IELTS Reading

IELTS Reading Question Types

There are several different types of questions on the IELTS reading test and each one has its own
problems and strategy.

Short Answer Multiple Choice Summary Matching Sentence

Questions Completion Sentence Endings Completion
True, False, Not Matching Labeling a Matching Names Matching
Given Headings Diagram Information to
Paragraphs

IELTS Reading- Short Answer Questions

Short Answer Questions

These questions are often called ‘comprehension’ questions and they are very common in English
classrooms all over the world. Most students have answered these kinds of questions before and for
this reason most students tend to do quite well with them.

Despite this there are some common problems that cause students to make mistakes and throw
away marks.

Short Answer Example

Common Problems Skills Tested Tips Strategy
1. Synonyms and 1. Ability to skim 1. The answers 1. Read the
paraphrasing are the passage appear in the instructions
the biggest quickly and same order as carefully and
problem. understand the the text. note the word
Students who overall meaning. 2. Look at and limit.
are unaware of 2. Ability to scan understand the 2. Read and
these tend to for specific questions first understand the
look for information. before you start questions. Think
keywords in the 3. Understand the reading the text. about the
text that directly question being What is the information you
match those in asked. question actually will need to find.
the questions. 4. Identify asking? 3. Underline any
This wastes lots keywords. 3. You will keywords in the
of time and good 5. Think of possible probably be questions.
time synonyms and given a word 4. Think about
management is paraphrases of limit, for synonyms or
essential in the keywords. example ‘NO paraphrases for
reading test. MORE THAN these keywords.
2. Word limit can THREE WORDS 5. Find part of the
also cause AND/OR A text question 1
people to throw NUMBER.’ Make relates to.
away easy sure you don’t 6. Read question
marks. If you go over this again.
write over the limit. 7. Read the section
stated word limit 4. As stated above, containing the
you will get the the answers do answer carefully
answer wrong. not need to be and identify
3. You don’t have grammatically answer.
to read every correct, just 8. Continue with
word of the text. short answers. next question
These questions 5. Don’t give your and repeat until
test your ability opinion, just the finished.
to skim and scan answer in the
for specific text.
information. You 6. Keywords in the
also won’t have question will
time to read normally be
every word. nouns or noun
4. Students often phrases.
see a word they 7. When you find
don’t your keywords
understand in always think
the question or synonyms and
text and either paraphrases.
panic or spend
too much time
thinking about
the meaning.
5. Some students
try to write full
sentences. Your
answers don’t
have to be
grammatically
correct, so stay
under the word
limit.
 IELTS Reading- Multiple Choice Questions

Example Questions
There are three different types of MCQ
question. You will either have to:
1. choose one answer out of four options
2. choose two answers out of five options
3. choose three answers out of six options
Here is an example from the academic test:
The first option is the most common.
You may also have two different question
forms. Either:
1. completing a sentence or
2. answering a question.

In this example you have to choose one answer from four possible options and the question requires
you to complete the sentences.

Here is an example from the general paper:

