tips and information about ielts reading tasks

1. IELTS Reading:
1. Multiple choice q.
2. Short answer q.
3. Summary compl.
4. Matching paragraph info.
5. List selection

2. Multiple Choice Questions
Task: Choose the correct answer to a question or the correct ending to a sentence from usually 3 or 4 possible
options.
Skills:
 Scanning for specific information
 Understanding information in the passage
Common problems:
 Reading the text before the questions.
 Distractors. Look at the whole sentence and any qualifying words like most, all, always, sometimes.
 Not reading the whole sentence.
Tips:
 Paraphrase the information in the question and options (think about any synonyms)
 Locate the precise information in the passage
 Answers come in order
 Answers are usually letters (A,B, C or D) – read the instructions carefully to check
They are testing your ability to match meaning not keyword matching!!!

3. Short Answer Questions
Task: Answering questions regarding details in the passage.
Skills:
 Locating information in the passage
 Understanding detail and specific information
Common problems
• Being unaware of synonyms and paraphrasing.
• You do not have to read every word of the text. Scan reading is a must.
• Writing full sentences. Your answers don’t have to be grammatically correct.
Tips
• Identify the type of words you need for each answer (noun, verb, adjective, etc)
• Paraphrase vocabulary in the questions
• Scan the passage to locate information
• Check how many words you can use for the answers
• Answers come in order

4. Summary completion question
Task: Completing a summary by filling in the gaps using words from the passage or words given in a box.
Skills:
• scanning for specific information in the passage.
• understading ideas and supporting points
• selecting appropriate words
Common problems:
• Losing lots of time reading the whole text and trying to understand everything.
• Looking for the exact same words in the text. (When selecting from a list of words). Better synonyms and
paraphrasing.
• Ignoring grammar rules when completing the summary.
Tips:
• Identify the type of word needed for each gap (noun/verb/adjective etc)
• Locate the information in the passage in order to choose the right word
• If you choose words from the passage, check how many words can be used for each answer.
• answers usually come in order.
• the summary must be grammatically correct which can help you in choosing the right word for each gap.

5. Matching paragraph information questions
Task: matching the information given in the question with information found in one of the paragraphs in the
passage.
Skills:
• Identifying specific information
• Scanning for information
Common problem
• You need to look at the whole text or texts given. Answers could be anywhere, so it takes time.
Tips:
• Paraphrase the information in the question
• Find the information in the passage
• Answers do not come in order
• The answer is often a letter (A, D, C or D) – read instructions carefully to check
• Not all paragraphs may be used.

6. Matching features (List selection)
Task: Choose the correct option from a list of words, information or names. This differs from
multiple choice because the questions all relate to only one long list of possible answers.
Skills:
• Scanning for information
• Understanding information in the passage
• Identifying ideas relating to others
Tips
• Read through the list and prepare paraphrases (if possible)
• Read through the questions and identify key words
• Locate the information in the passage
• Answers come in order
• Answers are usually letters (A-J) – read the instructions carefully to check

7. They are testing your ability to match meaning not your ability to
match keywords!!!