Multiple choice in reading
Answer single-answer and choose-TWO/THREE multiple-choice questions accurately. Read the stem precisely, find the right section, and rule out options that are true but irrelevant, partly true, contradicted or not mentioned. Also covers writer's-purpose and main-idea questions.
By the end of this lesson you will be able to:
- Recognise the three reading MCQ formats and how each one is marked
- Read the stem precisely and form your own answer before studying the options
- Rule out options that are true but irrelevant, partly true, contradicted, overstated or not mentioned
- Answer 'in order to' purpose questions and whole-passage main-idea or title questions
Format 1: single answer (A–D)
Questions 14–17
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
There are four options and one is correct. In Reading you always get four options (in Listening it is usually three).
Format 2: choose TWO (or THREE)
Questions 18–19
Choose TWO letters, A–E.
You choose two answers from five options, or sometimes three from seven (A–G). Each correct letter earns one mark, and the order you write them in doesn't matter. Write one letter in each numbered box. If you're sure of only one, still write your best guess for the other, because an empty box can never score.
Format 3: whole-passage questions
What is the writer's main purpose in Reading Passage 3?
Which of the following is the most suitable title for Reading Passage 3?
These test the passage as a whole. When one appears, it is normally the last question for that passage.
Two facts that save time
- Single-answer questions follow the order of the passage: the evidence for 15 comes after the evidence for 14.
- Stems come in two shapes: a question (What does the writer say about…?) or an unfinished sentence (The writer mentions the hunting tradition in order to…). Treat both the same way and work out exactly what is being asked.
Read the stem precisely: what is it really asking?
| Stem wording | What it asks for | Trap to avoid |
|---|---|---|
What was the main reason…? / …mainly because | A cause, and the most important one | An option giving a minor reason, or giving a result instead of a cause |
What was the result of…? / …led to | An effect | An option describing the cause, or a later, unrelated event |
The writer mentions X in order to… | The writer's reason for including X | An option that is true about X but isn't why the writer mentions it |
According to the writer… / The writer believes… | The writer's own view | A view the writer reports from other people, especially one the writer rejects |
What surprised / worried / interested the researchers? | One specific reaction | Something the researchers found but did not find surprising |
What is said about X in paragraph C? | A detail limited to that paragraph | Something true about X that comes from a different paragraph |
Main purpose / most suitable title | The idea that covers the whole passage | A detail from one paragraph (too narrow) or an idea bigger than the passage (too broad) |
The six kinds of option you will meet
| Option type | What it looks like | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
Correct | Paraphrases the evidence and answers the stem's exact question | ✓ Choose it |
True but irrelevant | Says something the passage really does state, but doesn't answer this question | ✗ The most common trap |
Partly true | Half of it matches the text; the other half adds a wrong detail | ✗ One wrong word makes the whole option wrong |
Contradicted | The passage says the opposite | ✗ |
Not mentioned | Plausible, often common knowledge, but absent from the text | ✗ |
Overstated | Turns 'some / may / slightly' into 'all / will / dramatically' | ✗ Check how strong the claim is |
The five-step method for single-answer questions
- 1
Read the stem, not the options
Underline the stem's keywords and its focus: reason, result, purpose, opinion or surprise? Glance at the options only to see what they're about. Don't judge them yet.
- 2
Locate the section
Use the names, dates, numbers and technical terms in the stem, together with the order rule. A paragraph reference (in paragraph C) does the locating for you.
- 3
Read the evidence and answer in your own words
Read the two to five sentences that deal with the stem. Before you look at the options, say the answer to yourself: 'They were surprised because…'
- 4
Judge every option against the text
Label each option: correct, true but irrelevant, partly true, contradicted, not mentioned or overstated. Ruling out three wrong options is often faster than proving the right one.
- 5
Choose, then move on
Pick the option that matches your own answer and the evidence. If you're still torn between two after about two minutes, choose the one with clearer support in the text, mark the question and move on.
Text
When a city in southern Europe offered owners of flat-roofed buildings a small tax reduction for installing rooftop gardens, officials expected the main benefit to be cooler buildings in summer. Surveys two years later showed that indoor temperatures had indeed fallen slightly. Residents, however, mentioned something else first: the gardens had become meeting places, and many said they now knew their neighbours by name for the first time. Planners admit that this social effect was entirely unanticipated, and some now argue that it should be the main justification for future schemes.
Question: What surprised officials about the rooftop garden scheme?
A It reduced indoor temperatures in summer.
B It helped residents to get to know one another.
C It cost less than planners had predicted.
D It made buildings far cooler than predicted.
Answer: B
- Stem focusThe key word is 'surprised'. We need something unexpected, not just any result of the scheme.
- Evidence'this social effect was entirely unanticipated'. The social effect is described in the sentence before: residents 'now knew their neighbours by name'. Your own answer before reading the options: 'Neighbours got to know each other.'
- A: true but irrelevantTemperatures did fall, but that was the expected benefit ('officials expected the main benefit to be cooler buildings'). It's true, but it doesn't answer 'surprised'.
- B: correct'get to know one another' paraphrases 'knew their neighbours by name for the first time'.
- C: not mentionedCost is never discussed. It sounds like a typical surprise, which is exactly why it's there.
- D: overstatedThe text says temperatures fell 'slightly'. 'Far cooler than predicted' changes how strong the claim is.
How choose-TWO and choose-THREE questions work
- The options often relate to a longer section (one or two paragraphs, sometimes more), so expect to scan more widely than for a single-answer question.
