The IELTS Reading test can be a bit hard, but with some good reading tips and tricks, you can improve your IELTS band score. This article will help you learn how to read better, save time, and solve all kinds of IELTS reading questions.
The IELTS Reading section has 40 questions. You need to finish them in 60 minutes. There are 3 reading passages in the IELTS Reading test. The first one is easier, and the last one is more difficult. This reading test of the IELTS exam checks how well you can read and understand things like news articles, ads, stories, or academic texts. You should know the main idea, the author’s opinion, and find important details in the passage.
In this article, we will give you IELTS Reading tips that will ensure high scores and help in improving reading skills and techniques, such as scanning and skimming. A variety of question types is used in order to test a wide range of reading skills. These include reading for gist, reading for main ideas, reading for detail, skimming, understanding logical arguments, and recognizing writers' opinions, attitudes and purpose.
Time Allotted: 60 minutes
Total Questions: 40
- IELTS Academic Reading vs IELTS General Reading
- IELTS Reading Question Types
- IELTS Reading Band Scores
- IELTS Reading Tips
- Things to Keep in Mind
IELTS Academic Reading vs IELTS General Reading
Both IELTS Academic Reading and General Reading have similar types of questions. But the passages are different. The Reading skills (to find specific information and identify opinions) required for IELTS Academic Reading and IELTS General Reading are the same. The styles of questions like sentence completion and multiple-choice are also the same. However, the text will be different. In the IELTS Academic Reading, there will be three long academic texts.
IELTS Academic Reading:
There are three long texts that are taken from books, journals, magazines, and newspapers. These texts are suited for students who wish to apply to universities in English-speaking countries.
IELTS General Training Reading:
The format of the three texts is as follows:
- ‘Social survival’ is related to notices, advertisements, and timetables
- ‘Workplace survival’ is related to job descriptions, contracts and staff development and training materials
- ‘General reading’ is related to newspapers, magazines, and fictional and non-fictional book extracts
IELTS Reading Question Types
| Question Types |
Answer Strategies |
|---|---|
| Matching Information |
Candidates are required to locate specific information within the sections. |
| Matching Headings |
Candidates are required to recognise the main idea or theme of the text |
| Matching features |
Here, a candidate has to recognize opinions and the connections between the facts within the text |
| Matching Sentences |
Here, a candidate has to complete the sentence within a specified number of words. Look for the best conclusion from the passage. |
| Multiple Choice Questions |
Here, one MCQ can be a Reading Comprehension and one involves sentence completion with the best option to choose from |
| Identify the author’s views |
Here, a candidate has to confirm whether a set of statements agree with the information within the passage. A candidate has to select between true/false/not given or yes/no/not given |
| Diagram-Label Completion |
The description will be there in the text. A candidate has to label the given diagrams |
| Flow-chart Completion, Tables |
Candidates must pay attention to the details provided. They also have to recognize the main ideas of the text |
| Short Answer Questions |
Find information in the passage. Paraphrase vocabulary in questions and give an answer within the given word limit |
IELTS Reading Band Scores
The tables given below provide details of IELTS Reading Band Scores and the number of questions a candidate needs to answer correctly:
| Band Score |
Academic (Questions Answered Correctly out of 40) |
General Training (Questions Answered Correctly out of 40) |
|---|---|---|
| 9 |
40 |
40 |
| 8 |
35 |
38 |
| 7 |
30 |
34 |
| 6 |
23 |
30 |
| 5 |
15 |
23 |
IELTS Reading Tips
These IELTS Reading Tips and Tricks for Band 9 will help you in preparing better for the IELTS Reading section.
- IELTS Reading Practice Test: IELTS Reading practice tests must be completed from official IELTS material and resources such as Official Cambridge Guide, IELTS Prep App by the British Council, etc. The reason why IELTS reading practice tests are important is that they help a candidate build a test-taking temperament, which ultimately leads to better time management on the IELTS test day.
- Do not try to read each word in the IELTS Reading passages: Every time, looking at a dictionary is not possible, so, you can look at the words and sentences around and try to get the meaning. It is not important to understand the meaning of every word, you can just have the gist of the sentence and go with it. No one is familiar with each and every word, especially tough words.
