Read across a row and down a column
A table compresses a passage into categories. Before searching for a missing word, read the column headings and the completed cells. Together they tell you what kind of information belongs in each gap. A location column asks where; a limitation column asks what restricts use. Finding the right object in the wrong category still produces a wrong answer.
This lesson compares three weather instruments. Start by linking each row to its instrument. Then use the column heading to decide whether you need a position, a purpose or a problem. Look for paraphrases: “where installed” might correspond to “mounted”, “placed” or “fixed”. Read the whole relevant sentence, because a nearby place may describe a rejected location rather than the chosen one.
Copy words from the passage within the stated limit. Check the completed cell for meaning, but do not expand it into a full sentence. Tables can reorder information, so do not assume the gap after one answer must come from the next sentence. Here, the rows group instruments while the last paragraph compares maintenance across the group.
Original passage: A school’s small weather station
A. Westfield School set up a weather station to help students compare observations collected with different instruments. A rain gauge stood in a clearing, well away from the main building. Its funnel directed water into a measuring cylinder. Students initially suggested putting the gauge beside the wall, but teachers explained that the roof could shelter it from some rain and make the readings misleading.
B. A thermometer was mounted inside a ventilated screen above grass. The screen protected it from direct sunlight while allowing air to move around it. The students wanted to measure air temperature rather than the heat of a sunlit surface. They read the thermometer at noon on every school day and recorded any unusual circumstances beside the number.
C. An anemometer, an instrument for measuring wind speed, was fixed to a pole beyond the sports hall. The site was chosen to reduce interference from nearby structures. Its rotating cups drove a sensor that sent readings to a classroom display. On very still days, the cups sometimes failed to move, so the students noted that the device was less useful for detecting a light breeze.
D. Maintenance became part of the project. Leaves occasionally blocked the rain gauge, requiring its funnel to be cleaned. Dust collected on the thermometer screen and was removed with a soft brush. The anemometer needed its connections checked after strong winds. The class kept maintenance notes separately from the daily measurements so that gaps caused by cleaning or repairs would not be mistaken for ordinary weather observations.
Original fictional learning text. The passage and questions were created for this lesson, not copied from an IELTS test.
Complete the comparison table
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer. Each numbered cell contains a clue describing the missing information.
| Instrument | Position | Observation or maintenance detail |
|---|---|---|
| Rain gauge | ||
| Thermometer | ||
| Anemometer |
Answers and the evidence behind them
Compare your reason as well as your answer. Each explanation identifies the decisive detail and the tempting mistake.
1. Reveal answer and explanation
clearing. Paragraph A places the rain gauge in a clearing. “Beside the wall” was a suggestion the teachers rejected. The row asks for the actual position, so copying the rejected location would reverse the description.
2. Reveal answer and explanation
leaves. Paragraph D states that leaves blocked the rain-gauge funnel. Dust is mentioned in the following sentence, but it belongs to the thermometer screen. Read the instrument reference before selecting a maintenance detail.
3. Reveal answer and explanation
grass. Paragraph B locates the ventilated screen above grass. The question asks about the surface below it, not the protective structure itself. “Ventilated screen” is within two words but answers the wrong category.
4. Reveal answer and explanation
noon. The thermometer is read at noon on school days. “Every school day” explains frequency and exceeds the limit; “noon” answers the time-of-day clue precisely with one word.
5. Reveal answer and explanation
pole. Paragraph C says the anemometer is fixed to a pole. The sports hall helps identify the broader location, but it is not the support carrying the instrument.
6. Reveal answer and explanation
light breeze. The final sentence of paragraph C identifies a light breeze as the condition the instrument may fail to detect. Keep both words: “breeze” names a wind, while “light” specifies the limitation described.
Diagnose a row-column error
Suppose a learner writes “ventilated screen” for Question 3. The phrase is copied accurately and meets the word limit, but it describes the enclosure, not the ground beneath it. This is a category error. A useful correction is “I will turn the column clue into a direct question before searching”, rather than simply “I will read more slowly”.
Now cover the completed table and rebuild just its headings: instrument, position, observation or maintenance detail. Explain where Question 2’s answer appears even though the first paragraph describes the rain gauge. This demonstrates why locating a row’s topic is only the beginning; the required detail can be elsewhere.
If Questions 2 and 4 caused problems, practise separating material, frequency and time in your notes. If all answers were correct, write a seventh cell asking what protects the thermometer from direct sunlight; the supported two-word answer is “ventilated screen”. Continue with exact-word completion, then try a process flow chart, where sequence replaces comparison as the main organising structure.
Question-format reference: official IELTS Academic Reading guidance, checked 15 October 2026. All teaching examples and practice material on this page are original.