information Quickly: You often have to scan a long reading passage to find the relevant section. If you cannot locate the information quickly, you may waste valuable time.

How Sentence Completion Works

In this type of question, you will see an incomplete sentence followed by a blank space. Your task is to find the correct information in the reading text and fill in the blank.

Here is a basic example:

Question: The Great Wall of China was originally built to protect against ______.

Now, assume the reading text includes the following sentence: “One of the original purposes of the Great Wall was to serve as a barrier against invading armies from the north.”

From this, you can deduce that the correct answer is “invading armies.”

If the instructions say “NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS,” your answer must be exactly two words or fewer. Writing “hostile invading armies” would be incorrect because it contains three words.

If the instruction is “USING WORDS FROM THE TEXT,” then you cannot write “enemy forces,” even though it means the same thing. Only the exact wording from the passage is accepted in that case.

Key Elements of the Question Instructions

One of the most overlooked yet essential parts of a sentence completion question is the instruction. It tells you:

• How many words or numbers can you write

• Whether you should use words directly from the reading text

• What are the grammatical expectations?

Understanding and following the instructions is just as important as finding the correct word. Here are some common instructions and what they mean:

• “No more than two words”: You can write either one or two words. Three or more will be marked wrong.

• “No more than three words and/or a number”: You can write up to three words, one number, or a combination of both (e.g., “35 students” is acceptable).

• “Using words from the text”: You are only allowed to use words exactly as they appear in the text. Do not change the form or use synonyms.

• “Using your own words”: You are allowed to paraphrase and reword the information.

You must read and interpret these rules correctly every time because they can vary from question to question.

Grammatical Awareness in Sentence Completion

Even if your answer is semantically correct, it may still be marked wrong if it does not match the grammatical structure of the sentence. For example:

Incomplete Sentence: The city was completely ______ after the earthquake.

Now, assume the passage says: “The earthquake destroyed the city.”

A grammatically correct answer would be “destroyed.” If you write “destruction,” your answer will be incorrect because it does not fit the grammatical structure.

Understanding the role of grammar helps you predict what type of word (noun, verb, adjective) should fill in the blank. This allows you to check your answer more efficiently and avoid common errors.

Understanding Context to Make Accurate Predictions

Contextual understanding is another crucial skill. Before even looking at the text, try to predict what type of word could complete the sentence. Ask yourself:

• Is the missing word a person, place, object, or idea?

• Should the blank contain a verb or a noun?

• What is the subject or main idea of the sentence?

Doing this gives you a mental framework for scanning the reading passage. You will be looking for something that matches not only in meaning but also in structure.

For instance:

Sentence: During the 1800s, the primary source of energy in homes was ______.

You can reasonably guess the answer will be a noun, likely a type of fuel. So while reading the passage, you can focus on sections that discuss home life or energy sources in the 1800s. This targeted approach saves time and improves accuracy.

Relationship Between Questions and the Text Order

One helpful feature of sentence completion questions is that the questions usually follow the order of the information in the passage. That is, the answer to question 1 will appear before the answer to question 2, which will appear before question 3, and so on.

This structure is incredibly useful because it allows you to read or scan the passage once and answer the questions in sequence. If you find the answer to question 1 in paragraph B, you can begin scanning paragraph C for the next answer instead of starting over.

This sequential order supports your time management and prevents you from jumping back and forth, which can be both confusing and time-consuming.

Summary of Key Concepts in Sentence Completion

Let’s recap what has been discussed so far:

• Sentence completion questions test your ability to understand and extract specific information from a reading passage.

• You must follow strict rules regarding word limits and whether or not to use words from the text.

• Grammatical structure must be maintained; the word you insert should fit grammatically within the sentence.

• Understanding paraphrasing and synonyms is essential because the wording in the question and the passage will often differ.

• Questions generally follow the order of the text, so use this to your advantage when scanning for information.

• Contextual understanding helps you predict what kind of word is needed, which guides your search in the text.

This foundational knowledge sets the stage for deeper exploration in the next part, where we will cover the role of paraphrasing and synonyms in sentence completion tasks and how they shape the way questions are constructed and answered.

