Multiple matching with twelve minutes left
The Reading paper has 12 minutes left. Part 3 is multiple matching: eight statements to match against four short texts (A–D) about urban farming. You have answered Q15, Q16 and Q18. Q14, Q17, Q19, Q20 and Q21 are blank. You read texts A and B closely earlier; C and D you only skimmed for keywords. The blank statements are: 14 'mentions a change in government policy'; 17 'describes a project that failed at first and was then revised'; 19 'questions whether the movement can grow beyond a niche'; 20 'refers to a personal experience'; 21 'compares prices with imported produce'. You are also uneasy about Q16, where two texts seemed to fit. There is no extra time, and the answer sheet must be completed as you go.
1. How should the 12 minutes be divided, and should you reread texts A and B?
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Budget: about 8 minutes for the five blanks, 2 minutes for the Q16 doubt, 2 minutes for transferring and checking.
Do not reread A and B in full. They already produced three answers, and a full reread costs around 3 minutes for a low expected gain. Scan them only against the statements most likely to be theirs - 'refers to a personal experience' and 'mentions a change in government policy' are usually signposted by first-person phrasing and by proper nouns or dates. That is a 30-second check, not a read.
For C and D, read structurally. First and last sentence of each paragraph before any close reading. Multiple matching rewards locating a function - does this text question, describe, compare? - rather than comprehending everything.
Check the rubric first. If letters may be used more than once, do not 'spend' a text on one answer and move on; a single strong text can carry two statements. If the rubric forbids reuse, elimination becomes a tool, and your five blanks should resolve partly by arithmetic as texts are used up.
2. How do you find the text for statement 17, 'describes a project that failed at first and was then revised', without reading C and D line by line?
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Translate the statement into searchable signals before you look.
'Failed at first' predicts lexis of setback: initially, at first, proved unworkable, had to abandon, the first season, we underestimated.
'Revised' predicts contrast and repair: however, so we changed, a second attempt, scaled back, redesigned, we now.
So you are scanning C and D for a contrast pair, not for the word 'fail'. Run your eyes down the left edge of each paragraph for those markers; the winning paragraph will almost certainly contain a turning point.
When you find a candidate, read only that sentence and the next, and test both halves of the statement. Half-matches are the standard trap here: a text that failed but was never revised belongs to a different statement, and answering on the first half alone is the most common error in this task type.
If neither C nor D yields a contrast pair within about 90 seconds, reconsider A or B - but only on evidence, never simply because you are running out of unvisited texts.
3. You have two minutes left and Q16 still troubles you. Do you change it?
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Only if you can point to specific textual evidence within about 30 seconds. Otherwise keep it.
Three reasons. First, you answered Q16 having read both texts closely - the best condition you will get. Second, the doubt is not evidence; 'two texts seemed to fit' often means one matched a single word while the other matched the whole statement. Third, answer-changing under time pressure has a poor record unless it is evidence-led.
A practical test. Name the exact phrase in your chosen text that answers the statement. If you can, stop. If you cannot, and you can name one in the rival text, change. If you can name neither, leave it.
Then spend the two minutes on the sheet. Make sure every blank has a letter and that answers are on the right lines. Five blanks filled and an unchecked answer sheet is a larger risk than one uncertain item.