IELTS Reading Matching Information

In this lesson, we will cover the Matching Information question type. This question type test your ability to understand various details and specific information from the text. This specific information could include:

• details
• examples
• reasons
• descriptions
• comparisons
• summaries
• explanations

Here is an example of what a Matching Information would look like in the IELTS Exam:


As you can see, this type of question calls upon your ability to scan for specific information, rather than understanding the general idea of the passage. While you do not need to understand the entire passage, most answers will come in the form of a phrase or sentence, rather than just a single word. Our strategy will reflect this objective.

The amount of questions for this specific task can vary, but keep in mind that sometimes, answers can be used more than once. If this is the case, the directions will specify this detail. In any case, you will be instructed to write the letter of the correct paragraph or section (in which the information is found) on your answer sheet. Also keep in mind that the answers do not come in order.

Let's look at some tips of how to approach this section and what not to do when approaching this type of question on the exam.

The first two steps contain "preparation work", which will be done while reading the headings. The last step is to be done with the reading passage itself.

1. Read the Information - Think of this step as the “Golden Rule” of any reading question on the IELTS exam. You should never “read blindly”, or reading the passage without knowing exactly what to read for. Therefore, the first step in this case (and all cases in the General Reading section) will be to read the information given to you. Reading the provided information first will help you get an overview of the theme of the passage, which will help you scan for information later.

Note that as you read the information that has been given to you, you should be looking for key words and underlining them as you go along. Check out our Overview lesson for more information regarding key words! In any case, we will explore this in depth in our step-by-step example.

2. Comprehend and Highlight - Once you've read the information, make sure that you have truly understood the information. Why? The information you'll be looking for will most likely appear differently in the text. It's rare that the information appears exactly as it is written in the question. By closely reading the information, you'll be prepared to understand it if it is written differently. A great way to dissect the information is to underline key words. By doing this, you'll know what to look out for in the passage. We'll show you an example of this below. You can also think of ways to paraphrase the information as that will help you process the information.

3. Scan the Passage - After you have read and comprehend the information, read the passage and scan for the information. Underline or circle sentences that you think could help you answer the given questions. You may need to come back to these clues later.

After you've done this, start answering your questions. Some things may make immediate sense after having scanned the text, but some questions may take more time. Before we use these tips to look at an example, let's briefly discuss what not to do when answering the Matching Information question type.

1. Do not read the entire passage. As a general rule for the Reading section, it is not necessary and actually time-restrictive to read the entire passage, word for word. Be sure to use the scanning technique, first and foremost, for this section.

2. Do not get confused if the text includes synonyms of the information that is originally presented in the questions. Think about it: this question type would be too easy if the exact wording was relayed in both the passage and questions. This is why it's important to brush up on your vocabulary for this exam. A trick in this section is to reuse key words in order to fool test-takers. For example, the same key words used in a question will be presented in the incorrect paragraph. We will look at an example of this in our practice test below.

3. Do not write words on your answer sheet. The answers for this question type will be the letters that correspond to the various paragraphs.

Using these tips, let's look at an example of a passage with this specific question type.

Matching Information Recap

Do:

• Read the questions first and circle or underline any key words.
• Comprehend the information in the questions in order to maximize your understanding.
• Scan the passage looking for information provided in the questions.
• Write the paragraph letters in your answer sheet.

Don’t:

• Read the passage first.
• Read for general information.
• Get confused with synonyms from the questions, located in incorrect paragraphs. Just because the synonyms or key words are in a certain paragraph, this doesn’t always mean that it’s the correct option.
• Repeat any letters if not instructed to do so in the directions.
• Write any words in your answer booklet for this section.