Top IELTS Reading Tips approved by examiners to score 7+
In IELTS reading- both in the Academic Module and the General Training Module you will have to answer 40 questions related to 3 to 5 passages (In Academic there are 3 passages while in General Training it can be between 3-5 passages). These passages have about 2500-2750 words in total and the questions are of different types with varying difficulty levels to answer 40 questions you will get just 60 minutes. That is quite a lot of ground to cover in a short time!.To know more about IELTS Reading click here.
In the Reading test candidates face many problems like slow speed of reading, limited range of vocabulary and grammar, and inadequate knowledge of different question types. Other problems may include unfamiliarity with the organizational features of a well-written text, poor time management, and lack of practice.
If you are looking to book your IELTS exam soon but have problems in Reading we have some Top IELTS reading tip approved by examiners to score 7+.
Top Tips for Effective Reading
Speedy Reading: Enhance you reading speed for this you can adopt various methods like reading newspaper. Primarily avoid using a finger or a pencil as a cue. You should not read aloud in the mind. You should try to read groups of words that together make a unit of meaning instead of reading just one or two words. All these simple steps will help to speed up your reading.
Pay attention to the content words: Content words are nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs and they carry most of the meaning in a text. Grammar or structure words i.e. auxiliaries, pronouns, conjunctions, prepositions, on the other hand, help in the clarity of meaning. Of course, both types demand attention, but it is a good idea to pay more attention to the content words to decipher meaning.
Figure out the meaning: In IETLS Reading there are many difficult words that you may have not even heard about it. If you face any such word you should not unnecessarily worry too much about that because if you do not know the exact meaning of a word or phrase, work it out from its neighbouring words or phrases. These ‘neighbours’ might be synonyms, antonyms, deefinitions, or explanations of the difficult vocabulary items in question.
Look at the organization of the text: Have a good look on the title and the sub-title of a text as these are the good indicators of its focus, purpose, and contents. Sometimes the pictures, diagrams, tables, etc can also give you some hint. Look for the key or topic sentence in each paragraph, decode the meaning of paragraph titles and see how ideas are connected to and flow from each other. Look for the structure of the text— introduction, development of the topic, and conclusion— and mark it well as you read. Also, identify the main ideas and their supporting ideas in a text. If paragraph titles are missing, it is a good idea to supply your own. Keep them short and precise. As you read, feel free to mark or flag important ideas or chunks of information in a text.
Determine the author’s purpose, tone, and attitude: Every time you read a text, you must ask yourself what the author’s purpose of writing is (e.g. to inform, to describe, to argue, to discuss), and what kind of attitude or approach and tone he/she has to the topic. This knowledge will help you understand the text better.
Be familiar with the different test items and their rubrics: Find out what different types of reading questions may be employed in the Reading module—blanks, sentence completion, diagram labeling, table completion, true/false/not given, matching items, etc. and practice as much as you can to ace them without making any errors. It is important to carefully read the rubrics or instructions for answering the questions, for each type require a different kind of answer.
Time your practice: Initially, start practicing without any time limits as it will make you familiar with the different questions. Then after start challenging yourself by reducing your time limit. Give yourself a target to achieve 40 questions in less than 60 minutes and make habit to solve all questions in about 40-45 minutes. If you are facing any problem with time management learn some time management techniques.
