Hi there — I’m Emily Carter, IELTS Listening instructor at IELTS Zone. If you’ve already learned Form Completion, you’re ready for the next question type in Section 1 — Note Completion Questions in IELTS Listening.
In this task, you fill in missing information from short notes based on a conversation between two people. The notes usually summarise main points from a booking, enquiry, or service interaction. Your job is to listen for specific facts — names, dates, prices, and details — and record them accurately.
This section tests attention to detail, grammar awareness, and your ability to predict the type of information needed. Let’s go through each part step by step.
You’ll see an incomplete set of notes, for example:
Tour Booking Details
• Destination: _________
• Date of departure: _________
• Cost per person: _________
The conversation will include these details in the same order as the questions. Unlike Form Completion, the notes use phrases instead of full sentences, so you must choose words that fit grammatically and semantically.
Facts to remember:
Spelling matters — every error loses the mark.
During the preview time (about 30 seconds), predict what kind of answer is required.
Example Question | Expected Answer Type |
“Event starts at _________.” | Time |
“Participants must bring _________.” | Object (noun) |
“Course fee _________ per month.” | Number + currency |
Underline keywords and note grammar patterns (articles, plurals, verbs). If you see “a ____,” expect a noun. If you see “to ____,” expect a verb.
Understanding the expected word form helps you recognise answers immediately when you hear them.
IELTS never repeats the question word for word. Instead, it uses paraphrases. You’ll often hear alternative phrasing for the same idea.
In Question | In Recording |
“departure time” | “when the train leaves” |
“cost” | “price” or “fee” |
“reason for visit” | “why they’re going” |
In my lessons, students practise matching these patterns using Cambridge IELTS books — a simple but effective way to boost prediction accuracy.
Speakers in Section 1 often change their answers mid-sentence.
A: “So, that’s the Green Hotel on King Street?”
B: “No, sorry — it’s the Green View Hotel on Queen Street.”
The first option (“King Street”) is a distractor; the correct answer is “Queen Street.” Wait a moment before you write to confirm the final version.
I recommend training with short audio segments and pausing right after you hear a correction. This builds your reflex to listen for changes instead of guessing.
Because Note Completion tasks contain lots of data (numerical and alphabetical), accuracy is everything.
Example:
“That’s Fraser — F-R-A-S-E-R.” → Answer: Fraser ✅
Double-check capitalisation if the answer is a proper noun (e.g., River Thames).
Note Completion Questions in IELTS Listening reward logical thinking. Even if you miss a word, you can use context to guess the meaning.
Example notes:
“Tour includes: visit to _________ and boat ride on the river.”
Here you can predict the missing place is a tourist spot like “museum” or “castle.” When the audio mentions “The tour starts at the Royal Castle,” you’ll know it matches.
Developing this logical prediction skill saves you from panicking when you miss a word.
To improve on Note Completion Questions in IELTS Listening, try this weekly routine:
Day | Task |
Mon | Listen to a Cambridge Test 1 Section 1 recording and underline keywords before listening. |
Tue | Practise spelling names and numbers from the audio. |
Wed | Identify and write down all synonyms used for each question. |
Thu | Complete one mock Note Completion test without pausing. |
Fri | Check and analyse errors — why was each wrong? |
Within a week of systematic practice, you’ll begin to catch keywords automatically and avoid distractors.
Small corrections can make a half-band difference.
To summarise, Note Completion Questions in IELTS Listening require you to:
These skills build strong listening discipline for Sections 2–4.
Next, read Table Completion (Social Context) to learn how to handle tables in everyday recordings where you track multiple details at once.
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