In IELTS Reading short-answer questions you get direct questions about facts in the passage, such as Who…?, When…? or How many…?. You answer each one with a few words or a number copied from the text. The official description sets the rules:
- Answers must be taken from words in the text.
- The instruction gives a word limit, for example NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER. Going over it loses the mark.
- Numbers can be written as figures (1, 2) or words (one, two). Hyphenated words such as check-in count as one word.
- The answers come in the same order as the information in the text.
The task appears in both Academic and General Training Reading, and each correct answer gets 1 mark. It tests whether you can find and understand specific information, so the work is in two places: finding the right fact, then writing it in a shape that scores.
Where short-answer marks are lost
In GoPrep Reading mocks, 55% of short-answer answers scored 0, including the 24% that were left blank (3,002 short-answer answers in full GoPrep Reading mocks, 12 September to 11 October 2026). Across the wider sample of 6,750 full Reading mocks from the same period, 50% of all 270,000 answers scored 0. Here is how it changes with the level:
| Band of the mock | Answers that scored 0 | Answers left blank |
|---|---|---|
| Below 5.0 | 84% | 55% |
| 5.0-5.5 | 55% | 11% |
| 6.0-6.5 | 35% | 5% |
| 7.0-7.5 | 23% | 2% |
| 8.0 and above | 23 of 148 | 5 of 148 |
We then compared every wrong answer that was not blank with the answer key (926 answers). An automatic comparison flagged about 1 in 4 of them (242) as close to an accepted answer: extra words, part of the answer, or a possible spelling or ending error. Treat the split as approximate:
- The right answer plus extra words: 12% (110). In 68 of them it was a single extra word.
- Only part of the answer: 10% (92), for example one word of a two-word name.
- A spelling slip or a wrong -s ending: 4% (40).
- A different word, or no match with the key: 74% (684).
Compare this with sentence completion in the same mocks, where 6% of non-blank wrong answers had extra words. One likely reason: a gap in a sentence shows how much is missing, and a question doesn't. The data can't prove why the rates differ, but it is a good reason to decide the length of each answer on purpose, and the method below does that.
How to answer short-answer questions in 5 steps
- Read the instruction. Note the limit: ONE WORD ONLY, NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS, NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER and similar limits are all used (IDP).
- Read the question word. It tells you what kind of answer to look for (see the table below).
- Find the lines. Choose an anchor from the question: a name, a date or a term the passage will probably keep. Scan forward from your last answer. If there is no anchor, look for the idea in other words: time spent waiting could appear as dwell time.
- Write the shortest exact phrase. Copy only the words that answer the question, spelled exactly as in the text. Never a full sentence.
- Check it against the question. Does it answer the question word? Is it inside the limit? Does every letter match the passage?
| Question word | Look for | Example answer |
|---|---|---|
| Who…? | a person, a job, a group or an organisation | maintenance team |
| When…? In which year…? | a date, a year, a time or a period | 1987 |
| Where…? | a place | harbour |
| How many…? How much…? How long…? | a number, often with a unit | 22 years |
| What…? Which…? | a thing, an idea or a name; which + noun narrows it to that kind of thing | concrete barrier |
Can't find an answer? Leave it for a minute and answer the next question. Because the answers follow the text, the next answer tells you where the missing one must stop. Before the end of the section, come back and write the most likely phrase from that part of the text: a wrong answer costs nothing extra, and a blank can never score.
How to cut an answer to the limit
If your answer is over the limit, check whether you copied words that the question doesn't ask for. Use the question to decide what to keep:
- Keep the core noun and the word that makes it specific. concrete barrier, not barrier, if the passage mentions other barriers.
- Drop the articles. the, a and an count as words, and a short answer rarely needs them.
- Drop what the question already says. If the question names the birds, don't write birds again.
- Drop what comes after the fact. In a maintenance team that visits by boat, the answer to Who…? stops at team.
Cut too far and the answer changes: the key may need both words of a name like maintenance team. In the GoPrep sample, 10% of non-blank wrong answers contained only part of an accepted answer, so check that what is left still answers the question on its own. The opposite is also true: an extra word inside the limit doesn't automatically lose the mark, but it can push you over the limit or change the meaning.
Practice: 5 questions on one passage
We wrote this passage for the guide; the place and the people are invented. Give yourself 6 minutes and write your answers down before you read the key.
A light with no keeper
For more than a century, the lighthouse on Fenner Point was run by keepers who lived on the rock with their families. The last keeper, Arthur Pell, left in 1987, when the light was converted to run automatically. Today it is checked by a maintenance team that visits by boat twice a year.
Pell kept a detailed logbook for 22 years. Besides the weather, he recorded every passing ship and, unusually, the arrival dates of migrating birds. Researchers at a coastal research station now use his notes to study how bird migration has changed. Their main finding so far is that several species arrive almost two weeks earlier than they did in Pell's time.
The building itself faces a new problem. Rising sea levels mean that winter storms now throw waves against the lower walls, and engineers have proposed a concrete barrier to protect the base.
Questions 1–5. Answer the questions below. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.
- In which year did the last keeper leave the lighthouse?
- Who looks after the lighthouse today?
- For how long did Pell keep his logbook?
- What information about birds did Pell record?
- What have engineers suggested building to protect the lighthouse?
| Question | Answer and proof | What would lose the mark |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1987: Arthur Pell, left in 1987 | 22 years answers how long, not in which year. Use the anchor last keeper to be sure you take the right year |
| 2 | maintenance team: checked by a maintenance team | a maintenance team is three words. keepers is a word match: they ran it in the past |
| 3 | 22 years: kept a detailed logbook for 22 years | detailed logbook answers what, not how long |
| 4 | arrival dates: the arrival dates of migrating birds | migrating birds repeats the question's topic and doesn't answer it. arrival dates of birds is over the limit |
| 5 | concrete barrier: proposed a concrete barrier | lower walls is what the barrier protects, not what engineers suggested |
Notice question 3: the limit is two words and/or a number, so 22 years fits, a number plus one word. And question 4 is where the question word does the work: what information asks for a kind of information, so the answer is arrival dates, not the birds themselves.
FAQ
What are short-answer questions in IELTS Reading?
They are direct questions about facts in the passage. You answer each one with words or numbers taken from the text, inside the word limit given in the instruction.
How many words can I write in a short answer?
As many as the instruction allows, for example ONE WORD ONLY or NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER. Writing more than the limit loses the mark, even if the fact is right.
Are short-answer questions in order in IELTS Reading?
Yes. IELTS states that the answers come in the same order as the information in the text, so the answer to the second question comes after the answer to the first.
Can I write numbers as figures?
Yes. IELTS states that numbers can be written using figures (1, 2) or words (one, two).
Can I answer in my own words?
No. Answers must be taken from words in the text. Use synonyms to find the right place, then copy the passage's words exactly.
What is the difference between short-answer questions and sentence completion?
In sentence completion you fill a gap, so the sentence shows what kind of word is missing. In short-answer questions there is no gap, so you rely on the question word and decide yourself how much to write.
What to practise next
Short-answer questions ask you to choose and copy the exact words that answer the question. The closest tasks are sentence completion, where grammar helps you predict the word, and summary completion. Listening has its own short-answer questions, with the same word limits but answers you hear: see IELTS Listening short-answer questions. For every Reading task in one place, see the IELTS Reading question types.
The next step is a plan. Tell the quiz your target score, your exam date and the part of IELTS you find hardest, and GoPrep will build a personal study plan around your answers.
P.S. The full Short-Answer Questions lesson and further practice are in the GoPrep course.
GoPrep Team
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We write about IELTS preparation using platform data and official exam materials.
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