Understanding IELTS Reading Answer Explanations

Simply checking if your answer was right or wrong isn't enough. Understanding *why* an answer is correct (and why others are incorrect) is key to improving your IELTS Reading score.

This guide focuses on how to approach finding answers in the text and how to learn effectively from answer explanations provided in practice materials.

Approaching Questions & Finding Answers

Understand the Question Type: First, identify what the question is asking you to do (e.g., find specific detail, match a heading, identify an opinion, complete a summary). Different types require different strategies. See Reading Tips.
Identify Keywords: Locate keywords in the question. Think about synonyms and paraphrases the text might use.
Scan the Passage: Scan the text specifically for those keywords or related concepts to locate the relevant section(s).
Read Carefully: Once you've found the relevant part of the text, read it carefully to fully understand the meaning. Don't just match words blindly.
Match Meaning, Not Just Words: The correct answer will often use different words (paraphrasing) but convey the same meaning as stated in the passage.
Eliminate Incorrect Options (for MCQ): For multiple-choice questions, try to eliminate options that are clearly contradicted by the text or not mentioned at all.

Learning from Explanations

When you review your answers using an answer key with explanations:

For Correct Answers: Don't just move on. Quickly re-read the explanation and the relevant part of the text to confirm *why* your answer was correct. Did you use the right strategy? Did you correctly identify paraphrasing? Reinforce good habits.
For Incorrect Answers: This is where the real learning happens!
- Read the explanation carefully to understand why the correct answer is right.
- Go back to the passage and find the exact sentence(s) that support the correct answer.
- Analyze *why* you chose the wrong answer. Did you misunderstand the question? Misinterpret the text? Match keywords incorrectly? Fall for a distractor? Get the paraphrasing wrong?
- Identify the specific skill you need to work on based on your error (e.g., vocabulary, understanding complex sentences, T/F/NG strategy).

Focus on Tricky Types: Pay special attention to explanations for question types you find difficult, such as True/False/Not Given or Yes/No/Not Given, and Matching Headings. Understand the specific reasoning for each answer.

Understanding True / False / Not Given

This common question type often causes confusion. Remember:

TRUE: The statement agrees with the information or opinion stated in the passage. You can find direct support.
FALSE: The statement contradicts (says the opposite of) the information or opinion stated in the passage. You can find direct evidence it's wrong.
NOT GIVEN: The information in the statement is not mentioned in the passage *at all*, or it's impossible to know if it agrees or contradicts based *only* on the passage. Don't use outside knowledge.

When reviewing explanations for these, focus on whether the support/contradiction was found or if the information was genuinely absent.

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