IELTS · Guides · October 23, 2026 · 5 min read
IELTS Matching Headings: a 5-step method, a worked example and practice texts
In a matching headings task you get a list of headings, numbered with small Roman numerals (i, ii, iii…), and you choose the one that sums up each paragraph. There are always more headings than paragraphs, and no heading is used twice. The task usually comes first in a passage, and it tests one skill: seeing the main idea of a paragraph rather than its details.
What the task looks like
Questions 1–6. The passage has six paragraphs, A–F. Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the list of headings below.
Sometimes one paragraph is done for you as an example, and the instruction says paragraphs B–G. Cross that heading off the list straight away: it will not be used again.
Unlike most other question types, the answers do not follow any order you can rely on, because each answer is a paragraph, and the headings are listed in random order.
A five-step method
- Read the headings first, quickly. Note what kind of idea each one is: a cause, a problem, a solution, a history, a comparison, an opinion. Do not try to memorise them.
- Read one paragraph at a time. Read the first two sentences closely, skim the middle, and read the last sentence closely. The main idea is usually stated at the start, but a paragraph that begins with an example often states its point at the end.
- Say the main idea in five or six words of your own before you look at the list. “Why the old method failed.” “Two benefits of trees.”
- Find the heading that matches your summary, not the one that shares a word with the paragraph. If two headings fit, write both numbers next to the paragraph in pencil and move on.
- Come back to the hard paragraphs at the end. With fewer headings left, the choice is easier. Check that each heading you used covers the whole paragraph, not just one sentence of it.
Why wrong headings look right
- A word from the paragraph. The heading repeats a striking word (ozone, Victorian, engine) that appears once in the paragraph. Matching words is the trap the task is built around.
- Too narrow. The heading describes one example or one sentence. A paragraph about three health risks is not “The danger to older people”, even if older people are mentioned.
- Too wide. The heading would fit the whole passage. “The problem of urban heat” is the title of the text, not of paragraph C.
- Right topic, wrong angle. The paragraph is about the causes of something; the heading is about its effects or solutions. Look at the type of idea, not just the topic.
- Nearly a twin. Two headings differ by one word: “Early attempts to solve the problem” and “An early solution to the problem”. If the paragraph describes several failed attempts, the plural one is right.
A worked example
A For most of the twentieth century, the only way to know how many birds lived in a forest was to send trained observers to count them, a slow and expensive job that could be done only a few times a year. B Today, small recorders fixed to trees can listen around the clock for months. Software trained on thousands of songs then identifies each species by its call, producing a far more complete picture than any human team could. C The method is not perfect. Birds that rarely sing are easily missed, and the software still confuses some species with similar calls, so researchers check a sample of the recordings by ear.
List of headings
i. The limits of the new approach ii. Why birds sing at dawn iii. How counting used to be done iv. A cheaper way to train observers v. Listening without people
Answers: A — iii, B — v, C — i.
- A describes the old method. iv also mentions observers, but the paragraph is not about training them more cheaply: that is a word trap.
- B is about machines that listen without people: around the clock, software… identifies. The heading shares only one word with the paragraph, listen, and expresses the rest in its own words, which is normal for a correct heading.
- C begins with its main idea, The method is not perfect, and gives two examples of its limits.
- ii is a distractor about birds in general: song is mentioned, but no paragraph explains why birds sing at dawn.
Common mistakes
- Reading the list of headings again and again before reading the text. One quick pass is enough.
- Choosing a heading because of one shared word.
- Using the same heading twice. If you want to, one of the two choices is wrong.
- Spending ten minutes on matching headings and running out of time for the rest of the passage. Aim for about seven or eight minutes for six paragraphs.
- Forgetting the example. If paragraph A is done for you, its heading is already taken.
Practise on real-format texts
These practice-room texts open with a matching headings task. Every answer is checked and explained, with the sentence from the text that proves it:
- Why cities run hot: six paragraphs, eight headings
- A short history of glass: headings for paragraphs B–G
- An alien intelligence: headings for paragraphs B–F
- Lights on the rocks: headings, then matching people
For the other Reading question types, see matching information, True / False / Not Given and the full IELTS Reading guide.
Common questions
Can a heading be used more than once? No. In matching headings each heading is used once at most, and some are not used at all. (In matching information a paragraph letter can sometimes be used twice, which is why the two tasks are easy to confuse.)
Should I read the whole paragraph? Read the first and last sentences closely and skim the rest. If the first sentence is a question, an example or a contrast (However, Yet), the main idea is usually later.
Is matching headings in General Training too? Yes. It is most common in the longer texts of Sections 2 and 3.
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