Table Completion
Reading column/row headers · tracking data order · movement patterns · abbreviations · 6 interactive practice exercises
Topic & Why It Matters
Table Completion asks you to fill missing cells in a table while listening to a conversation, announcement, or lecture. The table normally compares options or records details under fixed headings, so success depends on reading both the row label and the column heading before the audio begins. It can appear in any of the four listening parts — an enquiry in Part 1, a tour or briefing in Part 2, a discussion in Part 3, or an academic lecture in Part 4.
This format is dangerous because the correct word often sounds simple, but the table can tempt you into placing it in the wrong cell. The speaker may mention a price for one item while you are waiting for another, or correct a figure after first stating a distractor. Learners who track the speaker's movement through the table and check the printed words around each blank avoid the great majority of avoidable errors.
If you keep losing marks to wrong-row mix-ups — a correct figure landing in the wrong line, or a corrected value you missed — you are in the right chapter. Below you will find a dedicated table-reading toolkit, a reference of common table layouts, and six full practice exercises spanning Parts 1, 2, and 4, each targeting a specific table trap.
Knowledge Points
Table-Reading Toolkit
Most table mistakes are placement mistakes, not hearing mistakes. Below are seven techniques that turn a grid of blanks into a confident sequence of answers. Each technique has its own trigger, a worked example, and a backup move for the moment you lose your place.
1. Decode the header intersection
Every blank lives where a row meets a column. Before you listen, silently say the full question for each blank: 'river boat tour + starting point', 'beginners' Spanish + fee'. This converts a bare blank into a precise thing to listen for.
- Row 'Express train' × Column 'journey time' → listen for a duration
- Row 'Studio flat' × Column 'deposit' → listen for a £ amount
- Row 'Wind power' × Column 'drawback' → listen for a negative noun phrase
Backup move: If a blank confuses you, read the cells already filled in the same row and column. They reveal the pattern (all places? all prices?) and tell you what is missing.
2. Predict the word class
The column heading fixes the part of speech. 'Cost' → number; 'location/start' → place noun; 'feature/advantage' → noun or noun phrase; 'day' → weekday; 'focus' → activity noun. Predicting the class stops you from writing a verb where a noun is needed.
- 'Main advantage' → a noun phrase ('private bathroom'), not a sentence
- 'Duration' → a number, possibly with 'hours/minutes' already printed
- 'Day' → Monday … Sunday — capitalise it
Backup move: Write the predicted class in the margin (N, num, place, day). When the answer arrives you only have to confirm it fits, not invent it from scratch.
3. Detect the movement pattern
After the first two answers, decide HOW the speaker is travelling through the table. Row-wise ('Let's take each tour in turn') means all of one item's details come together. Column-wise ('First, the prices…') means one attribute is given for every item before the next attribute.
- 'The first option is… it starts… it lasts… it includes…' → row-wise
- 'All three start in the centre. As for cost…' → column-wise
- Mixed talks exist — stay flexible if the pattern breaks
Backup move: If you lose the pattern, lock onto the item NAMES (proper nouns, 'the second option'). Each new name resets which row you are filling.
4. Anchor every detail to its row
The classic table trap: a correct-sounding word for the WRONG row. Before writing anything, confirm which item the speaker is currently describing. A figure is only right if it belongs to the row under discussion.
- 'The halls cost £110; the shared house is cheaper at £85' → put 85 in the shared-house row, not halls
- 'Unlike the others, the studio has a private bathroom' → feature belongs to studio only
- Listen for 'whereas / unlike / but the other / except' — they switch rows
Backup move: Keep a finger or cursor on the current row label. Move it only when you hear a clear item switch ('Now, the second…', 'As for the bus…').
5. Handle printed words and units
Read what is already printed inside and beside the cell. If it prints 'minutes', write only the number. If it prints 'near the', write only the place. Repeating printed text wastes your word allowance and can push you over the limit.
