4.1. Form and Note Completion
Fill a form or a set of notes with the word or number you hear, one step at a time.
Complete the form below. Write ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
HARBOUR LIGHTS SAILING CLUB: Membership enquiry
Applicant's surname: 1
Type of membership required: 2
Beginners' course chosen: 3
Start date: 4
The short version
You fill gaps in a form or a set of notes with the word or number you hear.
The instruction gives a word limit. An answer over it scores nothing, even when it is right.
The gaps follow the order of the recording, so the answer to 3 comes after the answer to 2.
Spelling counts. When a name is spelled out, write the letters you hear.
What you have to do
The test shows a form, or notes under headings, with numbered gaps. You hear the recording once and type the word or number you hear in each gap. The instruction above the form gives a word limit. ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER means one word, or a number, or both. The gaps follow the order of the recording, so question 2 is answered after question 1. Forms are usual in Part 1, a phone call. Notes are usual in Part 4, a lecture.
What the words on the form do
Every word on the form is a signpost. The speaker says it, or something close to it, just before the answer. Deposit on the form becomes we ask for a deposit of in the call. The form's words also shape the answer. If the form shows Room ______, the gap needs only the number. Writing Room 12 repeats a word from the form and can break the limit.
Step by step
- 1In the preview pause, read the form and decide what kind of word each gap needs
Before the recording starts you get time to read the questions. Spend it on the form, not the instructions. Say the kind of word each gap needs: a surname, a day, a price, a place, a thing to bring. Check the word limit once. You are not guessing the word, you are narrowing what could fill the gap.
- 2Listen for the words on the form, or their close cousins
The words on the form are said aloud, or said in other words. Deposit may come as to hold the booking we need. When you hear the idea a heading names, the answer is seconds away. The gaps follow the order of the recording, so once one gap is filled, listen for the next heading.
- 3Match the meaning, not the word, and wait for the correction
The speaker rarely says the form's exact words, so listen for the idea, not the spelling. Speakers also change their minds: the first session is on the fourth, no, sorry, the fourteenth. The word that stands is the one said last. Wait until the sentence is finished, then type.
- 4Rule out what cannot fill the gap
Three things never go in the gap. The option the speaker rejects: not the car park, the jetty, so car park goes. The figure that belongs to the next gap: if the next heading is Cost, a price said now belongs there. And any word the form gives you: if it shows Mrs, do not write it again.
- 5If you missed it, write the right kind and move on
A missed gap gets your best guess of the right kind: a day for a day, a number for a number. The recording does not stop, and the next answer is coming. Never let one lost answer cost the next two. You can improve the guess in the checking time if you remember more.
ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER. Form line: *Meet at: the ______ entrance*
Kind of word: something before *entrance*, so which entrance: main, side, north. Signpost: *meet* or *where to come*. What is said: *We used to meet people at the main entrance, but the builders are there, so come round to the side entrance, on Mill Lane.* *Main* is offered and then replaced. *Mill Lane* is where the side entrance is, not the entrance itself. *Entrance* is already on the form. Write *side*.
Every gap goes the same way: kind of word, signpost, wait for the correction, rule out, write.
Quiz time5 questions
Each drill plays a clip of ten to fifteen seconds with one form line to complete. Practise the judgement, not the stamina. Play each clip once, as the exam does.
Decide the kind of word first
ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER. Form line: Collect bikes from: the ______. Before you press play, say what kind of word the gap needs. Then play once.
Clip: bike hire, where to collect
0:00 / 0:00
In the exam you hear this once. Here you may play it again after you have tried.
Collect bikes from: the
Write no more than 2 words.
The spelled name
ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER. Form line: Surname: ______. Write the letters you hear, not the sound of the name.
Clip: taking a surname
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In the exam you hear this once. Here you may play it again after you have tried.
Surname:
Write no more than 2 words.
A number said in two parts
ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER. Form line: Daytime phone: ______. The caller gives the code, then the rest. Write it all as one number.
Clip: taking a phone number
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In the exam you hear this once. Here you may play it again after you have tried.
Daytime phone:
Write no more than 2 words.
Wait for the speaker's correction
ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER. Form line: First lesson: ______ the eleventh. Do not write until the sentence about the day is finished.
Clip: confirming the first lesson
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In the exam you hear this once. Here you may play it again after you have tried.
First lesson: the eleventh
Write no more than 2 words.
If you missed it, write the right kind and move on
ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER for each gap. Two form lines: Wear: {1} and Finish time: {2}. Play once only. If the first answer goes past you, write your best guess of the right kind and listen for the second.
Clip: two details before Saturday
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In the exam you hear this once. Here you may play it again after you have tried.
Wear: Finish time:
Write no more than 2 words in each gap.
Try a full set
Below is a full Part 1 call, the booking form it completes, and five gaps set as the test sets them. Work the five steps, and write something for every gap.
| Heading | You write |
|---|---|
| Name | Tomasz ______ |
| First session | Saturday the ______ |
| Deposit | £______ (holds the boat) |
| Bring | ______ |
| Meet | at the ______ |
ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER for each gap. The call plays in the first exercise below. Read the headings first and decide what kind of word each gap needs.
The full set5 questions
Name
Play the booking once. Heading: Name. ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER.
Part 1: kayak hire booking
0:00 / 0:00
In the exam you hear this once. Here you may play it again after you have tried.
Name: Tomasz
Write no more than 2 words.
First session
Use the recording above. Heading: First session. ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER.
First session: Saturday the
Write no more than 2 words.
Deposit
Use the recording above. Heading: Deposit. ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER.
Deposit: £
Write no more than 2 words.
Bring
Use the recording above. Heading: Bring. ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER.
Bring:
Write no more than 2 words.
Meeting point
Use the recording above. Heading: Meet. ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER.
Meet at the
Write no more than 2 words.
Tips
- The form's words are your signposts
Words on the form will be said aloud, or something close to them. When you hear one, the answer is seconds away.
- Do not repeat what the form shows
If the form shows Saturday the, the gap only needs the date. Repeating the form's words wastes your word limit.
- Check spellings at the end
You get two minutes at the end to check your answers. Check every spelled name letter by letter then, not while the recording plays.
Recap
In the preview pause, decide what kind of word each gap needs.
Wait for the correction, then write the word that stands, inside the limit.
A missed gap gets a guess of the right kind, and you move on at once.
Next: the same task laid out as a table, a flow-chart or a summary.