IELTS READING

The International English Language Testing System or IELTS is primarily taken by anybody aiming to study, immigrate or work abroad in a primarily English-speaking country. It is accepted by over 10,000 organizations in 100+ countries and the scores are valid for 2 years.

Overview!

In this article, we will primarily be focusing on the Reading Section of the IELTS. It helps to gain an understanding of the bigger picture, that is IELTS Exam Pattern or IELTS Overview, before diving into the Reading Section.

The IELTS Academic/General test duration is for 2 hours and 45 minutes. This time is distributed amongst four sections of the exam. Of which, the Reading module lasts for one hour with circa 40 questions. We will discuss the overview of this section in detail as we proceed.

From now, we will be focusing mainly on the Reading Section. The Reading Sections of the Academic Test and the General Test are different in certain ways. We will be covering both now.

IELTS Reading Section Overview

The Reading Section of the IELTS is designed to test the various facets of reading skills, such as reading and understanding the main idea, summarization, recognition of the author’s opinions/argument, and being able to analyze the same. There will be a time limit of 60 minutes, with 40 questions in the Reading Section, regardless of whichever version of the IELTS you take. The reading test is also as much a vocabulary test as it is a reading test because most of the answers will be synonyms or paraphrases of the question.

IELTS Academic Test – Reading Section

The Academic Test is for aspirants looking to pursue their higher education at a University in an English-speaking country. It is the tougher one out of the two types of the IELTS, due to the fact that it tests the analytical, critical thinking, and reading skills of the candidate at a university level. This is to assess whether you will be able to keep up with the coursework and can communicate your ideas effectively.

Effectively, there are 3 long, detailed passages for reading, taken from various sources that range from academic texts and publications to newspapers and magazines. As mentioned earlier, these passages are at a university- level and require a higher order of thought compared to the General Test.

IELTS General Test – Reading Section

This version of the IELTS is intended for those looking to pursue their secondary education or gain work experience or participate in specialized training programs. It may also be a prerequisite for anyone looking to immigrate.

Unlike the Academic Test, the IELTS General Test does not test your higher-order thinking skills or critical reasoning at a university level. Instead, it seeks to assess your level of communication and basic comprehension, which serves the purpose of survival and communication in a new environment where the medium of communication is English.

Naturally, the kind of sources that are chosen for the passages and tasks within the General Test, is the sort that you can expect to come into contact with on a daily basis, such as – advertisements, company handbooks, newspapers, books, and magazines.

Here, there are 3 sections within the Reading Section.

Social Survival:
You will be given 2 or more short but packed texts which contain a lot of information. These are texts that you will encounter on an everyday basis.

Training Survival:
You will be given 2 texts that contain information about a university or organization.

General Reading:
The last section involves 1 long text, which seeks to test basic reading comprehension. That concludes the differences between the Reading Sections of the Academic Test and the General Test, broadly speaking.

Note: The following paragraphs are applicable to both versions of the IELTS.

There are 40 questions in the Reading Section, with an overall limit of 60 minutes for the entire section and write your answers on the answer sheet. You will NOT be given extra time to transfer your answers to the answer sheet as you do in the listening test. So, you must be fully prepared before you book your test! The test is also divided into three sections of increasing difficulty. Please also remember that the questions get more difficult as the test goes on. You should be getting the first questions all correct. What are the various question types that one can expect to encounter in the IELTS? Let us look at them.

What’s the Difference Between the Academic and General Training Reading Test?

The types of questions that you receive in the Academic exam are exactly the same as the question types that you get in the General Training exam. However, the passages of text that you must read are different.

General Training students will have to read a combination of long and short texts of both a general and work-specific nature. In comparison, Academic students must interact with three long texts of an academic nature.

QUESTION TYPES OF READING MODULE

1. Multiple Choice Questions:

Obviously, this is a broader question type, where 1 MCQ may involve Sentence Completion and the best option to choose, while another involves Reading Comprehension and an answer to choose based on a given question. You will have to choose between multiple alternatives or options.

2. Identification of the author’s views/information within the passage:

You will be asked whether a set of statements agree with the information within the passage or the views of the author. You will have to choose between true/false /not given or yes/no /not given. A key thing to keep in mind is that whatever is given within the passage or by the author is what matters for the answers. Your own knowledge or opinions should not influence your answer.

3. Matching Information:

You will be required to locate specific details or information within the sections of the text. It may be an example that you have to locate, a summary, or even a definition.

4. Matching Headings:

Here, you will be required to recognize the main ideas or themes of the text. This type of question tests your ability to understand the main idea of each paragraph.

5. Matching features:

This type of question tests your ability to recognize opinions, theories, and the connections between the facts within the text.

6. Matching Sentence Endings:

In this IELTS Reading question, you will need to complete a sentence within a stipulated number of words. The words must come from the text. These are obviously not MCQs. You will be given a list of incomplete sentences with no endings and another list with possible endings. Your job is to match the incomplete sentences with the correct ending based on the reading text.

7. Flow-chart Completion, Summaries, and Tables:

Once again, you are tested on your ability to pay attention to the details provided and your ability to recognize the main ideas of the text.

8. Diagram-Label Completion:

There will be a description in the text. You will need to label the diagrams given. You might get a question that asks you to label a diagram.

9. Sentence Completion:

In this type of question, you will find an incomplete sentence. You are supposed to complete it with words taken from the text. You, therefore, need to quickly map the incomplete text to a particular location in the text for you to find the correct answer.

10. True false, not given/ yes no not given

You will be given a number of factual statements and you have to check in the text if they are true or not. This is probably the most difficult question in the reading paper.

11. Summary Completion:

A summary part of the text will be given to you. You are required to complete it by picking words from the text with a given maximum number of words to complete it.

12. List Selection:

You will be provided with a number of statements some of which paraphrase or summarise what the writer said. In this task type you need to show that you know what information the writer did (and did not) mention on a particular topic.

13. Choosing a Title:

Need to name a suitable topic for the given passage.

