In one line: IELTS Prep Part 2: The Reading test's 40 questions come from a stable question type kit, and two types — True/False/Not Given and Matching Headings —.

In fact, the Reading test’s 40 questions come from a stable question type kit. In fact, two types — True/False/Not Given and Matching Headings — decide most scores. This note covers the format, the per type methods, and the timing plan.

Quick Answer: The Reading test’s 40 questions come from a stable question type kit. Moreover, two types — True/False/Not Given and Matching Headings — decide most scores. Moreover, this note covers the format, the per type methods, and the timing plan.

Table of Contents.

1. The Test Card
2. True/False/Not Given (and Yes/No/Not Given)
3. Matching Headings
4. The Other Types Quickly
5. The Timing Plan
6. How Exams Probe This Topic
7. Quick Revision: One-Glance Facts

1. The Test Card.

• Therefore, the format.** Three passages, 40 questions, 60 minutes (no transfer time on the academic paper — the computer based typing included)**. Therefore, academic passages are journal-style; General Training mixes everyday texts (S1-2) with one long text (S3).
• The structure facts. Meanwhile, questions follow the text’s order (within each question-set). Meanwhile, every word change between question and text is deliberate — synonym matching is the test’s core mechanic .

2. True/False/Not Given (and Yes/No/Not Given).

• As a result, the definitions.** TRUE : the statement agrees with the information (findable via synonyms). FALSE : the statement contradicts it (the text says the opposite). NOT GIVEN**: no information either way — the hardest, because absence must be proven.
• In other words, (1) Underline the statement’s keywords. As a result, (2) locate the relevant sentence via the scan. (3) compare each element — one contradiction anywhere = FALSE. In other words, (4) if you cannot locate the specific claim after the scan. Choose NOT GIVEN rather than guessing TRUE.
• Notably, scope inversion (the text says “some”. Notably, the statement says “all” → FALSE); prediction-vs-fact (the text discusses what may happen; the statement asserts it has → FALSE/NG); the opinion variant (Yes/No/Not Given) — the writer’s views are tested. Not facts: find the claim verbs (argues, suggests).
• Indeed, never use outside knowledge — the text is the only universe. And never leave a blank (there’s no negative marking).

3. Matching Headings.

• Specifically, match paragraph headings (with one example usually done and two extra headings as distractors).
• Similarly, (1) Read the heading list first, marking keywords. Indeed, (2) read the paragraph’s first and second sentences and the last (the topic sentence usually governs). (3) ask: what is this paragraph about (the topic) and what does it say about it (the controlling idea)? Specifically, (4) Beware the detail trap — a heading built on one example sentence rather than the paragraph’s whole point. (5) the parallel trap — headings with similar wording differ in scope or direction.
• The order tactic. Overall, do headings paragraph-by paragraph, crossing off used headings — the final paragraphs resolve by elimination.

4. The Other Types Quickly.

• Consequently, completion family (summary/note/table/flow-chart/sentence): predict the word form from grammar. Similarly, the answers come in order within the set. Respect the word-limit; the summary may paraphrase heavily (the synonym work).
• Furthermore, multiple choice : eliminate the word matching distractors (the paraphrase rule again). Overall, the “all of the above” variants don’t appear in IELTS but the double answer MCQs do.
• Consequently, matching information (which paragraph contains X): scan for the specific detail’s paraphrase. A named idea question is the anchor to start with.
• Furthermore, matching features (classifications: researcher-to finding): build a mini-table, then match by the paraphrase chain.

5. The Timing Plan.

• Likewise, 20 minutes per passage : 2-3 minutes skimming (the structure-map: intro-thesis, paragraph topics), 15 minutes on questions, 2 minutes’ check. Never reorder passages beyond a quick difficulty-glance.
• The scan skim division. Skim for structure (what where); scan for specific answers (the keyword-locate); the misread-middle ground (plodding word-by word) is the time-killer.
• The raw target : ~30-32/40 for band 7 (Academic) — roughly 13+13+13 correct across the three passages.

6. How Exams Probe This Topic.

• The practice bank : Cambridge official tests — the paraphrase calibration is authentic only there. One full test every 2-3 days in the final month, with the error-log by question type.
• Cross-reference : Part 6’s descriptors and Part 8’s cycle slot this into the weekly rhythm.

7. Quick Revision: One-Glance Facts.

• TRUE = agrees (via synonyms); FALSE = contradicts; NG = absent — prove absence by the failed scan, not feeling.
• Topic + controlling idea; the detail and parallel traps; cross off used options.
• Synonym-matching; questions in order; word-limits.
• 20-20-20; skim scan division; ~30-32 for band 7.

Reading is the paraphrase test: the TFNG discipline (element by element comparison. The NG scan fail rule) and the headings method (topic-plus-controlling-idea) are the two decisive skills. Add the completion-family’s word form prediction and the 20-minute rhythm. The paper’s 40 questions reduce to mechanics you have drilled.

Practice Corner: Five TFNG Checks (with Answers).

1. “The text says most visitors arrive by train. The statement says all visitors arrive by train” — FALSE (scope inversion) .
2. “The text discusses a plan to expand. The statement says the centre was expanded” — FALSE/NG — plan ≈ event .
3. When do you choose NOT GIVEN? — When the located scan fails — absence, not intuition .
4. Yes/No/Not Given tests? — The writer’s views, not facts .
5. What knowledge is permitted? — None from outside — the text is the only universe .

