IELTS reading tips

1. 1. The reading test is considered is the most difficult part of IELTS. You have to read 3 long sections, each with multiple paragraphs, and answer 40 questions (13 to 14 per section). Unlike the listening test, no extra time is given at the end to transfer your answers to the answer sheet. Time can be a major constraint since you only have an hour to finish the test.
2. The key to doing well in this part is practice. Read newspapers, magazines and books.
3. Try to improve your reading skills and speed.
4. The most important thing to understand is the test does NOT assess your comprehension of the paragraphs. It does NOT test how well you have understood the passage. It tests specific skills called Scanning and Skimming.
5. Scanning is what one does, for example, when looking for a phone number in a directory. You know the specific information you are looking for and you go down the page quickly to find it. This technique is used when answering questions such as multiple-choice and matching. You scan the passage to quickly find the information mentioned in the question. Once you find it, you get the answer from the passage and write it against the question.
6. Skimming refers to evaluate a paragraph rapidly to get an idea about it without trying to understand its details.
7. Time factor is very crucial in this module so be careful about the time.
8. First read all the questions quickly to get an idea of what type of information is essential.
9. Underline the important information such as dates, places and names while reading.
10. Once you go through all the questions, skim over the text and underline important parts. If you see any information concerning to the questions answer the question while reading.
11. Respond the questions one by one with the help of the underlined parts of the passage.
12. The answers typically appear in the content in the same order as the queries; the answer to query 4 will be prior in the content than the answer to question 5. But it is not necessary.
13. Read the directions for each question very vigilantly. If the question specifies that you must not use more than three words in your answer then you are bond to in three words three words.
14. Be careful about the True / False / Not given and Yes / No / Not given questions these are the toughest ones.
15. If you don’t know the answer of a question move on next question don’t waste your time on a question.

Source : ilmkidunya.com