Practise under exam conditions7 questions · 8 minutes. In the real test you have about 20 minutes per passage.
In table completion (and the very similar note and flow-chart completion), you fill gaps in a table using words copied from the passage. Unlike multiple choice, there are no options to choose from, so accuracy matters: the right word spelled wrongly, or one word too many, is marked wrong. The good news is that the table itself tells you a lot about what’s missing.
How to complete a table#
- Check the word limit first: ONE WORD ONLY, NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS, ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER. Hyphenated words count as one word; numbers can be written as figures.
- Use the table’s headings and rows to predict what kind of word is missing: a noun, a number, a place, an adjective?
- Find the part of the passage that matches each row. Tables usually follow the order of the passage, row by row or column by column.
- Copy the words exactly. Don’t change the form of the word (e.g. cost to costly).
- Check grammar and spelling. The completed table should make sense, and plurals matter.
Practice: Heating Homes Without Fossil Fuels#
Read the passage, answer the 7 questions, then check your answers below. Suggested time: 8 minutes.
Heating Homes Without Fossil Fuels#
As countries try to cut carbon emissions, homeowners are being encouraged to replace gas and oil boilers with cleaner technologies. Three options are most commonly discussed: heat pumps, solar thermal panels and biomass boilers.
A heat pump works rather like a refrigerator in reverse. It extracts heat from the outside air or the ground, even in cold weather, and transfers it into the house. Because it uses electricity to move heat rather than to create it, a heat pump can deliver around three units of heat for every unit of electricity it consumes, which makes it highly efficient. Its main drawback is the installation cost, which can be several times that of a new gas boiler, particularly in older homes that need better insulation first.
Solar thermal panels, which are usually mounted on the roof, use energy from the sun to heat water directly. They are inexpensive to run, since sunlight is free, and they require very little maintenance. However, they produce far less heat in winter, when demand is highest, so most households need a second system as a backup.
Biomass boilers burn wood pellets, chips or logs. The carbon released when the wood burns is roughly equal to the amount absorbed by the trees as they grew, which is why biomass is often described as carbon-neutral. These boilers can provide heat all year round and are well suited to rural homes that are not connected to the gas network. On the other hand, they need a large storage space for fuel, and burning wood releases particles that can reduce local air quality.
Questions 1–7#
Complete the table below. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
| Technology | How it works | Advantage | Disadvantage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heat pump | Takes heat from the air or the (1) ________ | Very efficient: about (2) ________ units of heat per unit of electricity | High (3) ________ cost |
| Solar thermal panels | Uses the sun’s energy to heat (4) ________ | Cheap to run; needs little maintenance | Less heat in (5) ________, so a backup is needed |
| Biomass boiler | Burns wood | Considered (6) ________ | Needs a lot of (7) ________ space; can affect air quality |
Check your answers
Enter your answers and press Check. Spelling counts, but capitals and punctuation don’t.
Try checking your answers first. You’ll see your score and exactly which questions you missed. It takes 10 seconds.
Answer key with explanationsShowHide
- 1groundParagraph 2: “It extracts heat from the outside air or the ground”.
- 2threealso: 3Paragraph 2: “around three units of heat for every unit of electricity”. A number can be written as a figure.
- 3installationParagraph 2: “Its main drawback is the installation cost”. “Installation” fits the gap before “cost”.
- 4waterParagraph 3: “use energy from the sun to heat water directly”.
- 5winterParagraph 3: “they produce far less heat in winter”.
- 6carbon-neutralalso: carbon neutralParagraph 4: “often described as carbon-neutral”. A hyphenated word counts as one word.
- 7storagealso: fuel storageParagraph 4: “they need a large storage space for fuel”. “storage” fits before “space”.
What this practice teaches#
- Gap 3 needs a noun used like an adjective (installation cost). Predicting the word type saves time.
- Gap 6: “carbon-neutral” is ONE word because of the hyphen, within the limit.
- Words in the table are paraphrased: “extracts” → “takes”, “drawback” → “disadvantage”.
Other IELTS Reading question types#
- True / False / Not Given
- Matching headings
- Multiple choice
- Summary completion
- Short answer questions
See all IELTS Reading question types with tips, or take a full reading practice test to practise under exam conditions.