14. Categorization Questions:

You need to choose the right option from the given choices.

15. Matching Paragraph:

You are asked to match statements to paragraphs in the reading text.

16. Short Answer Questions:

There will be a given limit on the number of words that your answer may contain. The questions are related to the text given, and you will be required to answer them.

IELTS Reading Task Focus

The IELTS reading test includes different types of texts and questions focusing on different sets of language proficiency skills.

The Multiple Choice Questions MCQs evaluate the detailed understanding of the main points of the text.
There may be TRUE or FALSE questions that evaluate the understanding of a few particular points.
Identifying writers’ claims or views evaluate the understanding of the writers’ opinion.
Pairing headings evaluate the understanding of the main idea or theme of the information given.
Matching information questions of IELTS reading tests deal with specific information, not the main idea.
Pairing or matching features evaluate the scanning ability of the candidates. It requires the candidate to understand the relationships and connections between the ideas and opinions.
Matching Sentence Endings evaluate the ability to place the main idea within a sentence.
Completion of Sentences focuses on the ability to locate specific information.
Completing flow charts or diagrams is trickier than the rest because it needs a thorough knowledge of parts of speeches. This type of question in the reading test evaluates the clarity of the main idea and the focal point of the text or a part of the text given.
Diagram labeling evaluates the ability to picturise the text and relate the information to the diagram.
Short answer-type questions come with instructions on the number of words to be written. These questions focus on the understanding of factual and minute details of the given passage.

JOIN US

Strategical IELTS Reading Tips and Tricks for Band 9

Onto the core of our article – the IELTS tips and tricks that can make the difference between a band 6 and a band 8/9! Many of these have stood the test of time, and are imbibed with one common theme – logic. Some of these tips may seem obvious to you, while the rest can change the IELTS game for you. Having said that, go with what makes you comfortable. Even a non-native English Speaker can aim high and score well if they keep their wits about them.

Getting band 9 in IELTS Reading is absolutely possible!

Many test-takers have been writing to us with the notion that it’s an impossible task for non-native English speakers. They say, “Scoring 9.0 on IELTS Reading is very hard for those, whose first language is not English. They simply cannot know all that tricky vocabulary”. Of course, you will encounter some unknown words on the IELTS Reading Test. But you shouldn’t worry – it’s completely normal!

The main goal of IELTS Reading is to test your ability to understand what you have read. So even if you don’t know some words, it’s OK, as you can guess their meaning and still get band 9!

Ridiculously, most of the test-takers lose marks not because of lack of knowledge, but because of making very simple mistakes! That’s why in this guide, we’ve gathered a plethora of IELTS Reading Tips that will really help you to get an acme score in IELTS Reading.

Now that we have an overview of the Reading Section, let us move on to the tips and tricks!

1. You must prepare:

Like all tests, you need to prepare. Even native speakers need to prepare by learning about the different types of questions and developing the right skills.

2. Read every day:

Firstly, you need to read. You need to read from myriad sources. Articles online, newspapers, novels, and journals are wonderful places to start. Try not to read consciously and just go with the flow of the text. Read curiously and read for fun. I cannot stress this enough. This will build your reading stamina, your vocabulary, and your reading speed. If there ever was a panacea to cracking the IELTS, it is this tip. "READ. EVERY. DAY." It could just be for half an hour or 45 minutes, but make sure you read.

3. Read the questions first:

This tip is a game-changer when it comes to the IELTS. You have 60 minutes to answer 40 questions linked to 3 texts. Time is of the essence, so you cannot read the text fully and take your own sweet time. Read the questions first. This will tell you what to look for when you get to the passage and save precious time.

4. Reread the questions and understand them:
Seriously, a small error in understanding what the question wants can pull you back a long way. Read the questions thoroughly.

5. Scan, skim and summarize:
What?!? So much to do? Hold your horses there! This is a tip that will work wonders if you follow it up with Tip "READ. EVERY. DAY." (seriously, start reading today!). Skim the passage given to you and look for main ideas, understand the layout of the text, highlight keywords and salient points, and try to make sense of what the passage is about. This is key when it comes to the Reading Section.

6. Skim over and watch for the answers:

Skimming refers to looking only for the main ideas. You don't need to read attentively every word. Remember, you just need to answer the questions, nothing more. So skim over the text and then start looking for the answers.

7. Skimming:

If you read in the usual slow, relaxed way you will not pass the IELTS test.
Learn to skim and scan.
These reading techniques use rapid eye movement and keywords so that you are able to move fast through text.
Skimming is reading rapidly in order to get a general overview of the material.
Here is an overview: Read the first paragraph attentively to get an idea of what the text is about.
Pay attention to the first few sentences of every paragraph, this will give you the main idea of the text.
Always read the last paragraph thoroughly as this normally contains the summary.

8. Scanning:

Scanning is reading rapidly in order to find specific facts.
The questions in the IELTS reading test will often include dates, names, numbers, new terms that are part of your answers.
When you are scanning be sure to: Always underline important specific information and numbers.
You do not need to read every word.
Look out for information like names, dates, figures, statistics, etc...
From the question, identify the keyword and then scan the text for it, and possible synonyms.
This will help you find the answer more quickly.
It is important to be fast, focused, and alert.
You can’t allow yourself to be slow and relaxed.
You should spend no more than 3 minutes skimming the passage for your test.

9. Key in the keywords in your head:
The IELTS involves a lot of information-hunting. Questions will ask you to look for specific information and fill in/choose the right answers. While skimming, make sure you highlight keywords like dates, places, topics, numbers, etc. You will learn to recognize them with practice.

10. Familiarize yourself with various Question Types and Practices:
The consensus among every dynamic IELTS community is that True/False/Not Given Question Types are the worst out there. While that may be true for them, what will prove to be your bane? Conversely, what type of questions will you excel at? You can only do so with practice tests. These will help you familiarize yourself with the IELTS Question Types (the list can be found above) and ensure that you have sufficient practice.

