Matching Information Questions – Ielts Reading
This article, on the one hand, will deepen into Matching Information Questions in the IELTS Reading test.
1. Introduction to Matching Information Questions in IELTS Reading
A list of about 3 to 6 statements or information will be manifested in the instructions of the Matching Information Questions, right before the reading passage. Notwithstanding the reasons, definitions, explanations, opinions, summaries, descriptions, or facts that can be the content for the statements, you are supposed to test your Reading skills and your answers will be in the reading passage only.
You are required to match each statement to the appropriate paragraph in the reading text or information in the given box. The paragraphs or information will be labelled in letters A, B, C, D, etc., so you should write down your answers according to the letter of the information or paragraph instead of words or phrases. Also, there will commonly be more paragraphs in the reading text or information in the list box than statements.
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Let’s see some examples for Matching Information Questions below:
In fact, scanning and understanding specific information really matters in Matching Information Questions. To be specific, you will be examined:
- scanning technique for specific information
- skimming technique for general meaning of the paragraph
- ability to identify and understand keywords, synonyms and paraphrases
- ability to fully understand the information
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2. Ielts Reading Matching Information Questions Strategies
2.1. Read carefully the instructions
You should especially pay attention to “NB You may use any letter more than once“, which means a paragraph may include the information of two or more statements given.
2.2. Read the statements and information list box (if any)
While reading all the statements of Matching Information Questions, try to take note of the general meaning of each one
2.3. Identify and Underline or Highlight keywords
Think about synonyms or paraphrases
To identify keywords, it is important to determine the answer for two questions:
– What is it about?
– What is the problem?
Then, highlight or underline those and think about the synonyms or paraphrases in your own words.
2.4. Skim the reading text to briefly understand the main idea
Take a quick look at the whole paragraph in order to grasp the general meaning. Also mark the paragraphs that you guess hold the information of the statements based on the keywords identified or synonyms, paraphrases of those.
2.5. Reread the statements and information list box (if any)
to check the matching paragraph
Back to the statements and read it carefully to decide the first one to match (the easiest one) since with Matching Information Questions, the answers will not appear in exact order as the list of statements.
2.6. Scan the corresponding paragraphs using keywords, synonyms or paraphrases
Unchangeable words such as names, places, numbers, or dates will help you more effortlessly to scan for the information. On the other hand, you need to think of synonyms or paraphrases for changeable words when looking for information in the reading passage.
2.7. Cross-check with the question statements and decide the final answers
Once the matching paragraph is found, you need to read it thoroughly and in detail to reconfirm it. At the same time, cross-check with the question statements and find out the answer.
Remember to cross out the chosen options from further consideration.
2.8. Repeat for all statements
Repeat the process of scanning and looking for answers in other statements of Matching Information Questions until the last one.
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3. Common Problems and Mistakes & Tips for Matching Information Questions in IELTS Reading
| Common Problems & Mistakes | Tips |
| 1. The information of Matching Information Questions can be located anywhere in the reading passage and the answers will not come in sequence | Scan for the information in the whole text but based on the keywords or synonyms, paraphrases you have thought of |
| 2. Some candidates look for the main idea of the paragraph on the basis of the first one or two sentences and the last one
The information of statements can be anywhere in the paragraph and you won’t get the answers if you keep skimming quickly. |
It’s recommended to scan for the whole paragraph to locate the information |
| 3. Not all paragraphs include one answer and some paragraphs have more than one matching statement. | Read the instructions carefully and scan for information without leaving out the options of containing more than one statement in a paragraph. Plus, don’t try to find the answer for all paragraphs |
| 4. Looking for the exact same words or phrases of the statements in the reading text
The reading text will not use the exact same words as those in the questions (e.g. They use ‘just over a third‘ or ‘about a third‘ instead of 34%) |
Try to paraphrase keywords in the questions using synonyms or paraphrases so that you can find information in the text more effortlessly |
Other tips for Matching Information Questions in IELTS Reading:
- Do this question type last after getting used to the reading text with other question types and maybe you may save your time for the identified information in advance
- Make use of unchangeable words to scan for the information more quickly such as names, dates, places, numbers, etc.
- Use your time wisely with the easier ones first and skip hesitated questions for later check
Since the Matching Information Questions takes much time for candidates to complete, these strategies and tips can help you with a more speedy and effective process to deal with this question type in IELTS Reading.
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