IELTS Listening Table Completion

IELTS Listening Table Completion requires you to listen to the audio recording, note down the keywords (main ideas/facts) and fill in the answers (missing words) of the listening text. It’s a way of summarising information related to different categories like place/time/cost. In IELTS listening, this question comes regularly in one or the other section. So practise our sample questions to ace this type of question easily.

Among all IELTS listening question types, the IELTS listening table completion comes with a table having columns and rows with information. To fill in the missing words in the table, follow our useful tips and strategies and get a good listening band score.

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What is IELTS Listening Table Completion?

In the listening module, the IELTS listening table completion is a common question type, asked in all sections (part 1, 2 and 3). You must listen to the audio and write the missing words in a table, mainly to summarise information in categories. 

The table completion has 5 questions about the main points from the conversations or monologues that are often academic concepts in parts/sections 3 and 4. Test-takers must read the instructions carefully, like ‘NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER,’ and complete the table. Since table completion and note completion look alike, watch out.

How to answer the listening table completion?

To answer the IELTS listening table completion, you need to practise the following steps and experiment in your mock tests.  

Step 1: Listen to the audio

You must be aware that the recording is played only once. The audio may be in a variety of accents like American, British, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand. So, make sure you get familiar with all the accents and are away from noises while listening to the audio.

Step 2: Read the information

‘Read the information’ means not blindly reading the text but going through the information and becoming familiar with the concepts that are abstract and educational (sections 3 and 4). Ideally, a test-taker would take about 20 - 25 seconds to read before listening to the audio. In order to identify the correct keyword, you can take a couple of seconds extra.  

Step 3: Note down the keywords

It is a crucial part of listening. You must identify the relevant information from the audio and note down the keywords. While doing so, ensure that it is understandable to you. Moreover, you can write the synonym and not always the exact words from the listening prompt.  

Step 4: Update the missing words

Once the key words are noted down, quickly read the information once again and write the missing words at the appropriate places. After writing, look out for errors in grammar, spelling, sentence structure, etc., to get a full mark in table completion IELTS listening.

IELTS Listening Table Completion Practice Tests

To know how questions appear on the question paper and how to respond, we have brought to you the IELTS listening table completion practice questions. Refer to these samples as follows. 

IELTS Listening Table Completion - Sample 1

Questions 7 - 10

Complete the table below.

Write NO MORE THAN ONE WORD for each answer.

PRIME RECRUITMENT CHILDCARE VACANCIES

Location	Name	Children	Special requirements
London	Benton	Girl and boy	Be Keen on 7. ---------------
Near Oxford	Grander	8.------boys	Be animal-lover
9.-----------	Campbell	Four girls	Be willing to 10 ------- when camping.

Correct answers are

7. Sport
8. Twin
9. Scotland
10. Cook

IELTS Listening Table Completion - Sample 2

Questions 15 - 20

Complete the table below.

Write ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.

Time table for Isle of Man holiday

Activity

Notes

Day 1	Arrive	Hotel during room has a view of the 15-----
Day 2	Tynwald Exhibition and Peel	Tynwald may have been founded in 16---- not 979.
Day 3	Trip to Snaefell	Travel along promenade in a tram;train to Laxey;train to the 17-----of Snaefell
Day 4	Free day	Company provides a 18.....for local transport and heritage sites.
Day 5	Take the 19-----railway train from Dpuglas to Port Erin	Free time,then coach to Castletown--- former 20---- has an old castle.
Day 6	Leave	Leave the island by ferry or plane

Correct Answers are

15. River
16. 1422
17. Top
18. Pass
19. Steam
20. Capital

IELTS Listening Table Completion - Sample 3

Questions 1 - 5

Complete the table below.

Write NO MORE THAN ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.

Transport	Cash fare	Card fare
Bus	6$---------------	$1.50
Train(peak)	$10	$10
Train(off-peak)---before 5pm. or after(7-----pm)	$10	8$-------
9------ferry	$4.50	$3.55

IELTS Listening Table Completion Tips and Strategy

Since you get only a couple of minutes to prepare before the speaker begins talking, prepare it to familiarise yourself with the questions and the information you need from the listening.

To help you out, we have consolidated the effective tips and strategies from IELTS trainers and toppers. These IELTS listening table completion tips are proven successful by many aspirants. Let’s see them in detail. 

1.Analyse the question

The moment you receive the questions, analyse the question thoroughly and identify the type. To do this, look for a table having rows and columns with information. Read the instructions carefully. If it says ‘NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER,’ then follow it exactly. 

If you write more than two words or numbers, the answer will be marked incorrect even though it is a correct answer. 

2.Answer order

In table completion, the audio recording and questions follow the same order. So while answering, you must answer question 1 first, then answer question 2. The listening text comes subsequently to avoid getting lost.  

3.Synonyms and paraphrasing

In the listening test (academic or general), you may not use the exact words from the audio recording. But you can use your own words by knowing the synonyms and paraphrasing. There are a few examples as follows to help you understand.

Words in table:        Possible Synonym:
Monday to Friday     Weekdays
Weekends                 Saturday and Sunday
Focus                        Determination
Pen and pencil          Stationery items

While answering the table completion, be aware that you need to highlight the exact words as they have come in the question and the alternative words and phrases that give the same meaning. 

4.Mind the distractors

Since the audio recording is played only once, your listening skills must be sharp. If not, you may lose your marks to the distractors. A distractor is actually a word or phrase that tries to mislead or manipulate the test-taker from the original piece of information. Here is one example given for your reference.

Example: I visit my friends every weekend, despite my mother’s warning. 

