THE TWELVE QUESTIONS IN IELTS READING

True false not given [identifying writers view i]

Yes no not given [identifying writers view ii]
Multiple choice question
Summary completion
Matching heading
Matching features
Sentence completion
Short answer
Diagram label
Table /flow chart/note completion
Matching Paragraph information
Matching sentence endings

TRUE- FALSE-NOT GIVEN

TRUE- if all info from the question statement are
all in the passage text
FALSE- if passage text says other way around
Not GIVEN- if info from the question is not in the
passage.

Use this strategy in YES – NO –Not GIVEN
READ THE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST
so you know the type question you have to answer and
exactly how you have to answer it.
Rules on Comparison
TRUE- if two items are compared in the question
statement the same way as in the passage.
FALSE-two item are compared from the in the
question statement same as in the passage
HOWEVER item says other way around.
Not GIVEN- two items are being compared
from the question statement HOWEVER:
 There is no comparison from the
passage
 One item is missing

READ THE QUESTIONS AND HIGHLIGHT KEYWORDS

Remember that words beginning with capital letters, numbers
and long phrases are the easiest to find in the text. These are the keywords.
SCAN THE LINE IN THE PASSAGE
Locate keywords. Look for similar meanings. Watchout for comparisons
And limiting words.
REMEMBER:
Be careful of comparisons or limiting adjectives that limits keywords
The questions are in the same order as the information from the passage.
SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

READ THE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST.

Highlight the required number of words
ie. NO MORE THAN TWO/three WORDS

READ THE QUESTIONS

Highlight the question words [WHO, WHEN, WHERE, WHAT and HOW] in the
question.
Highlight the keyword words. Remember words with Capital letter, numbers and
long words/phrases
SCAN THE PASSAGE
look for words that have similar meaning
LOCATE THE ANSWER
Read around the keyword in the passage or if needed whole sentence.
Look for the kind of information to answer the question.
REMEMBER
MAKE SURE TO KEEP THE WORD LIMIT and MIND YOUR SPELLING
Do not add extra words to your answer
Do not use your own words
QUESTIONS ARE IN THE SAME ORDER AS IN THE PASSAGE TEXT
MULTIPLE CHOICE

READ THE INSTRUCTIONS FROM THE QUESTIONAIRE.

So you know the type of the question you have to answer and exactly how you have
to answer it.
There are different multiple questions. You may have to choose one, two, or three
answers from the choices given
READ THE QUESTIONS CAREFULLY
See if you need to complete a sentence or answer a question.
Look at the language used in the question-
it will help you locate the information you are looking for in the passage
ONE KIND OF QUESTION IS ABOUT THE WHOLE PASSAGE
Purpose, main argument, best title- base these ones from the main idea of passage.
THREE LETTER ANSWERS-for this type of question answers are located at the latter part of
passage [4-5th paragraph]
Statements Reasons Predictions Problems Action for a particular purpose
REMEMBER
The questions are in Are in the same order as information from the passage
MATCHING PARAGRAPH HEADINGS

READ THE INSTRUCTIONS

So you will know how to answer the question
CHECK THE EXAMPLE
cross it out so you don’t waste time reading it.
READ THE HEADINGS CAREFULLY
Highlight Keypoints
READ PARAGRAPH TOPIC SENTENCE AND LAST SENTENCE
FROM THE PASSAGE. LOCATE MAIN IDEA

Match the headings to paragraph.

REMEMBER
DO NOT SPEND 20 mins in answering this portion alone
There will be more headings.

MATCHING FEATURES

THREE KINDS OF QUESTIONS [FACTS, OPINIONS THEORIES].

READ THE INSTRUCTIONS FROM THE QUESTIONAIRE.

So you know the type of the matching features –SCAN THE PASSAGE FOR
OPTIONS.
READ OPTIONS A, B OR C AND THEN SCAN THE PASSAGE FOR THEM.
 Highlight and underline the OPTIONS in the passage so it will be easy to locate.
READ THE QUESTIONS CAREFULLY
Highlight the keywords in each of them
to help you match them to the information in the passage
when you read the text from it. [refer i.e below ]
READ THE PART OF THE PASSAGE
Read around the keywords in the passage. Look for similar meanings.
MATCH THE STATEMENT TO AN OPTION.
REMEMBER
The questions are not in same order as the information from the passage.
One option can be the answer of two or three question statement
Look for similar meanings
Do not use your own words.
If two names are close to each other double check the statement to make sure of right
answer
MATCHING PARAGRAPH INFORMATION

READ THE INSTRUCTIONS FROM THE QUESTIONAIRE.

So you know the type of the question you have to answer and exactly how you
have to answer it.
READ THE QUESTIONS CAREFULLY AND HIGHLIGHT KIND OF INFORMATION AND
KEYWORDS
First you need to highlight the kind of information you are looking for.
Highlight the keywords such as NUMBER, NAME, example or description.
SCAN THE PASSAGE FOR KEYWORDS.
Scan for names and numbers. Look for similar meanings as well
REMEMBER
The questions are NOT IN THE SAME ORDER as the information in the passage text
The letter of the paragraph can be the answer of two-three question statements
SUMMARY COMPLETION [choices NOT GIVEN/Gap fill]

READ THE INSTRUCTIONS FROM THE QUESTIONAIRE.

