Complete the email with one word in each gap means exactly what it says: read a short email, work out the single missing word in each blank, and write only that one word. There are no answer choices to pick from, which is why this task feels harder than a multiple-choice question. The good news is that most gaps are filled by small, familiar words — prepositions, articles, pronouns and helper verbs — and the email itself usually gives you the clues. This guide explains the task, gives you a reliable method, and works through two original practice emails step by step, so you can practise the thinking, not just memorise answers.
| Question | Short answer |
|---|---|
| What is the task? | Fill each blank in a short email with exactly one word. |
| Where does it appear? | Most famously in Cambridge English A2 Key, Reading and Writing Part 5, where an email (sometimes with its reply) has six gaps, numbered 25–30, plus an example marked 0. |
| What words fill most gaps? | Small grammar words: prepositions (on, for, at), articles (a, the), pronouns (you, it, them), and helper verbs (do, can, will). |
| How is it marked? | In A2 Key Part 5, one mark per correct gap, up to six marks, and spelling must be correct. |
| What is the golden rule? | Write one word only. Two words in a gap lose the mark, even if the meaning is right. |
| What is the best first step? | Read the whole email before touching the first gap, so you know who is writing, to whom, and about what. |
Table of Contents
- What “Complete the Email With One Word in Each Gap” Means
- Where You Meet This Task
- The Word Types That Fill Most Gaps
- A 7-Step Method That Works Every Time
- Worked Example 1: A Friendly Email About a Weekend Trip
- Worked Example 2: A Polite Email About a Course
- Common Mistakes That Cost Easy Marks
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Conclusion
What “Complete the Email With One Word in Each Gap” Means
The instruction has three parts, and each one matters. “Complete the email” means the text is unfinished: some words have been removed and replaced by numbered blanks. “One word” means exactly one word per blank — not a phrase, not two short words joined together, and not a word plus an extra word for safety. “In each gap” means every blank counts separately, so a blank you leave empty can never earn a mark, while a sensible guess sometimes can.
This kind of exercise is often called a gap-fill, and in exam language it is an “open cloze” task. “Open” is the key word: unlike a multiple-choice cloze, where you choose from three options, an open cloze gives you no options at all. You must produce the word yourself, from your own knowledge of English. That is also why teachers value it so highly. A multiple-choice question can sometimes be answered by eliminating two unlikely options; an open cloze only works if you genuinely understand the grammar of the sentence and the meaning of the whole message. It tests vocabulary, grammar and reading comprehension at the same time, in a format that looks like real life — because emails are something almost everyone actually writes.
Where You Meet This Task
The best-known version of this task is Cambridge English A2 Key (formerly KET). In the Reading and Writing paper, Part 5 presents a short email, sometimes followed by its reply, with six gaps numbered 25 to 30 and an example already filled in and marked 0. The instruction is simply to write one word for each gap, and each correct answer earns one mark, for a maximum of six. The gaps are not labelled by grammar type: the exam does not tell you whether the missing word is a preposition, a verb or a pronoun. Working that out is part of the test, and it is exactly the skill this guide practises.
You will also meet the same format outside exams. School English lessons use it, online learning sites use it, business English courses use it to check polite email language, and some employers use short writing checks of the same kind. Higher-level Cambridge exams use a related open-cloze task as well, but the emails in those are longer and the missing words are more demanding. The method in this guide transfers to all of them: read the whole text, identify the kind of word each gap needs, test your word in the full sentence, and check the finished email as a whole. If you can do the A2 Key version confidently, you have the foundation for the harder versions too.