The Role of Paraphrasing and Synonyms in Sentence Completion

Introduction to Paraphrasing and Synonyms

To master sentence completion questions in academic reading tests, one of the most important skills you need is the ability to recognize paraphrasing and synonyms. These linguistic tools are used frequently by test writers to disguise the original wording of the text, forcing you to rely on your understanding of meaning rather than exact matches of vocabulary.

Paraphrasing involves expressing the same idea in different words. Synonyms are words that have the same or nearly the same meaning as another word. In sentence completion questions, the sentence in the question may use one set of words while the text uses a different but equivalent set. Recognizing these linguistic shifts is key to finding the right answer.

For example, if the reading text says, “The manager authorized the plan,” and the sentence completion question reads, “The ______ was approved by the supervisor,” your task is to realize that:

• “Manager” is being paraphrased as “supervisor.”

• “Authorized” is being paraphrased as “approved.”

• “Plan” is being referred to again.

Being able to detect these language changes is what separates high-scoring candidates from others.

What Is Paraphrasing?

Paraphrasing is when the meaning of a sentence or phrase is retained, but the words and structure used to express it are changed. Writers of standardized reading tests use this strategy to make questions more challenging. They do not copy and paste parts of the reading text into the question; instead, they rewrite them with new wording.

This means that if you are trying to locate a sentence in the passage that matches the question exactly, you may struggle to find it. Instead of looking for the same words, you need to look for the same meaning.

Let’s look at a paraphrasing example:

Question: “The student found it hard to understand the lecture.”

Text: “The class was too complex for the pupil to follow.”

In this case, the sentence has been paraphrased using different vocabulary:

• “student” → “pupil”

• “hard to understand” → “too complex”

• “lecture” → “class”

• “to understand the lecture” → “to follow”

Even though no words match exactly, the meaning is nearly identical. Identifying these relationships helps you understand where the correct answer lies.

Recognizing Common Patterns in Paraphrasing

Writers use several consistent patterns when paraphrasing. Recognizing these patterns can save you time and increase your accuracy.

Some common paraphrasing techniques include:

1. Using synonyms: Replacing words with those that have a similar meaning
   • “Children” → “youngsters”

   • “illness” → “disease”

   • “increase” → “rise”

2. Changing word forms: Changing nouns to verbs, adjectives to adverbs, etc.
   • “growth of cities” → “cities grew”

   • “pollution levels rose” → “there was a rise in pollution”

3. Using different grammatical structures: Altering the sentence structure while maintaining meaning.
   • “The museum is visited by thousands every year.” → “Thousands visit the museum each year.”

4. Replacing phrases with idiomatic or figurative language:
   • “very tired” → “worn out”

   • “very expensive” → “costs a fortune”

These variations can occur within the reading passage or in the question itself. The more familiar you are with these changes, the easier it becomes to identify the underlying message.

What Are Synonyms?

Synonyms are individual words that share the same or nearly the same meaning. They are a basic building block of paraphrasing. While paraphrasing deals with sentences or phrases, synonyms operate at the word level.

Examples of common synonyms:

• “Happy” → “joyful,” “content,” “cheerful”

• “Begin” → “start,” “commence,” “initiate”

• “Fast” → “quick,” “rapid,” “swift”

However, not all synonyms are interchangeable in every context. Some carry slightly different connotations or are used in specific grammatical settings. For instance, “childish” and “childlike” are technically synonyms, but they are used very differently. Recognizing subtle differences in meaning is also part of mastering sentence completion.

When practicing sentence completion, keep an eye on how words are used. The meaning, tone, and grammatical form all matter.

Why Paraphrasing and Synonyms Matter in Sentence Completion

If you look for answers by matching exact words from the question to the reading passage, you may miss the correct answer. Writers of the reading passage and the test questions use paraphrasing and synonyms to hide the connection between the question and the answer.

Consider the following example:

Question: “The committee was concerned about the rapid ______ of the disease.”

Reading passage: “The board expressed anxiety over how quickly the virus was spreading.”

Here, the key changes are:

• “committee” → “board”

• “concerned about” → “expressed anxiety over”

• “rapid” → “quickly”

• “of the disease” → “the virus was spreading”

Although the vocabulary is completely different, the core meaning is the same. Without recognizing this paraphrasing, you might scan the passage in vain for the exact words “concerned” or “rapid.”

Understanding this concept helps you shift your approach from surface-level reading to meaning-focused comprehension.