Here, the word ‘despite’ is a distractor that might confuse the listener.

5.Predicting the answer

While reading the questions in the table, you will get an overview of the text. Perhaps it will help you predict the answers before listening to the recording. It is important to practice this technique while attending different listening tests, so that you can narrow down the correct answers using clues, logic and factual information like names, places, times, prices, and dates.

6.Writing the answer

In the IELTS Listening test, you will get exactly 10 minutes to transfer answers to the answer book. Here you must quickly write the missing words on the answer sheet without compromising grammar and sentence structure. Here you can write the exact words or the synonyms.

7.Guess if necessary

If you get stuck at any question in the table completion, you don’t hesitate to guess the answer. Sometimes, you can not predict the answer nor leave the question unanswered (blank), so you can take a wild guess based on your understanding from the audio recording.

Practice Session

We have brought to you IELTS listening practice test questions to gain experience in the IELTS listening table completion. Since their difficulty level is hard, you must practice them at least once for the IELTS listening test.

Answers

As a part of learning, we have taken the sample 1 - IELTS listening table completion question and answered them detailedly. You can refer to it and get a clear idea about the question and answers. 

Questions 7 - 10

Complete the table below. Write NO MORE THAN ONE WORD for each answer.

PRIME RECRUITMENT CHILDCARE VACANCIES

Location	Name	Children	Special requirements
London	Benton	Girl and boy	Be keen on 7.--------
Near Oxford	Grander	8.-----boys	Be animal-lover
9.----------	Campbell	Four girls	Be willing to 10.----- when camping.

Interviewer: As I mentioned yesterday, there are three areas where the job description is much the same for all of them. There are few other things you need to know. The first area is here in London.

Candidate: I did make a few notes. The name is Benton with two children. 

Interviewer: A girl of 3 and a brother who is 8. The little boy has a quite serious food allergy. But they mainly have an interest in sports. 

Candidate: That’s okay. I will enjoy that.

Interviewer: Great. Next is an area near Oxford. They have twin boys of 5 who are a bit of a handful I suspect. But it’s a lovely place. Well, animal-lovers were their special request. And I hope you will be fine there. And the last family lives in Scotland. 

Candidate: Really! What’s their name?

Interviewer: Campbell.

Candidate: Oh yes. They have four girls.

Interviewer: That’s it. They have a lovely city flat, they own a small island. Actually, you will get along with them very well. They particularly want someone to cook when they go camping on their island. 

The correct answers are:

7. Sports
8. Twin
9. Scotland
10. Cook

Here, the conversation is between an interviewer and a candidate. The interviewer gives direct answers to the questions. For instance, for the first question, the boy has an interest in sports; for the second question, the family has twin boys; and for the third and fourth questions, the family lives in Scotland, and they need someone to cook when they go camping. So, to tackle similar questions in table completion, you must always listen to the recording carefully and note down the keywords. It will help you answer quickly. 

IELTS Listening Table Completion Vocabulary

To keep yourself updated with the latest words, use our list of vocabulary and phrases given here. These IELTS listening words are frequently used by test-takers to impress the examiner.

Verbs: talk, develop, review, listen, learn, arrange, collaborate, coordinate, supervise, exhibit, donate, discuss, intimate, support, examine, report, work, delegate, teach, practice, substitute

Adjectives: practical, knowledgeable, intact, tranquil, sophisticated, fabulous, westernise, permanent, temporary, vulnerable, suitable, energetic, imperative, elusive, spectacular, necessary, social
Arts and media: festival, function, concert, symphony, exhibition, audience, opera, orchestra, open theatre, cinemas, performance, artists, spectators, art gallery, ballet, live, television, press, newspaper

Colour: red, blue, green, white, orange, black, grey, brown, pink, violet, yellow

Others: miscellaneous, decision, literature, democracy, conservation, expectancy, liberty, prototype, traffic, water bottle, endurance, satisfaction, proficiency, language, evolution, plants, management, farewell, gender, stereotype, indigenous, variety, courses, private, instrument

Also Read:
Here are the other IELTS Listening question types usually asked in the test.

• IELTS listening multiple choice questions
• IELTS listening note completion
• IELTS listening form completion
• IELTS listening matching questions
• IELTS listening sentence completion
• IELTS listening summary completion
• IELTS listening short answer questions
• IELTS listening map & plan labelling
• IELTS listening diagram labelling
• IELTS listening flow chart completion

Conclusion

The IELTS Listening Table Completion is a common question type in the listening module, which requires good listening skills and swift responses to the questions given in the table. If you follow our IELTS listening tips, strategies and vocabulary, you need not worry about the exam.

FAQs

1.What is table completion in IELTS listening?

Table completion is one of the question types in IELTS listening, where the test-taker needs to write the answers (missing words) in the table filled with information. 

2.How can I get full marks in IELTS listening?

To get full marks in IELTS listening, you have to listen to different accents like American, British, Canadian, Australian etc., and get familiar with them. Moreover, keep a numbered list of vocabulary to fill in the missing words while answering.  

3.How can I get a band score of 8 or 9 in IELTS listening?

To get a band score of 8 or 9 in IELTS listening, practice many question papers related to various topics. Then avoid distractors that are only to mislead. Finally, don’t try to use the exact words, instead use alternative words to answer.

4.How many types of questions are there in IELTS listening?

As per the IELTS official website, there are 11 question types in the IELTS listening test. They are:

1. Multiple choice question
2. Matching question
3. Plan & map question
4. Diagram labelling question
5. Summary completion question
6. Table completion question
7. Note completion question
8. Flow chart completion question
9. Form completion question
10. Sentence completion question
11. Short answer questions