 Reading Skills Common Problems Top 10 Tips Strategy
MCQs test your ability Reading the text 1. Read the This is my suggested
to understand the before the questions– questions before strategy. There are
main ideas contained If you do this you are you read the many different
in a text and then look reading ‘blind’ because text. strategies and you
for specific you are not sure what 2. You will often be should use the one you
information. you are looking for. able to eliminate feel comfortable with.
You will need to You also waste time 2 of the four You can also adapt this
quickly identify the because you will have answers and this strategy to what suits
main idea in order to to read the questions leaves you with you.
locate the correct and then read the text two choices. 1. Read the
section of the text. again, so you have just Think about the questions
When you do this it wasted your time on difference in carefully.
will seem like two or the first reading. meaning 2. Skim the text to
three of the options Not answering between these get the general
could be the correct questions– This seems two choices and meaning.
answer and you like an obvious one but this will help you 3. Underline
therefore must read in it would shock you get the correct any keywords in
much more detail to how many people answers. the question and
find the specific don’t answer the 3. If you are unsure think about any
information that gives question at all. of what the synonyms that
you the correct Being tricked by the difference is might appear in
answer. examiner– examiners between two or the text.
love to try and trick three sentences, 4. Read the choices
you with ‘distractors’. it can help to and underline
Distractors are things rephrase them in any
that look like the your own words. keywords. Think
correct answer but are 4. If you are about the
actually incorrect. running out of difference in
When you locate the time or you meaning
correct section in the really don’t between the
reading text, there will know the difference
appear to be two or answer, have a choices.
three plausible correct guess. You will 5. Predict the
answers. A very not lose marks correct answer.
common trick is for wrong 6. Read the text
matching lots of answers and you and using
keywords from the have a 25% keywords and
question options to chance of synonyms locate
parts of the text. Just getting the the part
because there are lots correct answer containing the
of matching keywords just by guessing. answers.
doesn’t mean it is the 5. Don’t be tricked 7. Read that part of
correct answer. Also by the the text very
look at the context of examiner’s carefully,
the whole sentence ‘distractors’ thinking about
and any qualifying especially the difference in
words like most, all, keywords from meanings.
always, sometimes. the questions 8. Think about not
Not reading the whole that look the only which
sentence– The first same as the text. options are
part of a sentence 6. If you don’t correct but how
might look correct but know anything the other
the second half of it about the topic, options are
might change the don’t panic. It is wrong.
meaning. Words a reading test, 9. Go back and
like but and not a test of read the
however can change your knowledge. question again
the meaning of a 7. Try to predict and mark your
whole sentence. the correct final choice.
Examiners know you answer before
are trying to get the you read the
answers as quickly as text. This will
possible and will try to help you find the
trick you in this way. correct answer.
Not reading the text 8. Before deciding
carefully– Because on your answer,
there are so many always go back
‘distractors’, some of and carefully
the ‘correct’ answers read the
will appear to ‘jump questions before
out’ at you. If you making your
don’t read the text final decision.
carefully, you will 9. The answers will
choose the incorrect be in the same
answer. Take some order as the
time to really text.
understand the 10. You might be
meaning of each asked about
sentence. both facts
and opinions.
Facts are things
that are always
true or can not
be disproved but
opinions are just
what people
think.
 IELTS Reading- Summary Completion

In these kinds of questions you will be given a summary of information from the text and there will
be some gaps in that summary.

You will either be given a list of words to fill the gaps with or asked to find the answers in the reading
text.

Your job is to insert some of the words from the list into the gaps, or if asked, to fill the gaps with
words from the text. .

There will be more words in the list than required to fill the gaps.

All of the information contained in the summary will also be contained in the reading text, but they
will use synonyms and paraphrasing, so don’t expect to see the same words.

This type of question tests your ability:

 to understand the general meaning of the summary

 to scan for the correct information in the text
 to be able to identify synonyms and paraphrases

Examples

Below is an example of a question that asks you to fill in the gaps with words from the reading text.

Below is another example, but this question is asking you to choose the correct answer from a list of
options. You should notice that there are more options than answers.
 Common Problems
This question does not expect you
to have a detailed understanding
of the text. Some students lose
lots of time reading the whole text
and trying to understand
everything. You don’t need to do
this, focus more on the summary
in the question.
Some students read the summary
and then look for the exact same
words in the reading text. You are
unlikely to find these because the
examiners use synonyms and
paraphrasing.
A common mistake is to ignore
grammar rules when completing
the summary. If the sentence does
not make sense grammatically,
then you have the wrong answer.
The examiners also try to trick you
by putting a word from the text as
one of the options. Some students
recognise this and think this is the
correct answer. It is probably
wrong because the answer will
normally be a synonym rather than
a matching word.
Tips
1. Try to predict the answers
before you look at the
options or the text. This will
help you spot the correct
answer.
2. Should the gap be filled
with a verb, noun, adjective
or adverb? If your answer
makes the sentence
grammatically wrong, then
you have the wrong answer.
3. Look for synonyms and
paraphrases in the text
rather than words that
directly match.
4. Don’t spend too much time
looking for the answer to
one question. If you can’t
find it, mark what you think
it might be and move on.
Focusing on the easier
answers is a better use of
your time.
5. The answers normally come
in the same order as the
questions.
6. If you get a list of words,
think about the ones that
can’t be the correct answer
because of meaning or
grammar. You can then
eliminate these words.
Strategy
This is my suggested strategy.
There are many different
strategies and you should use the
one you feel comfortable with. You
can also adapt this strategy to
what suits you.
1. Read the question carefully.
Note how many words you
can write (normally one,
two or three) and if you
should get the words from
the reading text or a list.
2. Skim the summary and try
to understand the overall
meaning.
3. Try to predict the answers
before you look at the
reading text. Also, think
about the word type (noun,
verb, adjective) that should
be included.
4. If you have a list of words,
try to guess which 2 or 3 the
answer might be. Pay
attention to words that
collocate well with the
words in the sentence.
5. Identify which part of the
reading text the summary
relates to. Scanning for
synonyms from the
summary will help you do
this.
6. Look at that part of the
section more carefully and
choose the correct answer.
Remember to be careful
with synonyms.
7. Check to see if your word
makes the
sentence grammatically
correct.
 IELTS Reading- Matching Sentence Endings Tips and Strategy

