Buzz
Matching Headings can often be a daunting task for IELTS test-takers at various proficiency levels. So, is there a way to minimize errors when dealing with this type of task? Explore the approach to Matching Headings in IELTS Reading with these 3 steps below.1. What are Matching Headings?
Matching Headings is an IELTS Reading question type that requires candidates to place given headings into paragraphs so that the corresponding heading matches the content of that paragraph.
Some characteristics:
- Số tiêu đề luôn nhiều hơn số đoạn trong bài (Như trên ảnh, cần tìm trong 8 tiêu đề cho 5 đoạn)
- Thứ tự các tiêu đề KHÔNG sắp xếp theo thứ tự các đoạn
This is the part that requires candidates to coordinate multiple skills: they must have a wide range of vocabulary (to understand information) and know how to generalize information (to identify the main content of the paragraph).
The reason many candidates often make mistakes in Matching Headings lies in weak grammar or limited vocabulary. Specifically, many candidates read the passage without understanding its meaning, only 'picking up' a few prominent words, and then choosing a title that matches those words. Unfortunately, this is often a 'trap' set by the question to mislead the test-takers.
So, how can one approach this type of task?
2. Approach to Matching Headings in IELTS Reading to minimize errors
2.1. STEP #1: Read all the Given Headings
An important note during reading is to underline keywords in the headings.
Tip: Keywords ở đây không được trùng với topic của bài đọc. Giả sử, bạn đang đọc bài về ‘Tourism’, thì chỉ gạch chân từ ‘cost’ trong tiêu đề ‘The cost of tourism’ thôi.
Also, quickly underline all the example sentences provided beforehand. Sometimes we get so engrossed in our work that we forget there are 1-2 paragraphs already done, leading to a deviation in the article.
2.2. STEP #2: Read into the Passage
The question here is: So, when reading a passage, what do we read? The first sentence? The last sentence?
The answer is: You need to read everything.
Here's why: The main content of a paragraph is usually in the middle. If you only read the beginning/end as a 'tip' shared by many, chances are you will be drawn to some prominent words. This is when you get distracted and are likely to fall into the 'answer trap' set by the question.
Here, we are not trying to read in detail, but only to grasp the main idea.
The issue here is: How do you read quickly?
How to increase reading speed when doing Matching Headings?
To read fast and understand the meaning, you can skip these sentence elements after reading:
- Trạng từ (-ly)
- Phần mở rộng.
Example: Mr. X, an entomologist at ABC university …,=> Bỏ qua không đọc cái phần giải thích ông X làm gì.
- Trong các câu như ‘Because [clause 1], [clause 2]’, hãy đọc luôn vào clause 2. Tức là khi bạn vừa nhìn thấy because/ although/ when… ở đầu câu, hãy đi tìm dấu phẩy, rồi đọc sau dấu phẩy.
- Trong một cụm danh từ dài, chỉ đọc danh từ, bỏ hết phần trước noun (adj, adv, …) và sau noun (relative clause, prepositional phrase, …).
Example: trong cụm ‘an incredibly beautiful girl who was kidnapped yesterday’, bạn chỉ chú ý đến từ ‘girl’
In addition to the above tip, the most important thing is that you must have a good grasp of grammar and a relatively decent vocabulary.
If you read slowly, it's probably due to lacking grammar or limited vocabulary (these two often go hand in hand). To strengthen these areas, you can refer to the book Grammar for IELTS – Collins.
3. STEP #3 Scroll through all the Headings and eliminate incorrect answers
The key point here is not about choosing the correct answer, but eliminating the wrong answer choices.
How do you eliminate them? Do you remember the keywords we underlined at the beginning of the passage? You just need to check from the first heading to the last heading, see if the paragraph you just read contains the underlined data.
After the first round of elimination, if you're 'lucky', you will be left with only 1 answer choice.
Usually, luck isn't on your side like that, because you may still have 2-3 headings left to choose from. That's okay, having 2-3 is much better than the initial 9-10, and it will significantly reduce your chances of making a mistake.
4. Matching Headings Practice Exercise
Apply the above 3 steps to practice the exercise below before checking the answers at the end of the passage.
Tourism, holidaymaking and travel are these days more significant social phenomena than most commentators have considered. On the face of it, there could not be a more trivial subject for a book. And indeed since social scientists have had considerable difficulty explaining weightier topics, such as work or politics, it might be thought that they would have great difficulties in accounting for more trivial phenomena such as holidaymaking. However, there are interesting parallels with the study of deviance. This involves the investigation of bizarre and idiosyncratic social practices which happen to be defined as deviant in some societies but not necessarily in others. The assumption is that the investigation of deviance can reveal interesting and significant aspects of normal societies. It could be said that a similar analysis can be applied to tourism.
Headings:i The POLITICS of tourismii The COST of tourismiii Justifying the STUDY of tourismiv Tourism contrasted with TRAVELv The essence of MODERN tourismvi Tourism versus LEISUREvii The ARTIFICIALITY of modern tourismviii The role of modern TOUR GUIDES.
Đáp án bài luyện tập: iii.
The detailed instructions above have guided you on how to do Matching Heading in IELTS Reading. Practice a lot, and more importantly, don't forget to improve your vocabulary and grammar to enhance your reading comprehension. Refer to some English reading sources.
