Tips for the IELTS Reading Paper

In this week's blog, we look at tips to help you with the reading IELTS paper.

In the reading paper, you will be asked a total of 40 questions. In order to assess how much of the reading passages you understand, the questions will usually paraphrase (use different words with the same meaning) the words that are in the text. The questions test a variety of reading skills including your ability to do the follow:

• Identify the writer's overall purpose.
• Follow key arguments in a text.
• Identify opinions and attitudes.
• Locate specific information.
• Distinguish main ideas from supporting details.
• Extract information from a text to complete a diagram, summary, table or set of note.

There are 12 - 13 questions in each section, and you will be asked 1 - 3 different types of questions in any section. There are several possible types of questions. For some tasks, you need to write words or numbers from the reading passage.

• sentence completion
• summary, note, table, flow-chart completion
• short-answer questions
• diagram label completion

In other tasks, you need to choose one option from a list and write a letter on your answer sheet.

• multiple choice
• matching information
• matching headings
• matching features
• matching sentence endings
• summary completion

You may also need to decide if sentences are True/False/Not Given or Yes/No/Not Given, based on the information that you read.



Ways to improve your test score:

• Follow the instructions exactly.
• Remembering some Test Tips.
• Manage your time so that you can complete all of the questions.
• Practice specific reading skills.
• Before the test read a variety of texts to improve your speed-reading skills.
• Study all aspects of the English language (including vocabulary and grammar).
• Try to do as many practice tests as possible.

Here are some Test Tips!

Timing is an important part of the Reading Test. Try to finish each section in less than 20 minutes.
Read the passage as quickly as possible (up to three minutes).
Look at the questions to see what type of information you need to find (up to one minute).
Spend 12-13minutes reading the passage in detail and answering the questions.
If a question is taking too long, move on.
Use your last 3-4 minutes to transfer your answers, checking and filling in any gaps in your answers.

If the question asks you to write TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER, this means the answer may be:

• one word
• one word + a number
• two words
• two words + a number

Remember that even if a number is written as a word, it counts as a number (e.g. twenty five trees = one word and a number). You do not need to write full sentences of join words together. For example:

Answer the question with NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the reading passage.

What TWO colours did the painter use?

(Answer: black, white not black and white)

Make sure you read the whole passage so that you can locate any key words and paraphrases from the questions. Take highlighter pens into the exam with you. Use a different colour for each task, to highlight important parts of the text. This will help save time when checking answers.

If you are asked to choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage, make sure you do not add extra information such as adjectives or adverbs (e.g. bone tool; abalone shells; gently stirred) or articles (the ochre). If you write more than one word, your answer will be marked as wrong.

Use this approach when matching headings.

1. Read the headings so that you are familiar with them.

2. Skim read (read very fast) the whole passage to get the overall passage.

3. Read the first paragraph and decide which headings might fit.

4. Re-read the paragraph and choose the heading that best summarises it.

5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for the remaining paragraphs.

Don't try to match words in the headings to words in the passage. You need to focus on the whole idea of each paragraph.

Remember that you are being tested on your ability to understand the information you read in the passage. So you should ignore anything you already know about the topic.

Make sure you note any plurals in the questions (e.g. two examples if I the different environments etc.). There may be parts of the passage that refer to only one of the things mentioned, so you need to find the paragraph that has more than one.

For matching feature tasks, the questions will not be in the same order as in the passage. The people mentioned may appear in several different sections. You need to scan (read to look for specific information) the whole passage carefully. Some of the people in the list may be distractors, and you may not need to use all of the letters.

A summary is different from a set of notes, because it consists of complete sentences that are connected together grammatically. You need to:

• carefully read and understand the summary.
• decide what types of word is needed to complete each gap in the summary.
• locate and carefully read the relevant part of the passage.
• choose the word or phrase (either from a box of answers or from the passage) that accurately fills each gap.

Use the title of the summary to help you find the part of the passage you need to read in detail to find your answers.

For any questions where you need to write words from the passage, a hyphenated word (e.g. long-term) counts as one word.

Try to spend no more than 15-20 minutes on Section 1, so that you have enough time for the more difficult texts and questions in Sections 2 and 3. Remember you have only 60 minutes to complete 40 questions and you need to transfer your answers onto a separate sheet in that time. Aim to spend less than 20 minutes on each section so you have time to check your answers at the end.

When answering short-answer questions, you do not need to write full sentences or join words together. Look at this example:

Answer the question with NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the reading passage.

What TWO colours did the painter use?

Answer: black, white (not black and white)

Reference:

Cambridge English Objective IELTS Intermediate Student Book, 2016 (16th ed.), Cambridge University Press: UK
The Official Cambridge Guide to IELTS, Cambridge University Press

There is a lot to remember about how to do the reading test. The best way to help you remember is to practice, by using practice test materials. In this way, you will become used to the skills and will be able to apply them better.

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