Question types

The question types can be classified under four groups, based on the reading skills required to answer them:

Overview questions Specific Information questions Summary Completion questions Viewpoint questions.

Let's now look at the different question types in each group, and the reading skills they test.

1. Overview questions
Overview questions test your understanding of the main ideas of the whole reading passage or paragraphs in the passage. The Overview question types used in the IELTS Reading test are:

Matching Paragraph Headings questions Multiple Choice Paragraph Headings questions

Let's start by looking at the most common Overview question type - Matching Paragraph Headings.

Matching Paragraph Headings questions

Matching Paragraph Headings questions test your understanding of the main idea of paragraphs. Let's look at an example question, based on the reading passage Culture and Learning.

Example
Questions 1-8 The reading passage has eight paragraphs labelled A-H. Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the list of headings below. i. ii. iii. iv. v. Cultural differences in writing styles Primary and secondary school education Implications for overseas students Academic writing styles International languages

vi. vii. viii. ix. x.

Variation within cultures Variations in subjects taught Tertiary education Cultural variation in learning between cultures Changes in the British education system

1 Paragraph A 2 Paragraph B 3 Paragraph C 4 Paragraph D 5 Paragraph E 6 Paragraph F 7 Paragraph G 8 Paragraph H Note that you are given ten possible headings (i-x) for the eight paragraphs (A-H) in the passage. It is common in the IELTS Reading test to have more paragraph headings than questions. Note also that it is common that not all of the paragraphs of the passage will require headings. Look at the example below. Here you are asked to match paragraph headings with only four of the eight paragraphs in the passage.

Example
Questions 1-4 The reading passage has eight paragraphs labelled A-H. Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the list of headings below. i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. vii. viii. ix. x. Cultural differences in writing styles Primary and secondary school education Implications for overseas students Academic writing styles International languages Variation within cultures Variations in subjects taught Tertiary education Cultural variation in learning between cultures Changes in the British education system

1 Paragraph B 2 Paragraph C 3 Paragraph E 4 Paragraph G Now let's practise answering Matching Paragraph Headings questions.

Activity - Matching Paragraph Headings questions

Read the list of paragraph headings again for the passage Culture and Learning. Then read Paragraphs A and B and choose a heading for each paragraph. Type the roman numeral (ix) for each answer in the text boxes. When you have finished, click on the Check button to check your answers. Note that the main idea of each paragraph has been highlighted to help you.

Questions 1-2 Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the list of headings below. i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. vii. viii. ix. x. Cultural differences in writing styles Primary and secondary school education Implications for overseas students Academic writing styles International languages Variation within cultures Variations in subjects taught Tertiary education Cultural variation in learning between cultures Changes in the British education system

A Every culture has its own distinctive conventions regarding what should be learned and how learning should take place. In one culture, students may be encouraged to work with their classmates, while in another culture this activity may be prohibited. In some societies, students are discouraged from asking questions, while in others they may be required to do so. B Diversity exists not only between cultures, but also within a single culture. In most

British primary and secondary schools, for example, the teacher is the primary provider of required information and rote learning plays an important role in the acquisition of this information. However, when these students proceed to university, they face a new set of academic norms and expectations. Although memorisation is still required, much more emphasis is placed on the critical evaluation of learning and independent research.

1 Paragraph A 2 Paragraph B Note how the main idea of each paragraph matches the paragraph heading. You will practise Matching Paragraph Headings questions in more detail in Step 4.

1 The correct heading for Paragraph A is ix, Cultural variation in learning between cultures. 2 The correct heading for Paragraph B is vi, Variation within cultures.

Multiple Choice Paragraph Headings questions

The main idea of the paragraphs could also be tested using Multiple Choice questions, such as the example below. Here you need to choose the most appropriate paragraph heading for a paragraph from a list of three or four choices.

Example
Question 1 Choose the correct letter A, B, C, or D. 1 Which of the following headings is the most appropriate for Paragraph A?

A Cultural differences in writing styles B Variations in subjects taught C Cultural variation in learning between cultures D Tertiary education Note that this type of question is the same as Matching Paragraph Headings, but it is in a different format. Now let's move on to look at another group of question types common in the Reading test Specific Information questions.

Multiple Choice Paragraph Headings questions

The main idea of the paragraphs could also be tested using Multiple Choice questions, such as the example below. Here you need to choose the most appropriate paragraph heading for a paragraph from a list of three or four choices.

Example
Question 1 Choose the correct letter A, B, C, or D. 1 Which of the following headings is the most appropriate for Paragraph A? A Cultural differences in writing styles B Variations in subjects taught C Cultural variation in learning between cultures D Tertiary education Note that this type of question is the same as Matching Paragraph Headings, but it is in a different format. Now let's move on to look at another group of question types common in the Reading test Specific Information questions.

