How it works
- The questions describe a kind of information: an example, a reason, a comparison, a description, a prediction, a mention of something.
- The questions are not in the order of the text, which is what makes this type slow.
- A paragraph can contain the answer to more than one question, and some paragraphs contain none. The instructions say so when a letter can be used more than once.
A method that saves time
- Leave these questions until after the other questions on the same text. By then you know the text well, and many answers will already be familiar.
- Underline the type of information in each question (a reason, an example) and its topic.
- Read paragraph by paragraph, checking each against all the remaining questions, instead of searching the whole text for one question at a time.
- Check the type, not just the topic. Two paragraphs may mention distance; only one explains how it is shown.
Worked example
The waggle dance
AHoney bees communicate the location of food through a movement known as the waggle dance. A bee returning to the hive runs in a straight line while shaking its body, then circles back and repeats the run.
BThe angle of the straight run tells other bees the direction of the food relative to the sun, while the length of the run indicates distance. Researchers estimate that each second of waggling corresponds to roughly one kilometre of flight, though this varies between colonies.
CThe dance is not always accurate. Studies of recorded dances show that bees repeat the run many times with small differences in angle, and followers appear to average these runs rather than rely on a single one.
DSome scientists believe that, as satellite tracking becomes cheaper, the dance could be used to map where bees find food across a whole landscape, helping farmers decide where to plant flowers that support pollinators.
Which paragraph contains the following information?
- a possible practical use of the bees' behaviour
- how the dance shows how far away food is
- a description of the movement itself
- a reason why the dance cannot be relied on completely
Answers and why
| Paragraph | Why | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | D | Mapping food sources to help farmers is a use of the dance: a prediction about the future. |
| 2 | B | “The length of the run indicates distance.” |
| 3 | A | Runs in a straight line, shakes, circles back and repeats. |
| 4 | C | “The dance is not always accurate”, with the evidence from recorded dances. |
Why not A for question 2?
Paragraph A mentions the straight run, and question 2 is about the run too. But only B says what its length shows. Always match the full idea, not a shared word.
Questions
Can I use a paragraph letter more than once?+
Often, yes. The instructions tell you when any letter may be used more than once. Some paragraphs may not be the answer to any question.
Why is matching information so slow?+
Because the questions are not in text order and describe the kind of information rather than quoting it. Doing it after the other questions on the text, and checking paragraph by paragraph, saves time.
What is the difference from matching headings?+
Matching headings asks for the main idea of each paragraph. Matching information asks where a specific detail is, which may be a single sentence in the middle of a paragraph.