IELTS · Guides · October 23, 2026 · 4 min read
IELTS Reading matching information: which paragraph contains it? Method and example
Matching information asks: which paragraph contains the following information? You get a list of statements and write the letter of the paragraph (A, B, C…) where each one is found. It is one of the slowest Reading tasks, because the answers are not in the order of the text and the information is often a single detail hidden in the middle of a paragraph.
What the task looks like
Questions 1–5. The passage has seven paragraphs, A–G. Which paragraph contains the following information? You may use any letter more than once.
- a reference to a law that was later changed
- an example of an unexpected use of the invention
- a comparison between two methods of production
Read the instruction carefully. You may use any letter more than once means two statements can point to the same paragraph. Without that sentence, each letter is used once at most. Either way, some paragraphs are not used at all.
Not the same as matching headings
| Matching headings | Matching information | |
|---|---|---|
| What you match | the main idea of each paragraph | one detail somewhere in a paragraph |
| What you write | a Roman numeral (i, ii, iii…) | a paragraph letter (A, B, C…) |
| Every paragraph used? | yes, once each | no; some may be used twice, some never |
Because the statements describe details, the main idea of a paragraph will not help you much. A paragraph about the history of printing can contain an example of an unexpected use in its last sentence.
Look at the kind of information
The statements are written in general words: a reference to, an example of, a description of, a reason for, a comparison between, a prediction about, a mention of a problem. These words tell you what to look for:
- a reason → because, since, due to, this is why
- a comparison → more… than, unlike, whereas, similar to
- an example → for instance, such as, a named person, place or product
- a prediction → will, is expected to, by 2050
- a number or date → figures you can scan for
The noun after the frame word (a law, a method, a risk) is usually paraphrased in the text.
Method
- Do this task last among the questions on its passage, if you can. After the other tasks you will already know roughly what is in each paragraph.
- Underline the frame word and the key noun in each statement: comparison + methods of production.
- Start with statements that have something easy to scan for: a name, a date, a number.
- Read paragraph by paragraph, holding two or three statements in mind at once, rather than searching the whole text for one statement at a time.
- Check that the paragraph really contains that kind of information. If the statement asks for a comparison, the paragraph must compare two things, not just mention them.
- Never leave a blank. If you run out of time, choose a paragraph you have not used yet.
A worked example
A Paper money first appeared in China in the eleventh century, when merchants grew tired of carrying heavy strings of iron coins. B In Europe, the idea spread slowly. Banks issued notes from the seventeenth century, but many people trusted them less than gold, and in several countries it was illegal to refuse coins in payment while notes could be turned down. C Today most payments in Sweden are made by card or phone, and some shops no longer accept cash at all, something that would have been unthinkable a generation ago.
Which paragraph contains the following information?
- a reason why a new form of money was introduced
- a mention of a legal difference between two forms of money
- a contrast between the present and the past
Answers: 1 — A, 2 — B, 3 — C.
- Merchants grew tired of carrying heavy strings of iron coins is the reason for paper money. Note that it is not marked with because.
- Illegal to refuse coins… while notes could be turned down is the legal difference. The word law is not used; illegal is the paraphrase.
- Unthinkable a generation ago contrasts today with the past. Paragraph B also talks about the past, but it does not compare it with the present.
Common mistakes
- Reading for the main idea. The answer is often one clause, not the topic of the paragraph.
- Choosing a paragraph that mentions the topic but not the kind of information. A paragraph that mentions laws does not necessarily contain a law that was later changed.
- Using each letter only once when the instruction says you may use any letter more than once.
- Spending too long. Five statements in seven paragraphs should take about eight minutes.
Practise on real-format texts
These practice-room texts include matching information, each with an explanation and the sentence that proves the answer:
- Sleeping on it
- The press that changed the world
- The leaf that travelled the world
- Under the river, under the sea
The close relatives of this task are matching headings and matching features. The IELTS Reading guide lists every question type.
Common questions
Do the answers follow the order of the text? No. That is the main difference from most other Reading tasks.
Can one statement match two paragraphs? No. Each statement has one correct paragraph, even if the topic appears in several.
What does “section” mean instead of “paragraph”? In some texts the letters mark sections of several paragraphs. The method is the same.