2 Specific Information questions

Specific Information questions are used to test your ability to locate or identify particular details in the reading passage. These details could be such basic pieces of information as names, dates and places. However, the details are usually more complex ideas. The question types that are used to test your ability to identify these details are:

Multiple Choice questions Short Answer questions Sentence Completion questions True/False/Not Given questions Information Location questions Diagram/Flow Chart/Table Completion questions.

Let's start by looking at the first of these question types, Multiple Choice.

Multiple Choice questions

Multiple Choice questions ask you to choose the correct answer from a list of three or four choices. We will look at three examples of multiple choice questions:

Standard Multiple Choice Modified Multiple Choice - two answers for one question Modified Multiple Choice - one question for two answers

Standard Multiple Choice questions

Standard Multiple Choice questions are the most typical form of Multiple Choice questions used in the IELTS test with one question and four possible answers.

Example 1 - Standard Multiple Choice questions

Question 4 Choose the correct letter A, B, C, or D. 4 Which description best describes Esperanto? A a language which is similar to Chinese B an old Latin language C a language which was created as an international language D a language which is used for radio broadcasts Now lets look at the part of the passage Esperanto that this question refers to. Try answering Question 4. When you have finished, click on the Check button to check your answer. A Esperanto is an artificial language designed to serve internationally as an auxiliary means of communication among speakers of different languages. Esperanto, the creation of Ludwig Zamenhof, a PolishJewish ophthalmologist, was first presented in 1887. An international movement to promote its use has continued to flourish and has members in more than 80 countries.

Esperanto A Esperanto is an artificial language designed to serve internationally as an auxiliary means of communication among speakers of different languages. Esperanto, the creation of Ludwig Zamenhof, a Polish-Jewish ophthalmologist, was first presented in 1887. An international movement to promote its use has continued to flourish and has members in more than 80 countries. B Esperanto is used internationally across language boundaries by about one million people, particularly in specialised fields. It is used in personal contacts, on radio broadcasts, and in a number of publications as well as in translations of both modern works and classics. Its popularity has spread from Europe - both East and West - to such countries as Brazil and Japan. It is in China, however, that Esperanto has had its greatest impact. It is taught in universities and used in many translations (often in scientific or technological works). El Popola Cinio, a monthly magazine in Esperanto from the Peoples Republic of China, is read worldwide. Radio Beijings Esperanto program is the most popular program in Esperanto in the world.

Activity - Standard Multiple Choice questions

Now lets practise doing another Standard Multiple Choice question for the reading passage Esperanto. Read the question below, then click on the Reading Passage button to read the passage again. When you find the answer, click on the button next to the correct answer. Question 5 Choose the correct letter A, B, C, or D. 5 In what country has Esperanto had the most influence? A Brazil B China C Japan D Poland

Modified Multiple Choice questions

Modified Multiple Choice questions are a little different to the Standard Multiple Choice questions we have just looked at. They are used only occasionally in the test but you should know how to answer them. Look at the two types of Modified Multiple Choice questions below.

Example 2 - Modified Multiple Choice questions: Two answers for one question

This type of Modified Multiple Choice question asks you to choose TWO answers for ONE question. Look at the example question and answer below. Question 6 Choose TWO letters A - F. 6 Which TWO countries mentioned in the passage use Esperanto? A Poland BJapan CIsrael DGermany EEngland FBrazil

To get this answer correct, you must write both letters (B and F) in the space for Question 6 on your answer sheet.

If one of the answers you choose is correct, but the other is incorrect (for example, B and D), the answer will be marked incorrect.

Example 3 - Modified Multiple Choice questions: One question for two answers
This type of Modified Multiple Choice question asks you to choose TWO answers (e.g., Question 7 and 8) for ONE question. Look at the example question and answer below. Question 7-8 Choose TWO letters A - F. Which TWO countries mentioned in the passage use Esperanto? APoland BJapan CIsrael DGermany EEngland FBrazil

To get this answer correct, you must write one letter in the space for Question 7 on your Answer Sheet and the other letter in the space for Question 8. It doesn't matter what order you write the two letters.

Now lets look at another Specific Information question type - Short Answer questions

Short Answer questions

For Short Answer questions, you are asked to write an answer of between one and four words. Look at the following example questions on the passage Esperanto and pay close attention to the instructions.

Example
Questions 9-10 Answer the questions below using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer. 9 What is Esperanto used for in China? ........................................ 10 What is very regular about Esperanto? ........................................

It is very important that you read the instructions carefully for Short Answer questions to check the word limit. For Questions 9 and 10, the word limit is three words. This means that you can write one, two or three words, but you cannot write more than three words. If you do, the answer will be marked incorrect, even if your answer is correct!

Activity - Short Answer questions

Now lets practise answering Short Answer questions for the reading passage Esperanto. Click on the button to read the passage again and answer Questions 9 and 10. Type no more than three words for each answer. Then click on the Check buttons to check your answers.

