IELTS Listening Summary Completion – Lessons, Tips

Zuhana

4 min read

Updated On Aug 14, 2024

Understanding IELTS Summary Questions
Strategies for Answering the Summary Questions
Tips for Summary Questions IELTS Questions
Sample Practice
Answers
FAQs

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Understanding IELTS Summary Questions

In this type of question, you will receive the summary from a recording. Typically, this recording will consist of a monologue and conversations on a subject. In the provided summary, there will be missing words that you would have to fill in. Generally, this question type is likely to come up in section 4 – which is considered one of the most challenging parts of the IELTS exam.

Strategies for Answering the Summary Questions

There are a few strategies that have to be borne in mind while answering these types of questions. They are listed below:

Read the instructions carefully, paying special attention to how many words you can write for the answer. Writing more than the required word count will lead to loss of marks, even if your answer is correct.
Not every question is going to have a title, however, looking at the available title will help figure out the context of the question. You would be able to understand the question in a much better way.
In the recording, the answer will be in the same order as that of the listed questions. Thus, make sure you only keep the correct order in mind
Focus on the recording and try to predict the correct answer. There are chances that you may predict the actual word. However, sometimes, you may just get the required information and the required word type.
In the recording, paraphrasing and synonyms will be used extensively. Thus, you will be listening to different phrases and words with the same meaning as well. So, scan the summary and underline all the keywords that you can find.
For most of the students, there are 6 types of vocabulary that may cause issues, such as time, numbers, prices, dates, letters, and addresses. You must recognise all of these in the speech to answer correctly.

Tips for Summary Questions IELTS Questions

Some tips to answer the questions and obtain a high band in the IELTS examination are given below:

Look into the instructions carefully
Remember the guidelines regarding the number of words you are allowed to use for every answer
You will have 30-45 seconds before listening to the audio clip. Use this time to quickly scan the summary
Identity keywords in the summary that the speaker is using frequently
Find the type of word that you need to use, whether noun, adjective, verb, adverb, etc.
Try predicting the possible words, synonyms and paraphrases

Sample Practice

Section 2 is a monologue about a waste collection in Biltmore.

Moving on to the second service. Household waste collection is probably what you primarily think of when you think of what we do here. Many of the same guidelines apply. The sorting is the same etcetera. Please remember to keep garbage like kitchen waste in a plastic bag. It makes collection easier and lessens the abominable rotten trash smell.

Pause

So, after we take your trash away, what happens to it? We take all the garbage to one of a number of garbage disposal plants. Each of which is located in the middle of an open space of some sort. No one wants to have their home or office right next door to a waste disposal plant right? Waste is collected and then disposed of once every 4 weeks. A lot of trash can build up in that time so we are in the process of developing a plan to fund collection more frequently. Ideally, it will be collected weekly, but we will likely have to settle for bi-weekly. The garbage trucks make their rounds to clear the bins at night in order to avoid traffic.

Questions 1-4

Answer the questions below. Use NO MORE THAN ONE WORD AND / OR A NUMBER from the audio for each answer. Write your answers next to 1-4 on your answer sheet.

All kitchen garbage should be put into a 1____________bag. The garbage disposal plant is situated in a 2____________space or field. The waste is disposed of at least once every 3____________. The dustbin should be cleared at night because of 4____________

Answers

1. Plastic

2. Open

3. 4 weeks

4. Traffic

Explanation

For the first question, it is clear from the talk which goes thus:

“Please remember to keep garbage, like kitchen waste in a plastic bag.”

For the second question, it is clear from the talk which goes thus:

“So after we take your trash away, what happens to it? We take all of the garbage to one of a number of garbage disposal plants, each of which is located in the middle of an open space.”

For the third question, it is clear from the talk which goes thus:

“Waste is collected and then disposed off once every four weeks.”

For the fourth question, it is clear from the talk which goes thus:

“The garbage trucks make their rounds to clear the bins at night in order to avoid traffic.”