The Headings Trap Drill (Five Contrasts to Master).

Pair heading questions fool candidates through four engineered confusions — train each: (1) the detail trap — a heading quoting one example sentence rather than the paragraph’s whole point. (2) the parallel pair — two headings sharing words but differing in direction (a paragraph about why a policy failed versus one about its spread). (3) the scope shift — “regulation of fisheries” versus “global fisheries decline” for a paragraph covering one coast. (4) the reordered thesis — the controlling idea in the final sentence, not the first. In practice, after choosing a heading, write a one-line “paragraph summary” and check the heading against it — if the summary contains material the heading cannot cover, you have taken the bait. Twenty passages with this verification step trains the discrimination that headings questions exist to test.

The Four-Week Reading Transformation (The Method’s Arithmetic).

Week 1 — accuracy without clock : two passages daily, untimed, with the question-type methods applied deliberately (the TFNG’s element by element comparison. The headings’ topic-plus-controlling-idea); the error-log begins with trap-names. Week 2 — the clock enters : the same two passages at 18-and-20 minutes. The skim-scan division practised (the 2-3-minute structure-read; the locating-scan); the log’s pattern-review. Week 3 — the sets : full three passage sections at 60 minutes every second day. The TFNG’s scan fail rule drilled (the failed-scan’s NOT-GIVEN-choosing, not intuition). The two-option-dilemma’s resolution protocol (the scope-and degree-check). Week 4 — the consolidation : alternate-day sections at exam-hour. The error-log’s final profile (the two dominant traps named). The passage-source-diet’s final week (the journal grade science and humanities the test favours). The arithmetic: ~30 passages across the month at rising-clock pressure moves the typical 24/40 to 30-33 — the method’s yield, not the vocabulary’s.

The Question-Type Priorities (Where the Marks Cluster).

The reading paper’s 40 questions distribute predictably: the completion family (summary-note-table-sentence) at 12-16 — the highest yield type (the answers come in order. The word limits are mechanical, the paraphrase-gap is the only skill). TFNG-and YNNG at 8-12 (the test’s hardest-and most trainable). Matching headings at 5-8; matching information at 5-8 (the scan’s purest-test); MCQ at 4-6; the short-answer-and feature matches filling the rest. The preparation routing this demands: master the completion family first (the biggest and friendliest block). Then the TFNG’s discipline (the scan fail rule), then the headings’ architecture — the MCQ and the matching information ride the same-skills. Candidates who drill vocabulary first are working the wrong margin; the question-type competence is the score’s actual-driver.

Read next: IELTS Prep Part 8: The 8-Week Practice-Test Cycle

Related exam guides.

• IELTS Prep Part 8: The 8-Week Practice-Test Cycle.
• IELTS Prep Part 7: Topic Vocabulary — Word Lists and the Collocation Habit.
• IELTS Prep Part 6: Band Descriptors — What a 7.0 Actually Means.

Frequently Asked Questions.

What should you know about 1. The Test Card?

The format.** Three passages, 40 questions, 60 minutes (no transfer time on the academic paper — the computer based typing included)**. Academic passages are journal-style; General Training mixes everyday texts (S1-2) with one long text (S3). The structure facts. Questions follow the text’s order (within each question-set). Every word change between question and text is deliberate — synonym matching is the test’s core mechanic .

What should you know about 2. True/False/Not Given (and Yes/No/Not Given)?

The definitions.** TRUE : the statement agrees with the information (findable via synonyms). FALSE : the statement contradicts it (the text says the opposite). NOT GIVEN**: no information either way — the hardest, because absence must be proven. (1) Underline the statement’s keywords; (2) locate the relevant sentence via the scan; (3) compare each element — one contradiction anywhere = FALSE; (4) if you cannot locate the specific claim after the scan. Choose NOT GIVEN rather than guessing TRUE.

What should you know about 3. Matching Headings?

Match paragraph headings (with one example usually done and two extra headings as distractors). (1) Read the heading list first, marking keywords. (2) read the paragraph’s first and second sentences and the last (the topic sentence usually governs). (3) ask: what is this paragraph about (the topic) and what does it say about it (the controlling idea)? (4) Beware the detail trap — a heading built on one example sentence rather than the paragraph’s whole point. (5) the parallel trap — headings with similar wording differ in scope or direction.

What should you know about 4. The Other Types Quickly?

Completion family (summary/note/table/flow-chart/sentence): predict the word form from grammar. The answers come in order within the set. Respect the word-limit; the summary may paraphrase heavily (the synonym work). Multiple choice : eliminate the word matching distractors (the paraphrase rule again). The “all of the above” variants don’t appear in IELTS but the double answer MCQs do.

What should you know about 5. The Timing Plan?

20 minutes per passage : 2-3 minutes skimming (the structure-map: intro-thesis, paragraph topics), 15 minutes on questions, 2 minutes’ check. Never reorder passages beyond a quick difficulty-glance. The scan skim division. Skim for structure (what where); scan for specific answers (the keyword-locate); the misread-middle ground (plodding word-by word) is the time-killer.

Related reading: IELTS Prep Part 1: Accents, Distractors, Maps · IELTS Prep Part 3: The Six Chart Types · IELTS Prep Part 4: The Three Letter Tones

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