11. Vocabulary?:
While using flashcards and memorizing a whole bunch of words may seem like the ideal way to build your vocabulary but reading from a variety of sources about various topics will prove to be the better technique out of the two. When you read articles and content from different genres, you are not only building your knowledge but also encountering new words as you progress. A sense of grammatical intuition will also develop. Read, learn the words you do not know, and keep reading. This will work far better than memorizing 7000 new words for the IELTS. Make sure you go back and learn the words you did not know in your practice tests as well. You can use this as a reference for learning any words you come across.

12. Distinguish the IELTS texts:
You will come across texts that can be divided into 2 broad categories –

Descriptive – These texts are chronological in order and are usually full of facts and information about a particular topic. Example: History of the Silk Road.

Discursive – These texts are centered around a theory or hypothesis based on the author’s research and evidence. It may also express certain opinions and put forth some arguments. Example: Does Meritocracy aid economic growth?

13. Answer all the questions even if you’re unsure of the answer:
The IELTS does not have any negative marking, so answer as many questions with as much accuracy as you can!

14. The Passage is sacrosanct:

Your own base of knowledge should not influence your answer choices. Read the question and try to understand what it wants. It is fixed on the author’s point of view or the contents of the passage. This will help enormously with question types such as True/False/Not Given.

15. Paraphrase:
The language in the question may not reflect the language in the text, so you must build your reading capabilities (you can only do this by reading every day) in such a way that you are able to paraphrase using synonyms and glean the meaning of the question.

This is the most important IELTS reading tip: It’s always paraphrased and the text can tell you if your answer is right 100%. What does it mean and how does it work? It means that for ANY correct answer will need to choose from the options, there is ALWAYS a paraphrased fragment in the text that says absolutely the same.

The IELTS reading test is designed to test your understanding of language complexities.

It will assess your ability to understand the same (or similar) ideas hidden behind different wordings and expressions.

16. Grammar is key:
Make sure that there aren’t any grammatical mistakes when you have to answer Short Answer Questions or any other Question Type that involves you writing the answer. Grammatical intuition, Spelling, and Sentence Structure are all very important.

17. IELTS Reading Time Management:

Initially while practicing, you should take as much time you want to understand the themes, hunt for information, and learn all the words you come across. As you progress, you will need to focus on Time.
Keep the above tips in mind while managing time. Practice different question types, learn to skim, scan and pick information. Read the questions properly.
You have 40 questions to answer in 60 minutes, so obviously, you cannot spend more than 1 minute on each and every question.
The rest (around 15 minutes) will be utilized for reading the texts. The last 5 minutes will be used for reviewing your answers.
Do not waste time on a tough question. Get the easy ones out of the way and come back to the tough ones later. Remember, it is not you against that 1 question alone. There are 39 more waiting to be solved. Prioritize!
Practice 20-minute, difficult texts. This will help train you beyond the IELTS level of difficulty, which will ensure that you ace the actual exam.

Read every day, take IELTS practice tests, and stay calm. You achieve this height!

18. Watch your time:

Don’t forget you have only 60 minutes to read three texts and answer 40 questions. You won’t get additional time for filling your answer sheet, so make sure to manage your time properly.

19. Is your spelling correct?

Check your spelling before writing your answer on the answer blank. You will get zero points for the answer if it's spelled incorrectly.

20. Keep the order:

Remember that the questions follow the order of the text in most cases. So the answer to question 5 will come after the answer to question 4 and so on.

21. Underline!

When you skim over the text, underline the most important phrases. It will help you to save some time when you will search for answers.

22. Unfamiliar vocabulary? That's OK!

Do not worry if the text seems unfamiliar to you or you don’t know some words. Every answer can be found in the text, you don’t need any additional knowledge to succeed.

23. Pay Attention to the Details:

Look thoroughly through the text. Any special features such as capital letters, underlining, italics, figures, graphs, and tables are likely to matter.

24. No blank boxes:

Answer all the questions, even if you’re not sure about your answer. You don't get a penalty for wrong answers, so try your luck and write the most probable answer.

25. Cross out the wrong answers in multiple-choice:

If you saw an answer that you're sure is wrong, cross it out. This way you won't get confused and save your time.

26. Choose your own technique:

It may sound strange at first, but... There is no ultimate advice on which technique fits you the best. You yourself should choose how to search for the right answers and what to do first: read questions or text. A lot of successful candidates prefer to read the text first, and only then answer the questions. But some say it's better to do the other way. Practice doing IELTS Reading samples to determine which technique fits you more.

27. Focus on the ideas, not the words:

Re-read, and then rephrase it in your own words.
Explain to yourself what you have just read.
This mini-analysis helps you to focus on the ideas, the message rather than the words in front of you.
This is extremely important because the answer you are looking for has definitely been rephrased too.

28. Test different exam strategies, then choose a winner:

Every site, tutor, and the former student will have a guide for you to pass the reading exam.
Try these strategies, but measure which one works best for you.
Some students find reading the questions first and then the text is the best way.
Other students do the exact opposite.
Try both methods on different practice exams, the technique that brings in the most points for you is the winner.

29. Try our reading exam strategy:

Read the text first to focus on the information.
This way you keep one piece of information in the brain.
Your brain will most likely struggle to keep the question in mind AND search for the answer at the same time.

But if you skim the text part rapidly, discuss what you had just read in your head and THEN go to the question and its options, you should get the answer easier.

30. Find proof in the text, underline, and number:

Find the exact location of the rephrased answer in the reading passage.
Compare it to the keywords in your answer and rest assured that it is the ONE.
That is the proof. Then underline that rephrased line in the passage.
Then write the number on top of the question that is answered by that line.
As simple as that.
You should do this to avoid relaxing and guessing during the reading test.
This gives you the certainty that you have made the correct choice.
And yes, there’s always only ONE correct answer.
Despite what many may think, there are no options.
This is how the tests are designed.
That is precisely why there is a very definite location of the correct answer in the text.

