Facts, Claims and Evidence
Distinguish facts and claims and locate supporting evidence.
Open cluster 1 →Prepare for Reading
Start here, then choose a practice below. Open each section for focused advice.
Skills to develop
- Skim for the main idea and paragraph purpose; scan for names, dates and other specific details.
- Recognise paraphrases: the question may express an idea in different words from the passage.
- Read carefully around the evidence, including qualifiers such as some, all, may and never.
- Distinguish a writer’s claim from a fact, an example or another person’s opinion.
A practical approach
- Read the instructions and word limit first. Skim the passage, then use question keywords and synonyms to find evidence.
- Allow about 20 minutes per passage in a full 60-minute test as a starting point; adjust according to difficulty. There is no extra transfer time in Reading.
- If stuck, make your best choice, move on and return if time allows. Check every answer against the text.
Question types: how to tackle them
- True / False / Not Given: compare the statement with the passage: agreement = True; contradiction = False; insufficient information = Not Given. Yes / No / Not Given works similarly for the writer’s views.
- Matching headings: identify the main purpose of the whole paragraph; do not choose a heading just because one word appears.
- Matching information, features or endings: locate the relevant detail, person or sentence and check the full meaning; follow instructions about whether options may be reused.
- Multiple choice: predict an answer, compare every option with the evidence and eliminate options that distort it.
- Summary, note, table, flow-chart and sentence completion: locate the relevant passage, follow the word limit, and check that the completed sentence is grammatical. Use words from the passage or the supplied list as instructed.
- Short-answer questions and diagram labels: find the precise detail and copy the required words within the limit.
Common mistakes that cost marks
- Using outside knowledge instead of the passage, or treating “not mentioned” as “false”.
- Matching isolated keywords while ignoring a contradiction, qualification or paraphrase.
- Exceeding the word limit, misspelling a copied word, or giving a grammatically unsuitable answer.
- Spending too long on one question or assuming every question type follows passage order.
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Choose a question skill
6 clusters · 300 practicesThe Matching Skills Lab
Match headings, information and features to the right text.
Open cluster 2 →The Completion Skills Lab
Select the information needed to complete notes and summaries.
Open cluster 3 →The Multiple-Choice Mastery Lab
Compare options and select the answer supported by the passage.
Open cluster 4 →The Precision Answer Lab
Identify accurate, concise answers from the text.
Open cluster 5 →Integrated Academic Reading
Combine your reading skills in integrated practice.
Open cluster 6 →Choose a cluster, select a practice and check your answers against the passage. These training passages are often shorter than official IELTS texts; practice scores are not IELTS band scores.