The Word Types That Fill Most Gaps
Most missing words belong to a small set of groups. Learning to recognise which group a gap belongs to turns an open-ended guess into a short, testable list — the single most useful skill for this task.
| Word group | Examples | Typical gap clues |
|---|---|---|
| Prepositions | in, on, at, for, to, with, from, by, of, about | Time and place: “on Saturday”, “at school”, “thank you for your email” |
| Articles | a, an, the | A singular noun with no other determiner: “bring a jacket”, “meet at the station” |
| Pronouns | I, you, he, she, it, we, they, me, him, us, them, my, your, our, their | A person or thing already mentioned: “I hope you can come with us” |
| Auxiliary and modal verbs | do, does, did, is, are, was, were, have, has, can, could, will, would, should | Questions and verb phrases: “Do you like pizza?”, “I would love to come” |
| Conjunctions and linkers | and, but, because, so, if, when, while, although | Joining two ideas: “I am busy, but I am free on Friday” |
| Quantifiers | some, any, much, many, a few, hardly any, nothing | Amounts: “I have hardly any free time”, “are there many people?” |
| Common verbs and fixed phrases | take, get, make, see, let, look forward to | Set phrases: “take the bus”, “see you soon”, “let me know” |
Prepositions deserve special attention because they cause the most errors and are often idiomatic rather than logical: “good at football” but “interested in music”, “on Saturday” but “at the weekend” in British English, and “look forward to seeing you”, where “to” is followed by an -ing form. You cannot work these out from first principles in an exam; learn them by reading and by keeping a personal list of phrases.
A 7-Step Method That Works Every Time
Step 1: Read the whole email first, without writing anything. Ask who wrote it, who it is for, what it is about, and whether it is friendly or formal. This takes under a minute and prevents answers that contradict something said later in the email. Step 2: Study the example. The gap marked 0 is already answered and shows the style of email and the kind of word expected — usually a small grammar word, not rare vocabulary.
Step 3: Work gap by gap, reading the whole sentence around each one, and sometimes the sentences before and after it. Answers often depend on a word several words away: a pronoun refers to a noun mentioned earlier, and a verb tense may be set by a time expression later in the sentence. Step 4: Decide what type of word is missing before naming it. Before a noun, it may be an article or possessive pronoun; at the start of a question, a helper verb or question word; between a verb and an -ing form, a preposition in a fixed phrase. Naming the type narrows the search dramatically.
Step 5: Write one word only, and write it clearly. If two words fit, pick the more common, natural one for the email’s tone; real tests can accept more than one answer for a gap, but you must still choose one. Step 6: If you are stuck, move on — later sentences often contain the clue for an earlier gap. Step 7: Read the finished email in your head with your answers in place. Does it sound like something a real person would write? Is the spelling right? That final read catches slips that are invisible when you stare at one gap at a time.
Short forms and abbreviations trip up learners in the same way — our FWIW meaning guide breaks down another piece of everyday internet shorthand.
Worked Example 1: A Friendly Email About a Weekend Trip
Here is an original practice email, written for this guide. Try to fill each gap before reading the answers.
Hi Alex,
Thank you (0) for your message. I am really excited (1) ______ the trip to the seaside this weekend. We are leaving (2) ______ Saturday morning, so please come to my house (3) ______ nine o’clock. (4) ______ you bring your camera? I want to take photos of the beach. We can have lunch at a small café near the sea, and then walk (5) ______ the harbour before we go home. Let (6) ______ know if you can come!
See you soon,
Maya
Answers and explanations. (1) about — “excited about” is the fixed adjective-plus-preposition pattern; “excited for” exists in some contexts, but “about” is the natural choice before a noun phrase naming the event. (2) on — days of the week take “on”: “on Saturday morning”. (3) at — clock times take “at”: “at nine o’clock”. (4) Can — a polite request about ability and willingness; the capital letter is a clue, because the gap starts a sentence, and “Can you bring…?” is the standard friendly form. (5) along — “walk along the harbour” describes movement beside a place; “to” would suggest the harbour is only the destination, while the sentence is about a stroll. (6) me — the fixed phrase is “let me know”, and “me” is the object pronoun after “let”. Notice how many answers were prepositions and pronouns, not difficult vocabulary words — that is typical of this task.
Worked Example 2: A Polite Email About a Course
Formal emails use a different set of phrases, and the gaps often test exactly those phrases. Try this one before reading the answers.