31. Don’t panic over unknown words - Use context:

Try to look around the new word.
Maybe the content of the sentence can help you deduce whether it’s positive or negative, a person or a job, an animal or a feature.
Prefixes can help, un- means cancel an action, and re- means to repeat, or -wise means referring to something.
Grammar will also help, if it comes before a noun, it might be describing how this noun is.
Remember to do background work on expanding your vocabulary and understanding of prefixes and suffixes for your reading test.
If this doesn’t help either just don’t panic.
Move on to the next question, and later return to the confusing part.

32. Don't leave any questions unanswered:

Never leave any box unanswered.
When you know there’s no time left, just guess and write something.
Why? You won’t be penalized for incorrect answers. If you leave the cell in your answer sheet blank, you will get zero points. For sure.
But what if you strike lucky and manage to guess it!
You will have at least one more point that could get you from band 6.5 to 7.0 in your reading test.
That’s why you should guess when out of time.

33. Improve your reading speed:
To make the best of the 60 minutes, you have to complete your IELTS reading exam; you have to improve your reading speed when you are preparing for the exam.

Here is a brief guide to improving your reading speed.

1 - Increase your reading gaze to include three words at a time, rather than bouncing from one word to the next. Catch three at a time and aim to expand it to about five words in each glance.

2 - Use a pointer to increase speed. The pointer will land between every three words. Moving it quicker through the text you will progress faster.

3 - Make sure not to sacrifice comprehension for speed. It’s very easy to speed read through an article and then recall nothing. Avoid this by using your new speed reading skills in online reading comprehension tests (see tip 'Improving Reading Comprehension').

34. My favorite reading tools:

A great tool to help increase your reading gaze is ZapReader.
Make sure to use the free web-based tool, no need to buy the software.
To use it, just load up the text you want to practice and then start chunking it out into three-word blocks.
The Amazon Kindle is a fantastic resource for students, you can highlight any word you don’t understand, and get a definition immediately.
It then saves your words as flashcards and you can test yourself later.
I use this all the time to expand my own English vocabulary and especially to improve my Spanish skills.
Audible is another fantastic resource, I usually buy the audiobook version of the current kindle book I’m reading.
This helps me learn the material deeper and ensures I didn’t miss a concept in the text version.

35. Choose your material carefully:

Although using past IELTS reading exams is a great idea, they can quickly become boring and laborious.
I suggest choosing subjects you have an interest in.
This way you are far more likely to stick with the book and read more.
This will build your language skills rather than your exam skills, so it’s more of a long-term strategy.
Also, consider the level you are reading at.
In English, I read War and Peace by Tolstoy, and I wanted to re-read it in Spanish but it was far too complex.
I soon abandoned the novel and went for the Spanish versions of Harry Potter!

36. Don’t sacrifice retention for speed:
When improving reading speed it is common for retention to fall as we blaze through the text. To avoid this try applying the six questions words to each chapter or paragraph.

Ask yourself:

-Who? -What? -Why? -When? -Where? -How?

37. Asking yourself:

Another technique when starting, is to ask yourself; What do I want to get out of this chapter/paragraph/book? Asking yourself this makes it easier to identify useful information when you are reading.

38. Organize your reading time to improve focus:
Countless students, myself included, struggle with staying focussed while reading. Unless the material is truly captivating, I find myself wandering to check Reddit, email, the fridge, and other time-wasting activities!

How do we solve this? Set a timer and read for that duration of time, 30 minutes is a good time to start with. Allocate a reading time and space. Your focus will be infinitely stronger working from home with the phone in airplane mode and headphones on. Rather than reading a book at the train station.
Headphones. Block all the distractions. I listen to rain sounds to increase focus.

39. Improving reading comprehension
As useful as all the IELTS reading tips are to improve your IELTS score, practice is one of the most important keys to a successful IELTS reading exam. There are many different IELTS practice tests that you can take online to help you prepare, take a look at these resources:

British Council reading practice tests
Official IELTS practice reading test
If you have exhausted the free materials online, then try the other ESL tests available. I would aim for anything Cambridge publishes. They are responsible for the testing material for IELTS so you can be sure their standards are high.

C1 https://www.cambridgeenglish.org/exams-and-tests/advanced/preparation/

C2 https://www.cambridgeenglish.org/exams-and-tests/proficiency/preparation/

A more fun way to test your comprehension is to open a book on a random page, read it, then write a summary after.

40. Active reading:

This tip is more for students taking the paper-based test.
When reading, actively mark your test paper.
Underline any important phrases that you see in the text that helps you understand the passage or sums up the context of the reading.
Circle keywords, add asterisks in the margin for valuable fragments.
These will act as references when you are searching for answers.

41. Don’t expect to understand every word:

Many of my students have been taught to look up every word in a dictionary they don’t understand in a dictionary. The theory behind this is good, a wide vocabulary is key to getting a good score in the IELTS test, but worrying about all the words you don’t understand in the reading exam is one of the worst things you can do.

If you don’t understand a word in the reading test, there are two things you can do. You can look at the words and sentences around it for clues as to its meaning or you can move on and forget about it. You don’t have to understand the meaning of every word. Even native speakers- and many IELTS teachers- would not be able to understand all the words in the reading test.

Candidates who worry about the meaning of every word, panic and spend too much time thinking about words that might not be related to the question. Focus on the words that are related to the question and don’t worry about the words you don’t understand.

42. Practice your reading skills NOT your IELTS skills:

It is important to familiarise yourself with the IELTS reading test, IELTS reading tips and gain an understanding of the various questions. It is also important to learn from your mistakes (see below). However, students who just practice IELTS exams are missing out on a good opportunity to improve their general reading skills.

IELTS reading texts can be a little boring and you are more likely to read regularly if you read about something you are interested in. Reading for pleasure a little every day will not only improve your English skills but also improve your vocabulary. There are thousands of blogs, newspapers, magazines, and newspapers to choose from online. "Practice makes perfect."

