IELTS Reading Tips and Strategies

General - Practice Papers	Academic - Practice Papers	Reading - Tips and Strategies	About Reading

• Always read the questions first and then go on to scan through the passage looking for information. Reading the questions first lets you identify answers while skimming.
• Skim the passage instead of reading every word out and scan the text to identify the required information.
• Look for key words while scanning which helps to get to the sentence that contains the answer. Sometimes, the exact word may not be present in the passage, but a synonym of the word would be present which is again, the key word you are looking for.
• While answering True, false, not given and yes, no, not given questions, remember the questions follow the order of the text. Pay attention to key words and interpret the meaning to answer them by comparing the sentence from the passage. They follow order; so, try to answer these questions first to manage time effectively.
• Short answer questions are relatively easy and also follow order; try to answer them first. Exact or synonym words will be used, so look for them in the passage to quickly answer them.
• Fill in the blank answers are located in one-two sentences, so once you identify the sentence, don’t go on reading the rest of the passage looking for one answer.
• For summary, notes and flow chart type questions, look for synonyms rather than direct words in the passage when options are given.
• If you think more than one word could be the answer, think of the type (noun, verb etc) that should be used to make the sentence grammatically correct and check which could be the correct answer.
• When no options are given for summary, notes, table and flow chart type questions, scan the passage for key words and write the exact words from the sentences of the passage as the answer while sticking to word limits.
• While answering multiple choice questions, bear in mind to check the options with the information in text with synonymous words. The options might look similar but only the correct answer will give the same meaning as the text in the passage.
• Sentence completions are of medium difficulty and require you to understand the main idea of the sentence. Try to understand the question and text and then find the answer in the options. Usually follows order so there is a higher chance of completing them faster.
• Numbers can be written using figures or words. Contracted words are not tested. Hyphenated words count as single words.
• When answering matching type questions, look for the meaning of the sentence comparing what the writer said in the text as they will use synonyms. One option may match more than two sentences. After finding the text in the passage, answer all related questions.
• Underline key words in the passage when you come across them while trying to find answers. They usually come in handy when answering other questions.
• Paragraph location questions are time consuming so try to allocate more time to them. Scan through the paragraphs to locate sentences that have a matching meaning with the sentence in question.
• Get the gist of the paragraphs and try to think of a one-liner while answering matching headings. Headings are just one-line summaries of paragraphs. Read the paragraphs first and then look at possible headings for it.
• Ignore the information you carry about a topic while answering true, false, or not given questions. Stick to what is given in the passage. Don’t just skim, read the full sentence in the passage and understand the meaning to arrive at an answer. Look for matching words.
• If you cannot find the information in the passage, the answer would be not given as there is no related information. Don’t waste time going through the text twice.
• Remember that Yes, no, not given questions deal with opinions and views. Make sure to understand the writer’s perspective.
• If you think a question is confusing and difficult to understand, move on and come back later. Don’t waste time on it as there is only 60 minutes to complete the entire test.
• Pay attention to the word limits and stick to the limits religiously. Answer with the same words used in the passage and never change the words.