- The options are not in passage order, and the correct ones may be found in any order in the text.
- Treat each option like a True / False / Not Given statement. Is it stated in the passage, and does it answer the stem? You need exactly two (or three) options that pass both tests.
- Read the stem carefully. In Which TWO problems does the writer mention?, an option that describes a benefit doesn't count. Neither does a problem mentioned by someone the writer disagrees with.
Marking
Each correct letter scores one mark. If the answers are B and D and you write B and E, you score 1 out of 2. Write one letter in each numbered box, in any order. Two letters squeezed into one box will be marked wrong.
Writer's purpose: the verbs you need to know
| Option verb | Means the writer is… | Signals in the text |
|---|---|---|
illustrate / exemplify | giving an example of a point just made | for example, for instance, such as, a case in point |
support / provide evidence for | backing up a claim with facts or research | studies show, data suggest, this is confirmed by |
challenge / question / dispute | showing that an idea may be wrong | however, yet, this assumes, it is not clear that |
contrast / compare | showing a difference or similarity between two things | whereas, unlike, by comparison, similarly |
explain / account for | giving the reason something happens | because, this is why, the reason is |
emphasise / highlight | stressing how important something is | crucially, above all, it is worth stressing |
warn / caution | pointing out a risk or limitation | there is a danger, we should not assume, however |
dismiss / reject | saying an idea isn't worth taking seriously | there is little evidence, this is a myth, mistaken |
Check your understanding
6 questions- 1
In the Reading test, how many options does a single-answer multiple-choice question normally have?
- 2
Text: 'The new railway line was expected to reduce road traffic, and it did, by about 8%. What nobody predicted was that house prices in the small towns along the route would double within five years.' Question: What was unexpected about the railway line?
- 3
Text: 'Some critics claim that online learning isolates students. The evidence for this is thin: in three large surveys, online students reported levels of contact with classmates similar to those of campus students.' The writer refers to the three surveys in order to…
- 4
Text: 'The museum, which opened in 1972, attracts around 200,000 visitors a year, most of them school groups.' Which option is PARTLY TRUE, and therefore wrong?
- 5
Match each purpose verb with the text signal that most often goes with it.
illustratechallengecontrastexplaindismiss - 6
If an option contains a fact that is stated in the passage, it must be the correct answer.
Answer every question to check.
Practice: Science by the Crowd
Work at exam pace. The timer is a guide — it won't stop you.
Final quiz: multiple choice
9 questions- 1
In a 'Choose TWO letters, A–E' question, the answers are B and D. A student writes D and E. What is the score?
- 2
Text: 'Community radio stations in coastal Bangladesh have proved valuable during cyclones. They broadcast warnings in local dialects, which listeners understand more easily than national news bulletins, and they keep operating on battery power when the electricity supply fails. Their audiences, however, remain small, and many stations struggle to pay their staff.' Which TWO advantages of community radio does the text mention?
Select 2.
- 3
Using the same text, an option says: 'Many stations find it hard to pay their employees.' Why would this be WRONG for the question 'Which TWO advantages…?'
- 4
Where do whole-passage questions (main purpose, best title) usually appear?
- 5
A passage has four paragraphs: (1) honeybee numbers have fallen in many countries; (2) the role of pesticides; (3) the role of disease and habitat loss; (4) the writer argues that no single cause explains the decline, so solutions must tackle several causes at once. Which is the most suitable title?
- 6
Text: 'Not every invention spreads because it is better. In the 1980s, a cheaper video-cassette format defeated a rival that many engineers considered technically superior.' The writer mentions the video-cassette formats in order to…
- 7
A stem asks: 'According to the writer, what was the main cause of the decline?' One option gives a cause that a group of farmers believes in, but the writer later rejects it. This option is…
- 8
Put the five steps for a single-answer MCQ in order.
Drag the cards (or use the arrows) into the correct order.
- 1Locate the relevant section using keywords and question order
- 2Choose the best match and move on
- 3Read the stem and identify its focus
- 4Judge each option against the text
- 5Read the evidence and answer in your own words
- 9
An option that is accurate according to the passage but does not answer the question is called a 'true but ' option.
Answer every question to check.
Key takeaways
Vocabulary from the passage
Saved as flashcards with a free accountphenomenon
noun (plural: phenomena)/fəˈnɒmɪnən/
a fact or event that can be observed, especially one that is unusual or interesting to study
ঘটনা; প্রপঞ্চ
Urban heat islands are a well-documented phenomenon in large cities like Dhaka.
overstate
verb/ˌəʊvəˈsteɪt/
to say that something is more important, serious or extreme than it really is
অতিরঞ্জিত করা
The risks of the new technology have been greatly overstated by its critics.
baseless
adjective/ˈbeɪsləs/
not supported by facts or evidence
ভিত্তিহীন
The rumours about the bank's collapse proved completely baseless.
genuine
adjective/ˈdʒenjuɪn/
real and sincere; truly what it seems to be
প্রকৃত; খাঁটি
Volunteers want genuine influence over the research, not just a thank-you letter.
curiosity
noun/ˌkjʊəriˈɒsəti/
a strong wish to know or learn about something
কৌতূহল
Her curiosity led her to ask about the strange object in the image.
emission
noun/iˈmɪʃn/
the sending out of gas, heat or light into the air; an amount of gas released
নির্গমন
The city introduced stricter controls on emissions from brick kilns.
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