IELTS Reading Strategies and Techniques
In IELTS, reading is said to be the toughest module and many aspirants are afraid of it. The main reason for this is that there are many types of question like MCQ, Find the heading or ending True/False/Not Given, Fill in the blanks etc. and there are different approaches to solve them. Here we will discuss some strategies which can help you to complete the reading test easily.
– Keep an eye on the time: The main obstacle for the aspirants is the time limit as you get 60 minutes to solve 40 questions. So you need to manage your time and for this you should keep an eye on the time so that you can learn time management.
– Go in sequence: You should start from the beginning and move in sequence but if you find any question difficult or don’t find answer for it just leave it and move forward and come back to it in the end. Don’t forget to put a mark on it so that you can easily identify it.
– Read carefully: You should read carefully the titles subtitles of the passage to get the idea of what will be in the passage. You should also read the instructions carefully and obey them as if disobeyed your scores can be deducted.
– Another thing is you should read the passage quickly and use the skimming and scanning method to extract the useful information. There is no need to understand the whole passage you can underline the keywords to locate the information easily.
-Copy the answer accurately: You should be very alert while copying the answer to the answer sheet as spelling mistakes can drop your scores. You should also be alert for the grammatical errors in your sentences as this may also lead to the deduction of marks.
Don’t read the passage from beginning every time: You should not read the passage from the beginning for every question as it will consume too much time. Mostly the answers come in the order of the information in the passage.
– Answers, what you need to do: You should only write what is demanded. The word limit is mentioned in the instruction and you should not cross that limit.
Points to remember:
* The questions for certain task types are in the order of the information in the passage.
* Read the instructions carefully
* Practice to identify the key words and synonyms from the passage as in questions.
* In the tasks like Short answers questions the answer should be grammatically correct and free from spelling mistakes.
– Underline key words and phrases when you read as well as paying attention to key words in the questions.
– Read wide range of newspapers, journals and books as this will enhance your reading skills as well as vocabulary range. Only solving practice tests will not help you as they will only give outline of the exam.
– In class try to know about every type of question and practice all of them. Also learn how to approach them in less spam of time.
– Read the passage in speed and practice to locate the keywords from it. You should not read slowly as to memorize it you just need to scan the required information from the text. Another thing is don’t get confused if you see any new word in the passage just try to understand its meaning by reading the sentence.
– Don’t forget to keep an eye on the time if you exceed the time limit your questions will remain un-attempted.