43. Read the instructions VERY carefully:

So many easy marks are lost by good IELTS candidates because they fail to read the instructions properly. This is especially true in the reading and listening tests because they give very specific instructions. If you don’t follow these instructions exactly, you will get the question wrong. For example, the instructions might state ‘write two words and/or a number’. This could mean:

One word
One word and a number
Two words
Two words and a number

Even if a number is written as a word, it counts as a number e.g. Thirty-two is counted as 32. ‘Thirty-two cars’ is one word and a number. If you don’t do this, as stated in the instructions, you will lose a mark.

If the answer asks for two words only and the answer is red and yellow, you should write ‘red, yellow’, not ‘red and yellow’. Red, yellow is two words. Red and yellow are three and therefore incorrect. Finally, one word only means just one word. We should, therefore, be very careful with articles like ‘a’ and ‘an’. For example, the text might say ‘an earthquake’, but if it asks for one word simply write ‘earthquake’. ‘An earthquake’ is two words and is therefore wrong.

44. Don’t panic:

Some of the questions will be easy and some will be extremely difficult. The key is not to panic when trying to answer a difficult one. Nearly all of the IELTS teachers I know have to check the answers to some questions because they are so difficult.

The wrong thing to do is spend a large amount of time on a question and fail to spend enough time on the rest of the questions. If the answer does not present itself, move on to the next. You can always come back to the difficult questions later and answering the other questions will often help you.

Time and nerves need to be controlled in order to do well in the reading test all the IELTS reading tips in the world won’t help you if you can’t control your nerves. You are probably not going to get all of the questions correct and accepting this will help you to control your time and emotions on test day.

45. It’s really a vocabulary test:

In many ways, the reading test is more of a vocabulary test than a reading test. They will use synonyms and paraphrase sentences to test how wide your vocabulary is. To prepare for this, I advise my students to do three things: read, note, and review.

As mentioned in tip number 2, reading is the best way to improve your vocabulary. Memorizing lists of words is not as effective as seeing words in context. When you see a new word you don’t understand, try to guess the meaning from context. This means that you try to guess the meaning based on the words and sentences around it. You will be expected to do this in the exam so it is a good idea to get practicing now. Only when you have done that should you check the meaning.

Next, you should put all of your new words in a special IELTS vocabulary notebook. Record not only the meaning but also things like synonyms, antonyms, collocations, form, examples, pronunciation, and pictures. You don’t have to record all of these things; just the ones that work for you. All our brains work differently so find out what helps you remember vocabulary and use it.

Finally, there is no point in recording all this new vocabulary if you don’t review it. After putting all the effort into looking up the meaning and record everything in a notebook, it would be a waste of time if you don’t look at it regularly again. I advise students to look at the new vocabulary one week after first studying, then two weeks later, and finally a month later. Test yourself by covering up the meanings or try to think of a sentence.

By following these steps you will soon have a notebook full of words that you will remember and be able to use effectively in all sections of the IELTS test.

46. Timing is crucial:

If you spend too much time on one question, you will leave less time for the other questions, however, if you try to do the test too quickly you will miss information and may get confused.

I advise my students to try and get each section finished in 20 minutes. This breaks down to 16-17 minutes to read and answer the questions and 3-4 minutes to transfer and check your answers.

Some teachers advise students to spend a set or fixed amount of time on each question but this is bad advice for one main reason- some questions are more difficult than others and will, therefore, take you more time. What you should do is pay attention to your timing when practicing. You will notice which questions take you longer and which questions take you less time. This will give you the confidence to spend a little longer on certain questions and stop panicking in the exam.

Everyone reads and answers questions at different speeds and styles, so work out what is best for you and be wary of people who tell you to spend a set amount of time on each question.

47. Ignore anything you already know about the topic:

The higher the level the more this problem affects people. Please remember that you are being tested on your understanding of the text-only; your own knowledge of the topic should not influence your answers.

I had one student who I thought was going to get an 8 or 9 in their reading test. All of their practice tests had been at this level and I wasn’t worried about them at all. Unfortunately, this person had a degree in biotechnology and the reading was on this subject. Instead of carefully reading the text they used their own knowledge to answer many of the questions. They were very angry when the results came back and it was only after talking about the test that we established what had happened.

Make sure you don’t make the same mistake and base your answers on text-only. Don’t make assumptions based on your own knowledge. For example, when you read the title of this article ‘IELTS reading tips’, you probably made lots of assumptions about what was in it and you probably knew some tips already, but I’m sure there have been some that have surprised you or even contradicted your views.

48. Process of Elimination(POE): Pay close attention to "absolute" words in these answer options. These words include many adverbs of frequency and words that generalize ideas. The most common include: mainly, all, some, sometimes, often, usually, occasionally, hardly ever, never, only, and always. When these words are included in an answer option, it is usually harder to prove correct, and they are often included as answer options.

49. Practice slow and fast:

Many teachers advise students to practice for the IELTS reading test ‘under exam conditions’. This means you do the practice test in one hour without any help, just like in the exam. This is poor advice for a few reasons.

By doing the test under exam conditions you put too much pressure on yourself and you don’t give yourself time to reflect on how to answer specific question types, spot patterns in questions and how you answer them, note down common vocabulary, and notice how much time you spend answering certain questions.

It also does not give you a chance to analyze your mistakes. You should really focus on your mistakes and figure out why you were wrong and then improve. This is a slow process and should be prioritized.

Once you have practiced several tests slowly, you can then practice them under exams conditions.

50. Be careful when transferring your answers:

In the test, you will be asked to transfer your answers to an answer sheet. A common mistake is to spend too much time reading and answering questions and leaving very little time to transfer the answers. It is only natural that silly mistakes are made when people are under pressure.

I advise my students to practice with an IELTS answer sheet and see how much time it takes them to transfer their answers. This will allow you to familiarise yourself with the process and have confidence on test day.

51. Leave no blanks:

This might seem one of the most obvious IELTS reading tips but you would be surprised how many people leave blanks. Even if you don’t know the answer, make sure you attempt every question. You might get lucky and you have nothing to lose.