- Go through the questions first: This can be very helpful when it comes to scoring a good band score in the IELTS reading section. With a time constraint of 60 minutes, you have to solve 40 questions and solve 3 passages. Here, time is of great importance and you do not have the bandwidth to read each and every line of the text. When you read the questions first, then you will have an idea of what to look for in the passage and this will ultimately save you time.
- Skimming and scanning: One should be able to skim and scan passages to get a good score in the reading section of IELTS. Reading a passage and getting a general idea is skimming. You should be able to get the main idea of the passage and understand the key points. This will give you an edge to score more in the reading section.
- Work on your vocabulary: Vocabulary is a significant factor in improving your scores in the IELTS reading section. Amongst all the sections of the IELTS, the Reading section demands the widest vocabulary. Learning a new word does not mean that you have learned it, learning the usage of the word will be key here. Read articles from different genres, this will help you in learning new words and enhances your knowledge.
- Answer all the questions: At last, a very important point to remember is that IELTS does not have negative markings, so, attempt all the questions. Apart from the IELTS reading tips you also, need to go through the IELTS reading preparation tips and IELTS reading practice papers to get a fair idea about the actual questions you are going to face in the test. In addition, you can go through the IELTS reading practice books to develop a deeper understanding and improve your reading skills.
- Divide your time wisely: As the section progresses, the questions get more difficult. You can allocate relatively lesser time to the initial sections and keep some extra time for the last section.
Things to Keep in Mind
- Pay attention to the grammar structure. You may see various types of grammar structures, but try to understand them all; they will be helpful for your writing. Most of us have limited vocabulary, but if you are weak at grammar, you will not know what the text refers to. Because of this, you may lose the main idea.
- You must have known that skimming and scanning are two essential tools in reading. Both rely on an understanding of the main ideas. Therefore, if you cannot grasp the main ideas in a short time, you will lose time. This can be learned by reading various articles.
- Another way to practice reading is speed-reading. However, reading as quickly as possible is NOT the key. If you read so fast that you have to read again, there are no benefits gained from this practice. The key here is picking out the main ideas, and the finer details. Besides understanding all the main points, you should try to remember as many details as you can.
- Reading intensively is also important in the IELTS test, especially to understand tough questions. With some questions or particular sentences, you need to read and try to understand every single word. Especially with true/false/not given (or yes/no/not given) questions, a single word can change the whole meaning.
- After finishing the reading practice test, you must check all the wrong answers, try to explain why you were wrong, and think of another way to answer those questions faster. You will gain the necessary experience by doing this before the real test.
- In the IELTS exam, though you can mark and write on the question paper, you must enter your answers on the Reading Answer Sheet, and be aware that no extra time is given for transferring your answers from the test booklet to the Reading Answer Sheet.
Also Read:
The most important IELTS reading tip is to practice and appear for mock tests. There is nothing better than going through the official study material, appearing for mock tests, and evaluating your performance in each of those tests. It is through mock tests that you can identify your weak areas and prepare your own strategy for approaching different question types. Official study material, official solved papers, and mock tests lie at the core of every exam preparation. Some other reading tips include developing a habit of reading good magazines (such as the Economist), trying to find the core of the passage, and developing a habit of skimming through the relevant information.
IELTS Reading section consists of 40 questions in all. A total of 60 minutes have been allotted to complete the IELTS Reading section. As the test moves, the difficulty level of the passages increases. It is advised that the students do not waste their time in the initial passages, as they might need some extra time for tougher ones.
As an extra IELTS reading tip, it is highly advised that the students stay focused and do not get swayed away by their thoughts. Many students tend to lose a track of their reading passage and then they have to start again. Do not commit this mistake of wasting time during the test.
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Comments
(2)
S
4 years ago
P
4 years ago
M
8 years ago
The IELTS Reading section comprises of 3-4 IELTS comprehension passages wherein the difficulty level increases with every subsequent passage. It is important for the candidates not to spend too much time on the initial passages. Try to get in the zone early on.
However, this does not mean that they can rush through the questions. Strike a good balance between all the passages. This can only come through practice. In every article, we have stressed the importance of mock tests. Make sure that you appear for at least 5 full-length IELTS mock tests (if you have sufficient time) before the day of your exam.