Log in Sign up
IELTS / Guides / Reading · Matching features
IELTS Reading · Guide

Matching Features in IELTS Reading: matching statements to people, places or theories

You match statements to a list of features, such as researchers, countries, organisations or theories. The names in the list appear in the passage, but the statements are heavily paraphrased. It tests whether you can tell who said or did what, and it rewards a careful note of each name's position.

About Reading practice

Format

  • Usually 3 to 7 statements and a list of 3 to 5 features lettered A, B, C and so on.
  • The statements are not in the order of the passage, so you cannot work through them one after another; the names in the list are your way into the text.
  • The instruction commonly says you may use any letter more than once, meaning one feature can match several statements and another none. Check the line.
  • The features can be people, places, dates, companies, theories or types of an object.
  • On computer you select the letter for each statement from a list.

Strategy

  1. Read the instruction for 'any letter more than once' first. In this task, it usually means you should not expect an even spread.
  2. Scan the passage for every name in the list and highlight each. Names are capitalised and never paraphrased, so this takes a minute and gives you a fixed set of locations.
  3. Read what is said about each name and note it in two or three words beside the name: 'Lee - cost, small trial', 'Okafor - safety, critical'. These notes are the key to the task.
  4. Take each statement and put it into your own words. Then search your notes for the name whose note matches, and check in the passage.
  5. Watch for later references to the same person: 'she', 'the second team', 'the researchers' or just a surname. A name may be mentioned in several places.
  6. Check attribution. A statement must be said or done by that feature, not merely said near the name or by the writer about it.
  7. Do not force an even spread. In a repeat-allowed task, one name can legitimately account for half the answers.

Common traps

  • Giving credit to the nearest name. A statement may appear in the same paragraph as a name without being attributed to it.
  • Confusing what the writer says about a person with what the person says.
  • Missing later references, so that you attribute a statement to the first name when it belongs to the same person under 'she' or 'the team'.
  • Assuming each letter is used once or evenly, which makes you reject a correct match that repeats a letter.
  • Matching on the topic rather than the position. Two researchers may both discuss cost while one praises it and one criticises it, and the statement says which.

Practise it inside a real Reading section

Practice on PrepFreely is always a complete section, so you meet this question type in the same place and proportion as on test day. Random sections never repeat until you've done them all. Every answer is explained.

Practise Reading Take the Reading course

FAQ

Are the statements in the order of the passage?

Usually not. Matching features statements are typically in a different order, so you find the answers by scanning for the names.

Can I use the same letter more than once?

Usually, when the instruction says so. It is common for one feature to be the answer to several statements.

What if a name appears in several paragraphs?

Then collect everything said about it. The relevant statement may be in any of those places.

Do the features have to be people?

No. They can be places, organisations, theories, periods or types of something, as long as they are named in the passage.

Is it faster to start with the statements or the names?

Start with the names. They are in the passage word for word, so they are easier to find than paraphrased statements.

More IELTS Reading guides

IELTS is a registered trademark of the British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia and Cambridge University Press & Assessment. PrepFreely is not affiliated with, approved or endorsed by them.