General Tips for IELTS Reading Hints

60 min Fill in your name, ID number, and the answers. When you finish a section transfer your answers DONT WAIT! What does the title/heading say or mean? If you dont understand - move on and keep reading. It will become clearer later on. 3 articles 40 questions

DO NOT READ THE PASSAGE First! (you need a reason to read and to look for info). First - read the questions carefully and the questions instructions.

What are the keywords for each questions? UNDERLINE THEM or Highlight them. REMEMBER the reading exam has 3 parts.
There are more keywords in short texts. Skim: Find the keywords quickly from one paragraph to another paragraph - dont read everything just find other keywords near those keywords. Scan: Find keywords/information slowly in one paragraph If you read with your finger you are too slow! All the words are in the text. Dont spend more than 25 min on the first question. Articles get harder / 15 min>20 min>25min / You can write on the paper

During the Exam

General Tips for IELTS - Reading

Read the questions carefully. Identify the question type. Make sure you do exactly what they say. Read the glossary beside the passage, if there is one. Dont spend too long on one question. If you dont know the answer, guess. Incorrect answers are not penalized. Make sure you copy all words taken from the texts correctly as you will lose marks for bad spelling. Dont forget your answer may be given in a diagram, graph or illustration.

1. Take off your watch. Put it in front of you 2. Look through the paper. How many sections are there? 3. Divide up the time equally for each section.

Quickly look at the texts. Study any: Titles Headings sub headings Illustrations Diagrams words in bold type or italics

Before the Exam

Make sure you are: - familiar with the instructions for the different question types so you can: - quickly look at the questions and know what to do.

General Tips for IELTS - Reading

Read as much as possible. Make it a habit. Work on your reading skills such as: - guessing the meanings of unknown words - understanding reference words in texts - and reading quickly.

Read newspaper articles and practice the following:

dividing the content into facts and opinions finding the topic sentences of paragraphs writing summaries interpreting any diagrams or tables thinking of headings you could give to paragraphs underlining the pronouns and working out what they refer to underlining unknown words and seeing if you can work out what they mean reading the first paragraph and seeing if you can predict what will come next

General Tips for IELTS - Reading

Work on expanding your vocabulary.

Study Focus on IELTS or Insight into IELTS or the glossary in 101 Hints p.172174

Choose 5 new words from (special) IELTS books vocabulary sections or articles to learn each day

Write the words on cards and test yourself (regularly)

Do as many practice tests as you can to get used to the task/question types.

General Tips for IELTS Question Types

1
2 3

Labeling a diagram which has numbered parts

4

Scanning & identifying location of information

Keywords?? 5 6

Sentence completion questions

Notes/ table/ form/ summary/ flow chart/diagram completion questions / / / /

8

Identifying information: Yes, no, not given or True, false, not given :
9

Classification questions

Matching

Choosing headings

Short answer questions

10

Multiple choice