In this IELTS reading question you will be given a list of incomplete sentences with no endings and
another list with possible endings. Your job is to match the incomplete sentences with the correct
ending based on the reading text.

This is not one the more common questions but should be studied all the same.

You are being tested on your understanding of how the ideas in the sentences are connected to the
main ideas in the reading text.
Example

As you can see above, there are a number of incomplete sentences and you must match them with
the correct endings. There will always be more options than you actually need.

In the exam there are normally 5-6 incomplete sentences and 8-9 optional endings.

Common Problems Tips Strategy

Lots of people think that they
can answer these questions by
using logic and grammar and
they don’t look at the reading
text. They think this will save
them time and they can work
out the answer quickly just by
looking at the answers and
matching the sentences that
make the most sense. Don’t do
this. It is a test of your
understanding of the reading
text more than a test of how
sentences generally go
together.
The examiner will try and trick
you by connecting ideas in the
reading text to endings that are
not the correct answer.
Remember that you are
matching incomplete sentences
1. The answers are in the
same order in the text as
they are in the questions,
so the answer to
question 2 will be after
the answer to question 1
and so on. Locate
question one first and
then you know where to
begin.
2. Try to predict how each
sentence will end before
you look at the endings.
3. Start with the incomplete
sentences first before
you look at the endings
or the text. There are
more endings than
required, so looking at all
of these in detail is a
waste of time.
4. Think of synonyms and
This is my suggested strategy.
There are many different
strategies and you should use
the one you feel comfortable
with. You can also adapt this
strategy to what suits you.
1. Read the question
carefully.
2. Read the incomplete
sentences first and don’t
look at the endings yet.
Try to understand what
they mean and highlight
any keywords especially
names, places or dates.
3. Predict what the endings
might be before looking
at them. Think about
what word type (verbs,
nouns, adjectives,
adverbs) makes the
sentence grammatically
to endings, not endings to the
text.
Many people look for the exact
words contained in the
question in the reading text.
The examiners will probably
use synonyms and paraphrasing
instead of exactly the same
words. Don’t waste your time
looking for words that exactly
match with the text, instead
look for synonyms and
paraphrases.
For a more detailed look at
paraphrasing and synonyms
check out our post on sentence
completions tips.
paraphrases that the
examiners could be using
instead of exactly the
same words.
5. All of the sentence
endings appear in the
text, but you don’t need
to read all of them, just
the ones that you decide
to match with the
incomplete sentences.
6. When highlighting
keywords, it is often a
good idea to highlight
any names, including
place names, or dates.
These are often easy to
find in the reading text.
7. Don’t just match words.
Make sure the meaning
in the reading text
matches.
8. Spend more time on the
first question because
this is the most difficult.
You have lots of different
options for the first
question and it will take
you more time to work
out the answer. The last
question should take you
much less time because
you have less options to
choose from.
correct.
4. Look at the endings but
not in too much detail.
Try to see if there are any
obvious answers.
5. Eliminate endings that
definitely cannot match.
Think about grammar,
collocations and
meaning.
6. Match the endings you
think might be correct.
Write two or
three options if
necessary.
7. Find the correct part of
the reading text for each
incomplete sentence. Be
careful with synonyms
and paraphrases.
8. Understand the meaning
of that part of the text
and choose the correct
answer.
 IELTS Reading- Sentence Completion Tips and Strategy

In this kind of question you will be given a number of sentences with gaps in them and asked to
complete the sentences with words from the reading text.

These questions are as much vocabulary tests as they are reading tests because they require you to
be aware of paraphrasing (using different words to repeat a sentence so that it has the same
meaning) and synonyms (words with the same or very similar meanings).

