Project updates compress many kinds of information into a few lines. Completed work looks backward; in-progress work describes the present; a dependency links one activity to another; a risk may happen; an issue is already affecting work; a decision selects a response; and recovery action changes the path forward.
Rather than memorizing a status report format, move each statement onto a simple board. The examples concern ordinary brochures, events, and websites, so classification depends on language rather than project-management expertise.
Keep practising through the TOEIC vocabulary pathway or inspect the complete Exam English catalog.
Convert a narrative update into state cards
“Copy review finished Tuesday. Layout is 70 percent complete. Final layout depends on two photographs due Thursday. If they arrive late, printing may slip. One photographer has now reported a Friday delivery. The team chose temporary archive images for the first proof.”
The first sentence is completion; the second is current progress; the third is a dependency; the fourth is a risk; the fifth creates an active timing issue; the sixth is a decision and recovery action. Notice that 70 percent is evidence about layout, not about the entire project. Scope words such as first proof, remaining pages, and launch version keep progress claims honest.
Use a board with time horizons
Place done at the left, now in the center, and possible later at the right. Put dependencies between cards with arrows. “The translation is complete” goes left. “Design is waiting for the translated headings” goes in the center with an arrow. “Late printing could affect launch day” goes right as a risk until delay actually occurs.
When the printer confirms a missed slot, the situation becomes an issue. A mitigation is an action intended to reduce likelihood or impact; it is not proof that the risk disappeared.
Scope ladder
Project language operates at several levels: task, deliverable, phase, and whole project. “Captions complete” may finish one task within an unfinished video. “Pilot phase complete” does not finish rollout. Copy the noun governed by the status word instead of expanding its scope.
Percentages also need a denominator. “Eight of ten pages approved” supports 80 percent of pages, not 80 percent of all project effort. If the text says only “design is 80 percent complete,” keep that claim attached to design.
A recovery action can introduce another dependency. Choosing a backup venue reduces exposure to the original venue problem, but contract confirmation may remain. Good inference records the improvement and the new open gate rather than declaring the project safe.
Project-state boundaries
- progress / completion: Progress measures movement or current state; completion marks the stated work as finished.
- dependency / sequence: A dependency means one item relies on another; sequence may show order without reliance.
- risk / issue: A risk is a possible future event; an issue is already present in the update.
- mitigation / resolution: Mitigation reduces likelihood or impact; resolution closes the named problem.
- decision / action: A decision selects a course, while action carries out work under that choice.
Represent each contrast as adjacent project cards. Add the event that legitimately moves the work between them.
Worked case: The visitor guide update
Status report: “Copy drafting is complete. Design is in progress and remains on schedule for Friday. Printing depends on client approval of the final cover. The client plans to reply Thursday; a late reply is therefore a schedule risk, not yet a delay. A separate issue affects the map file, which will not open. Imani is rebuilding that file today. If cover approval is not received Thursday, the team will use the reserved Monday print slot.”
The report distinguishes completed copy, active design, a dependency, a future risk, and a current file issue. The Monday slot is a contingency, not the current deadline.
Read the case chronologically.
Check 1: What work is complete? Copy drafting. Design remains in progress.
Check 2: What is the active issue? The map file will not open. Client timing is described as a risk, not yet a delay.
Check 3: What does printing depend on? Client approval of the final cover. The Monday slot is a fallback.
Six movable labels on a project board
1. Complete
complete means finished within the stated scope. The draft is complete; approval may still remain.
Understanding is only the first step.
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in progress means started but not finished. Testing is in progress through Thursday.
3. Dependency
dependency means an input, decision, or task another activity relies on. Printing depends on final text approval.
4. Risk
risk means an uncertain event that may affect the plan. Late feedback is a risk while it remains possible.
5. Issue
issue means a current problem requiring attention. A failed file transfer is an active issue.
6. Mitigation
mitigation means an action intended to reduce likelihood or impact. Booking a backup room mitigates venue risk.
Risk-board endgame
Classify these cards: A) venue map approved; B) speaker biographies being edited; C) editing cannot finish until two speakers reply; D) one reply may arrive after the print deadline; E) the deadline has passed and neither reply arrived; F) organizer decides to print a shorter program.
Solution: A complete; B in progress; C dependency; D risk; E issue; F decision/recovery. The rationale follows the time horizon and event status. The possible late reply in D becomes an actual obstruction in E.
Write a 75-word spoken update using five of the six labels, but do not name the labels themselves. Then annotate it. If a partner classifies a sentence differently, identify the exact modal, tense, or time phrase causing the disagreement.
Stand-up simulation: classify each update
Update: Research complete. Drafting 60% complete. Publication depends on legal review. Review is due Tuesday and is currently on schedule. A broken chart link is an issue; Theo will replace it today. If review is late, Thursday publication may be at risk.
Which activity is in progress? A. Research. B. Drafting. C. Legal review is complete.
What is the present issue? A. A broken chart link. B. Thursday publication. C. Completed research.
Is publication currently late? A. Yes. B. No; lateness is conditional. C. It has been cancelled.
Answers: 1-B, 2-A, 3-B. Drafting has begun but is not complete. The broken link exists now. Legal review is presently on schedule, so the update identifies a conditional future risk rather than a current publication delay.
Project-board snapshot
The visitor-map text is approved. Illustration is in progress. Final layout depends on the illustration. A possible licensing delay is listed as a risk. At noon, the illustrator reports that the selected icon cannot be licensed, creating an issue. The editor decides to use an original geometric marker and schedules a new proof for Friday.
The update contains all major categories without requiring technical project knowledge. The noon report turns possibility into a present obstruction. The original marker is a recovery choice, while Friday is a scheduled proof, not proof completion. Approved text remains complete throughout.
Name the dependency: layout needs the illustration. Name the issue: the selected icon cannot be licensed. Name the recovery decision: use an original marker. What is still future? The Friday proof.
Recast the snapshot as a six-card board and remove the category labels. Ask a reader to classify each card. If they call Friday “complete,” point to the scheduling verb; if they call the licensing problem merely a risk, point to cannot in the noon report.
Update-date comparison
A status card is valid at a particular reporting time. Monday’s “supplier confirmation pending” may be replaced by Tuesday’s “supplier confirmed.” Do not discard Monday entirely: it can explain a delay or answer what was pending then. Use the latest update only for questions about the current state.
Adjectives can compress causal claims. At risk signals exposure, not failure. Blocked normally indicates that progress cannot continue on the named item. Delayed says timing has slipped. The passage may distinguish them, so do not treat every negative label as an issue of equal severity.
Ownership matters during recovery. “Design will supply revised art” assigns one action; “Production will reserve a later print slot” assigns another. A summary that says only “the team will recover” loses the separate dependencies.
For a clean spoken answer, begin with the completed item, then current work, then obstacle and response. This ordering is optional; accuracy depends on retaining status and scope, not on copying a fixed report format.
Classify progress, dependencies, and risks on fresh project boards at Lyra Practice.
Sources
- TOEIC Listening and Reading test overview — ETS
- TOEIC Listening and Reading Examinee Handbook — ETS
- TOEIC preparation resources — ETS
Related
- TOEIC Vocabulary List by Workplace Situation
- TOEIC Part 3 Conversations: Requests, Problems, and Next Steps
- TOEIC Part 4 Talks: Purpose, Status, and Next Actions
- TOEIC Part 7 Multiple Documents
- TOEIC Reading Part 7 Email Vocabulary
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