IELTS Reading Question Types: True/False/Not Given, Headings and Completion

True/False/Not Given and Yes/No/Not Given

True/False/Not Given checks information; Yes/No/Not Given checks views or claims. Agreement is different from contradiction, and neither is the same as absence of evidence. Use the requested labels and do not fill gaps with your outside knowledge.

Original example: “Some participants preferred morning classes, but others preferred evenings.” The statement “All participants preferred mornings” is False because the text explicitly gives exceptions. A statement about their ages is Not Given unless ages are supplied. A word such as most alone does not necessarily establish that a claim about all is false; check for actual evidence of exceptions.

Matching headings: summarise before selecting

A heading represents the main idea, not just a memorable example. Read the paragraph and make a short summary before comparing options. The first sentence can help, but the paragraph may shift focus later.

Original paragraph: a city plants trees because they provide shade and absorb rainfall. A heading about benefits fits; one about maintenance costs does not unless those costs are the paragraph’s actual focus.

Matching information and features

Information matching asks where a detail occurs. Create a brief paragraph map, then look for the requested example, reason, comparison or explanation. Answers may not follow text order, and a letter may be reusable only when the instructions permit it.

Feature matching connects information to people, groups or categories. Distinguish who made a finding from who criticised it. A person’s name locates a possible sentence, but the surrounding meaning decides the match.

Summary, sentence, note and table completion

Determine whether answers must come from the passage or a supplied list. Predict the grammatical role of a gap, locate the evidence and check meaning as well as grammar. Follow word limits and use the requested answer format.

Original passage: “Rainwater is stored in tanks.” Under ONE WORD ONLY, “tanks” completes “Rainwater is kept in _____.” Adding “large tanks” exceeds the limit and invents an unsupported detail.

Multiple choice and short answers

Read the stem carefully: a reason is not the same as an outcome. Eliminate choices by explaining what the passage actually says, not by noticing that an option’s words appear in it. Short answers likewise require the specified detail and limit.

When answers are wrong, diagnose the task

For a wrong heading, compare the main idea with the distracting detail. For a wrong Not Given decision, identify exactly what was missing or contradicted. For completion errors, check source words, plural endings and the limit separately. This gives your next practice session a focused goal.

Move from recognising language to using it

Paraphrase a supported passage idea in an original spoken explanation or essay paragraph. Use Writing and Speaking feedback for that separate productive task. Keep official Reading materials and their keys as your source for Reading scoring.