I understand IELTS Reading passages, but I struggle with some question types. What should I do?

If you can understand the passages but repeatedly lose marks on List of Headings, True/False/Not Given and Matching Information, I wouldn’t concentrate on doing more complete mock tests at the moment.

Your problem may be question technique rather than general reading comprehension.

Practise the three difficult question types separately until the process becomes familiar. This should also help reduce the panic you feel when you see them.

List of Headings

Focus on the main idea of the whole paragraph, not individual words that match a heading. After reading a paragraph, ask yourself: What is the writer mainly saying here? Try summarising it in a few words before looking closely at the headings.

True/False/Not Given

Treat this as a meaning test, not a keyword test.

• True — the text supports the statement.
• False — the text contradicts the statement.
• Not Given — there isn’t enough information in the text to decide.

Be particularly careful with small changes in meaning such as all/some, always/sometimes, more/less and can/will. One small word can change the answer.

Matching Information

Don’t try to remember everything in the passage. Identify the key idea in the question and scan the paragraphs for where that idea appears. Expect the passage to use different words from the question.

Learn from your mistakes

When practising, don’t just check whether your answer was right or wrong. For every mistake, go back to the passage and identify why you chose the wrong answer.

Keep a simple record:

Question type → My answer → Correct answer → Why I was wrong

After 20–30 questions, you may start seeing a pattern. For example, you might discover that you choose headings because of matching vocabulary, confuse False with Not Given, or miss paraphrased information.

For now, slow down your practice and work on accuracy with these three question types separately. Once your accuracy improves, return to timed sections and then full tests.

The aim is to make the method familiar enough that when you see one of these question types in the exam, you know exactly what to do next.