What the exam asks
You see a List of Headings numbered with small Roman numerals (i, ii, iii...) and a passage whose paragraphs or sections are labelled with letters. For each paragraph, you choose the heading that best sums it up.
- There are always more headings than paragraphs, so some headings are never used.
- Each heading can be used only once.
- Sometimes an example is given (e.g. Paragraph A — iii). That heading is taken, so cross it off.
- The task may cover every paragraph or only some of them (e.g. paragraphs B–F).
- On the computer test you drag each heading into the gap beside its paragraph, and you can move it again if you change your mind. In Courselo practice you choose the letter of the option that contains the heading. For example, option D is heading iv.
Headings usually come first in the set of questions for a passage. Unlike most tasks, they cover the whole passage, so doing them first also gives you a map of where everything is.
Core ideas
What a heading summarises
A good heading states the topic of the paragraph and the point it makes about that topic. “Hedgerows” is a topic; Machinery, subsidies and a vanishing landscape is a topic plus a point (why hedges disappeared). Before looking at the list, identify what job the paragraph does:
| Paragraph job | Typical signals | Heading often sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Describes a problem | problem, difficulty, threat, risk | A growing threat to... |
| Explains causes | because, due to, led to, as a result | Why X happened / The forces behind... |
| Presents evidence | a study found, surveys show, data | Evidence that... (the finding, not the method) |
| Contrasts views |