IELTS reading test- matching the list of headings/titles to the paragraphs
IELTS reading test — matching the list of headings/titles to the paragraphs
Matching the list of headings is the most important question type both for academic reading as well as General training reading. There would be several headings or titles given and you are supposed to match the title which is appropriate to the paragraph by reading it. In this article, we are going to focus on the tips and tricks required in order to get the answer for matching the list of headings.
The IELTS test is divided into 4 parts, listening, reading, writing and speaking, and the reading test differs from the academic module to the general training module. However, the question types are the same. It should be understood that the more you practice the various question types, the better you will score in the test.
How many types of questions are there?
a. IELTS reading test — matching the list of headings or titles
b. Note completion or sentence completion
d. Table completion
e. Multiple choice questions with single option selection
f. Multiple choice questions with dual option selection
h. Summary completion (with options or without options)
i. Matching the nouns with the information
j. Matching the endings of sentences
l. True / false / not given
m. Yes/no/ not given
n. Matching the information to the paragraphs (Para matching).
You can notice that there are several types of questions for which there would be separate strategies to answer. We are going to look at such tips and tricks required to answer the IELTS reading matching the list of headings to the paragraphs.
Procedure to be followed:
Step 1: Read all the titles carefully
It is very important to begin answering this question type by properly reading and analyzing the titles, as sometimes, the titles are confusing and they appear similar to each other. So, there is a strong chance that the test takers may get confused and mark the wrong title.
Step 2: Underline the keywords by highlighting them
In any part of the IELTS reading test, it is highly essential and advisable to start answering a question type by marking the keywords. These are words that carry significance in finding the right answer.
In this particular question type — matching the list of headings, the keywords are usually the nouns, verbs, and adjectives. These are considered to be the core keywords because they help us in identifying the correct answer matching the correct title to the paragraph. Remember that you’ll have to match just one title to a paragraph and the same title will not be matched to multiple paragraphs.
Step 3: Read the first sentence of each paragraph.
This is known as the topic sentence as it introduces the main idea of what is covered in that paragraph. Reading the topic sentence and analyzing it carefully will provide us with a brief overview which will help us in selecting the right title. Continue reading the first sentences of all the paragraphs before arriving at the right answer.
In this process, also underline the keywords in the topic sentences.
An important tip to remember here is that if you see a word is unfamiliar to you or its meaning is unknown to you, do not worry. Remember that your mean aim in the reading test is to find the right answer and not find the meaning of those words which you do not know. So, it is alright if you do not know a particular word. Try to infer the meaning of the sentence as a whole.
Step 4: Matching the heading/title to the paragraph
Now, this step is often the most confusing for a majority of the students. But let me tell you that this is very simple and easy. The only thing you need to do is find those keywords which are similar between the paragraph and those keywords that you have identified in the title. Sometimes, you will notice that more than one title will seem appropriate for one paragraph.
This is a point of confusion for students. In this case, it is always advisable to continue reading the paragraph until you find the keywords that will help you to confirm the title. Usually, in the second or third sentence of the paragraph, you will get to see the content that is related to the second part of the title.
So, how should you confirm the title?
Never confirm the heading by just reading one sentence. Read the context as a whole very quickly. Do not spend too much time reading one paragraph as it will reduce the time for the other questions. For this, adopt quick reading strategies such as skimming and scanning.
Also, read the final sentence of the paragraph which is called the conclusion or conclusion statement. This sometimes may contain the information that you are looking for.
Step 5: Writing the answers as Roman numerals
One particular feature that differentiates ‘matching the list of headings’ from the rest of the question types is that in this question type the options are given in the form of Roman numerals. But what happens with most of the test takers is that they write the answers as the usual mathematical numbers. This is a problem because the reading answer sheet is evaluated based on the Standard pattern of correction. As per this, the answer has to be written in the form of Roman numerals only.
One more mistake the candidates commit in the main exam is that they get confused while transferring the answers to the reading answer sheet. For instance, instead of writing the answer as ‘vi’ (six), they may write the answer as ‘iv’ (four). Obviously, this is not the correct answer and even though they got the correct answer they will be losing marks for transferring it incorrectly onto the answer sheet.
A simple solution for this is to directly write the answers in the reading answer sheet. This will not only help to get the correct form of the answer but it also helps in saving the time and avoiding the last minute stress to transfer the answers.