Dear Mr Hughes,
I am writing (0) about the evening photography course. I would like to ask (1) ______ there are still places available. I work during the day, (2) ______ I can only attend evening classes. Could you please tell me (3) ______ much the course costs, and (4) ______ long it lasts? I am very interested (5) ______ photography, and I have already bought a camera. I look forward (6) ______ hearing from you.
Yours sincerely,
Priya Sharma
Answers and explanations. (1) if — after “ask”, an indirect yes-or-no question uses “if” (“whether” would also be acceptable, but “if” is simpler and more likely at this level). (2) so — the second clause gives the result of the first: working during the day is why only evening classes are possible. (3) how — “how much” is the fixed phrase for price. (4) how — again “how long” for duration; the same word can fill two gaps in one email. (5) in — “interested in” is one of the most frequently tested preposition patterns. (6) to — “look forward to” is followed by an -ing form, so the gap is “to”, not “for”. That traps many students, because “to” usually introduces a base verb; here it is part of a fixed phrase, and the -ing form after it is the giveaway.
Common Mistakes That Cost Easy Marks
Writing two words in one gap is the biggest avoidable mistake. Phrases like “a lot” may feel like one idea, but they are two words and lose the mark. The same caution applies to contractions: “don’t” and “I’m” are written as one word but stand for two (“do not”, “I am”), and many marking schemes count them as two. In a formal exam task, avoid contractions in gaps unless your exam’s own instructions say otherwise.
Spelling errors are the second trap, because marking is usually exact: a misspelled word is not on the accepted list, however good the idea. Read your answers again at the end, letter by letter. Ignoring tone is the third trap: “See you soon” is perfect for a friend and wrong for a job application, while “I look forward to hearing from you” would sound stiff to a close friend. Finally, never leave a gap blank. An empty gap scores zero with certainty; a well-reasoned guess, based on the word type and the sentence around it, has a real chance — and in a six-mark task, one extra guess can be the difference between a pass and a fail.
Learners working through the same exercise share their approach in a community Q&A thread on completing an email with one word in each gap, with a worked sample email and a step-by-step method.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does “one word in each gap” mean?
It means you must write exactly one word in every blank space. You cannot write two words or a phrase, and in exams like Cambridge A2 Key, writing more than one word in a gap means you do not get the mark for that answer, even if the meaning is correct.
Can there be more than one correct answer for a gap?
Yes, sometimes. For example, in “please ___ the bus”, both “take” and “catch” fit naturally. Marking schemes for this kind of task usually accept any word that is grammatically correct and makes sense in context, but you must still choose and write only one of them.
Do contractions like “don’t” count as one word?
This is a genuine grey area, and the safest advice is to avoid contractions in gaps during a formal exam. A contraction is written as one word but stands for two (“do not”), and many marking schemes count it as two words. Check your own exam’s instructions or ask your teacher if you are unsure.
How many gaps are there in the A2 Key email task?
Six gaps, numbered 25 to 30, plus an example marked 0 that is already answered for you. Each correct gap earns one mark, so the task is worth six marks in total.
What kinds of words fill most gaps?
Small grammar words: prepositions (on, for, at, about), articles (a, the), pronouns (you, it, me, us), helper verbs (do, can, will, would) and linking words (but, so, because, if). Content words such as rare nouns or adjectives are much less common in this task.
How can I get better at this type of task?
Practise one short email a day, sort your mistakes by word type, learn fixed email phrases as whole chunks, and read short emails in English regularly. Ten minutes a day, sustained for a few weeks, usually improves scores more than a single long cramming session.
Conclusion
The task “complete the email with one word in each gap” looks small, but it tests the heart of everyday English: the small words that hold sentences together and the phrases that make an email sound natural. The method is simple and it works: read the whole email first, work out what type of word each gap needs, use the fixed phrases you have learned, guess rather than leave a blank, and read the finished email once more before you finish. Practise that method on one email a day, keep a list of the word types that trip you up, and the empty spaces will soon feel much less frightening. Good luck with your practice — and remember, one word, one gap, every time.