Matching Paragraph Information

On this page, we will learn about What is Matching Paragraph Information? Useful information, examples of paragraph headings, strategies to answer the questions, and tips IELTS Matching Paragraphs Practice Exercise and The Lost Giants of Australian Fauna Solutions with Explanations and Matching Paragraphs Information Questions

What is Matching Paragraph Information?

You need to match the heading in the question to the correct paragraph or reading section in the text . There will always be more headings than paragraphs or sections, and some headings will not be used . It is also possible that some of the headings may not be included in the task. It examines your ability to recognize the main idea and to identify supporting ideas in the paragraph.

Useful information:

  1. Paragraph headings do not follow the order of the text and are listed randomly.
  2. You need to get the general idea of each paragraph or section in the text, not the specific details.
  3. The first few lines of the paragraph sometimes can give you its main idea.

Example of Paragraph Heading:


ielts reading matching paragraph information.

Strategies to answer the questions:

  1. Look through the list of headings carefully.
  2. Read the first paragraph. Don't give much attention to details, just get the general idea of it.
  3. Read the headings list attentively and choose the best heading match.
  4. If you don't find a match, move on to the next paragraph.
  5. If you are not sure about the right match (you think that paragraphs B, D, and F are OK), write down all possible answers. Don't guess yet! Maybe some of your options will be crossed out later.
  6. Repeat this strategy with the remaining questions.

Tips:

  1. Don't waste too much time on one paragraph. If you don't find the answer , you can skip it and come back later.
  2. Try all the titles for each paragraph . Even if you used some of the headings from the list already, it's always better to double-check!
  3. Don't worry! If you come across some unfamiliar words in the text, you should only focus on the main idea of each paragraph in this section. You can do it even if you don't know all the words. 

IELTS Matching Paragraphs Practice Exercise:

The lost giants of Australian fauna

(A) Australia has unique wildlife. The vast majority of the animals that live there are not found anywhere else – and things were same 1 million years ago during the Pleistocene: the age of the super-sized mammal. Giant beasts of all shapes and sizes dominated every continent Before humanity became Earth's undisputed superpower, the Pleistocene mammals of Australia were unique. Some of them could grow to be the size of small cars or longer, with teeth as sharp as knife blades. 

(B) Now none of these animals survive - although exactly why that's the case is a mystery. Humans, with their advanced hunting methods and use of fire to modify the landscape, may have played a vital role in the megafauna's disappearance, but this idea is still a matter of heated debate.

(C) Even though we cannot be sure that the arrival of Australian Aboriginals on the continent had a catastrophic impact on its native animals, it appears that the animals had a rather spiritual effect on the humans. The Aboriginal mythological "Dreamtime" includes a cast of monstrous creatures, many of which contain a close resemblance to some of the real-life monsters that once stalked Australia's plains. Are the myths based on true facts? Perhaps, after all, these creatures are far stranger than anything humans have dreamed up .

(D) For example,the two-tonne-weighting Diprotodon comfortably holds the title of largest marsupial ever. It looked superficially like a modern rhinoceros in size and appearance, but the Diprotodon seems to have had a social lifestyle more like that of an elephant, another mammal with which it shares anatomical similarities. What the Diprotodon most resembles, however, is exactly what it is: a massive wombat.

(E) Another record breaker, this time a world champion; Varanus priscus, which is known by its antiquated genus name Megalania which was the largest terrestrial lizard the world has ever known. Megalania was a goanna lizard, a relative of today's infamous Komodo dragon, and conservative calculations have predicted that it was at least 5.5m long.

(F) These were not the only giant marsupials. Their numbers were increased by half-tonne birds and dinosaur-like tortoises. This biological assemblage was truly nightmarish for humans, but it greatly enriched Australia’s fauna and contributed to the world’s biological diversity. It is unfortunate that all of these species are now extinct. This fact indicates to us that even strong, monstrous creatures can easily die out. So we must  care of the animals that surround us today and don’t let them disappear, as it happened to their distant ancestors.


Matching paragraphs information questions:

Write the correct letter, A-F, in boxes 1-8 on your answer sheet which paragraph contains the following information:

  1. Monstrous creature extinction
  2. The largest mammal
  3. Myths and reality
  4. Incredible Pleistocene Australian creatures
  5. Importance of animal protection
  6. Giant lizards
  7. Arrival of Australian Aboriginals
  8. Mystery the giants' disappearance

Explanations:

Paragraph A

After reading the first paragraph, we can see that its main idea is to describe the wildlife in Australia during the Pleistocene. This idea is clearly stated in the first sentence:

"Australia has unique wildlife."

So we can immediately cut out the irrelevant headings:

  1. Monstrous creature extinction (there is nothing written about animals' extinction)
  2. The largest mammal
  3. Myths and reality (the text just gives information about the animals, it says nothing about whether it is real or not)
  4. Incredible Pleistocene Australian creatures
  5. Importance of animal protection (animal protection is not mentioned in the text)
  6. Giant lizards ( no information about lizards)
  7. Arrival of Australian Aboriginals ( no information about Aboriginals)
  8. Mystery the giants' disappearance ( there is not any information about animals' disappearance)

So we have two headings. But super-sized mammal is mentioned in the text, the main focus of this paragraph is Australia's wildlife during the Pleistocene. So the answer is "Incredible Pleistocene Australian creatures.."


Paragraph B

In this paragraph , we don't know why these creatures disappeared. Again, the first sentence summarises its main idea of this paragraph.

"None of these animals alive today – although exactly why that's the case is a unknown"

  1. Monstrous creature extinction
  2. The largest mammal
  3. Myths and reality
  1. Importance of animal protection
  2. Giant lizards
  3. Arrival of Australian Aboriginals
  4. Mystery the giants' disappearance

Both the headings are going well. However, the first one doesn't give enough information, as it is highlighted in the paragraph that the case is a mystery . So the answer is "Mystery the giants' disappearance".


Paragraph C

The main idea of these sentences

"The Aboriginal mythological "Dreamtime" includes a cast of monstrous creatures, many of which bear a close resemblance to some of the real-life monsters that once stalked Australia's plains. Are the myths based on true facts? Perhaps, after all, these creatures are far stranger than anything humans have dreamed up."

So it tells us about myths and reality, which is the correct heading.


Paragraph D

This paragraph is about Diprotodon:

"the two-tonne-weighting Diprotodon holds the title of largest marsupial ever. It looked superficially like a modern rhinoceros in size and appearance, but the Diprotodon seems to have had a social lifestyle more like that of an elephant, another mammal with which it shares anatomical similarities."

So it tells us about myths and reality, which is the correct heading.
So the idea of paragraph D is The largest mammal.


Paragraph E

This paragraph is about the giant lizard Megalania::

"its antiquated genus name Megalania which was the largest terrestrial lizard."

So, Giant lizards is a correct choice of heading of this paragraph.


Paragraph F

Paragraph F is about other extinct species and ends with a conclusion.

"It is unfortunate that all of these species have become extinct. This fact indicates to us that even strong, monstrous creatures can easily die out. So we must care of the animals that surround us today and don’t let them disappear, as it happened to their distant ancestors."

The main idea of this paragraph is that we need to protect animals. That's why the correct heading for this paragraph is "Importance of animal protection."

Note: Here, two paragraphs (1 and 7) were not used at all. Sometimes this happens in IELTS Matching Paragraphs questions.