52. Resources for practice:

Take a look at some more useful tutorials that will you prepare for your Reading Test. Follow these IELTS Reading tips and you will definitely increase your score. But also don't forget that reading practice is crucial for success on IELTS Reading.

The above IELTS Reading Tips and IELTS Reading Strategies will definitely prove to be invaluable during the day of your exam. The techniques above will certainly be useful. Having said that, work with what you are comfortable with. Make sure that you follow these basic IELTS Tips.

Top Most Strategies

1. Strategy for Multiple Choice Questions:

This is my suggested strategy. There are many different strategies and you should use the one you feel comfortable with. You can also adapt this strategy to what suits you.

1. Firstly, read the instructions carefully. Now, read questions to know what is being asked. Don’t be hasty because unless you understand the context of the question first, you will not be able to find the correct answer.

2. Skim the text to get the general meaning. Then, read the question first and at least underline two keywords in the question and start scanning/searching for them.

3. Underline any keywords in the question and think about any synonyms that might appear in the text.

4. Read the choices and underline any keywords. Think about the difference in meaning between the different choices.

5. Predict the correct answer. Pay close attention to "absolute" words in these answer options. These words include many adverbs of frequency and words that generalize ideas. The most common include: mainly, all, some, sometimes, often, usually, occasionally, hardly ever, never, only, and always. When these words are included in an answer option, it is usually harder to prove correct, and they are often included as answer options.

6. Read the text and using keywords and synonyms locate the part containing the answers.

7. Read that part of the text very carefully, thinking about the difference in meanings.

8. Think about not only which options are correct but how the other options are wrong.

9. Go back and read the question again and mark your final choice.

Identifying Writer's Views Questions:

IWVQ is a difficult yet common IELTS reading question type. This type of question does not only require you to use various skills to find the needed information, but also to think logically to answer correctly.

Your job is to decide whether they agree with the writer’s views or not. Your decision should be based only on the information from the text. There will be 3 answers: YES, NO, and NOT GIVEN

YES – If the statement agrees with or is the same as the writer’s opinions and claims that you see from the reading text.
NO – If the statement disagrees with or contradicts the writer’s opinions and claims.
NOT GIVEN – If you cannot find any clue from the text to decide what the writer’s opinions are.

From this definition, you can see that the IWVQ requires you to:

Understand the statements and the text.
Locate the information in the text quickly.
Analyze and compare the information.

When you can master this, both your reading skill and critical thinking will become stronger. This is a challenge yet a great opportunity to improve yourself! So let’s go to the second part where you can see how to solve these questions in the best way!

Solving Identifying Writer’s Views/Claim Questions – Step By Step

1. Warm-up: Familiarise yourself with the overall content of the article.
This is a must-have step before you start doing any IELTS reading question type.

Reading the whole passage quickly with strategies will give you an overview of the content while saving your time.

So how to read a long article effectively? The answer is skimming skill. You will read the title, subtitles, the opening and closing sentences of each paragraph because they contain the key messages. After that, the information will connect with each other to help you get the most general idea about the text.

Once you get the flow of it, you can identify the location of the needed information more quickly and precisely.

Note: To save more time, you can choose to do this reading question type after finishing the others with which you are more comfortable.

2. Step 1: Read the given statements with strategies
After skimming the passage, you will start to read every statement carefully and strategically. The objective of this step is to understand fully what each statement is about. You have to know what you are finding before you start finding it, right?

It is highly recommended that you underline the keywords of each sentence. This will help you focus and find the information more easily by spotting those words or their synonyms in the text.

3. Step 2: Match the statements with the information from the text
After you have got the flow of the content and the meaning of the statements with some keywords, you can easily locate where to find the answers from the whole passage.

Try to look out for numbers, names, locations, synonyms of the keywords, so you can spot them as quickly and as possible!

4. Step 3: Analyze the information and decide the answers
It’s time when you decide the answers to the questions. In this part, you will have to compare the statements with the information in the text. You will also have to use your critical thinking to give the final answers.

5. Step 4: Transfer the answers to the answer sheet
After deciding the answers, you have to write them down on the answer sheet. Although it sounds easy, some examinees still make mistakes in this step which leads to their answers not being counted as correct (read more in the next part). Therefore, remember to be extremely careful!

Tips To Win Identifying Writer’s Views/Claims Questions

1. Notice the order of the statements
The statements will appear with the continuing flow of the text. Therefore, once you can locate the information for Statement 1 correctly, keep on reading to find answers for the next statements. TRY NOT TO LOOK BACK – IT’S TIME – CONSUMING because the answer will not be there.

2. Look out for important indicators
Important indicators include the name, number, location, synonyms, and different word forms (noun, adjective, verb, adverb) of the keywords in the statement.

They are very helpful for you to find the correct section of the article that contains the needed information. By doing this, you can spot the location more easily and quickly especially when the keywords in the statements are often paraphrased when compared to the original text.

Example
Statement: Emily started to manage the company three years ago.

In this case, you should look for indicators such as:

Name: Emily, or the name of the company

Number: 3 years, or any number of years

Synonyms: operate, run, lead,…..

Different forms of the word: manager, leader, managerial, leading,…

3. Absolute statements are often false statements
In most cases, you have to think more carefully about the statements that contain absolute qualifiers such as never, always, the + superlative comparison. Just for you to know, the answer to this kind of statement is often NO. However, it is still better when you can find the reason for each answer. Only write NO when you cannot find logical evidence or understand the information.

Necessary Skills To Get The Correct Answers

1. Skimming and Scanning
For any IELTS learners, these two skills have become very familiar. However, they may be the hardest skills to gain and improve. If you are a little bit confused about the difference between these two skills, then have a look again at the definition here.

Skimming means you have a quick look at the whole text in order to get the most general idea about the passage. There are some steps so you can be the master of skimming:

– Read the headlines;

– Underline the subtitles;

– Underline the opening and the closing sentence of each paragraph.

Scanning means you look through a text for specific details. You can use this skill to locate the sentence that contains the answer to your question. In order to do that effectively, you have to identify and match keywords of the statements with the suitable words (synonyms and different word forms) in the text to get the information location.