Using Paraphrasing in Your Answer Strategy

When tackling sentence completion questions, an effective way to use paraphrasing is to predict possible answers based on the question sentence alone. Ask yourself:

• What is the general meaning of this sentence?

• What kind of word (noun, verb, adjective) is likely to complete it?

• What synonyms or paraphrased versions might appear in the passage?

Then, as you scan the reading text, focus on finding information that matches the predicted meaning, not just the wording.

Let’s say the question reads:

“The animals were relocated due to a lack of available ______.”

You can guess that the missing word might relate to habitat, space, or shelter.

Now, in the text you find:

“Because there wasn’t enough space for the animals, the zookeepers decided to move them.”

Even though the word “available” doesn’t appear and “space” is used instead of “habitat,” it’s clear that “space” is the correct answer.

Avoiding the Trap of Word-Matching

A common mistake test-takers make is relying too much on finding matching words between the question and the text. While sometimes helpful, this strategy fails when the text has been paraphrased.

For example, if you are answering this question:

“The pollution in the lake was caused by industrial ______.”

And if you only look for the word “pollution,” you might miss the correct sentence in the text that says:

“Factories discharged chemicals into the water, leading to contamination.”

Here, “factories” is a paraphrase of “industrial,” “discharged chemicals” is the cause, and “contamination” refers to pollution. The correct answer is likely “waste” or “discharge,” depending on how it is phrased in the rest of the text. But if you only looked for “pollution,” you would not find the answer.

Instead of scanning for exact words, scan for meaning. Ask yourself:

• What is the question talking about?

• What are the key ideas being communicated?

• Which part of the passage contains a similar idea, even in different words?

By focusing on meaning rather than vocabulary, you improve your ability to find the correct information, even if it has been disguised through paraphrasing.

Building Your Vocabulary for Sentence Completion

Because synonym recognition is so central to sentence completion success, a strong vocabulary helps immensely. Here are some practical tips for improving your vocabulary in context:

1. Read widely: Focus on academic texts, news articles, and essays. These expose you to formal paraphrasing and advanced synonyms.

2. Keep a vocabulary journal: Write down unfamiliar words along with their synonyms, definitions, and example sentences.

3. Practice paraphrasing: Take a sentence from any text and rewrite it in your own words while keeping the original meaning intact.

4. Use vocabulary lists by topic: Focus on topics that frequently appear in reading tests, such as environment, education, technology, or health.

5. Play synonym matching games: Use flashcards or online tools to pair words with their closest equivalents.

A strong vocabulary makes you more flexible in recognizing correct answers, especially when synonyms are used in tricky ways.

Common Problems in Sentence Completion and How to Avoid Them

Introduction to Common Issues

Sentence completion questions in reading tests are not just about finding a missing word or phrase. They involve a careful mix of reading comprehension, vocabulary knowledge, grammar awareness, and time management. While the format may look simple—fill in the blanks—it challenges multiple skills at once.

Many students make avoidable mistakes in this question type, not because they lack knowledge, but because they misunderstand how the test is constructed or misread the instructions. This part of the guide will explore the most frequent problems students encounter and offer practical solutions for each one.

By identifying and addressing these issues, you can avoid falling into common traps and improve both your accuracy and speed.

Problem 1: Matching Words Instead of Meaning

One of the most common and costly mistakes is trying to match the question words with the same words in the passage. Students often scan the passage looking for an exact word or phrase from the question sentence, assuming that the answer will be located nearby.

However, test writers deliberately use paraphrasing and synonyms to prevent simple word-matching. This means the actual content you need to find will often be expressed in different terms than those used in the question.

Example of the Problem:

Question: “The city banned the use of ______ in all public areas.”

The student looks in the passage for the word “banned” or “public areas” but does not find them. They assume the answer is not there.

Passage: “Authorities prohibited smoking in parks, stations, and other open spaces.”

Here, “banned” has been paraphrased as “prohibited,” and “public areas” as “parks, stations, and other open spaces.” If the student only searches for exact words, they will miss the correct section.

Solution:

Always search for meaning rather than exact words. Before looking at the text, identify the key idea in the sentence. Then look for a similar idea in the reading passage, even if the vocabulary is different.

Practice Tip: Train yourself by paraphrasing question sentences. Rewrite each one using your own words. This helps your brain start looking for meaning instead of vocabulary matches.

