IELTS Reading – Matching Names Tips and Strategy

In IELTS Reading matching names questions, you will be asked to match someone’s name, normally an expert, researcher or scientist, to a statement. In this post, I’ll teach you my strategy for these question types so you can improve your reading skills from home.

In these questions, you will be given a list of names and a list of statements. Your job is to read the text and then match the names with the correct statement.

The reading text will tell you what that person has said or done (normally research findings) and this will guide you to the correct answer.

Sample Question

As you can see below, you will be given a number of statements and a number of names. You must use the reading text to match each statement with the correct name. You will often be given more names than required.

Source: Cambridge English IELTS Past Papers.

IELTS Matching Names Tips

1. Focus on the easy questions first. If you can’t find the answer to a question, move on and come back to it later.
2. Find the names in the text quickly by scanning for them and then underline them.
3. The names might be shortened to just a first or last name. For example, ‘John Jones’ might appear as only ‘Jones’ in the text.
4. Think of synonyms that might appear in the reading text. For example, the phrase ‘intense burst of energy‘ could look like ‘explosive release of energy‘ in the text.
5. Some of the names might be used more than once. Check the question for instructions on this.
6. The questions do not follow the order of the text. You might have to go backwards and forwards to find the correct answer. This is a very unnatural way to read and requires you to use your scanning skills.
7. If you like to categorise things by colour, use different coloured pens to underline the different names.

IELTS Reading Matching Names Strategy 

This is my suggested strategy. There are many different strategies and you should use the one you feel comfortable with. You can also adapt this strategy to what suits you.

1. Read the question carefully.
2. Focus on the names first. Read them and then scan for the names in the reading text and underline them. Remember that some names will appear more than once and you should underline them all.
3. Focus on the names that appear only once first because these are the easiest.
4. Read around the name to see if their findings or research come before or after their name.
5. Read their research or findings and then go back to the statements in the question and match. Be aware of synonyms.
6. When you find a statement that matches a name, delete the statement. Each statement can only be used once.
7. Repeat for the rest of the names.

Do you need more help with IELTS Reading? 

In my new free IELTS Reading course, I’ll teach you how to improve your skills and maximise your score on the day of your test:

You can sign up here.

If you have any remaining questions, you can contact my team at [email protected]