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IELTS / Guides / Reading · Choose two or three answers
IELTS Reading · Guide

Choose Two or Three Answers in IELTS Reading: multiple choice with several answers

You choose two (occasionally three) correct options from a longer list, such as five or seven. Each correct letter earns a mark, and the letters can be given in any order. It tests whether you can decide, option by option, what the passage supports in answer to a specific question.

About Reading practice

Format

  • Occasional in any passage. A choose-two question occupies two consecutive question numbers, and a choose-three question occupies three.
  • The options run from A to E, or from A to G in a choose-three set. The instruction states how many to choose.
  • Each correct letter earns one mark, and the order in which you give them does not matter.
  • The options are not in the order of the passage, though the relevant evidence usually sits in one or two paragraphs.
  • On computer you select the required number of options.

Strategy

  1. Read the stem and mark its frame: 'benefits', 'reasons', 'features' or 'criticisms'. Every correct option must fit the frame, so a true statement outside it is wrong.
  2. Reduce each option to a keyword or two. Then scan for the keywords in the paragraph the stem points to, or in the section after the previous question.
  3. Read the section once and tick each option as supported, cross it if contradicted, put a question mark if not mentioned. Do not decide from one mention.
  4. Look for the paraphrase. 'Reduces the need for staff' might be 'fewer employees were required'. The words in the option are rarely the words in the passage.
  5. Count the ticks. The right number of ticks (two for choose-two) means you can select. Too many means one option does not fit the frame; too few means a paraphrase is hiding.
  6. Check the strength of the option against the text, because 'all', 'always' and 'completely' make an option false if the passage says 'many', 'often' or 'largely'.
  7. Because each letter earns a mark on its own, never leave the question with fewer letters than required; a partial answer can still score.

Common traps

  • Choosing options that are true in the passage but belong to a different question. Choose-two questions are built from a passage with many related facts.
  • Stopping at the first supported option and guessing the second, instead of ticking all five or seven.
  • Choosing an option because you know it is true. The passage may not state it.
  • Missing a contradiction in the same sentence: 'The scheme was popular but it did not save money'.
  • Spending the time of several questions on one task. A choose-two question gives two marks, not more, so stay within the time you would give two questions.

Practise it inside a real Reading section

Practice on PrepFreely is always a complete section, so you meet this question type in the same place and proportion as on test day. Random sections never repeat until you've done them all. Every answer is explained.

Practise Reading Take the Reading course

FAQ

Do I get a mark for each correct letter?

Yes. Each correct letter is one mark, and the order does not matter.

How many letters can I choose?

The number in the instruction, usually two but occasionally three. Check the instruction before you answer.

Are the options in the order of the passage?

No, but the relevant evidence is normally in a single stretch of the text.

Is the passage evidence always in one paragraph?

Often, but not always; the answers can be in two neighbouring paragraphs.

Can I guess?

Yes. There is no penalty, and a guessed letter can still earn a mark.

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