IELTS Reading Multiple Choice: Practice Questions, Strategy & Tips
Multiple choice is the question type everyone knows from school, which is exactly why IELTS makes it harder than it looks. The wrong options are carefully built: they use words from the text, they say things that are true but do not answer the question, or they go one step further than the text does.
The way through is to answer the question yourself before you look at the options, and then to rule out the traps one by one. You will learn how, see the four kinds of wrong option, and practise on 14 questions and a full exam-style task.
How IELTS multiple choice works
Most questions have four options, A–D, and one right answer. Sometimes you choose two or three answers from a longer list (for example, Choose TWO letters, A–E), so always check the instructions. The questions follow the order of the text, although the last question may ask about the text as a whole, such as its main idea or a suitable title.
Four kinds of wrong option
| Trap | What it looks like |
|---|---|
| Same words | Copies words from the text, but says something different. |
| True but irrelevant | The text says it, but it does not answer this question. |
| Too far | Goes beyond the text: always instead of often, a cause the text does not give. |
| Real-world true | Sounds sensible and may be true, but the text does not say it. |
Tea reached Europe in the 17th century, where it was at first so expensive that it was kept in locked boxes.
“Why was tea kept in locked boxes?” – It came from China is true but irrelevant. It was very costly answers the question.
Multiple choice practice
Read the text and choose the right answer. The options are shuffled each time. Each round picks 7 of 14 questions at random, with an explanation for every answer. Tip: press 1–4 on your keyboard.
Now try a full exam-style task
In the test, multiple choice questions often come with a longer text and ask about details, the writer’s purpose and the main idea. Give yourself about 5 minutes, write down your answers, and then open How to answer to check them.
Questions 1–4
Read the text below and answer Questions 1–4.
Why we keep pets
Around half of all households in many Western countries keep at least one pet, and owners spend billions each year on food, toys and medical care. From an economic point of view, this is hard to explain: most pets give their owners nothing they could sell or eat.
One popular explanation is that pets are good for our health. Several studies in the 1980s found that dog owners recovered faster after heart attacks. However, later and larger studies have produced mixed results, and it is possible that healthier people are simply more likely to get a dog in the first place.
A second explanation focuses on companionship. Pets offer a relationship without the complications of human ones: they do not judge, argue or leave. For people who live alone, this can matter a great deal, although researchers disagree about whether pets reduce loneliness or merely make it easier to bear.
The anthropologist John Archer suggests a different answer. In his view, pets succeed because they trigger the same instincts that make us care for babies: large eyes, round faces and a need to be looked after. If he is right, our love of pets may be less a choice than a happy accident of human nature.
Questions 1–4
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write the correct letter in boxes 1–4 on your answer sheet.
A It has fallen in recent years.B It is surprising from an economic point of view.C It is higher in Western countries than elsewhere.D It is mainly on medical care.
A They prove that dogs improve recovery.B They were carried out on too few people.C Their results may have another explanation.D They focused only on heart attacks.
A are better companions than people.B actually reduce loneliness.C prefer owners who live alone.D judge their owners.
A to persuade readers to keep a petB to compare dogs with other petsC to present different explanations for keeping petsD to criticise research into pets
How to answer: step by step
- B From an economic point of view, this is hard to explain: surprising. Medical care is listed with food and toys, not as the main cost (D is a detail trap).
- C It is possible that healthier people are simply more likely to get a dog: another explanation. A goes too far: later studies were mixed.
- B Whether pets reduce loneliness or merely make it easier to bear. A is close to the text’s idea of companionship, but nobody disagrees about it.
- C Health, companionship, instinct: three explanations. The writer does not try to persuade (A) or criticise research overall (D).
Did you notice? Question 4 was about the whole text. For main-idea questions, check each option against every paragraph: the right answer covers all of them, the wrong ones only one.
6 tips for multiple choice
- 1
Read the question stem carefully
Underline what it asks: a reason, an opinion, a purpose. Many wrong options answer a different question.
- 2
Answer before you look
Find the part of the text and answer in your own words, then pick the option that matches.
- 3
Rule out, one by one
Cross out options that are not in the text, that answer a different question, or that go too far.
- 4
Watch for copied words
An option that repeats the text word for word is often a trap. The right answer is usually a paraphrase.
- 5
Check how many to choose
Choose TWO letters means two. Writing one, or three, costs marks.
- 6
Use the order
Questions follow the text, except for a final question about the whole text, which is best answered last.
Multiple choice FAQ
Quick answers to the questions students ask most.
How many options are there in IELTS Reading multiple choice?
Usually four, A–D. Some tasks ask you to choose two or three answers from a list of five to seven options.
Are the questions in order?
Yes, apart from questions about the whole text, such as the main idea or the best title, which often come last.
If I must choose two answers, does the order matter?
No. The two letters can be written in either order, and each correct letter usually scores one mark.
What if two options look right?
Go back to the exact sentence in the text. One option usually adds something the text does not say or changes how certain it is.
Do I write the letter or the words?
Write the letter only on the answer sheet.
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 featuresPractice →
- 6Matching sentence endingsPractice →
- 7Sentence completionPractice →
- 8Summary completionPractice →
- 9Diagram labelsPractice →
- 10Multiple choiceYou are here
- 11Short answersPractice →