Example Question

As you can see there are three incomplete sentences that we musty complete.

Note that it says NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the text for each answer. This means that we
can write one or two words only. If we write any more than this, we get the question wrong.

Also note that it says ‘from the text’. This means that we can’t change the words from the text.

The word limit and whether we should use words from the text or not can change from question to
question so read them carefully.

Paraphrasing and Synonyms

In order to do well on the IELTS test you have to understand what paraphrasing and synonyms are
because Cambridge use them so much in the reading and listening tests and expect you to use them
in the writing and speaking tests.
Paraphrasing is simply rephrasing or saying the sentence again, so that it has the same meaning, but
with different words.

Example–
Most men drive cars to work.
The majority of males use automobiles to get to their jobs.
As you can see, both sentences mean exactly the same thing but I have used different words.
I have used mostly synonyms to do this, i.e. words with the same or similar meanings.

Examples–
most – majority
drive – use
cars – automobiles
work – job

Why is this important?

We have to understand how Cambridge actually make the IELTS reading tests in order to be
successful. The people who write the tests take a piece of writing and they then use paraphrasing
and synonyms to make many of the questions. Therefore if you don’t understand this, it is like
walking in the dark with no lights. Understand it and suddenly your world becomes brighter.

The table below shows just some examples from an IELTS reading paper. As you can see,
paraphrasing and synonyms are used in many of the questions and if you were looking for words
that exactly match those in the text you wouldn’t find them. Instead be aware that you are looking
for meaning; not words.

Common Problems Tips Strategy

As you have probably already
guessed from the passage
above, the main problem is
students trying to match words
in the question with exactly the
same words in the reading text.
Instead you should be look for
words that means the same
thing i.e. paraphrases and
synonyms.
Another common problem is
not reading the instructions
properly and then writing too
many words or not writing the
same words as in the reading
text, as discussed above.
Finally, students often start
reading the text before the
question. This is confusing for
most people and wastes time.
Read the questions first.
1. Check how many words it
asks you to write. If it
says ‘no more than two’,
you can write one or two
words. If it says ‘no more
than three’, you can
write one, two or three
words. Remember that
numbers written
numerically, such
as 72 count as one word
and hyphenated words,
such as state-of-the-art,
count as one word.
2. Sometimes the question
will state ‘using words
from the text’ or ‘from
the text’. In this case you
should only use words
from the text and not
change them or use
different forms of the
words. If it does not say
this, then you are
This is my suggested strategy.
There are many different
strategies and you should use
the one you feel comfortable
with. You can also adapt this
strategy to what suits you.
1. Read the instructions
carefully, noting how
many words you can
write and if they want
you to include the exact
words from the question
or not.
2. Read the incomplete
sentences first. Think
about what word form
can be used and try to
predict the answer. Also
think about keywords
and how they could be
represented by synonyms
or paraphrasing.
3. Locate where the
information is located by
 allowed to change the scanning quickly. If you
words as long as the can’t locate the answer
meaning is the same. quickly, move on.
3. The answers appear in 4. Read the incomplete
the same order as the sentence again.
questions. The answer to 5. Study the reading text
number 1 will be above more carefully to
number 2, and the establish the answer.
answer to number 3 will 6. Check your spelling.
be below the answer to 7. Repeat with the other
number 2. sentences.
4. Remember that your
answer should be
grammatically correct.
Check the type of word
that fits in the space. Is it
a verb, noun, adjective or
adverb? This will help
you answer the question
correctly.
5. When scanning for your
answer, make sure you
are thinking about
paraphrasing and
synonyms.
6. Find where the answer is
located in the text before
you try to answer the
question.
Remember where before
what.
7. Read the questions
before reading the text.
 IELTS Reading- True, False, Not Given Tips and Strategy

‘True, False, Not Given’ questions requires you to identify if information in a text is true or not.
You will be given a number of factual statements and you have to check in the text if they are true or
not.
This is probably the most difficult question on the reading paper.
In this article when I refer to ‘statements’ I am talking about the questions, not the text in the main
reading article.

Example True, False, Not Given Question

This sample is taken from ielts.org and more sample reading questions can be viewed here.

As you can see above, you will be given a number of factual statements and asked to look at the text
and decide if the statement is true, false or not given.

