Matching, completion, and the last five minutes

Matching headings — find the main idea

You are given more headings than paragraphs and asked which heading fits each paragraph.
⚠ A shared word is not enough. A heading and paragraph may both contain pollution while the paragraph's main idea is a proposed solution, not the problem itself.
Ask: what is the whole paragraph mainly about? It may explain a problem, compare responses, or evaluate evidence. Read enough of the paragraph to distinguish its main point from an example.
The opening or closing sentence can signal the main idea, but check the middle if the paragraph turns or qualifies its opening claim.
Do clear matches first and cross off used headings. For close choices, state each heading's distinct claim and test it against the entire paragraph.

The loudest word in a paragraph is not always its main idea.

Practice

A heading and a paragraph share the word 'pollution'. What does that tell you?

In Which paragraph contains…, answers need not follow passage order. A paragraph may be used more than once when the instructions permit it. Summary and diagram completion can also depart from passage order.
If another task has already made you familiar with the passage, use that map. Otherwise scan each paragraph for the specific detail named in the question.
Look for the specific thing named — an example, a comparison, a date, a reason, a definition — not the topic. Every paragraph is about the topic.
⚠ Do not read the whole passage again. Read your own annotations.

Practice

Which task asks you to locate specific information across paragraphs, without assuming the answers follow passage order?

Matching features pairs statements with people, places or studies. Underline every name in the passage first: names are the fastest thing on a page to find, and once they are marked the task is mechanical.
A name can be used more than once, or not at all; check the instruction before reusing one.
Matching sentence endings requires both grammar and meaning. A grammatically possible ending can still contradict the passage.
Read the beginning and check which endings fit its grammar; then locate the relevant statement in the passage before selecting one.

Sentence, summary, note, table, flow-chart and diagram completion all work the same way.
Before you look for the answer, read the whole sentence around the gap. Is the missing phrase a person, place, action or quantity? In the samples were ___ by the technician, the passive verb needs a past participle. Grammar helps narrow the search, but the passage decides the word.
For a words from the passage task, copy the words as printed. For a task with an option list, choose from that list. Read the instruction before deciding where the answer must come from.
Obey the word limit. Three words where two are allowed is wrong even when the idea is right.
If a box of options is given, choose from it. Several options may fit the grammar; check their meaning against the passage.

Practice

'The samples were ______ by the technician before the trial.' What verb form is needed?

Practice

In summary completion it is safer to use your own synonym than the passage's word.

Return first to marked questions for which you know where the evidence is. A short completion answer may be quicker than a question that needs a whole paragraph reread.
Give the remaining time to questions where you can still locate evidence. For TFNG, check the exact sentence that states, contradicts or leaves the claim unaddressed.
Fill every blank. No penalty, and a blank is a mark you chose to give away.
Then check that every response is in the right numbered box, whether you are using a paper answer sheet or a computer screen.
Source checked on 23 September 2026: official IELTS Academic Reading guide.