This document provides an overview and tips for different question types on the IELTS Reading test, including multiple choice questions, short answer questions, summary completion questions, matching paragraph information questions, and matching features questions. For each question type, it describes the task, required skills, common problems, and tips for answering the questions successfully. The key tips emphasized are scanning the passage efficiently, paraphrasing language, understanding implied meaning rather than just keywords, and carefully checking instructions for answer format and allowed words.

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!!!