Common Problems Top 10 Tips True, False, Not Given Strategy

The biggest problem here is the
‘not given’ option. Most
students are not used to
answering questions like this
and it causes them lots of
problems because they are not
sure what to look for. They also
spend too much time making
sure that it is ‘not given’ and
this affects the rest of their
test.
Students also fail to understand
exactly what each statement
means and therefore cannot
identify if it is true or false.
Many focus on keywords
instead of understanding what
the statement as a
whole means.
Another common mistake is
identifying keywords in the
statements and then trying to
1. Ignore anything you
already know about the
topic and don’t make
assumptions. Base your
answers on the text only.
2. Identify any words that
qualify the statement, for
example some, all,
mainly, often, always and
occasionally. These
words are there to test if
you have read the whole
statement because they
can change the meaning.
For example, ‘Coca-Cola
has always made its
drinks in the U.S.A.’ has a
different meaning from
‘Coca-Cola
has mainly made its
drinks in the U.S.A.’
3. Be careful when you see
verbs that qualify
statements, such
This is my suggested strategy.
There are many different
strategies and you should use
the one you feel comfortable
with. You can also adapt this
strategy to what suits you.
1. Always read the
instructions carefully and
make sure you know if it
is a TRUE/FALSE/NOT
GIVEN or YES/NO/NOT
GIVEN question.
2. Read all the statements
carefully, trying to
understand what the
whole sentence means
rather than simply
highlighting keywords.
Watch out for qualifying
words such as some or
always.
3. Try to think of what
synonyms might be in the
text. This will help you
find words that exactly match
them in the text. You can do
this, but more often the words
will be synonyms.
Finally, some students fail to
understand exactly what true,
false and not given actually
mean and get confused.
as suggest, claim, believe identify the matching
and know. For example, part of the text.
‘The man claimed he was 4. Match the statement
a British citizen,’ and ‘The with the correct part of
man is a British citizen’ the text.
mean two different 5. Focus on the statement
things. again and then carefully
4. There will be at least read the matching part of
one of all three answers. the text to establish if it is
If you don’t have at least true or false. Remember
one ‘true’, ‘false’ or ‘not the meaning should
given’ you have at least exactly match that of the
one answer wrong. statement if it is true.
5. Don’t skim and scan the 6. Underline the words that
text to find the final give you the answer, this
answer. You will have to will help you focus and
read the appropriate part you can check back later.
of the text very carefully Again, be careful there
in order to understand are no qualifying words
what the author means. in the text.
6. Don’t look for words that 7. If you can’t find the
exactly match those in answer, mark it as ‘not
the statements. You given’ and move on to
should also look for the next question.
synonyms. Remember 8. If you are really unsure or
that you are matching can’t find the answer,
meaning, not words. mark it as ‘not given’.
7. If you can’t find the
information you are
looking for, then it is
probably ‘not given’.
Don’t waste time looking
for something that is not
there.
8. If you have no idea what
the answer is put ‘not
given’. You probably have
no idea because the
answer is not there.
9. Answers are in the same
order they appear in the
text. Do not waste time
going back. Keep on
reading.
10. YES/NO/NOT GIVEN
questions are slightly
different because they
deal with opinion.
TRUE/FALSE/NOT GIVEN
questions deal with facts.
What do TRUE, FALSE and NOT GIVEN mean?

The most important thing to remember is what the words ‘true’, ‘false’ and ‘not given’ actually
mean and therefore what IELTS wants you to write.

 If the text agrees with or confirms the information in the statement, the answer is TRUE
 If the text contradicts or is the opposite to the information in the statement, the answer
is FALSE
 If there is no information or it is impossible to know, the answer is NOT GIVEN

True means that the meaning is the same. It is just similar then it is FALSE. Remember that we are
dealing with factual information so there is no room to say it is similar or nearly the same.

Lots of students have argued with me during practice and said the statement is true because it ‘kind
of’ means the same. There is no ‘kind of’ with these questions, only facts.

Very important- Just because an answer is NOT GIVEN does not mean there are no words in the
statements that match words in the text. This is something that confuses people, if words match
then it must be TRUE or FALSE, right? Not really. This is not a good way to think about these
questions because there probably will be matching words for NOT GIVEN answers, they just don’t
have enough information to answer the question as a whole.
 IELTS Reading Matching Headings

In the IELTS reading test you may be asked to match headings to sections of text. This type of
question tests your ability to understand the main idea of each paragraph.

