Top Tips and Tricks for IELTS Reading Test

 

Introduction 

The reading test of the IELTS is the second section and it consists of approximately three passages with 40 questions that you have to answer in 60 minutes. This test is designed to test your ability in different reading skills includes, scanning, skimming, reading for gist, finding main idea, details and logical arguments. You should also be able to figure out the attitudes, opinions and intentions of the writers. Today, I will share with you the top tips and tricks that would help you on the test day regarding the reading sections. You can also read the top tips of ILETS listening section . 

Top Tips for the IELTS Reading Section 

• Be prepared. The most important point that you should bear in mind is to have a clear idea of every type of the questions. This will help you decide what to do and where you can find the answer. 
• Read the instructions VERY carefully. A lot of smart and hard-working candidates of the IELTS test lose easy marks because they avoid reading the instructions carefully. This fault is so common in the reading and listening tests because they have specific instructions. For example, there are questions that ask you to write a word, two words, a word and a number, two words and a number or a word and two numbers. If you don’t follow these instructions exactly, you will probably get the question wrong.

• Don’t expect to understand every word. Remember, during the test, you are not allowed to ask someone or look up a new word in the dictionary. If you don’t know a word, and you can’t guess a general meaning from the other words and sentences around it, then skip it, don’t waste time!
• Write your answers directly on your answer sheet not in the test booklet because you will NOT be given extra time to do this at the end of the test. Have the booklet in front of you so you can read the texts and questions comfortably, and also keep the answer sheet somewhere handy so you can write all the answers down as you progress with the test.
• Circle or underline key words as you read. For example, if a reading passage contains many names of places or dates, circle them as you go along. This will make it easier for you to find these details later if they come up in any of the questions.
  
• At the beginning of every passage, it is helpful to skim the questions, where appropriate, before reading the text so that you have a purpose for reading. 
• Read for main idea. After you have skimmed the questions, go back to the passage and read through the text quickly so that you are familiar with the topic and how it is developed in the text. An understanding of the text structure can be very helpful when answering the questions. 
• Timing is essential. As I said, you will have 60 minutes to answer 40 questions in the reading section, so you have to break down your time. Do not spend much time on one question because I will run out of time without answering all the questions. 
• Don’t panic. Time and nerves need to be controlled in order to do well in the reading test all the IELTS reading tips in the world won’t help you if you can’t control your nerves. You are probably not going to get all of the questions correct and accepting this will help you to control your time and emotions on test day. Don’t become anxious if there are questions you cannot answer. Leave them and move on to the next question. You can always come back to the ones you couldn’t answer at the end of the test, if you have time.
• Don’t go back to the beginning of the text for each question when you know from the task type that the answers will come in the order of the information in the text.
• Don’t waste time reading the whole text each time for each set of questions. Remember that many task types ask you to locate or check details in the text. In cases like this, you need to skim quickly through the text rather than reading it all carefully.

The final and most important tip that I would like you to know is that practice makes perfect. So, it is very important to come to the test room and you are totally prepared and ready for the test. Remember, even native speakers need to prepare by learning about the different types of questions and developing right skills for the test.