- Cell '____ minutes' + audio 'forty-five minutes' → write 45
- Cell 'low ____ cost' + audio 'low running cost' → write running
- Cell '£ ____ per week' + audio 'a hundred and sixty pounds a week' → write 160
Backup move: After the test, reread each cell WITH its printed words. If the sentence reads twice ('45 minutes minutes') you have repeated a printed unit — delete it.
6. Use abbreviations safely
Tables invite short forms because the cells are small. Only abbreviate when the short form is universally understood: km, kg, m, %, Mon–Sun, a.m./p.m. Never invent an abbreviation for a name, place, or technical term.
- 'forty per cent' → 40% (acceptable)
- 'three kilometres' → 3 km (acceptable)
- 'conversation' → keep full; 'convo' would be marked wrong
Backup move: If unsure whether a short form is safe, write the full word. Full words are never penalised; risky abbreviations can be.
7. Catch corrections and replacements
Tables are full of figures, and figures get corrected. Train your ear for 'sorry / actually / I mean / that has changed / it used to be'. The value AFTER the trigger is the answer; the first value is the distractor.
- 'limited to forty — sorry, fourteen people' → 14
- 'it leaves from the ferry pier — but that has changed; now the north quay' → quay
- 'outside the lighthouse, not the beach entrance as last year' → lighthouse
Backup move: Pencil the first number, then strike it the instant you hear a trigger word and write the new one beside it. Never erase — you may need to compare on the repeat.
Common Table Layouts — Quick Reference
Recognising the layout in the preview tells you what kind of answers to expect and how the speaker is likely to move through the grid.
| Layout | Typical scenario | Structure | Part |
|---|---|---|---|
| Options comparison | Tours, courses, housing, transport, gym plans | Item rows × cost / location / time / feature columns | 1 / 2 |
| Schedule / timetable | Class timetable, museum opening times, event programme | Day or session rows × time / room / activity columns | 1 / 2 |
| Survey / results | Questionnaire findings, group comparison, study data | Group rows × sample size / main finding columns | 3 / 4 |
| Process stages | Experiment steps, manufacturing phases | Stage rows × action / result / problem columns | 4 |
| People → details | Speakers, researchers, staff and their roles | Person rows × role / opinion / responsibility columns | 3 |
Step-by-Step Strategy
Common Pitfalls
| Mistake | Corrective Rule |
|---|---|
| Reading blanks only | Read the row and column headers together; the answer belongs to their intersection, not to the blank alone. |
| Putting a detail in the wrong row | Hold the current row label in mind until the speaker clearly switches item ('Now, the second…'). |
| Repeating printed units | If the cell prints "____ minutes", write "45", not "45 minutes". |
| Following only left-to-right order | Listen for the speaker's pattern; some tables are discussed by category (column-wise), not by row. |
| Accepting the first number heard | Wait for correction markers — "actually", "sorry", "that has changed" — and write the final figure. |
| Exceeding the word limit | Count words against the instruction. "a private bathroom" is two words plus an article — drop "a" if the limit is two words. |
| Inventing abbreviations | Only use universal short forms (km, %, Mon). Abbreviate a name or term and you risk a zero. |
Vocabulary Bank
| Expression / Signpost | Usage Note |
|---|---|
| The first option is | Introduces the first row or item |
| Let's take each in turn | Signals a row-wise walk through the table |
| As for the cost / price | Moves to a price column (often column-wise) |
| Compared with / unlike | Contrast between rows — watch the row switch |
| In terms of | Introduces the attribute (column) being given |
| The main advantage is | Signals a benefit / feature cell |
| The drawback / downside is | Signals a problem or disadvantage cell |
| It starts from / begins at | Signals a location, time, or starting point |
| It lasts about / runs for | Signals a duration |
| This includes / comes with | Signals an included feature or service |
| Unlike the others | Marks a detail unique to one row |
| The same applies to | Transfers a detail to another row |
| The exception is | Signals a different value in one row |
| That figure has changed | Warns that an earlier number is now wrong |
| It used to be … now it's | Correction: write the second value |
| Per person / per week / per night | Clarifies the unit for a price — often pre-printed |
| Refundable / non-refundable | Common with deposit columns |
| Available from | Often precedes a start date or availability cell |
| Slightly more / less | Comparative softener before a figure |
| Roughly / around / about | Approximation — write the stated number |
Practice — 6 Table Exercises
Instructions: For each exercise, play the audio once (as in the real test), complete the table, then click Check. Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER per blank. Use Practice mode to step line-by-line, or Test mode for a one-shot run. The arrows on the right of each script show which blank each line answers — anchor every detail to its row.
