IELTS Reading Matching Paragraph Information: Sample and Tips 

Introduction to IELTS Reading Matching Paragraph Information

The IELTS reading matching paragraph information questions assess your ability to identify specific details within paragraphs. This requires connecting statements to the corresponding paragraphs where that information is communicated, often involving paraphrased content. Success in this area depends on employing scanning and skimming techniques to identify keywords and main ideas, distinguishing them from headings by aligning specific facts rather than just themes. It’s important to note that answers may not always appear in the same order as the statements.

• What this entails: This question type presents a series of statements (including facts, examples, and opinions) and requests that you match each statement to the appropriate paragraph (labelled A, B, C, etc.) within the reading passage.
• Key Skills: The ability to skim for a general understanding and scan for specific words and ideas is vital for locating pertinent details.
• Challenges: Given that information in the statements may be paraphrased, grasping synonyms and alternative phrasing is particularly important.
• Distinction from Matching Headings: While there are similarities, Matching Information focuses on pairing specific details to individual paragraphs, whereas Matching Headings connects main ideas to larger sections.

Samples for IELTS Reading Yes, No, Not Given

This section includes matching paragraph information practice in the IELTS reading section, accompanied by the passage.

Sample 1

Here is a sample IELTS reading matching paragraph information question for your reference. Engaging with this type of sample can significantly aid you in working towards achieving a band score of 8 or higher on the IELTS exam.

IELTS Reading Passage: The Best Travel Wallets

Keep all your bank cards, documents, passports and ID in one of these convenient carriers, which have been selected by Becca Meier.

A. Kipling Travel Doc Travel Document Holder

This zip-around wallet comes in five different patterns and is made of nylon. It also has a space where users can put a pen, pockets for cards, an ID window and a pocket for change.

B. Lifeventure Mini Travel Document Wallet

This is a waterproof wallet, which uses anti-RFID (radio frequency identification) material so your financial details will be safe. It is black with smart sky-blue finishing touches and has a small internal compartment, a smartphone pocket and an external pocket. It can fit two passports.

C. Cath Kidston Breton Stripe

A wallet so slim it could easily pass for a small notebook. The inside compartment labels identifying each separate section all have silver lettering on them. The wallet has a special coating which makes it easy to wipe anything, like san,d off.

D. Ted Baker Voyager’s Travel Wallet

This wallet comes in smooth black leather and is no bigger than a passport, but roomy enough for any insurance documents or flight tickets. A small navy-blue pen is supplied inside.

E. Radley Abbey Travel Wallet

This plain travel wallet opens up to reveal pockets in various colours labelled ‘cards’, ‘passport’, and ‘tickets’, as well as others left blank for extras. It comes in a handy drawstring bag.

F. Gotravel Organiser

The black wallet features seven slip-in card compartments, two small interior zip pockets, and a load of other slip-in compartments; it can fit at least four passports.

G. Go Travel Glo Travel Wallet

This is a simple, very reasonably priced wallet. It is made of PVC plastic and will suit those who like a wallet that is easy to spot. It comes in a range of bright colours with a white holiday-related design on the front. It has five compartments that can fit a passport with other cards/tickets.

Questions for Reading Passage: The Best Travel Wallets

Questions 1-8

Look at the seven reviews of travel wallets, A-G, below.

For which travel wallet are the following statements true?

Write the correct letter, A-G, in boxes 1-8 on your answer sheet.

NB You may use any letter more than once.

1. This wallet will suit people who prefer natural materials.

2. Users of this wallet do not need to worry about taking it out in the rain.

3. Parts of the inside of this wallet have categories printed on them in one colour.

4. This wallet would suit someone who needs to keep several passports together.

5. Something is provided for writing.

6. This will suit people who want to be able to find their document wallet easily in their luggage.

7. Something to keep this wallet in is provided.

8. This wallet has been specially made to prevent people from detecting the numbers on any bank cards, etc., inside it.

Answers of The Best Travel Wallets Reading Passage

Question 1

Answer: D

Explanation: Paragraph D states the wallet is made of black leather, a treated natural material.

Question 2

Answer: B

Explanation: Paragraph B mentions that the wallet is waterproof and made from anti-RFID material, making it suitable for rainy conditions.

Question 3

Answer: C

Explanation: Paragraph C notes that the inside compartment labels have silver lettering, indicating they are printed in color.

Question 4

Answer: F

Explanation: Paragraph F states that the wallet can fit at least four passports, ideal for keeping them together.

Question 5

Answer: D

Explanation: The last sentence of paragraph D indicates the small pen is for writing.

Question 6

Answer: G

Explanation: Paragraph G mentions the wallet is made from PVC plastic, which is easy to spot.

Question 7

Answer: E

Explanation: Paragraph E explains that the wallet opens to reveal colorful compartments.

Question 8

Answer: B

Explanation: The second sentence of paragraph B confirms RFID technology protects documents.

Sample 2

Here is a second example of a matching paragraph information IELTS reading question that can support you in obtaining a higher band score in the reading section.