2. Paraphrasing skill
Paraphrasing skill is an essential skill for every IELTS test. When you actively work on this skill, it will enrich your vocabulary and help you spot the information more easily even when they are paraphrased (and they are, most of the time).

So how to improve this skill? The answer is to learn new words, learn their synonyms and group them together.

Learn new words: Vocabulary is very important for IELTS. However, if you think learning new words is “painful” and boring, you can be dead wrong. What if you can read about any subject that you like and watch any movie that you love without having to stop and look new words up in the dictionary? It’s great, right? Technology now allows us to do it.

Learn synonyms: It’s easy. You only need to search “word + synonyms” on Google or buy a type of dictionary called ‘Thesaurus Dictionary’. Then note them down in a notebook and practice every day to remember them longer.

3. Critical thinking
Critical thinking is essential to reach a higher band in the IELTS exam. It is the ability to think clearly about what to do and what to believe. With critical thinking, you can understand logical connections and spot illogical points. Therefore, it is very helpful for doing YES/NO/NOT GIVEN questions.

You can practice critical thinking in many situations. The key is to question everything, even the things that seem to be certain.

Let’s start by asking yourself ‘Is it true that…?’, then try to find the reasons for your answer.

Common Mistakes: Examples And Solutions

1. Do not follow the question’s instructions
You can think that no one can make this mistake in such an important exam. However, everything can happen when you are nervous. To avoid this, there are two things that you need to be careful:

– Notice if it is YES/NO/NOT GIVEN questions or TRUE/FALSE/NOT GIVEN questions.

– Be careful when you transfer the answers to the answer sheet. If the test asks you to write ‘YES’ but you write ‘TRUE’, that answer will not be counted as a correct one.

2. Making assumptions
Assumptions are statements or judgments that you believe to be right or wrong without any proof. Assumptions in this IELTS reading question type often come from 2 main reasons:

First, it is because you use your knowledge to answer the questions, not the information from the text. This situation is common among students who meet the topics that are of their expertise. In this case, they often write YES or NO without reading the text carefully. However, you need to remember that this is ‘WRITER’S CLAIMS/VIEWS’, not YOURS. Therefore, the proof that you have to look for is in the passage, not from your own knowledge.

Solutions

– Forget what you know about the topic because it can be possible that the writer does not agree with and want to debate with that knowledge in the article, or that your knowledge may not have been proved.

– Make sure you have considered carefully by underlining the sentences in the text that give you the answer. This action will help you check again to make sure that every answer you give has its evidence.

Second, examinees often make the mistake of assuming because of logical reasons.

For example:

Article: “Apples first originated in South Africa 3000 years ago.”

Statement: “South Africans are the first people to eat apples.”

In this case, many students may answer YES because when apples originated in South Africa, it is likely that South African people were the first to eat them.

But if you think a little bit more, you will find out that it can be some travelers from other regions going there and eating apples. That’s when the statement is not 100% correct. The answer should be ‘NOT GIVEN’ if the writer did not give you any more information about this statement.

Solutions:

In order to minimize your chances of making this mistake, the best advice may be to doubt everything before you give the final decision, even when it seems to be obvious.

Remember to ask yourself repeatedly ‘Is it true that + statement?’ before you say YES, NO, or NOT GIVEN. Do not let yourself be tricked, look for the exception ACTIVELY.

3. Do not notice qualifiers
Qualifiers are words that modify other words to limit or enhance it's meaning.

For example:

– Qualifiers that limit meaning: slightly, sort of, somehow, somewhat, may, seem,…

– Qualifiers that enhance meaning: always, never, every, all,…

The sad thing is that qualifiers are often there to trick you. Therefore, you need to be careful whenever you see them in the statements.

Example 1
Article: Some European governments are against the wave of refugees from the Middle East.

Statement: All European governments are against the wave of refugees from the Middle East.

All the sentences are the same except for ‘some’ and ‘all’ (qualifiers). ‘Some’ and ‘all’ have totally different meanings. Therefore, the answer is ‘NO’.

Example 2
Article: He claims to come from England.

Statement: He comes from England.

If the article says ‘He claims to come from England’, it is still possible that he is lying. Therefore, it cannot be a fact as in the statement. The answer is NO.

4. You forget about verb tenses
For example

Article: He lived in Canada with his family.

Statement: He lives in Canada with his family.

In this case, ‘lived’ means that the action had started and ended in the past, while ‘lives’ means the action is still happening. Therefore, they are disagreeing with each other, then the answer is ‘NO’.

Solutions:

– Review English verb tenses to get the meaning of each tense.

– Always underline the main verbs of the statements and the information from the article.

– Be careful, compare and use your knowledge to identify the differences.

Things To Note Down To Master Identifying Writer’s Views/Claims Questions
Watch out for timing. If it is taking too much time to find an answer, you have to move on. If you do not have time to look back, you still have to write down one answer because the chance of getting it correct is still higher.

Write down the reason why you choose that answer by putting ‘√’ in the correct part of the statements, ‘x’ in the wrong part, and circle the contradictory points between the statements and the article. This will help you check the answers more easily later.

Check the answers again after you transfer the answers to the answer sheet
Practice, practice, and practice – because it only makes perfect!!!

Examples of Identifying Writers’ Views

Check out the practice task for identifying writers’ views. Below is the explanation for the answers.

1. "Thirty percent of deaths in the United States are caused by smoking-related diseases."

Related information can be found at the end of the second paragraph. Smoking, it is believed, is responsible for 30 percent of all deaths from cancer and clearly represents the most important preventable cause of cancer in countries like the United States today. From this text, we can know that 30 percent of deaths from cancer are caused by smoking. The statement doesn’t match the writer’s claim because it includes deaths from other reasons. Therefore, the answer is NO.

2. "If one partner in a marriage smokes, the other is likely to take up smoking."

