IELTS Reading Question Types & Answer Orders

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  IELTS reading is divided into 3 passages with a total of 40 questions (13-13-14). Passage 1 is usually the easiest and it gets harder as you go. You are given only an hour to finish the reading part of the test.
  
  There are a total of 14 question types, but I will explain the 8 most common types and whether the answers come in order or not.
  
  1. Heading
         
  *NOT IN ORDER OF THE ANSWERS*
  3 TIPS:
  1) Answer hints are usually in the first 2-3lines (sometimes, last 2-3 lines) of a paragraph.
  2) Do the short paragraphs first! Easy ones first!
  3) Never read the WHOLE thing. Just the first or last few lines.

2. True or False (Yes or No)

*IN ORDER*
3 TIPS:
1) In the question, look for main verbs and words like “first”, “second”,  and comparatives and superlatives.
2) Look for distinct keywords, like proper nouns, dates, numbers, and sizes.
3) You CAN find the keyword locations for ‘Not Given’ ones, which is why it confused test takers.

3. Summary Completion

*IN ORDER*
3 TIPS:
1) Careful with contrary words like “BUT” or “HOWEVER“.
2) Choose keywords carefully, like proper nouns, dates, numbers, and sizes.
3) Summary Completion questions WITH WORD CHOICES are MUCH HARDER because you often have to choose synonyms of the answer you find in the reading.

4. Matching

*NOT IN ORDER*
3 TIPS:
1) Must look for keywords to help you locate the answer.
2) If it asks you to match the person’s name with the sentences, you have to look for their LAST NAMES and write down somewhere which paragraphs they are mentioned in.
3) DO NOT read the ENTIRE passage.

5. Multiple Choice

*IN ORDER*
3 TIPS:
1) Do this question type last (It takes too long and it’s better to do other questions and get the grip of the passage before answering multiple choices).
2) Always cross out the choices that are highly likely to be wrong to narrow down your options. 
3) Don’t forget the question. Students often forget what the question asks for.

6. Short Answer

*IN ORDER*
3 TIPS:
1) Look for keywords like proper nouns, dates, numbers, and sizes.
2) Check the number of words or numbers you can use.
3) Usually, this is the easiest type of question.

7. Diagram

*CAN BE EITHER IN ORDER OR NOT*
3 TIPS:
1) Check which parts of speech you are looking for.
2) Answers are usually within 1 or 2 paragraphs.
3) Look for keywords like proper nouns, dates, numbers, and sizes.

8. Flow Chart

*IN ORDER*
3 TIPS:
1) Check the title to help you which part of the reading you should check.
2) Look for keywords like proper nouns, dates, numbers, and sizes.
3) Check which parts of speech you are looking for.

Always remember that you often DON’T NEED TO GET A PERFECT SCORE OF 9.0!! Focus on the questions you CAN do, and practice giving up on questions you CAN’T do so that you don’t waste your precious time during the test 🙂