IELTS Reading Passage: Storytelling

Paragraph: A It was told, we suppose, to people crouched around a fire: a tale of adventure, most likely relating some close encounter with death; a remarkable hunt, an escape from mortal danger; a vision, or something else out of the ordinary. Whatever its thread, the weaving of this story was with a prime purpose. The listeners must keep listening. They must not fall asleep. So, as the story went on, its audience should be sustained by one question above all. What happens next?

Paragraph: B The first fireside stories in human history can never be known. They were kept in the heads of those who told them. This method of storage is not necessarily inefficient. From documented oral traditions in Australia, the Balkans, and other parts of the world, we know that specialised storytellers and poets can recite from memory literally thousands of lines, in verse or prose, verbatim-word for word. But while memory is rightly considered an art in itself, it is clear that a primary purpose of making symbols is to have a system of reminders or mnemonic cues – signs that assist us to recall certain information in the mind’s eye.

Paragraph: C In some Polynesian communities, a notched memory stick may help to guide a storyteller through successive stages of recitation. But in other parts of the world, the activity of storytelling historically resulted in the development or even the invention of writing systems. One theory about the arrival of literacy in ancient Greece, for example, argues that the epic tales about the Trojan War and the wanderings of Odysseus – traditionally attributed to Homer – were just so enchanting to hear that they had to be preserved. So the Greeks, c.750-700BC, borrowed an alphabet from their neighbors in the eastern Mediterranean, the Phoenicians.

Paragraph: D The custom of recording stories on parchment and other materials can be traced in many manifestations around the world, from the priestly papyrus archives of ancient Egypt to the birch-bark scrolls on which the North American Ojibway Indians set down their creation myth. It is a well-tried and universal practice: so much so that to this day storytime is probably most often associated with words on paper. The formal practice of narrating a story aloud would seem-so we assume to have given way to newspapers, novels, and comic strips. This, however, is not the case. Statistically, it is doubtful that the majority of humans currently rely upon the written word to get access to stories. So what is the alternative source?

Paragraph: E Each year, over 7 billion people will go to watch the latest offering from Hollywood, Bollywood, and beyond. The supreme storyteller of today is cinema. The movies, as distinct from still photography, seem to be an essential modern phenomenon. This is an illusion, for there are, as we shall see, certain ways in which the medium of film is indebted to very old precedents of arranging ‘sequences’ of images. But any account of visual storytelling must be with the recognition that all storytelling beats with a deeply atavistic pulse: that is, a ‘good story’ relies upon formal patterns of plot and characterisation that have been embedded in the practice of storytelling over many generations.

Paragraph: F Thousands of scripts arrive every week at the offices of the major film studios. But aspiring screenwriters really need to look no further for essential advice than the fourth-century BC Greek Philosopher Aristotle. He left some incomplete lecture notes on the art of telling stories in various literary and dramatic modes, a slim volume known as The Poetics. Though he can never have envisaged the popcorn-fuelled actuality of a multiplex cinema, Aristotle is almost prescient about the key elements required to get the crowds flocking to such a cultural hub. He analyzed the process with cool rationalism. When a story enchants us, we lose the sense of where we are; we are drawn into the story so thoroughly that we forget it is a story being told. This is, in Aristotle’s phrase, ‘the suspension of disbelief.

Paragraph: G We know the feeling. If ever we have stayed in our seats, stunned with grief, as the credits roll by, or for days after seeing that vivid evocation of horror, have been nervous about taking a shower at home, then we have suspended disbelief. We have been caught, or captivated, in the storyteller’s web. Did it all really happen? We really thought so for a while. Aristotle must have witnessed this suspension of disbelief often enough. He taught at Athens, the city where theater developed as a primary form of civic ritual and recreation. Two theatrical types of storytelling, tragedy and comedy, caused Athenian audiences to lose themselves in sadness and laughter, respectively. Tragedy, for Aristotle, was particularly potent in its capacity to enlist and then purge the emotions of those watching the story unfold on the stage, so he tried to identify those factors in the storyteller’s art that brought about such engagement. He had, as an obvious sample for analysis, not only the fifth-century BC masterpieces of Classical Greek tragedy written by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. Beyond them stood Homer, whose stories even then had canonical status: The Iliad and The Odyssey were already considered literary landmarks-stories by which all other stories should be measured. So what was the secret of Homer’s narrative art?

Paragraph: H It was not hard to find. Homer created credible heroes. His heroes belonged to the past; they were mighty and magnificent, yet they were not, in the end, fantasy figures. He made his heroes sulk, bicker, cheat, and cry. They were, in short, characters – protagonists of a story that an audience would care about, would want to follow, would want to know what happens next. As Aristotle saw, the hero who shows a human side-some flaw or weakness to which mortals are prone-is intrinsically dramatic.d by logging.

Questions for Reading Passage: Storytelling

Questions 1-5

The Reading Passage has eight paragraphs A-H

Which paragraph contains the following information?

Write the correct letter A-H, in boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet.