P1.Harbour Area ToursPART 2
A guide compares three summer tours. Classic options-comparison table, completed row-wise. Watch the correction in the boat-tour row ('ferry pier… that has changed… north quay') and the printed units.
🎯 Technique focus: row-wise movement, replacement correction, printed units
P2.Adult Education Evening ClassesPART 1
A caller compares three language courses. Each course supplies several details across the row. Watch the 145-vs-154 figure and capitalise the weekdays.
🎯 Technique focus: multi-attribute rows, half-past time, weekdays, three-digit fees
P3.Student Accommodation OptionsPART 2
An officer compares halls, a shared house, and a studio flat. Three rents, two distances, a deposit, a feature, and an availability date — all anchored to the right housing type.
🎯 Technique focus: per-week pricing, distances, wrong-row defence, availability date
P4.Transport to the AirportPART 2
An information clerk compares train, bus, and shared taxi across time, price, and frequency. Watch the 15-vs-50 trap on the express train and the hyphenated 'door-to-door' feature.
🎯 Technique focus: -teen/-ty (15 vs 50), price column, frequency, hyphenated phrase
P5.Weekend WorkshopsPART 1
A customer compares three arts workshops. This one is built around number traps: a '30 not 13' price, and a self-correction on the cooking class places ('forty — sorry, fourteen').
🎯 Technique focus: -teen/-ty prices, self-correction (40 → 14), days and durations
P6.Renewable Energy ComparisonPART 4
An academic lecture compares solar, wind, and hydro power across advantage, drawback, and a numeric figure. Answers are noun phrases and one percentage — read the printed words ('low ___ cost') carefully.
🎯 Technique focus: academic register, noun-phrase answers, percentage, printed-word fit
Self-Check
Answer these from memory before looking back. If you cannot answer all seven, re-read the relevant section.
- How do the row label and the column heading work together to predict an answer?
- What is the difference between a row-wise and a column-wise talk, and how do you tell which one you are hearing?
- A speaker gives a price for the wrong item before correcting themselves. What do you write, and how do you avoid the trap?
- If a cell reads "____ minutes", why is "45 minutes" not the best answer?
- The instruction says 'no more than two words'. The audio gives 'a private bathroom'. What do you write?
- Which abbreviations are safe to use in a table cell, and which are risky?
- Which Form-Completion number trap is most common in tables, and why?
Show answers
- (1) The row identifies WHICH item; the column identifies WHAT kind of detail is needed. Combine them ('boat tour + duration') to know exactly what to listen for.
- (2) Row-wise gives all of one item's details together ('the first option… it starts… it lasts…'); column-wise gives one attribute for every item ('as for the prices…'). Listen to the first two answers to spot the pattern.
- (3) Write the corrected (final) value, and anchor it to the right row by keeping the current item label in mind until the speaker clearly switches items.
- (4) The unit 'minutes' is already printed, so writing it again repeats printed text and can push you over the word limit — write just '45'.
- (5) 'private bathroom' — drop the article 'a'; if the table already prints 'private', write only 'bathroom'.
- (6) Universal short forms are safe: km, kg, m, %, Mon–Sun, a.m./p.m. Abbreviating a name or technical term ('convo' for conversation) is risky and may be marked wrong.
- (7) The -teen vs -ty trap (15 vs 50, 14 vs 40), because a comparison table puts many similar figures side by side — listen for stress and confirm with context.