IELTS Academic Reading – Task Type 1 – Multiple Choice

Task Description

What are candidates required to do?
Candidates are asked to choose the best answer from four alternatives A, B, C or D, and to write the letter of the answer they have chosen on the Answer Sheet.

What form do the questions take?
They may involve sentence completion – the stem gives the first part of a sentence and candidates choose the best way to complete it from the options. The stem could also be worded as a complete question, with the candidates choosing the option which best answers it.

Are there any variations of this task type?
Sometimes there may be more than four alternative answers, and candidates may have to pick more than one correct answer. There may also be a global multiple choice question at the end of the set of questions, for example asking candidates to choose the most suitable title for the reading passage.

Are the questions in text order?
The questions are in the same order as the information in the passage: that is, the answer to the first question in this group will be found before the answer to the second question, and so on.

What text type is this task type used with?
It may be used with any text type.

What skills are being assessed?
Multiple choice items are used to test a wide range of reading skills. They may require the candidate to have a detailed understanding of specific points or an overall understanding of the main points of the text.

Understanding the Task

To see examples of this task type please click on the link below.

Examples of Task Type 1

To understand better how candidates need to approach this task, it may help you to do the task yourself and analyse what you had to do to find the right answer.

Look at this sample Task Type 1. Complete the task, thinking about how you are doing it.

Sample Task Type 1 Task (PDF)

Answers

Things to consider

Now look at these questions about how you approached the task and consider your answers.

1. Did you read the instructions carefully?
   
   
2. Did you read the whole passage before you read the questions?
   
   
3. Did you read the first question and then read the passage carefully from the beginning?
   
   
4. Did the items occur in order in the passage?
   
   
5. Did the alternative answers form a coherent set?
   
   
6. Did identical words in the question and the passage help you to find the correct answer?
   
   
7. What skills did you use to complete this task?