IELTS Reading - Useful Tips

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1. IELTS Reading Useful tips IELTS Reading AC & GT

2. Task Identification. It means you should be able to identify the task as soon as you look at it. There are 14 different question types and each type has its own special features. For example, in some question types you have to go through all the paragraphs, some only a particular section, some have answers appearing in order and others do not.

3. Paraphrasing. Paraphrasing is a skill of using a variety of different words for expressing similar meanings. It is essential for all IELTS modules. It is very important that you must have good knowledge of paraphrasing. In many of the difficult tasks in the IELTS Reading test you will encounter lots of paraphrasing.

4. All questions in the IELTS Reading test have clues to guide you to the relevant section. All questions in the IELTS Reading test, without any exception, have clues to guide you to the relevant section in the passage. The clue can be one or more similar words (for easy questions) or paraphrased expressions (for more difficult questions) or a matching idea (for the most difficult questions).

5. When are the answers in order? Knowing that the answers to the questions are in the same order as the questions is a simple but effective tip to not get lost in the IELTS test. You know you can pay attention to the first until you find the answer, then the second, then the third, and so on. Locate the answer to question No. 1 and then you know where to begin. For the following question types, the answers are usually (almost always) in order in the passage : All types of fill in the blank tasks: summary, note, diagram, flow-chart & table completion tasks.

6. For the following question types, the answers are always in order in the passage : Identification tasks: True, false, not given / Yes, no, not given Sentence Completion Multiple Choice Questions Matching Sentence Endings Short Answer Questions For the following question types, the answers are never in order. Matching Headings Matching Information : Which paragraph contains the information? Matching Features : Matching names with the statements. When are the answers in order?

7. Unfamiliar subjects and difficult words. Very often you will encounter unfamiliar topics in the reading passages. Don't panic if you find the subject totally unfamiliar. The test is designed in a way that this will not obstruct you from finding the right answers. The reason for selecting unfamiliar topics for its reading passages is that IETS likes to make sure that you answer the questions by reading the text and not with the help of your prior knowledge of the topic.

8. First few lines are important in deciding if the paragraph is relevant. For most of the IELTS Reading questions, the first few lines of paragraphs are very important in deciding if the paragraph is relevant to the question. If you are on a new paragraph, always read the first and the second lines carefully, most often you will find some connection in the first two lines of the paragraph.

9. Always read complete sentence around the keywords. Don’t just read a few words around the keywords and finalize the answer. Read the sentence that has the keywords completely then finalize the answer.

10. Reading complete sentence a couple of times is helpful. If you feel you have spotted the right sentence but not able to pick up the missing word (the answer). In this case, reading the sentence completely a couple of times will be helpful. This will give you a better understanding of what may be the right answer.

11. For every next question, read the text from the same place where you found the last answer. Always read the text in continuation. Very often a paragraph has more than one answer. It is always good to continue reading for the next question from the same place where you have found the last answer.

12. Choose words from the passage. In the IELTS Reading test, the instruction clearly states that “choose words from the passage”. It means you can not write the answer in your own words even if it conveys the same meaning. For example, if the answer in the text is “fast”, you can not write “quick”. (You can only change its form if it is grammatically required in the question statement.)

13. Don’t repeat words or articles in your answers if they are already written on the question paper. Sometimes, part of an answer (especially the article - a, an, the) is already written before the blank space. You will lose the mark if you repeat it again as part of your answer while transferring the answer on the answer sheet.

14. Don’t try to read everything. There is no time to read everything. If you try to read everything you will be disappointed. Learn the techniques for effective reading like skimming, scanning and intensive reading. These techniques will teach you how to read effectively as per the question’s requirement.

15. Titles are significant. Each passage has a title. Always underline it for your attention. It will give you an idea of the contents of the passage.

16. Find the relevant paragraph/section then look for the answer. Always look for the relevant section or paragraph before looking for the answer. You will never find the right answer if you are not in the relevant section.

17. The next answer is not always in the next paragraph. Keep in mind that sometimes, one or two paragraphs in between may not have any answer. Don’t panic if you don’t find an answer in the next or following paragraph. Sometimes, you may have to skip one or two paragraphs for the next answer.

