Summary Completion and Sentence Completion are question types where you fill in blanks using words taken directly from the passage. They test your ability to locate specific information and understand grammar. Here is how to answer them accurately.
Always check the word limit first. Every summary or sentence completion section gives an instruction like "Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage." This limit is strict — writing more words than allowed makes your answer wrong even if the meaning is correct. Read this instruction before you start answering.
Use the words around the blank as clues. Look carefully at the words immediately before and after each blank. They often tell you what type of word is missing — a noun, a verb, a number, or a date. This narrows down what you are searching for in the passage.
Find the matching section in the passage. Summary completion sentences are usually paraphrased versions of information in the passage, often in the same order as the original text. Scan for keywords from the sentence (names, numbers, or unique terms) to locate the relevant section, then read carefully around it.
Copy words exactly as they appear. Your answer must match the spelling and form used in the passage. If the passage says "researchers," writing "researcher" (singular) may be marked wrong if it does not fit the grammar of the sentence. Always copy the exact word or phrase from the text.
Make sure your answer fits grammatically. After filling in a blank, re-read the full sentence to check that it makes grammatical sense. If the sentence sounds wrong grammatically, your answer is probably incorrect, even if the word seems related to the topic.
Do not use synonyms unless the question allows it. Some completion questions require exact words from the passage, not synonyms you think of yourself. Stick to the passage's own wording unless the instructions specifically say otherwise.
Practice regularly. Readlify's practice passages include fill-in-the-blank style questions with instant explanations, so you can see exactly why an answer was accepted or rejected — helping you build accuracy over time.