Conquer the Matching Information in IELTS Reading with just 4 steps!

Matching Information in IELTS Reading is always considered one of the most common question types that we often encounter in the IELTS Reading test. To achieve the maximum score in this task, test takers need to have a clear understanding of certain conditions such as the requirements of the task, and the characteristics of the questions, and also master a strategy for completing the task.
Therefore, to provide Preppies with the most comprehensive overview of the Matching Information task, the following article suggests 4 basic steps to conquer the Matching Information task in the IELTS Reading test. Let's refer to the article below!

I. What is Matching Information in IELTS Reading?

Matching Information in IELTS Reading involves matching pieces of information together. The task requires test takers to match statements (questions) with paragraphs containing relevant information in the preceding passage. The questions in this task may provide information about reasons, descriptions, definitions, characteristics, summaries, or explanations. The paragraphs are labeled with letters A, B, C, etc. for test takers to fill in the answers.

The matching information to paragraph task is a common question type in IELTS and often appears in Reading passages 2 and 3. The task requires the ability to locate SPECIFIC information in the passage.

II. Format of Matching Information in IELTS Reading

To help test takers understand the format of the Matching Information task in the IELTS Reading test, let's refer to the following images:

Test	Image
Cambridge 17, Test 1, IELTS Reading Part 2
Cambridge 17, Test 2, IELTS Reading Part 2

III. Some difficulties that candidates often encounter during the practice of Matching Information in IELTS Reading

During the practice of IELTS Reading in general, and specifically in the practice of Matching Information in IELTS Reading, candidates will encounter numerous difficulties. What are these difficulties and how can they be overcome?

• The biggest challenge lies in understanding the meaning of each paragraph in the passage. The information needed to answer the questions can be found anywhere. Therefore, even if you have completed many questions beforehand, you will still spend time looking for answers to the entire passage for the remaining questions.
• The information needed to answer the questions may not be contained in just one or two individual sentences within the paragraph, but it may be spread throughout the entire paragraph. Therefore, sometimes you have to find very specific and detailed information in the passage, and in addition, you need to understand the overall meaning of the entire passage to find the correct answers. Furthermore, not every passage contains the answers, but one passage can be the answer to more than one question.
• This type of task is more difficult than the Matching Headings task. In the Matching Headings task, you only need to find the main idea of the passage, but this type of task requires finding specific information in the passage.

IV. Steps to conquer Matching Information in IELTS Reading in Reading

Below are the suggested strategies for completing the Matching Information task in IELTS Reading provided by teachers at prepedu.com. In fact, there are many ways for candidates to complete this task, but choose the method that suits you best. Try practicing the following steps:

• Step 1: Read the instructions carefully. Candidates need to understand the requirements of the task, especially pay attention to whether the instructions state that you can choose one passage for more than one question. There is usually a sentence like "NB: you may use any letter more than once". This means that each question corresponds to one answer, but with this type of task, two answers can have the same passage. If you don't read the instructions carefully, you may waste time hesitating and choose the wrong answer.
• Step 2: Read and analyze the questions carefully. The questions usually consist of two parts: asking about what + asking about what issue.
  • Clearly identify the keywords in the "asking about what" part. These keywords will help you scan/identify the position that contains the information to answer the question most quickly.
  • As for the "asking about what issue" part, for example, if the question asks about the purpose, don't look for information in the descriptive part of the passage.
• Step 3: Find the "asking about what" part first.
• Step 4: Compare: Compare the meaning of the passage to see if it corresponds to the keywords in the "asking about what issue" part of the question. Choose the answer.

V. Some basic tips for doing well in Matching Information in IELTS Reading

To excel and score high in the Matching Information task, candidates should take note of the following basics:

• When you come across passages of this question type, read all the questions and underline the keywords in all the questions, then move on to another question type.
• It is recommended to complete the sentence completion task before moving on to the matching task.
• Remember that your task is to accurately find specific details in the appropriate passage and understand the meaning of the passage to compare if it aligns with the question's meaning.
• The number of passages will usually be more than the number of questions provided.
• The keywords in the questions will often differ from the words appearing in the passage (they may be synonyms or phrases).
• There may be a passage in the test that does not contain the answer to any question. Conversely, there may be a passage that contains multiple answers.
• The answers to the questions in the Matching Information task in IELTS Reading will not be evenly distributed in order from top to bottom. For example, if you find the answer to question 1 in passage A, it does not mean that the answer to question 2 will be in passage B. It could be in passage D or before question 2 in the same passage A.
• The information stated in the task instructions may not necessarily be the main idea; it could be a minor point or sideline information. Therefore, to avoid losing points, you need to read and reread the passage multiple times to find the appropriate answer.

VI. Practice exercises for Matching Information in IELTS Reading

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