So you know the type of the question you have to answer and exactly how you
have to answer it.
HIGHLIGHT THE NUMBER OF WORDS NEEDED TO COMPLETE THE SUMMARY.
READ THE SUMMARY:As you read the summary, you need to do several things.
First, think about what kind of information is needed to complete the blanks
Second, think about what kind of word is needed to complete the blanks.
Third, underline the keywords in the sentence that will help you find the
information
in the passage and complete the gap
Finally, underline the linking words in the summary.
The organization in the summary may help you find the information in the
passage
if the organization is similar.
FIND THE PART OF THE PASSAGE: The summary is going to be about ONE PART of the
passage
If the summary has a TITLE, use it to find the part of the text. Also use transition
words to find a clue
READ THE PART OF THE PASSAGE
 Focus on just completing just one sentence at a time in the summary.
 Look for the keywords from the sentence in the passage, look for similar
meanings.
 Read around the keywords- the whole sentence or if needed the sentence
before and/or after.
DO NOT USE YOUR OWN WORDS!!!!!
Gaps in the summary MAY NOT BE in same order as information from the passage.

SUMMARY COMPLETION [choices GIVEN]

READ THE INSTRUCTIONS FROM THE QUESTIONAIRE.
So you know the type of the question you have to answer and exactly how you
have to answer it.
HIGHLIGHT THE NUMBER OF WORDS NEEDED TO COMPLETE THE SUMMARY.
READ THE SUMMARY:[same as choices not given]
FIND THE PART OF THE PASSAGE: The summary is going to be about ONE PART or WHOLE
of the passage
If the summary has a TITLE, use it to find the part of the text. Also use transition
words to find a clue
READ THE PART OF THE PASSAGE
 Focus on just completing just one sentence at a time in the summary.
 Look for the keywords from the sentence in the passage,
 look for similar meanings for the CHOICES
as CHOICES can be a similar meaning to one, two or three words from the
passage or
from a same word family.
 Read around the keywords- the whole sentence or if needed the sentence
before and/or after.
DO NOT USE YOUR OWN WORDS!!!!!
Look for similar meaning for your answer choices as they are not exactly the same
words as in the passage
Gaps in the summary MAY NOT BE in same order as information from the passage.
SENTENCE COMPLETION

READ THE INSTRUCTIONS [highlight word limit]

READ THE QUESTIONS
As you read the sentence in the question you have to do several things
FIRST think about what kind of information is needed to complete the gap.
SECOND think about what kind of word is needed to complete the gap.
[Adjective, noun or both]
FINALLY underline or highlight the keywords in the sentence from the question
that will help you
find the information in the passage to complete the gap.
SCAN THE PASSAGE- look for similar meanings for the key words
CHOOSE WORD THAT COMPLETES THE GAP
REMEMBER
Do not use your own words
Questions are IN THE SAME ORDER as the information in the passage
[It could the whole passage or2-4 paragraph in succession]
MATCHING SENTENCE ENDINGS

READ THE INSTRUCTIONS

READ THE QUESTIONS -
Highlight keywords-names capital letters, numbers long words/phrases
SCAN THE PASSAGE- look for similar meanings for the key words
READ THE PART OF THE PASSAGE
READ SENTENCE ENDINGS
As you read the endings look for the ending that makes the whole sentence match
the
Information in the passage. Look for words that have similar meaning to words in the
passage
CHOOSE the letter of the CORRECT ENDING
REMEMBER
Questions are IN THE SAME ORDER as the information in the passage [2-4 paragraph in
succession]
DIAGRAM LABELING [Table Completion]

READ INSTRUCTION highlight word limit required

READ ALL PARTS OF THE TABLE CAREFULLY
Headings of the rows and columns, and the kind of information
in the parts of the table
Think what kind of information is needed to complete the gap
[noun, adjective or both
FIND AND READ THE PART OF THE PASSAGE
Use TITLE if there is one
CHOOSE WORDS THAT COMPLETE THE GAP
REMEMBER
The table is ONE PART of the passage
Use title to locate the part of the passage
Do not use your own words
DIAGRAM LABELING [Note Completion]

READ INSTRUCTION highlight word limit required

READ NOTES CAREFULLY
Highlight keyword-transition words
Think what kind of information is needed to complete the gap
[noun, adjective or both
FIND AND READ THE PART OF THE PASSAGE
Use TITLE if there is one. Take similar meanings in consideration
CHOOSE WORDS THAT COMPLETE THE GAP
REMEMBER
The table is ONE PART of the passage
Use title to locate the part of the passage
Do not use your own words
Notes may not be in the same order as the information in the passage
DIAGRAM LABELING [Flow Chart]

READ INSTRUCTION highlight word limit required

READ all parts of flowchart CAREFULLY
Check if flow chart has a TITLE-so you know what the chart is all about
Read each stage so you know how it is organized and what the chat shows
A PROCESS or a SEQUENCE
think what kind of information is needed to complete the gap
[noun, adjective or both
FIND AND READ THE PART OF THE PASSAGE which contains the sequence of process
Take similar meanings in consideration
CHOOSE WORDS THAT COMPLETE THE GAP
REMEMBER
The table is ONE PART of the passage
Use title to locate the part of the passage
Do not use your own words
Gaps may notb e in the same order as the information in the passage