IELTS Reading Matching Features: Practice Questions, Strategy & Tips
Matching features asks you to connect statements with a list of options: usually people such as researchers or writers, sometimes companies, places or dates. The names are easy to find; what each person actually said or did is the hard part, because the text mixes their ideas together.
Think of it as keeping track of who is who. Below you will find a method that saves time, the trap that catches most people, 18 practice questions and a full exam-style task, all with explanations.
What matching features asks you to do
You get a list of options, labelled A, B, C…, and a set of statements. For each statement you choose the option it belongs to. The statements are paraphrases: the text says a night’s sleep after learning improves memory, the statement says discovered that rest after studying helps memory.
The answers are not in order, and some options may be used more than once or not at all, which the instructions will tell you.
A method that saves time
Start from the names, not the statements. Names are easy to spot because they begin with capital letters, so go through the text first and mark every place an option appears. Then read the sentences around each name and match them to the statements. You will read each part of the text only once.
A sentence often mentions one person but reports what another person thinks: Dr Okafor, however, argued that the benefits of sleep are smaller than earlier studies had suggested. The earlier studies were Lindqvist’s, but the doubt belongs to Okafor. Ask: whose idea is this?
Matching features practice
Read the short text and choose the person or place the statement belongs to. Each round picks 9 of 18 questions at random, with an explanation for every answer. Tip: press 1–3 on your keyboard.
Now try a full exam-style task
In the test, options are often people mentioned throughout a longer text. Give yourself about 5 minutes, write down your answers, and then open How to answer to check them.
Questions 1–5
Look at the following statements and the list of people below. Match each statement with the correct person, A–E.
Write the correct letter in boxes 1–5 on your answer sheet.
List of People
- AKarl Drais
- BPierre Michaux
- CJames Starley
- DJohn Kemp Starley
- EDavid Herlihy
Read the text below.
Who invented the bicycle?
Few inventions have as many claimed fathers as the bicycle. In 1817 the German official Karl Drais built a wooden ‘running machine’ with two wheels, which the rider pushed along with his feet. It was popular for a short time, but many cities soon banned it from pavements.
In the 1860s, the French blacksmith Pierre Michaux added pedals to the front wheel, creating the first machine that could be ridden without touching the ground. The design sold well, though riders nicknamed it the ‘boneshaker’ because of its iron tyres.
The Englishman James Starley tried to solve the problem of speed by making the front wheel much larger. His ‘penny-farthing’ was fast but dangerous, and falls from it were common.
It was his nephew, John Kemp Starley, who in 1885 produced the ‘safety bicycle’, with two wheels of equal size and a chain driving the back wheel. Its basic shape has hardly changed since.
The historian David Herlihy has argued that we should be careful about naming any one inventor. In his view, the bicycle was improved step by step by many people, most of whose names are now forgotten.
How to answer: step by step
- D Its basic shape has hardly changed since: John Kemp Starley’s safety bicycle.
- A Many cities soon banned it from pavements: Drais’s running machine. Banned is restricted.
- E We should be careful about naming any one inventor: Herlihy’s view. The opinion is his, not the text’s.
- B Boneshaker because of its iron tyres: an uncomfortable ride on Michaux’s machine.
- C Fast but dangerous: James Starley. Do not mix him up with his nephew, option D, who made bicycles safer.
Did you notice? Two people had the same surname. Matching features often includes names that are easy to confuse, so read the sentence around each name, not just the name itself.
6 tips for matching features
- 1
Mark every name first
Go through the text and underline each option where it appears. Names and dates are the easiest things to scan for.
- 2
Read around each name
The idea that belongs to a person is usually in the same sentence or the next one.
- 3
Ask whose idea it is
Watch for reported views: X disagreed with Y, unlike Z. The statement may describe the opposite of what a name next to it says.
- 4
Expect paraphrases
Banned from pavements becomes restricted by the authorities. Match meaning, not words.
- 5
Check the instructions
Some options may be used more than once, and some not at all. The instructions tell you which.
- 6
Watch similar names
Two people with the same surname, or two dates close together, are common traps.
Matching features FAQ
Quick answers to the questions students ask most.
What can the options be in matching features?
Usually people, such as researchers, writers or inventors, but they can also be companies, places, dates or periods of time.
Can an option be used more than once?
Sometimes. The instructions say so with NB You may use any letter more than once. If they do not, use each option once.
Are the answers in order?
No. The statements are mixed up, which is why it is faster to find the names in the text first.
What if a name appears in several places?
Read all of them. A researcher may be mentioned once for their own idea and again when someone else criticises it.
How is matching features different from matching information?
In matching information you choose a paragraph. In matching features you choose from a list of options such as people, whatever paragraph they appear in.
IELTS Reading question types
All 11 types in order. Pick one to practise next.
- 1True / False / Not GivenPractice →
- 2Yes / No / Not GivenPractice →
- 3Matching headingsPractice →
- 4Matching informationPractice →
- 5Matching featuresYou are here
- 6Matching sentence endingsPractice →
- 7Sentence completionPractice →
- 8Summary completionPractice →
- 9Diagram labelsPractice →
- 10Multiple choicePractice →
- 11Short answersPractice →