What the task is
In a matching sentence endings task, you are given the first half of several sentences and a list of possible endings. You choose the ending that completes each sentence according to the reading passage. Usually there are more endings than sentence beginnings, so some endings are not used. The beginnings often follow the order of the passage, but the list of endings does not.
The format can change, so check the official IELTS organisers for current instructions and sample questions.
How it differs from sentence completion
In IELTS sentence completion, you write words from the passage into a gap. In matching sentence endings, you select a letter from a list and write nothing from the text. That changes the skills you use:
- You need to understand whole ideas, not hunt for a single word.
- Grammar matters more, because only some endings can follow a given beginning.
- Wrong endings are often true statements that don’t match the passage for that specific sentence.
A step-by-step method
- Read the instructions. Check whether an ending can be used more than once.
- Read the sentence beginnings. Underline keywords such as names, topics and key verbs.
- Skim the endings. Notice their grammar (starting with a verb, a noun phrase, a clause) and the main idea of each.
- Locate the first beginning in the passage using its keywords. Because beginnings often follow passage order, you can move forward through the text.
- Read the relevant sentences carefully and put the idea into your own words.
- Find the ending with the same meaning. Don’t just pick a matching word.
- Check grammar by reading the beginning and ending together.
- Cross out endings you’ve used (if each can be used once) to narrow later choices.
Use grammar and meaning to narrow options
Before you search the passage, look at how the beginning ends.
- A beginning ending in “because” needs a reason.
- A beginning ending in “so” needs a result.
- A beginning ending in “which means” needs a clause.
- A beginning ending with “to” needs a base verb.
Then examine the endings. Some will be impossible grammatically. You may reduce a set of eight options to three before you read the passage in detail, which saves time.
Common traps
- True but wrong location. An ending can match a different part of the passage. Make sure it matches the specific point in the text for that question.
- Similar wording. An ending may share words with the passage but change the meaning, such as turning a cause into an effect.
- Extreme words. Words like “always” or “never” in an ending may not match more cautious wording in the passage.
- Opinion vs fact. If the passage reports someone’s opinion, the ending should reflect that view.
- Skipped nuance. Words like “may”, “usually” and “often” change meaning.
A worked example
This is original material.
Passage extract: Researchers studying coastal towns found that residents who walked daily reported better sleep. However, the authors point out that this link does not prove walking causes better sleep, because people who sleep well may simply have more energy to walk.
Beginning: The authors caution that walking and sleep quality …
Endings: A. are linked, but the cause is not proven. B. should be measured in hospital settings. C. always improve together. D. have been tested only in large cities.
- Keywords: authors caution, walking, sleep.
- Passage meaning: link exists, but causation is not proven.
- A matches this. C is too strong because of “always”. B and D are not supported.
- Grammar: “walking and sleep quality … are linked” works.
- Answer: A.
Time management
- Don’t read the whole passage first; work from the beginnings.
- Spend a limited time per question and move on if stuck.
- Once you have matched a few, the remaining options become easier by elimination.
- Do not spend so long on this task that you lose time for later questions. Check official timing guidance for your test format.
Practice routine
- Take a past-paper style task and cover the endings. Predict how each beginning could end, then compare.
- After matching, write a paraphrase of the passage sentence and the ending side by side.
- Review every error and label it: grammar, paraphrase, wrong location, or over-strong wording.
- Practise with sources from the official IELTS organisers and trusted publishers.
- Read longer articles regularly and summarise the main points in a few sentences. This builds the skill of grasping whole ideas.
FAQ
Can I use an ending twice? Usually each ending is used once, but read the instructions for your task.
Do the beginnings follow the passage order? Often they do, but check the instructions.
Is this task harder than sentence completion? Many learners find it so because it depends on understanding whole ideas, though it varies from person to person.