IELTS Reading Test: Matching Paragraph Information
The IELTS Reading Test may contain a question that requires you to identify which paragraph information is found in or match headings to the correct paragraph. For this type of question, you need to understand the main topic of each paragraph and choose the most appropriate answer.
Here are our top tips for ‘Matching Paragraph Information’ questions:
- Read through the whole article to get the ‘gist’ but do not worry about understanding all parts
- Make notes as you skim through the article on any key themes emerging from paragraphs
- After skimming through the whole article, look at the questions
- If any paragraph information matches are immediately obvious, record that answer and remove that option from the list. This helps by reducing the options for the paragraphs you are not so sure about
- When reading the statements you are trying to match, consider how the information could be paraphrased to help you to locate the information
- Once you have matched the questions you are able to do easily, go back to the remaining paragraphs
- Re-skim through the paragraph, think about what is being discussed and consider which paragraph best fits
- Don’t spend too much time on these questions
This task will also give you exposure to a topic that may come up in any of the IELTS tests and will support you to learn and understand new vocabulary. You are also going to be practising your reading skills so this will help you with the tests whether a question like this comes up or not!
Level: Easy
Due to the short paragraphs included in this text, this exercise would be classed as easy. This would be a good practice for people who have not tried out an activity such as this previously.
Solar Energy
1. _______________________
Electricity generation is not the only use of solar energy at home. Solar water heaters are commonly used to heat and store hot water in warmer climates. They work by converting sunlight into energy for heating water through the use of a solar thermal collector. On sunny days, they can be very efficient in supplying enough hot water to cover a household’s warm water needs.
2. _______________________
You probably don’t realize this, but we depend on grid power for almost everything. And grid power is mainly generated by fossil fuels, a nonrenewable source of energy that is being depleted much more rapidly than most people think.
3. ______________________
Solar panels are durable, and because there are no moving parts, there is very little risk of wear and tear. Most solar panels nowadays come with a 20 to 25-year warranty, and even though they are made from tempered glass, they can withstand even moderate hailstorms without any damage.
4. _____________________
Based on the amount of money you save with your solar system, you can expect a return on your investment within the period of its warranty. Most solar installers give you a warranty of 20 to 25 years.
5. _____________________
Most commercially available panels reach only 15 to 18 percent efficiency. This means you need more panels to cover your energy needs, resulting in higher initial installation costs and a larger area to mount it.
6. _____________________
Although solar power cuts off your monthly electricity bills instantly, the return on the investment comes after several years. This requires careful planning and a lot of research before deciding how to cover the upfront investment.
7. ____________________
The intermittent nature of solar energy is one of the main reasons why it is difficult to rely entirely on solar power at the moment. Solar energy is generated only from the sunlight. At night or on cloudy days, your system will not produce power.
Source of passage: https://greentumble.com/solar-energy-pros-and-cons/#good-for-health
1. Match the following paragraph headings with the correct paragraph in the text.
A) The maintenance of solar systems is minimal
B) Low efficiency of solar panels
C) Return on investment
D) Energy security
E) Wide variety of solar power applications in daily life
F) Intermittent nature
G) High initial costs
2. In which paragraph will I find the following information? Give the paragraph number as your answer. Numbers may be used more than once.
A) Solar panels do not break easily and will last for a long time.
B) As the usefulness of most solar panels that can be found in stores is rather low, customers are forced to purchase a higher number of panels.
C) The use of solar systems is economically beneficial for consumers.
D) The sole use of solar energy does not generate enough power to meet consumer’s needs.
E) Solar panels are durable and able to survive extreme weather conditions.
F) Energy sources, such as coal and oil, will run out far sooner than people expect.
Answers:
Question 1:
A) 3
B) 5
C) 4
D) 2
E) 1
F) 7
G) 6
Question 2:
A) 3
B) 5
C) 4
D) 7
E) 3
F) 2