Headings are short sentences that summarise the information in a paragraph. You have to pick the one that
best summarises the information in a paragraph.

You will be given between 5 and 7 headings and asked to match each paragraph in the reading text to one
heading. There are always more headings than paragraphs.
Common Problems
Below is a list of common
problems my students tend to
have. Have you experienced any of
these problems?
Later in the post we will look at
tips to overcome these problems
and a strategy for answering this
kind of reading question.
1. There is too much
information to get through
and not enough time.
2. Trying to match a word or
words from the headings to
a word in the text.
3. Some of the headings may
appear to have the same
meaning.
4. Some students only read
the first sentence of each
paragraph and do not
understand the main idea of
the paragraph.
5. Spending too much time on
one paragraph or heading.
6. Answers are not in the
same order as the text.
Tips and Solutions
1. Do this question first. By
doing this you will be able
to get the general meaning
of the text as a whole and
this will help you with the
rest of the question that
requires you to take a more
detailed look at the text.
2. You are not expected to
read every word of the text.
This will take too long and
you don’t have time for this.
In this kind of question you
are only expected to
understand the main idea of
each paragraph. A good way
to do this is to read the first
one or two sentences and
the last sentence of the
paragraphs. You can also
briefly look at the rest of
the paragraph but you don’t
have to read every word.
3. If there are words you don’t
understand, don’t worry
about this. Again, you
should only worry about the
general meaning of the
paragraph as a whole, not
individual words. Even
native speakers will fail to
understand every word in
the IELTS reading test.
4. Be aware of synonyms.
Many students look for
words that match exactly
with words in the text and
ignore synonyms. For
example, a keyword in the
heading might be
‘Beautiful’, however the
word you’re looking for
could be many different
synonyms of ‘beautiful’ like
‘attractive’, ‘pretty’, ‘lovely’
Strategy
1. If this type of question is on
the test, do it first.
2. Don’t look at the headings.
3. Read the first one or two
sentences and the last
sentence of each paragraph
to understand the general
meaning of the paragraph.
Don’t worry about
highlighting keywords in the
test. Try to sum up the
general meaning of each
paragraph in one or two
words.
4. Look at the headings and
identify keywords within
each heading.
5. Match any headings that
are very obvious and you
are sure about.
6. For the others, write 2 or 3
headings beside the
paragraph. Identify the
difference between each of
the headings. Establish if
there are any synonyms in
the paragraph to keywords
in the headings.
7. If you still can’t pick one,
move one. The answer will
often reveal itself later.
8. Repeat until finished.
 or ‘stunning’.
5. If there are two or three
headings that are similar,
write them beside the
paragraph and try to find
out the difference between
the two headings. What are
the keywords? How does
this change the meaning?
Which one matches the
paragraph best?
6. If you still can’t decide
which one suits best, move
on and come back to it
later. The answer will
normally be easier to find
after you have matched
some more headings.
7. Ignore anything you already
know about the topic. You
are being tested on the text
only.
8. Don’t read too quickly.
Some teachers advise that
students should just ‘skim’
the text because you don’t
have much time. In my
experience, this leads to
students not understanding
most of the text and making
mistakes. It is better to do
this a little slower and
actually understand what is
in front of you.
9. Don’t panic if you know
nothing about the general
topic of the reading text.
The IELTS reading test is not
a knowledge test and you
are not expected to have
prior knowledge of the
topic.
10. Don’t look at the headings
first. This will automatically
make you look for specific
words in the text rather
than the main idea.
Remember it is your ability
to find the main idea that is
being tested, not your
ability to find specific
information. Instead of
reading the headings first,
ignore them and get the
general meaning of each
paragraph first by reading
the first and last sentences.
Practice

Let look at an example question. Below are two paragraphs from an article called ‘Trees in Trouble-
What is causing the decline of the World’s giant forests?’

Match the two paragraphs with one of the following three headings:

1. How wildlife benefits from big trees

2. Factors that enable trees to grow to significant heights
3. How other plants can cause harm

Paragraph 1- Big trees are incredibly important ecologically. For a start, they sustain countless other
species. They provide shelter for many animals, and their trunks and branches can become gardens,
hung with green ferns, orchids and bromeliads, coated with mosses and draped with vines. With
their tall canopies basking in the sun, they capture vast amounts of energy. This allows them to
sustain much of the animal life in the forest.

