Question types - IELTS Academic Reading

1. MULTIPLE CHOICE

e.g. Why did Heyerdahl go to Easter Island?
A    to build a stone statue
B    to sail a reed boat
C    to learn the local language

2. SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

e.g. What kind of change can we experience in our bodies due to stress?

3. SENTENCE COMPLETION

e.g. In Greece, tourism is the most important.....

4. SUMMARY COMPLETION

e.g. Psychologists have traditionally believed that a personality.......................was impossible and that by a..................., a person's character tends to be fixed. This is not true according to positive psychologists, who say that our personal qualities can be seen as habitual behaviour. One of the easiest qualities to acquire is.............

5. TABLE COMPLETION

6. FLOW-CHART COMPLETION

7. DIAGRAM LABEL COMPLETION

8. NOTE COMPLETION

9. IDENTIFYING INFORMATION

e.g. TRUE               if the statement agrees with the information
       FALSE             if the statement contradicts the information
       NOT GIVEN   if there is no information on this

Most comedians use personal situations as a source of humour
Chimpanzees make particular noises when they are playing

10. IDENTIFYING WRITER'S VIEWS/CLAIMS

e.g. YES                if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer
       NO                  if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer
       NOT GIVEN  if it is impossible to say what the writer things about this

Power companies have given Diels enough money to develop his laser.
Weather forecasters are intensely interested in Diel's system.

11. MATCHING INFORMATION

e.g. People must accept that they do not know much when first trying something new
       It is important for people to actively notice when good things happen

               List of people
               A   Christopher Peterson
               B   David Fajgenbaum
               C   Suzanne Segerstrom

12. MATCHING HEADINGS

e.g. List of Headings
       i The search for the reasons for an increase in population
       ii Industrialisation and the fear of unemployment
       iii The development of cities in Japan
       iv The time and place of the Industrial Revolution
       v The cases of Holland, France and China
   
       1 Paragraph A
       2 Paragraph B
       3 Paragraph C
       4 Paragraph D

13. MATCHING FEATURES

e.g. Which paragraph contains the following information?
.
       1  a description of an early timekeeping invention affected by cold temperatures
       2  a description of the origins of the pendulum clock
       3  an explanation of the importance of geography in the development of the calendar in farming              communities

14. MATCHING SENTENCE ENDINGS

e.g. Scientists know a moment of insight is coming
       Metal connections are much harder to make
       Some companies require their employees to stop working

       A when people are not too familiar with one another.
       B because there is greater activity in the right side of the brain.
       C if people are concentrating on the specifics of a problem.
       D so they can increase the possibility of finding answers.
       E when the brain shows strong signs of distraction