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    IELTS Reading Tips and Practice Test - Matching Headings To Paragraphs Exercises

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    The document discusses matching headings to paragraphs in IELTS reading tests. It provides tips on how to approach this task, including doing the heading questions first, looking at the shortest paragraphs first, reading the headings carefully, and moving on if spending too much time on one question. It warns of common pitfalls like choosing the wrong heading or using the same heading twice. It also suggests techniques like looking for connections between headings and checking if a heading is too specific.

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    IELTS Reading Tips and Practice Test - Matching Headings To Paragraphs Exercises

    Uploaded by

    trananhduy269
    146 views6 pages
    The document discusses matching headings to paragraphs in IELTS reading tests. It provides tips on how to approach this task, including doing the heading questions first, looking at the shortest paragraphs first, reading the headings carefully, and moving on if spending too much time on one question. It warns of common pitfalls like choosing the wrong heading or using the same heading twice. It also suggests techniques like looking for connections between headings and checking if a heading is too specific.

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    IELTS Reading Tips and Practice Test _ Matching Headings to Paragraphs Exercises

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    The document discusses matching headings to paragraphs in IELTS reading tests. It provides tips on how to approach this task, including doing the heading questions first, looking at the shortest paragraphs first, reading the headings carefully, and moving on if spending too much time on one question. It warns of common pitfalls like choosing the wrong heading or using the same heading twice. It also suggests techniques like looking for connections between headings and checking if a heading is too specific.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    146 views6 pages

    IELTS Reading Tips and Practice Test - Matching Headings To Paragraphs Exercises

    Uploaded by

    trananhduy269
    The document discusses matching headings to paragraphs in IELTS reading tests. It provides tips on how to approach this task, including doing the heading questions first, looking at the shortest paragraphs first, reading the headings carefully, and moving on if spending too much time on one question. It warns of common pitfalls like choosing the wrong heading or using the same heading twice. It also suggests techniques like looking for connections between headings and checking if a heading is too specific.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
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    Download as pdf or txt
    of 6

    IELTS Reading Tips and Practice Test

    : Matching Headings to Paragraphs


    Exercises

    A few things to know about Matching headings to

    paragraphs

    1. The task is to match between 5 and 7 headings to paragraphs in the text.


    2. If it is used for a reading passage, it will usually be the first set of questions.
    3. There are always more headings than paragraphs
    4. You may need to read the whole text or only a part of it
    5. Matching headings with paragraphs tests your ability to understand general
    information.

    I. Some pitfalls (common problems):

    ​ Just because a paragraph contains the key word(s) of a heading, it doesn’t


    mean that is the correct heading! You still need to read carefully around the key
    words in the paragraph and see if it does indeed have the same main idea as the
    heading. If you’re still unsure, just write a note to the side and come back to it
    later after you’re sure about the other headings
    ​ Keep track of your notes and answers. Students sometimes carelessly write
    down the wrong roman numeral on the answer sheet! Familiarize yourself with
    the roman numeral system (at least just up to 15, which is XV).
    ​ Don’t accidentally use the same heading twice. Again, keep clear notes of what
    answers you’re using for which paragraph.
    ​ Keep track of your time. You should allow 20 minutes *maximum per reading
    passage (as there are 3 of them to do within 60 mins.) If you find that you’re
    spending too much time here, move on to the other questions! Maybe after
    answering those, you’ll have a better understanding of the passage and you will
    be able to go back and finish the heading questions.

    II. Tips:

    1. Do these questions first

    Always do exercises with headings first, as the headings summarize the text. They help
    you scan the answers to the other questions.

    2. Try looking at the shortest paragraph(s) first.

    By this way you can skim through it quicker, choose the heading and then you will have
    fewer headings to choose from for the longer paragraphs.

    3. Read through the list of headings

    Become familiar with them and underline key words that either identify the main idea or
    target words that you will be scanning for in the passage.