Paragraph 2- Only a small number of tree species have the genetic capacity to grow really big. The
mightiest are native to Norther America, but big trees grow all over the globe, from the tropics to
the boreal forests of the high latitudes. To achieve giant stature, a tree needs three things: the right
place to establish its seedling, good growing conditions and lots of time with low adult mortality.
Disrupt any of these, and you can lose your biggest trees.

If you look at the above paragraphs you will see that they are full of difficult words like ‘bromeliads’,
‘basking’ and ‘stature’. If you try to read and understand every word you will get nowhere.

Instead we just look at the first and the last sentences and with some highlighting of keywords and
an awareness of synonyms it is apparent that the answers are:

Paragraph 1- How wildlife benefits from big trees

Paragraph 2- Factors that enable tree to grow to significant heights

 IELTS Reading- Labeling a Diagram Tips and Strategy

Examples

There are three kinds of diagrams you might get: a technical drawing of a machine or invention,
something from the natural world or a design or plan. Below is an example of a natural process
taken from a sample test at IELTS.org.

Below is an example of a technical drawing:

 Common Problems
The main problem with these
questions is students focus too
much on the diagram and try to
understand everything about
it. Unfamiliar diagrams can
cause panic and lose you time.
This is not a test of your
technical knowledge but a test
of your reading skills. You
should try to understand
generally what is happening in
the diagram, but
the relationship between the
text and the diagram is more
important.
Another big problem is failing
to locate the paragraphs that
contain the answers quickly
and losing time reading the
whole text.
Students also lose marks in this
section by writing the wrong
number of words or spelling
words incorrectly.
Tips Strategy
1. Check how many words 1. Check how many words
you are supposed to you can write.
write, it will tell you in 2. Study the diagram and
the question. In the try to understand
example above you can generally what is
only write ‘one or two happening. Don’t spend
words’, any more than too much time doing this.
this and you will 3. Highlight keywords or
lose marks. Remember labels.
that numbers count as 4. Identify the types of
one word and words required and try to
hyphenated words like predict the answer.
‘state-of-the-art’ count as 5. Scan the text and identify
one word. where the information is
2. Identify the type of word located.
(noun, verb, adjective) 6. Read in more detail to
you need. This will help find the answer.
you find the correct 7. Check spelling.
answer.
3. The answers do not
always come in the same
order that the
paragraphs are in.
4. Do the easiest questions
first. You are more likely
to get these correct. If
you cannot find the
answer to a difficult
question, move on and
come back later.
5. Try to predict the answer
before you read the text.
This will help you find the
correct answer.
 IELTS Reading- Matching Names Tips and Strategy

In this type of question you are asked to match someone’s name, normally an expert, researcher or
scientist, to a statement.
You are given a list of names and a list of statements. Your job is to read the text and then match the
names with the correct statement. The reading text will tell you what that person has said or done
(normally research findings) and this will guide you to the correct answer.

Example
As you can see below you will be given a number of statements and a number of names. You must
use the reading text to match each statement with the correct name. You will often be given more
names than required.

Common Problems Tips Strategy

Some names will appear only once
in the text and some will appear
several times. The names that
occur several times will be harder
to match than the names that
appear only once because you will
have to look at several different
parts of the text. Some students
focus on the hardest questions
first. This is a problem for two
reasons. First, you waste time
looking at most of the text and
second, you are more likely to get
the easier questions correct so
they deserve more of your
attention.
Some of the difficult questions are
there to separate band 8 from
band 9 students. The vast majority
of people will not get a band 9 and
you should not waste too much
time on these very difficult
questions. If you were
picking apples, would you pick the
ones you can easily reach from the
ground or take time to climb up
the tree and pick the ones at the
top?
1. Focus on the easy questions
first. If you can’t find the
answer to a question, move
on and come back to it
later.
2. Find the names in the text
quickly by scanning for
them and then underline
them.
3. The names might be
shortened to just a first or
last name. For example,
‘John Jones’ might appear
as only ‘Jones’ in the text.
4. Think of synonyms that
might appear in the reading
text. For example, the
phrase ‘intense burst of
energy‘ could look like
‘explosive release of energy‘
in the text.
5. Some of the names might
be used more than once.
Check the question for
instructions on this.
6. The questions do not follow
the order of the text. You
might have to go backwards
and forwards to find the
This is my suggested strategy.
There are many different
strategies and you should use the
one you feel comfortable with. You
can also adapt this strategy to
what suits you.
1. Read the question carefully.
2. Focus on the names first.
Read them and then scan
for the names in the reading
text and underline them.
Remember that some
names will appear more
than once and you should
underline them all.
3. Focus on the names that
appear only once first
because these are the
easiest.
4. Read around the name to
see if their findings or
research come before or
after their name.
5. Read their research or
findings and then go back to
the statements in the
question and match. Be
aware of synonyms.
6. When you find a statement
 correct answer. This is a that matches a name,
A common mistake is to read the very unnatural way to read delete the statement. Each
whole text and try to find the and requires you to use statement can only be used
names that way. You won’t have your scanning skills. once.
time to do this and it is much 7. If you like to categorise 7. Repeat for the rest of the
better to find the names quickly by things by colour, use names.
scanning for them. different coloured pens to
Some students see the name, read underline the different
that part of the reading text very names.
quickly and then match the name
with the statement. When you find
the name in the text you should
spend time reading it in more
detail to really understand what it
means before answering the
question.

