Senin, 22 Februari 2010

Text Completion: Another Challenge in Reading IELTS

In task completion, test taker has to complete the text with words from the passage. There are some types of text that test taker deals with. It can be in form of short summary, sentences, or even table.
In this kind of question, test taker needs to give extra attention on the instruction used. The variations can be as follows.

1. Complete the summary below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
In this kind of instruction, it means that test taker can use one, two, or three words from the passage as the answer.

2. Complete the table below. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
In this kind of instruction, test taker should be careful in taking the words as his or her answer because only one or maximum two words from the passage is allowed.
For instruction 1 and 2, test taker may not change the form of the words. Test taker just needs to write in the same from as the word/words appear in the passage.

3. Answer the question below using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.
This instruction explains that the words that test taker use do not need to come from the passage.
The problem appears in the third instruction is that test taker has to pay more attention on the grammar used. The answer must be grammatically correct.

There are some things that test taker could do before finally he or she locks the answer. The first is reading the instruction very carefully to check the number of words which is allowed as the answer. Then, test taker should also use skimming technique to catch the important paragraph for getting the answer. Test taker could save the time as well by concentrating at the first and last question so that he or she knows how much of the text that test taker should read. Next, test taker should look back at each question one by one and look for the specific information needed. It is better for test taker to analyze first whether the word/words that he or she needs is noun, preposition, verb, or adjective. 
Last, test taker should check carefully on the word/ words. It is important for the test taker to make sure that his or her answer has already spelled correctly and fitted grammatically.

Reference: http://www.dcielts.com/ielts-reading/text-completion-a-tutorial/