IELTS Reading: Matching Information

✅ IELTS Reading: Matching Information — 100% Working Formula

🔹 Name of the method:

SCAN → MAP → MATCH (SMM Method)

This works for Match Information / Which paragraph contains the following information.

---

✅ STEP 1: SCAN (Not read!)

👉 Do NOT read the whole passage first.

That’s where students waste time and panic.

What to scan:

Read only the questions first, not the passage.

Underline or mentally mark:

Key nouns

Actions

Results / consequences

Unique ideas

❌ Ignore grammar words

✅ Focus on meaning words

---

Example Question:

> Concerns about long-term environmental damage that may not be reversible.

🔍 Keywords:

long-term

environmental damage

not reversible

---

✅ STEP 2: MAP (Paragraph scanning)

Now scan the paragraphs one by one, NOT line by line.

You are looking for:

synonyms

paraphrases

cause–effect ideas

📌 Example mapping:

Question idea Possible paragraph clue

long-term damage “irreversible”, “permanent”, “cannot be restored”

environment “ecosystem”, “marine life”, “habitat”

👉 You are NOT matching words

👉 You are matching ideas

---

✅ STEP 3: MATCH (Confirm & Move On)

Once you find a paragraph that:

clearly discusses the same idea

NOT just a similar word

✔️ Match it

🚫 Do NOT recheck unless unsure

Move forward — never reread everything.

---

⚠️ COMMON TRAPS (VERY IMPORTANT)

❌ Trap 1: Same word ≠ same meaning

Example:

Question: environmental damage

Text: economic damage

→ ❌ WRONG match

---

❌ Trap 2: One paragraph ≠ one question

One paragraph can match multiple questions.

---

❌ Trap 3: Order trap

Questions do NOT follow paragraph order.

---

✅ GOLDEN RULE (EXAM HACK)

👉 If you can replace the question with the sentence from the paragraph and it still makes sense — that’s your answer.

---

📌 MINI EXAMPLE (Real Style)

Question:

> 2. Concerns about long-term environmental damage.

Paragraph:

> “Once disturbed, deep-sea ecosystems may take centuries to recover, and in some cases, recovery may never occur.”

✔ Match = YES

✔ Answer = that paragraph

---

🧠 QUICK MEMORY TRICK (3C METHOD)

C – Catch keywords

C – Compare meaning (not words)

C – Confirm once, move on

---

🚦 DOs & DON’Ts

✅ DO:

Read questions first

Use elimination

Trust paraphrasing

❌ DON’T:

Translate in your head

Read full passage line by line

Panic if you don’t understand 1 sentence