Questions 9-10 Answer the questions below using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer. 9 What is Esperanto used for in China?

10 What is very regular about Esperanto?

Esperanto A Esperanto is an artificial language designed to serve internationally as an auxiliary means of communication among speakers of different languages. Esperanto, the creation of Ludwig Zamenhof, a PolishJewish ophthalmologist, was first presented in 1887. An international movement to promote its use has continued to flourish and has members in more than 80 countries. B Esperanto is used internationally across language boundaries by

about one million people, particularly in specialised fields. It is used in personal contacts, on radio broadcasts, and in a number of publications as well as in translations of both modern works and classics. Its popularity has spread from Europe - both East and West to such countries as Brazil and Japan. It is in China, however, that Esperanto has had its greatest impact. It is taught in universities and used in many translations (often in scientific or technological works). El Popola Cinio, a monthly magazine in Esperanto from the Peoples Republic of China, is read worldwide. Radio Beijings Esperanto program is the most popular program in Esperanto in the world. C Esperantos vocabulary is drawn primarily from Latin, the Romance languages, English and German. Spelling is completely regular. For example, a simple and consistent set of endings indicates grammatical functions of words. Thus, every noun ends in -o, every adjective in -a, and the infinitive of every verb in -i.

Sentence Completion questions

Sentence Completion questions test your ability to find details to complete a sentence. There are two types of Sentence Completion questions:

filling in the blank space in a sentence matching one half of a sentence to the other half.

Lets now look at examples of these two types of Sentence Completion questions.

Example 1 Filling in the blank space

Read the two Sentence Completion questions below. They are the same questions as the Short Answer Questions 9 and 10 we have just looked at, but they have been put in the form of a Sentence Completion question. Click on the button to read the passage again and answer Questions 11 and 12. Type no more than three words for each answer. Then click on the Check button to check your answers. Questions 11-12 Answer the questions below using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer. Esperanto is used for 11 in China 12 is very regular in Esperanto.

For the other type of Sentence Completion question, you need to match one half of a sentence to the other half. Lets look at an example.

Example 2 Matching sentence halves

Questions 13-14 Complete each sentence with the correct ending A-E from the radio buttons below each question. 13 It is in China that Esperanto Ais not used very often Bhas grown in popularity Cwas first started Dhas had a very significant effect Eis taught in secondary schools 14 From the article, it is clear that Esperanto Ais not used very often Bhas grown in popularity Cwas first started Dhas had a very significant effect Eis taught in secondary schools

Note that all of the possible answers are in the same grammatical form. In other words, they all start with verbs (is, has grown, was, has had, and is). This is very common for matching Sentence Completion statements, and is done to make the questions easier to read, but it also makes the questions harder to answer because you cant use your knowledge of grammar to help you choose the correct answer. Now let's look at another Specific Information question type - True/False/Not Given.

11 The correct answer is (many) translations or a monthly magazine. This answer is correct with or without the word many because it is not a key word for the answer. The key word is translations.

12 The correct answer is Spelling or spelling. The answer is the first word of the sentence, so you should use a capital (big) letter S. However, if you dont, its OK. The answer will not be incorrect.

IELTS Reading tips: true, false or not given

Two quick tips for when you need to guess IELTS Reading true, false or not given questions
If youre really stuck with a question in the IELTS Reading test, its important that you dont spend too long thinking about your answer and that you take a guess instead. If you have to guess the answer to a TRUE, FALSE or NOT GIVEN question, here are two quick tips to give you a better chance of guessing right.

Tip 1: Dont guess the answer based on your own knowledge

If you think you know that an answer is true or false because you have read it somewhere else, you shouldnt use this knowledge to answer the question. To show you what I mean, here are two TRUE, FALSE or NOT GIVEN questions taken from a test in the book Cambridge IELTS 8: Do the following statements agree with the information in the text? Write: TRUE if the statement agrees with the information FALSE if the statement contradicts the information NOT GIVEN if there is no information given 29. Most New Zealanders believe it is good to teach children a second language 30. Chinese is the most common foreign language in New Zealand

If I had to guess the answers to these questions based on my own knowledge, I would answer TRUE for both. The answers in the test, however, are NOT GIVEN because the information isnt stated directly in the text.

Tip 2: Guess the answer based on the answers in previous IELTS Reading tests
In all of the published versions of official IELTS Reading tests that Ive looked at (both Academic and General Training), theres almost always at least one answer that is true, one that is false and one that is not given in any set of TRUE, FALSE or NOT GIVEN questions. What this means is that if you are confident with all of your answers except one, you should choose the answer that you havent used yet. If there are four questions, for example, and you are confident that the first three answers are TRUE, TRUE and FALSE, then it would be a good idea to choose NOT GIVEN for the fourth answer. Of course, whether your guess is right or not depends on whether the answers that you are confident with are actually correct.