18. Keywords. IELTS examiners use the "keywords technique" to write the questions. Therefore, keywords play an important role in finding the relevant section and the right answer. Good keywords are those which carry specific information and easy to find in the text. (carry specific information means if you remove them, the sentence will lose its core meaning). Keyword/s can be one word, more than one word – a group of words (called key expression) or maybe the complete question.

19. Good keywords are: Titles. Subtitles. Numbers or Figures. Dates and Years. Capitalized or Italicized words/phrases. Technical/Unusual words. Names (places, people). Locations (towns, cities, states, countries) Adjectives. The first few words of each sentence. Words close the blank spaces. Words carrying specific information.

20. Subtitles are good keywords. Subtitles divide the contents into groups of related information. Always underline them for your attention. Subtitles are very effective keywords because you will always find them in the text. Besides, answers to all the questions under one subtitle will be close to each other.

21. Word Limit. This is an important feature of the IELTS Listening and Reading modules. Remember, whenever you are asked to write words and/or numbers in the Listening or Reading modules, there will be a word limit. You will always find instructions clearly telling how many words and /or numbers you can use in your answers. If you exceed the given limit, you will lose the mark.

22. Move On. If you stuck on one question and have no clue at all, it is better to move on. All questions in the test are not designed with the same difficulty levels, you might find other questions easier. There are good chances that once you come back, you may find the answers of the leftover questions more easily.

23. Practice transferring the answers on the answering sheet after each task. Under the stress you may fail to manage your time and at the end make silly mistakes in transferring the answers to the answer sheet. Make it part of your practice sessions to transfer all the answers to the answering sheet as soon as you finish a task.

24. Don’t leave any blank space on the answering sheet. Make sure not to leave any box empty in between on the answering sheet. It is better to put a dash in the box if you want to write its answer at a later stage. This will ensure that you are writing the answers in the right boxes. Remember, you will not get any mark if you write the right answer in the wrong box.

25. First, eliminate the wrong options. It is a good strategy in all multiple-choice questions to eliminate the wrong options before looking for the right one. There are two advantages to this approach; the first, it is always easy to find the wrong options and the second, once you have eliminated the wrong options, it will be easier to find the correct option.

26. Eliminate finalized options from the option list. It is also a good practice to eliminate or cross out options as soon as you find their answers in MCQs or any other matching tasks. This will not only keep you focused on the reaming list but also help you when you need to make a guess for some of the last remaining questions.

27. It is better to use capital letters for the answers. You can write your answers in small letters or you can write them in capital letters: BOOK/book. 10am/10AM. Both are right. When you write answers in capital letters, your writing is much clearer and easier to read although it is time consuming. It is better to use capital letter for all your answers if you are not sure of the rules of capitalization. If you use small letters, make sure that to apply the rules of capitalization.

28. Read the instructions carefully. Remember that every question type in the IELTS test is different. Make sure that for every task you read the instructions carefully. In some cases, you have to choose your answers from the list of words provided, and in some cases, from the text. In some cases, you need to write word/s as your answer and in some cases, letters. In some cases, there is special instruction saying you may use one letter more than once.

29. Time Management. Time management is an important aspect of all of the IELTS modules and the Reading test is no expectation. If you can manage passage 1 in 13 minutes, passage 2 in 17 minutes, and passage 3 in 20 minutes, it will be a good finish and you will have time to review.

30. There is no extra time for transferring the answers at the end of the test. Make it a practice to transfer the answers on the answering sheet after finishing the task because you will not get any extra time for transferring the answers at the end of the test.

31. Keys for good scores in IELTS Reading: Reading skills (Skimming, Scanning and Intensive/Detailed Reading.) knowledge of paraphrasing. Managing time. Practice.

32. If you don’t find an answer. If you don’t find an answer, it means: (1) You are not in the right section of the text. (2) You are unable to understand the question. (3) You need more practice to understand paraphrasing.

33. At the end of the test. 1. Check for the word limit where applicable. 2. Check for spelling, grammar and final ‘s’ for plural nouns where applicable. 3. Check that each answer is in its right box a per its sequence number. It is advisable to use a pencil because if you have written your answers with a pencil, you can erase and change the answer if required.

34. This is the end of this presentation. for watching

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