    4. If there are two or three headings that are similar:


    First, match any headings that are very obvious and you are sure about. For other kinda
    similar headings, write them (2 – 3 headings) beside the paragraph and try to figure out
    the difference between them. What are the keywords? How does this change the
    meaning? Which one matches the paragraph best?. If you still can’t pick one, move on
    and come back to it later.

    5. Look for similar words/synonyms

    As with most types of IELTS reading questions, you should be able to find words in the
    paragraph that are similar to words in the heading. Be aware of synonyms. Many
    students look for words that match exactly with words in the text and ignore synonyms.
    For example, a keyword in the heading might be ‘hard working’, however the word
    you’re looking for could be many different synonyms of ‘hard-working’ like ‘diligent’,
    ‘assiduous’, ‘studious’ or ‘industrious’.

    6. Move on if you are spending too much time and come

    back later

    ‘Paragraph headings’ questions often take a long time. Don’t allow yourself to use more
    than 20 minutes for each reading passage. If you haven’t finished after 20 minutes,
    move on to the next passage and come back later if you still have time left.

    7. Read the instructions. Check if you can use a heading

    more than once.

    8. Look always for the most general heading. This may be

    the first paragraph or the conclusion.


    III. Technique: Search for connections between

    headings

    • Headings are usually connected with each other.


    • Check for a heading that looks specific: it could be a detail in a paragraph and
    therefore a distracter for a general heading. If yon removed this detail from the
    paragraph, would it still remain intact?
    • A heading that looks specific could be a heading for paragraph describing just one
    detail.
    • Check for headings that relate to each other: cause/effect – problem/solution.
    • Check for headings with adjectives, which qualify nouns. Make sure the heading
    covers all aspects of the paragraph. Don’t forget about the adjective or other qualifying
    phrases.
    • Headings can have two pieces of information where one is referring back to the
    previous paragraph.

    Sample Practice

    Choose the correct heading for sections A-D and F from the list of headings below.
    Write the correct number i-ix in boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet

    Section A

    The role of governments in environmental management is difficult but inescapable.


    Sometimes, the state tries to manage the resources it owns, and does so badly. Often,
    however, governments act in an even more harmful way. They actually subsidise the
    exploitation and consumption of natural resources. A whole range of policies, from
    farm-price support to protection for coal-mining, do environmental damage and (often)
    make no economic sense. Scrapping them offers a two-fold bonus: a cleaner
    environment and a more efficient economy. Growth and environmentalism can actually
    go hand in hand, if politicians have the courage to confront the vested interest that
    subsidies create.

    Section B

    No activity affects more of the earth’s surface than farming. It shapes a third of the
    planet’s land area, not counting Antarctica, and the proportion is rising. World food
    output per head has risen by 4 per cent between the 1970s and 1980s mainly as a
    result of increases in yields from land already in cultivation, but also because more land
    has been brought under the plough. Higher yields have been achieved by increased
    irrigation, better crop breeding, and a doubling in the use of pesticides and chemical
    fertilisers in the 1970s and 1980s.

    Section C

    All these activities may have damaging environmental impacts. For example, land
    clearing for agriculture is the largest single cause of deforestation; chemical fertilisers
    and pesticides may contaminate water supplies; more intensive farming and the
    abandonment of fallow periods tend to exacerbate soil erosion; and the spread of
    monoculture and use of high-yielding varieties of crops have been accompanied by the
    disappearance of old varieties of food plants which might have provided some
    insurance against pests or diseases in future. Soil erosion threatens the productivity of
    land in both rich and poor countries. The United States, where the most careful
    measurements have been done, discovered in 1982 that about one-fifth of its farmland
    was losing topsoil at a rate likely to diminish the soil’s productivity. The country
    subsequently embarked upon a program to convert 11 per cent of its cropped land to
    meadow or forest. Topsoil in India and China is vanishing much faster than in America.

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