What do I write if I miss an answer completely?

A placeholder rather than an answer: ? in the gap with the number circled on paper, or a single ? in the box on screen. Then read the next stem and wait for its marker. At the end, replace it with a best guess in the right word class, or accept the mark as lost.

Two marks are better than one. Circle the question number when you heard something and lost it, and leave the number bare when you heard nothing at all. At the end the two need different repairs: a circled item deserves thirty seconds of memory work, because part of the answer is still there, while a bare item is a pure guess and should get no more time than it takes to write a word of the right class.

IELTS Listening: What to Do in the Three Seconds After You Miss an Answer →