Lessons / Reading / Multiple choice
IELTS Reading
Multiple choice
One question, four options. The wrong three are engineered to be nearly right.
The instructions, word for word as the test writes them
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
What this task is
A stem with four options, all pointing at the same region of the passage. Usually one or two paragraphs. Find that region first, then choose.
The correct option paraphrases the passage. Options that reuse the passage's exact distinctive words are usually traps. Word-matching is the exact shortcut this type is built to punish.
The traps
These are built in on purpose. Know them by name and half the danger is gone.
A distractor borrows the passage's vocabulary but changes the relationship between the words. It feels familiar. Familiarity is not truth.
A statement the passage genuinely supports, that does not answer this particular stem. Check the option against the question, not just against the text.
The passage says "many". The option says "all". The passage "suggests". The option "proves". One word of exaggeration is enough to be wrong.
The information is real. It is one paragraph away from where this question points.
What to do next time
- Locate before you judge. Find the one or two paragraphs the question lives in, then read them properly. Hunting options across the whole passage wastes minutes.
- Eliminate rather than select. Finding one clause that breaks an option is faster and safer than convincing yourself another is perfect.
- Answers come in passage order. Question 3's region is after question 2's. Use that to narrow the search.
Now meet it under a clock. Start a free mock. Every multiple choice question you get wrong comes back with the sentence that proves the answer, and the reason the trap was tempting.