1. A misunderstanding of a modern way for telling stories

2. The typical forms mentioned for telling stories

3. The fundamental aim of storytelling

4. A description of reciting stories without any assistance

5. How to make story characters attractive

Answers of Storytelling Reading Passage with Explanation

Question 1

Answer: E

Explanation: Paragraph E states that cinema is a contemporary storytelling medium, highlighting the importance of still photography.

Question 2

Answer: G

Explanation: Aristotle identified two narrative styles in paragraph E, discussing tragedies and comedies.

Question 3

Answer: A

Explanation: Paragraph A states storytelling's primary goal is to engage listeners.

Question 4

Answer: B

Explanation: The fourth sentence of paragraph B discusses maintaining audience attention as a narrative goal.

Question 5

Answer: H

Explanation: Paragraph H explains that Homer’s hero tales enhance reader engagement.

Additional Examples of IELTS Reading Matching Paragraph Information

This section includes ten exemplary passage examples designed for practising IELTS reading matching information exercises. Strategically preparing for the exam is essential, as a clear understanding of the syllabus and format will help you excel in the reading component. You can also take our full IELTS Reading Mock Test to evaluate your performance in other question types beyond this task. However, it’s advisable first to practice this type of exercise using the examples provided below.

1. Change in Business Organisations Reading Answers with Explanations

2. Green Virtues of Green Sand Reading Answers with Explanations

3. The Origin of Ancient Writing Reading Answers with Explanation

4. Sleep Why We Sleep Reading Answers with Explanation

5. Spider Silk Reading Answers with Explanations

6. The Development of Plastics Reading Answers with Explanations

7. The Lake Erie Canal Reading Answers with Explanations

8. Personality and Appearance Reading Answers with Explanations

9. Private Schools Reading Answers with Explanations

10. Yawning Reading Answers with Explanation

Utilising IELTS reading practice tests will enhance your understanding of the exam structure and contribute positively to your success.

Effective Strategies for Solving IELTS Reading Matching Paragraph Information

Here are several thoughtful IELTS reading tips to assist you in effectively addressing IELTS reading matching paragraph information question type, aiding you in achieving your desired band score:

• Skim Text and Headings: Begin by gaining a general sense of the passage, then highlight keywords across all headings.
• Read Statements: Take the time to carefully review each statement (including facts and opinions) and underline its keywords, while anticipating possible synonyms.
• Scan and Match: Search for your identified keywords or their synonyms within the paragraphs of the passage. These keywords are often found in the first or last sentences, but this is not always the case.
• Focus on Meaning: Aim to align the overall idea of the statement with the primary concept of the paragraph, rather than merely concentrating on specific details or exact wording.
• Eliminate & Check: Utilise a process of elimination for your responses, marking those that are particularly challenging and revisiting them later. Remember that answers may not be in sequential order and that some headings may not be used.
• Answer Format: Document your response by writing down the corresponding letter (A, B, C) or Roman numeral (i, ii, iii) rather than using words.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this guide outlines effective strategies for tackling IELTS reading matching information questions in the IELTS exam. It includes sample IELTS reading passage and practical tips designed to assist candidates in achieving a high band score. Engaging in regular practice and applying these strategies will enhance your familiarity with this specific question type. For additional support, we encourage considering professional IELTS coaching from Gradding.com, where experienced experts can provide personalised assistance tailored to your needs.

FAQs

1. Can One Paragraph Contain More Than One Answer?

Indeed, a single paragraph may contain the answers to multiple questions. Typically, instructions will indicate that “You may use any letter more than once.” Therefore, it is advisable not to disregard a paragraph after identifying one answer; instead, consider reviewing all remaining statements against that paragraph to ensure that all relevant information is captured.

2. Will I Find the Exact Words From the Question in the Reading Passage?

It is quite uncommon to encounter the exact wording of the questions in the reading passage. The IELTS exam focuses on evaluating your ability to comprehend synonyms and paraphrasing. The phrasing used in the questions will often differ in vocabulary and structure from the ideas presented in the passage. Consequently, it is crucial to concentrate on the meaning and familiarise yourself with a diverse range of synonyms to accurately correlate the information.

3. What Skills Are Primarily Tested by This Question Type?

The matching information IELTS reading question type primarily assesses your skills in locating specific information, as well as your ability to identify synonyms and paraphrase. It also evaluates your detailed reading abilities to confirm the information after identifying a potential location. You should be able to pinpoint specific details without necessarily needing to understand every word in the text.

4. How Can I Manage My Time Effectively with This Question Type?

Effective time management is essential since the answers are not presented in sequential order, necessitating a thorough scan of the entire text. A practical strategy is to address other question types related to the passage first, as this will foster a general understanding of the content and structure. This familiarity will expedite your ability to locate specific information when revisiting the IELTS reading matching paragraph information question.

5. Should I Read the Whole Passage in Detail Before Answering?

It may be more efficient to avoid reading the entire passage word-for-word initially. Instead, consider employing skimming techniques to gain a general overview of each paragraph’s content, taking note of key terms beside each one. This preliminary insight will help you identify which paragraphs are more likely to contain the information you seek, thereby streamlining the subsequent scanning process.