Problem 2: Ignoring Word Limit Instructions

Another frequent error is ignoring or misunderstanding the word limit rule. Sentence completion questions typically include instructions such as:

• “No more than two words.”

• “No more than three words and/or a number”

• “Use words from the passage.”

Despite these clear instructions, many students write too many words or include extra unnecessary ones, such as articles or prepositions.

Example:

If the correct answer is “wind energy” and the instruction says “no more than two words,” the following answers will be marked as wrong:

• “the wind energy” (three words)

• “wind and solar energy” (four words)

• “wind-energy” (if it’s not hyphenated in the passage)

Solution:

Always reread the instructions for each question set. Don’t assume the rules are the same every time. Some questions allow three words, others only two. If you exceed the limit, even if your answer is correct in meaning,  you will lose the point.

Practice Tip: After writing each answer, count the words. Train yourself to identify hyphenated words and numbers correctly. A hyphenated term like “state-of-the-art” counts as one word. A number like “47” also counts as one word.

Problem 3: Using the Wrong Word Form

Even when students find the correct word or phrase in the text, they sometimes copy it in a form that doesn’t fit grammatically in the sentence. For example, they use a noun when a verb is needed or an adjective when a noun is required.

Example:

Question: “The manager was known for his ______ decisions.”

Passage: “He decided quickly and confidently in difficult situations.”

Some students might write “decide,” but this does not fit grammatically. The correct answer might be “confident” or “quick” depending on context.

Solution:

Look at the sentence carefully and determine the word type (part of speech) needed. Ask yourself: Is this a place for a noun, verb, adjective, or adverb?

Practice Tip: Practice completing sentences without a text, using only grammar clues. This sharpens your ability to detect what kind of word is needed based on the sentence structure.

Problem 4: Not Reading the Sentence Again After Finding the Answer

Many students find what they believe is the correct phrase in the passage, copy it, and move on. But they do not reinsert it into the original sentence to check if it fits both grammatically and logically.

Example:

Question: “The mountain village became difficult to access during ______.”

Passage: “Heavy snow blocked all roads leading into the town.”

A student might write “heavy snow,” which is correct. But others might write “blocked all roads,” which doesn’t fit grammatically in the question sentence.

Solution:

After writing your answer, always read the full sentence with the answer inserted. Make sure the sentence makes sense and flows naturally.

Practice Tip: For every answer, develop the habit of rereading the full sentence. This simple step can catch many errors in grammar and logic.

Problem 5: Reading the Text Before the Questions

Some students begin by reading the full text before they even look at the questions. While this may seem like a careful approach, it often leads to confusion and wasted time. Reading without a goal makes it hard to remember where specific information was mentioned.

Solution:

Always read the questions first. This gives you a purpose for reading and helps you identify keywords and concepts to look for. It makes your reading more focused and efficient.

Practice Tip: Try answering questions without reading the full passage first. Instead, read the question, identify keywords, and scan the passage for those ideas. This approach saves time and improves accuracy.

Problem 6: Spending Too Much Time on One Question

In some cases, students get stuck on a difficult question and spend several minutes trying to find the exact answer. This eats into the time available for the rest of the passage, often leading to more missed questions.

Solution:

If you cannot find the answer within one or two minutes, move on and come back later if you have time. Often, reading more of the passage will help clarify earlier questions.

Practice Tip: Use timed practice tests to improve your time management. Learn how to balance speed and accuracy. Don’t aim for perfection—aim for completing as many correct answers as possible in the given time.

Problem 7: Poor Vocabulary and Lack of Synonym Awareness

Sentence completion relies heavily on vocabulary knowledge. If you don’t know that “increased” and “rose” can mean the same thing, or that “vehicle” and “car” are closely related, you will have trouble identifying answers even if you understand the context.

Solution:

Expand your academic vocabulary. Focus on word families and common synonyms, especially those used in academic or formal texts. Study how words change form (e.g., from “improve” to “improvement”).

Practice Tip: Build vocabulary lists by topic (e.g., health, technology, education). For each word, learn its synonyms, antonyms, and different forms. Practice identifying these relationships in sample texts.

Problem 8: Copying the Wrong Part of the Passage

Sometimes students find the right location in the text but choose the wrong word or phrase to copy. This often happens when they are unsure about grammar or when the text contains multiple possible options.

