IELTS Reading: Matching information

Why this one is expensive

• The answers are not in order. You cannot narrow the search as you go.
• A paragraph can be used more than once — the instructions will say so — which removes elimination as a tactic.
• The detail can be one clause in a long paragraph, so skimming for gist does not find it.

For most candidates the right decision is to do the other question sets on that passage first. They force you to read the passage properly, and by the time you return you often know where several of these live.

What to search on

Anchor on what cannot be paraphrased: names, numbers, dates, places and technical terms. The examiners rewrite ordinary vocabulary and leave these alone, so they are the fastest route into the right paragraph.

1. Underline the one unparaphrasable item in each statement.
2. Scan for it rather than reading — this type rewards scanning more than any other.
3. Read that sentence and the one after to confirm it genuinely says what the statement says.
4. Record the letter and move on; do not cross paragraphs off unless the instructions say each is used once.

Practise Matching information

4 free IELTS reading questions, with an explanation on every answer. No sign-up — the scorecard is offered at the end, and only then.