IELTS Reading Matching Information: Practice Questions, Strategy & Tips
Matching information gives you a list of statements and asks which paragraph each one is in. It sounds simple, but the information you need is usually a single detail buried in the middle of a paragraph, and the statements are not in the same order as the text.
The trick is to know what kind of detail you are hunting for before you start reading. This page shows you how it differs from matching headings, a scanning method that works, the traps to avoid, then 20 practice questions and an exam-length task with explanations.
What matching information asks you to do
Each paragraph has a letter (A, B, C…). For each statement, you write the letter of the paragraph that contains that piece of information. The statements are usually written as noun phrases, such as a reference to the cost of a project or an example of a failed experiment.
Two things make this type tricky. The answers are not in order, and the instructions often say you may use any letter more than once, so one paragraph can contain two answers while another contains none.
Matching information vs matching headings
| Matching information | Matching headings | |
|---|---|---|
| You look for | One detail: a number, an example, a reason | The main idea of the whole paragraph |
| Letters used | Some paragraphs twice, some not at all | Each paragraph gets one heading |
| Best approach | Scan for the kind of detail named in the statement | Read the first and last sentences |
Statements tell you what kind of information to find: a reason, a comparison, a prediction, a statistic. Underline that word first. If the statement asks for a prediction, scan for future words like will, expected or by 2030.
Matching information practice
Read the four short paragraphs and choose the one that contains the information. Each round picks 8 of 20 questions at random, and every answer comes with an explanation. Tip: press 1–4 on your keyboard.
Now try a full exam-style task
In the test you match statements to a longer text, often with five to eight paragraphs. Give yourself about 6 minutes, write down your answers, and then open How to answer to check them step by step.
Questions 1–5
Read the text below and answer Questions 1–5.
The return of the night train
A For most of the late twentieth century, overnight trains in Europe were in decline. Cheap flights made a journey of a few hours by air more attractive than a night in a narrow sleeping compartment, and one by one, routes such as Paris–Madrid and Amsterdam–Copenhagen were closed.
B In recent years, however, sleeper trains have made a surprising comeback. Austria’s national railway relaunched its network in 2016, and today its Nightjet trains connect more than twenty cities, from Vienna to Brussels and Rome.
C Much of the new demand comes from travellers who want to reduce their carbon footprint. A night train between Paris and Vienna produces roughly a tenth of the emissions of the same journey by plane, according to one study.
D Yet running these services is far from easy. Sleeper carriages are expensive to build, they spend the daytime standing in stations doing nothing, and every country the train passes through charges its own fees for using the tracks.
E Supporters argue that governments should help, for example by cutting track fees for night services. The European Union has set a target of doubling high-speed and long-distance rail traffic by 2030, and many observers expect sleeper trains to play a part in reaching it.
Questions 1–5
The text has five paragraphs, A–E. Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter, A–E, in boxes 1–5 on your answer sheet.
NB You may use any letter more than once.
How to answer: step by step
- C Roughly a tenth of the emissions of the same journey by plane: train compared with plane. The key word was comparison.
- A Cheap flights made a journey… more attractive: the reason for the decline. Paragraph D also has problems, but they are about cost, not popularity.
- E Governments should help, for example by cutting track fees. Note the signal words should and for example.
- D Expensive carriages, unused in the day, track fees in every country: three reasons for high costs in one paragraph.
- B Austria’s national railway and its Nightjet network of more than twenty cities. Here each letter was used once; in a real test some letters may be used twice and some not at all.
Did you notice? The statements came in a different order from the text: question 1 was in paragraph C and question 2 in paragraph A. That is normal for matching information, so do not stop looking because you have passed a paragraph.
6 tips for matching information
- 1
Underline the type of information
A reason, an example, a number, a comparison, a prediction. This tells you what to scan for.
- 2
Read the text once quickly
Get a rough idea of what each paragraph is about. Then go back to the statements.
- 3
Scan for the detail, not the topic
A paragraph can be about transport and still contain a number about money. Look for the specific information.
- 4
Use paraphrases
The statement will not repeat the words of the text. Costly to operate may appear as expensive to run.
- 5
Remember letters can repeat
If the instructions say a letter can be used more than once, do not rule out a paragraph you have already used.
- 6
Leave it until later
If a text has other question types too, do those first. By then you know the text better and the details are easier to find.
Matching information FAQ
Quick answers to the questions students ask most.
Can I use the same letter twice?
Only if the instructions say so (NB You may use any letter more than once). When they do, some paragraphs may have two answers and others none.
Are the answers in order?
No. Matching information answers do not follow the order of the text, which is why it helps to have a rough map of the text in your head first.
What is the difference between matching information and matching headings?
Matching headings is about the main idea of each paragraph. Matching information is about one specific detail, which may be a small part of a paragraph.
How long should I spend on matching information?
It can take time, so many students do it after the other questions on the same text. Aim for about a minute per statement.
Why does the statement use different words from the text?
IELTS tests whether you understand the meaning, so the statements paraphrase the text. Look for the same idea in different words.
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 informationYou are here
- 5Matching featuresPractice →
- 6Matching sentence endingsPractice →
- 7Sentence completionPractice →
- 8Summary completionPractice →
- 9Diagram labelsPractice →
- 10Multiple choicePractice →
- 11Short answersPractice →