I found the keyword, so where is the answer?
Finding the same word in the text is not proof of the answer.
2 min read · Updated 9/8/2026
The key idea
A keyword is for finding a place in the text. To choose the answer, you have to read what is said at that place.
Names, dates and rare terms are good search signals. Frequently repeated words such as people, important, study are weak signals.
The word in the question may appear in the text as a synonym or in a different structure. After finding the place, also read the sentence before and the one after; a correction or a limitation may be there.
See an example
Question: Why did the café close?
Passage: The café was popular with students. Its owners had planned to expand it, but rising rent made the business too expensive to maintain.
The word café points to the place. The reason for the closing is rising rent. Seeing the word popular is no reason to answer “lots of customers”.
Now you try
Question: Why was the trip postponed?
Passage: Forty students booked the trip. The bus was ready, but heavy snow made the roads unsafe, so the school moved the visit to the following week.
A. There were too few students. B. The roads were unsafe. C. The bus had broken down.
A personal draft. It is not saved when you leave or automatically graded.
Reveal the answer and explanation
Answer and explanation
B — heavy snow made the roads unsafe gives the reason.
A does not fit: forty students booking does not mean there were few participants. C contradicts the text: the bus was ready. Although postponed is not used exactly, moved … to the following week gives that meaning.
What are skimming and scanning for?
Official sources for this topic
IELTS · Reading