Choose the heading that sums up the main idea of the whole paragraph, not one detail in it. There are more headings than paragraphs, so some are distractors that pick up words from the passage without matching its main point.
At a glance
- Where
- Academic and General Training Reading
- How many
- Usually 5–7 paragraphs, with extra headings
- Order
- Paragraphs go in order; headings are not
- Marking
- One mark per paragraph; each heading is used once at most
How to answer, step by step
- Read the list of headings first and note what kind of idea each one describes: a cause, a problem, a comparison, a change over time.
- Read one paragraph. Its first and last sentences often state the main idea; the middle gives details and examples.
- Say the paragraph's point to yourself in a few words, then find the heading that means the same.
- Do the paragraphs you are sure of first, and cross those headings off.
- For the rest, check that the heading covers the whole paragraph, not only one sentence of it.
Common mistakes
- Picking a heading because it repeats a word from the paragraph. Distractors are built that way.
- Matching an example instead of the main idea. A paragraph about why cities are hot may mention parks without being about parks.
- Using a heading twice. If two paragraphs seem to fit one heading, one of them belongs elsewhere.
Worked example
From Skillora IELTS Academic Mock Test 1 · Reading Passage 2, Question 14
Reading Passage 2 has six paragraphs, A–F. Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the list of headings.
Paragraph A
- i. A change that began with a frustrated driver
- ii. Why cheaper transport did not cost jobs everywhere
- iii. The slow and costly world of break-bulk cargo
- iv. Making one size work for everyone
- v. Ports that had to move
- vi. A failed attempt to replace ships with aircraft
- vii. Bigger vessels and the limits of size
- viii. How a standard box changed what countries make
- ix. The resistance of dock workers
Answer: iii. The slow and costly world of break-bulk cargo
Paragraph A describes the old way of loading loose goods (sacks, barrels, crates): it was slow, theft was common and transport was expensive. That is "the slow and costly world of break-bulk cargo".
“In the early 1950s, loading a cargo ship was slow, exhausting work.”
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