Example:

Passage: “The council introduced stricter traffic regulations to reduce pollution.”

Question: “The city council introduced new rules to deal with ______.”

Students might write “traffic” or “regulations,” but the correct answer is likely “pollution,” since that was the reason behind the new rules.

Solution:

Look for the cause or consequence described in the question, not just the nearest noun. Make sure the word you choose directly answers what is being asked.

Practice Tip: After finding a potential answer in the passage, ask yourself: “Does this answer the question logically and directly?” If not, keep looking.

Summary of Common Problems and Solutions

To recap the major problems and how to fix them:

• Avoid matching words; focus on matching meaning.

• Always follow the word limit exactly.

• Use the correct grammatical form of the word.

• Reinsert your answer into the sentence to check for grammatical fit.

• Read the questions before the text.

• Don’t spend too long on any single question.

• Build your vocabulary, especially academic synonyms.

• Choose the word that directly answers the question, not the nearest one in the text.

By addressing these common mistakes, you improve your efficiency, boost your accuracy, and increase your chances of scoring higher in reading comprehension tasks involving sentence completion.

Effective Strategies and Final Tips for Sentence Completion

Introduction to Strategy

Understanding the format of sentence completion questions, being aware of paraphrasing and synonyms, and avoiding common mistakes are all essential. However, without a clear strategy, students often become overwhelmed or inefficient during the test.

Having a proven step-by-step approach allows you to move through the test methodically, saving time and increasing accuracy. In this section, we’ll break down a full strategy you can follow, from the moment you see the question until you confirm your answer. We’ll also include some final tips that can help refine your preparation and performance.

Step 1: Read the Instructions Carefully

Before answering any questions, always begin by reading the instructions. Sentence completion tasks may have varying requirements, such as:

• “No more than two words.”

• “No more than three words and/or a number”

• “Use words from the text.”

• “Answer in your own words.”

Even if you’ve done hundreds of practice questions, never skip this step. Each set may have different rules, and ignoring them could mean losing marks even if your answer is otherwise correct.

What to look for:

• Maximum word count

• Whether numbers are allowed

• Whether paraphrasing is permitted

• If answers must be taken directly from the text

Quick check:

• Two words = one or two words only

• Three words and/or a number = up to three words, a number, or a combination

Understanding these rules will guide how you search for the answer and how you write it down.

Step 2: Read the Sentence with the Blank

Now turn your attention to the actual sentence you need to complete. Don’t rush through it. Instead, try to understand:

• What the sentence is saying

• What kind of word is missing (noun, verb, adjective, et.

• What the likely topic is (education, environment, health, etc.)

You should also try to predict what the missing word might be based on your understanding. This mental prediction can guide your search in the text.

Example:

Sentence: “Because the area is prone to flooding, the government invested in new ______.”

Even before looking at the text, you might guess the missing word could be “drainage,” “infrastructure,” “barriers,” or “flood defences.”

This prediction narrows your focus when you start reading.

Step 3: Identify Keywords and Synonyms

Identify the key ideas in the sentence. These might include:

• Names

• Dates

• Actions

• Causes and effects

• Specific terms (e.g., “agriculture,” “climate,” “technology”)

Also, think about possible synonyms or paraphrases of these words. If the question uses the word “teachers,” the text might use “educators” or “instructors.” If the question says “rise,” the text might say “increase” or “growth.”

What to do:

• Underline or mentally highlight 2–3 keywords

• Think of possible alternate phrases that might appear in the passage.

This makes scanning the text more efficient.

Step 4: Scan the Passage Strategically

Now it’s time to search the text. Do not read the entire passage in detail. Instead, scan the text for the ideas you identified earlier.

Important tip: The answers usually appear in the same order as the questions. If you’ve just answered question 5 and are now on question 6, the answer is likely located somewhere after the sentence you just used for question 5.

Look for:

• Similar ideas in different words

• Thematic connections to the sentence

• Matching facts, numbers, or time references

If you can’t find the answer after a quick scan, don’t spend too long. Move on and return later.

Step 5: Read the Relevant Section Carefully

Once you’ve located the section of the passage related to the question, switch from scanning to detailed reading. This is where you will carefully compare the sentence in the question with the sentence in the text.

Ask yourself:

• What is the sentence in the passage saying?

• Which part of the sentence gives the missing information?