The most common error is trying

to find words in the text that
match exactly with words in the
statement. Instead it is more likely
that you will find synonyms (words
with the same or very similar
meanings).
 IELTS Reading – Matching Information to Paragraphs

Matching Information to Paragraphs

In this kind of question you are asked to match statements to paragraphs in the reading text.
The statements could be reasons, descriptions, summaries, definitions, facts or explanations. What
they are doesn’t really matter. You are not expected to have specialist knowledge in the reading
test.
You do not need to understand what the whole paragraph is about, just find specific
information in the paragraph and match it to one of the statements. The answer will normally be
contained in a whole phrase or sentence, rather than a single word.

Example

This question is taken from an academic sample paper. As you can see, you are given a number of
statements and you are required to match these to the correct paragraphs in the reading text.

The paragraphs in the reading text are labelled a, b, c, d and so on. Your answer will be the letter of
the paragraph, not the words or phrases in the paragraph.

There will normally be more paragraphs than questions, so don’t worry if some of the paragraphs do
not contain the information you are looking for. Also, don’t worry if you find more than one answer
in one paragraph.

The answers do not appear in the same order as the questions.

Reading Skills Common Problems Tips Strategy

You will first have to The biggest problem is 1. Do this question This is my suggested
be able to skim the the fact that you need last. If you do strategy. There are
reading text to get a to look at the whole other questions many different
general meaning of text. The answers first, you will strategies and you
each paragraph. could be anywhere in become familiar should use the one you
the text and they do with the passage feel comfortable with.
You will also have not come in order, so and this will help You can also adapt this
to scan for specific it takes time. you identify the strategy to what suits
words within the Also, the answers correct you.
paragraphs. It is more might not be the main information 1. Read the
likely that you will be idea of each more quickly instructions caref
looking for synonyms paragraph. Normally and easily. ully.
(different words that paragraphs contain 2. Try to find 2. Read the
mean the same or one main idea and names, place questions first.
nearly the same) and reading the first and names and Think about
paraphrases rather last lines of the numbers in the synonyms and
than keywords from paragraph can help questions. These how you could
the question you understand this. are often easier paraphrase the
statements. With these questions, to find in the statements. This
the answer could be in text. will help you
When you have found any part of the 3. Be aware that identify the
the words or phrases paragraph and you can there may be answer. Saying
you think might give not therefore just synonyms. For each statement
you the correct quickly skim to find it. example, you in your own
answer, you have to There is also lots of might see ‘34%‘ words can help
read very carefully in irrelevant information in the question do this.
order to fully that you do not need but it might say 3. Quickly skim the
understand the to consider. The ‘just over a third‘ reading text to
meaning to be able to strategy below will or ‘about a third‘ try to
decide if it is really the help you ignore much in the text. understand the
correct answer. of this irrelevant general meaning
information. of the text.
Finally, as stated 4. Read the
above, not all question
paragraphs contain an statements again
answer and some and predict
paragraphs contain which paragraph
more than one contains the
answer. answer.
5. Scan the text
paragraphs you
think might
contain the
answer for
synonyms. If you
find a possible
answer underline
it.
6. Check back with
the question
statement and
mark answer if
correct. If not,
move on to other
paragraphs.