Reading Question Types
Hi there.
Today's lesson will help you to become familiar with all of the 14 different question types you might see on your IELTS Reading Test. I'll show you a picture of each one, and I'll give you some specific advice and links to our lessons to help you ace them.
By the way, I recommend that you check out the Reading FAQ post first if you haven’t yet for more information about the IELTS Reading test. Remember, the Reading Test is 60 minutes long, and it has 3 Sections (3 texts) with 11-15 questions each (40 questions total). In each of the three sections, you are likely to see 2-3 different question types per section.
You should use this lesson here to locate question types that you have been having trouble with, so you can see some advice and lessons for that question type specifically. This means that when you do practice tests, you should pay attention to which question types give you the most trouble!
Let’s go.
First, some great advice for ALL IELTS reading questions:
- Read the instructions carefully!
The instructions on both the Listening and Reading tests are important because they can sometimes limit the number of words/numbers you can write for your answer. If you write three words and the instructions say to use only two, you will get a zero!
*Also, pay attention if you see the following note in your Reading Test instructions:
NB You may use any letter more than once.
This means that in this question, you will definitely have to use one or more of the listed answers multiple times!
- Make sure you find the answer in the text.
Don't try to answer questions from memory. The exact answer can always be located in the text!
- Always copy exactly what you read in the text for your answer.
You never need to change to a different form of the word, or add anything extra to your answer. Just copy what you see!
- For Multiple Choice questions, you only have to write the letter on your answer sheet!
Don’t waste time writing out the full answer for these questions. HOWEVER, make sure you write clearly, with a large letter!
Okay. Let's look at the 14 question types you might see on your IELTS reading test.
Short-answer
QUICK TIPS AND RESOURCES:
- These answers are always in passage order.
Multiple Choice
QUICK TIPS AND RESOURCES:
- These answers are always in passage order.
- On your answer sheet, write the letter only (large and clear!); note that you can write the full answer, but that is a waste of time.
- The answers in the text are often heavily paraphrased, but watch for scannable words (names, technical words, numbers). Scannable words can help you find the location of the answers in the text.
List Selection
QUICK TIPS AND RESOURCES:
- These questions are always in passage order.
- On your answer sheet, write the letter only (large and clear!); note that you can write the full answer, but that is a waste of time
- Answers from the list will be heavily paraphrased in the text, but watch for scannable words (names, technical words, numbers).
Classify/Categorize Information
QUICK TIPS AND RESOURCES:
These answers are always in passage order.
On your answer sheet, write the letter only (large and clear!)
Answers from the list will be heavily paraphrased in the text, but watch for scannable words (names, technical words, numbers)! Scannable words can help you find your answers faster.
Sentence Completion
QUICK TIPS AND RESOURCES:
These answers are always in passage order.
Remember, even though this question asks you to complete a sentence, what the sentence is saying is going to be heavily paraphrased in the text! This question type will test your ability to understand synonyms and things explained in different ways.
Remember that the grammar of the sentence will match the answer! In the above example, the answer to #39 above will be plural, because it says “which do not smell”. If it was singular or uncountable, it would say "which does not smell". Paying attention to details like this can help your score!
Sentence Ending Matching
QUICK TIPS AND RESOURCES:
These answers (the numbered first half of the sentence) are always in passage order.
On your answer sheet, write the letter only (large and clear!)
The completed sentence must be grammatically correct!
Answers from the list will be heavily paraphrased in the text, but watch for scannable words (names, technical words, numbers).
Summary Completion
QUICK TIPS AND RESOURCES:
- These answers are always in passage order... but they may cover a somewhat larger area in the text.
- Remember, the summary paragraph is of course heavily paraphrased. However, you need to pay attention to the answers in the box, because you may be able to find scannable words here (names, technical words, numbers) to help you locate answers.
- Remember that the grammar of the sentence will match the answer.
Note / Table Completion
QUICK TIPS AND RESOURCES:
- These answers are always in passage order.
- Remember, the summary paragraph is of course heavily paraphrased. However, you need to pay attention especially to the answers in the box, because you may be able to find scannable words (names, technical words, numbers) to help you locate answers.
- Remember that the grammar of the sentence will match the answer.
Diagram and Flow-chart Completion
QUICK TIPS AND RESOURCES:
Note that these questions are sometimes not in passage order!
These questions always focus on a short passage of text (1-3 paragraphs). Use your scanning skills to locate that area first!
Remember that the answers will still match the grammar of the question.
Question Type Strategy: Notes, Tables, Diagrams and Flow-charts
- Scanning for Details
Matching Information from Paragraphs or Sections
QUICK TIPS AND RESOURCES:
These questions are never in passage order.
This question type asks you to figure out which paragraph/passage contains the details/information in the question. This is a little bit different from Heading Matching questions: in Heading Matching, you are matching Headings with the overall main idea of each paragraph. Here, you are matching details from within the paragraph.
The questions are heavily paraphrased! Scanning doesn’t really work for this question type, and can often cause you to make a mistake.
Matching Information with the People who Said or Supported it
QUICK TIPS AND RESOURCES:
- These questions are never in passage order. You may have to go back and forth through the text to find the information you need! This leads us to the next tip…
- Do these questions in order of the names, rather than the questions! Use the names to scan the text for the location of the information you need. (note that the text may occasionally use a shortened form of a name, like “Halley” instead of “Edmond Halley”)
- Note, again, that the information in the question will be heavily paraphrased in the text! This is especially important in this question, so you need to read really carefully.
- This question often contains the “NB: You may use any letter more than once” instruction, so watch for it.
Heading Matching
QUICK TIPS AND RESOURCES:
- These questions always come first for their section, before the article. It is good to do them first.
- These questions are never in passage order.
- Heading Matching, along with True/False/Not Given, is one of the most difficult question types on the IELTS test. One reason is that they can potentially take up a lot of your time!
True / False / Not Given (or Yes / No / Not Given)
QUICK TIPS AND RESOURCES:
- These questions are always in passage order.
- True/False/Not Given (also called Yes/No/Not Given) are one of the hardest question types on the IELTS Reading Test, along with Heading Matching.
Identifying the Writer's Views and Claims
QUICK TIPS AND RESOURCES:
- This unique question type always comes at the end of a section, and seeks to test your overall understanding of the passage.
- Unfortunately, scanning skills usually cannot help you with this one! You just have to try to understand the overall passage carefully.
So, that is all fourteen question types that you might see on your IELTS Reading Test. Again, when you do practice tests, pay attention to which Question Types give you problems, and study the relevant advice and lessons for them!
Good luck.