• Does it match the meaning of the question sentence?

This is the point where recognizing paraphrasing and synonyms becomes critical. Don’t just look for matching words—look for matching meaning.

Step 6: Select the Correct Word(s)

Once you’ve found the section of the text with the answer, choose the exact word or phrase that completes the sentence grammatically and logically.

Check:

• Does it fit grammatically in the sentence?

• Is it within the allowed word count?

• Is it copied exactly as it appears in the text, if required?

• Does it make sense in context?

If multiple words are possible, choose the one that most directly answers the question while fitting the sentence naturally.

Example:

If the question says: “The results were published in a major ______.”

And the text says: “The data was released in a well-known scientific journal,” then the correct answer could be “scientific journal.”

Step 7: Reinsert the Word(s) into the Sentence

Before moving on, place your answer back into the sentence and read the whole sentence again. Make sure it:

• Makes sense

• Is grammatically correct

• Sounds natural

Example:

Sentence: “The species became endangered due to loss of ______.”

If your answer is “habitat,” read: “The species became endangered due to loss of habitat.” This confirms the answer fits both grammatically and logically.

Step 8: Double-Check Spelling and Format

Spelling mistakes are counted as wrong in sentence completion tasks. So even if you find the correct word, writing it incorrectly will cost you the point.

Also, follow proper formatting. Avoid:

• Capitalizing unnecessarily

• Adding articles (“a,” “the”) unless required

• Changing verb or noun forms

Use the word exactly as it appears in the passage, unless instructed otherwise.

Final Tips and Advice

Beyond following a step-by-step strategy, there are some additional habits and techniques that can improve your overall performance with sentence completion.

Tip 1: Practice Under Exam Conditions

Take full reading practice tests within the time limit. This helps you build stamina and practice applying the strategy under pressure.

Time management is essential. Do not let anyone question consume more than a couple of minutes.

Tip 2: Review Your Mistakes Carefully

After each practice session, go back and analyze the questions you got wrong. Ask yourself:

• Did I misread the instructions?

• Did I miss a synonym or paraphrased phrase?

• Did I use the wrong part of the sentence?

• Was my answer grammatically incorrect?

Use these insights to improve in future attempts.

Tip 3: Build Thematic Vocabulary

Reading passages often cover academic or general interest topics such as:

• Education

• Environment

• Health and medicine

• History

• Business and economics

Build topic-specific vocabulary for each of these. Learn both high-frequency words and their synonyms.

Tip 4: Improve Your Paraphrasing Skills

Practice rewriting sentences in your own words. This helps you become more comfortable with synonym usage and paraphrasing, which are central to sentence completion tasks.

You can also work on paraphrasing sample questions and answer sentences in both directions: convert a question to a paraphrase, and paraphrase back to the original.

Tip 5: Focus on Grammatical Accuracy

Often, the difference between a right and wrong answer is not vocabulary but grammar. Even if the meaning is correct, a mismatched grammatical form will be marked incorrect.

Pay attention to:

• Subject-verb agreement

• Plural vs singular

• Correct noun forms

• Article usage

Tip 6: Don’t Panic If You’re Unsure

If you’re stuck, make a reasonable guess and move on. You can always return if time allows. Trust the process and rely on your training. Many answers become clearer once you see related ideas in other questions.

A Sample Walkthrough Summary

To tie it all together, here’s a brief example using the full strategy:

1. Read instructions: “No more than two words. Use words from the text.”

2. Read the sentence: “Many workers faced job loss due to economic ______.”

3. Predict the answer: Possibly “decline,” “crisis,” “problems”

4. Identify keywords: “job loss,” “economic”

5. Scan the passage: Find the section discussing employment and economy.

6. Read carefully: The  Passage says, “Widespread unemployment resulted from a severe economic downturn.”

7. Choose answer: “downturn”

8. Reinsert: “Many workers faced job loss due to economic downturn.” It fits.

9. Double-check spelling and word count: Two words, correctly spelled.

You have your correct answer.

Final Thoughts

Sentence completion is one of the more technical yet rewarding question types in academic reading tests. It tests not just your understanding of the text, but also your attention to grammar, vocabulary, and detail.

By applying a systematic strategy, staying aware of paraphrasing, and practicing regularly, you can become highly effective at these questions. With consistency and focus, you can significantly increase your reading score and overall test performance.