IELTS Reading Test: Flow-chart Completion Questions

Feeling unsure about flow-chart completion questions in the IELTS Reading test? 

You’re not alone. Flow-chart questions can seem intimidating because they look so different from other question types.  

Not only do they test your reading comprehension skills but also your understanding of the order of information or events. Success requires practice in identifying key details to help you complete a sequence.   

Flow-chart completion questions are used in different ways in the IELTS Reading test. You may read a text that describes a process that is natural or man-made, or even a sequence of events that occurred over time.   

The questions involve of a series of boxes or steps connected by arrows. These indicate the order of events. You will be asked to complete the boxes or steps that are incomplete or partially filled.  

Flow-chart completion questions can appear in both the IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training Reading tests. 

In this article, IELTS expert Rocco Nigro shares his best IELTS Reading flow-chart completion tips. 

Let’s look at how you can approach different types of flow-chart completion questions. 

Process Questions 

  Below is an excerpt from a reading passage that includes a man-made process of how to percolate coffee: 

As there is a particular sequence that this process follows, the answers to the flowchart questions normally appear in order in the text.    

Tips:   

• Pay particular attention to sequence words (e.g. until, next, eventually, etc.) as they will help you understand the flow of the process. These have been underlined in the text above. 

• Make sure you use words directly from the text – do not change the form of the word.   

• Use the clues from the flow-chart to determine what part of speech is missing (e.g. a noun, verb, etc.). 

  Look at the comprehension questions below:     

Tips:  

• Look for key words in the question and then scan the article for synonyms.  For example: 

Q2: ‘not exceed’ = ‘not beyond this point’ 

Q4: ‘releases the air’ = ‘drawing the air out’ 

Q5: ‘though the’ = ‘via the’   

• It is also helpful to decide what part of speech is missing (e.g. a noun, verb, adjective, adverb, number, etc.).  For example: 

Q1: … basin by ________ it. 

You can assume a verb is missing and because it comes after a preposition, there is a good chance it is in -ing form.  

Q3: … tablespoons of __________ coffee

As ‘coffee’ is a noun, it is highly likely that the word(s) you are looking for contain an adjective.  

Q5:  … through the ___________

Because of the article ‘the’, you can assume that you need at least a noun (and possibly and adjective + noun).   

Remember that according to the instructions, you are allowed two words in your answer.  So, if it is obvious you need a noun, there may be an adjective to go with it.  Also, if you expect a verb as an answer, there could be an adverb that may need to be added to it.   

Answers: 

1. unscrewing 

2. valve 

3. Finely-ground 

4. chamber 

5. spout 

Chronological Questions

Sometimes a flow-chart task has a sequence of events that happened chronologically, that is, in a particular order of time.  

Tip: In these types of flow-chart questions, take note of any dates that appear in the question and also in the text.   

Here is part of an article for you to look at. Dates have been highlighted in bold. 

You will see that while the questions are in a chronological order, the answers are found in a mixed order in the text.  Note that chronological flow-chart answers can appear in the text either in a mixed order (like above) or in order. 

Answers: 

1. landmark moment 

2. broadcasts 

3. devastating 

4. youngsters 

More people succeed with IELTS because we give you the preparation tips and support to help you get that score you need. Our practice tests and questions help you to feel ready, confident, and capable of tackling whatever comes next.  

Try sample IELTS Reading flow-chart completion exercises below:  

Free IELTS General Training Reading sample questions | IDP IELTS 

Free IELTS Academic Reading sample preparation questions | IDP IELTS 

Read answers to frequently asked questions about IELTS Reading.