The first sentence in the fourth paragraph contains information about one partner in a marriage who smokes and indicates that the other one in that marriage will have a higher risk of death from heart disease. However, the writer didn’t mention anything about the possibility of taking up smoking. Therefore, the answer is NOT GIVEN.

3. "Teenagers whose parents smoke are at risk of getting lung cancer at some time during their lives."

Though there is no direct information about this statement, the answer is still in the article. Leaving aside the philosophical question of whether anyone should have to breathe someone else’s cigarette smoke, the report suggests that the smoke experienced by many people in their daily lives is enough to produce substantial adverse effects on a person’s heart and lungs. We can infer from the end of the fifth paragraph that teenagers whose parents smoke have the possibility to get lung cancer because of the substantial adverse effects of passive smoking. Therefore, the answer is YES.

4. "Opponents of smoking financed the UCSF study."

The writer didn’t mention who financed the UCSF study at all, so the answer is NOT GIVEN.

In a word, it is not hard to identify writers’ views if you locate information accurately and read carefully. Check out more practice tests and go for it!

3. Strategy for Matching Information:

In this kind of question, you are asked to match statements to paragraphs in the reading text. It requires you to match the sentences given with information that is contained in different paragraphs.
You must have strong skills in paraphrasing for this type of question. You will need to prepare lots of paraphrases for the statements in order to locate the right paragraph which contains that information.
The statements could be reasons, descriptions, summaries, definitions, facts, or explanations. What they are doesn’t really matter. You are not expected to have specialist knowledge in the reading test.
You do not need to understand what the whole paragraph is about, just find specific information in the paragraph and match it to one of the statements. The answer will normally be contained in a whole phrase or sentence, rather than a single word.
You are given a number of statements and you are required to match these to the correct paragraphs in the reading text.
The paragraphs in the reading text are labeled a, b, c, d, and so on. Your answer will be the letter of the paragraph, not the words or phrases in the paragraph.
There will normally be more paragraphs than questions, so don’t worry if some of the paragraphs do not contain the information you are looking for. Also, don’t worry if you find more than one answer in one paragraph. A paragraph could contain more than one answer.
The answers do not appear in the same order as the questions.

Reading Skills:

You will first have to be able to skim the reading text to get a general meaning of each paragraph.
You will also have to scan for specific words within the paragraphs. It is more likely that you will be looking for synonyms (different words that mean the same or nearly the same) and paraphrases rather than keywords from the question statements.
When you have found the words or phrases you think might give you the correct answer, you have to read very carefully in order to fully understand the meaning to be able to decide if it is really the correct answer.
Matching information questions are a real test of your paraphrasing skills as the information will be expressed in different ways in the statements and in the text. Many synonyms will be used and sentence structures often altered.

Common Problems:

The biggest problem is the fact that you need to look at the whole text. The answers could be anywhere in the text and they do not come in order, so it takes time.

Also, the answers might not be the main idea of each paragraph. Normally, paragraphs contain one main idea, and reading the first and last lines of the paragraph can help you understand this. With these questions, the answer could be in any part of the paragraph and you cannot therefore just quickly skim to find it.

There is also lots of irrelevant information that you do not need to consider. The strategy below will help you ignore much of this irrelevant information.

Finally, as stated above, not all paragraphs contain an answer and some paragraphs contain more than one answer.

Tips:

Read through the questions.
Think of ways to paraphrase keywords.
Try to locate the keywords or the paraphrases in the paragraphs.
The answers do not come in order.
Your answer should be a letter, not a word.
Start with the easiest questions first. This will usually be in a statement that contains keywords that are easy to find in the text such as names, numbers, places, and dates.
This way, if time runs short and you’re forced to move on before completing the question, you’ll at least have picked up the easiest marks rather than wasting lots of time on a difficult question.
Do this question last. If you do other questions first, you will become familiar with the passage and this will help you identify the correct information more quickly and easily.
Try to find names, place names, and numbers in the questions. These are often easier to find in the text.
Be aware that there may be synonyms. For example, you might see ‘34%‘ in the question but it might say ‘just over a third‘ or ‘about a third‘ in the text.

Strategy:

This is my suggested strategy. There are many different strategies and you should use the one you feel comfortable with. You can also adapt this strategy to what suits you.
Read the instructions carefully. Read the questions first. Think about synonyms and how you could paraphrase the statements. This will help you identify the answer. Saying each statement in your own words can help do this.
Quickly skim the reading text to try to understand the general meaning of the text.
Read the question statements again and predict which paragraph contains the answer.
Scan the text paragraphs you think might contain the answer for synonyms. If you find a possible answer underline it.
Check back with the question statement and mark the answer if correct. If not, move on to other paragraphs.
Expect lots of synonyms. Be particularly aware of information that can be represented in words and figures. For example,
- ½ – a half
- 15º – fifteen degrees
- 69% – sixty-nine percent

You can narrow down the match of statement and paragraph by a process of elimination. For any specific statement, there will be paragraphs that are clearly not a match.
If you are right and can confirm the match, fill in the answer sheet and cross through the statement to eliminate it from further consideration.
If you’re wrong, continue scanning for the correct paragraph. Repeat this process until you have matched all the statements to paragraphs.

4. Strategy for Matching Headings:

Matching headings in the IELTS Reading test can be tricky. Find out strategies to help you answer matching headings questions in a more effective way.

One type of question that test-takers often find tricky in the IELTS test is matching headings in the Reading test.

This question type requires you to match the heading in the question to the correct paragraph or reading section in the text. There will always be more headings than paragraphs or sections so that some headings will not be used.

It is also possible that some of the text may not be included in the task. This task type is used with texts that contain paragraphs that have clearly defined themes. It tests your ability to recognize the main idea in the paragraph and to identify supporting ideas.

The question type can be tricky because of the following reasons:

It takes a little more time than other questions to complete.
Often, there are more headings than paragraphs.
Some paragraphs don't need headings.
There are some similarities between headings.
Headings that only include specific details rather than the main idea may mislead you.
Some headings have the same words that are in a paragraph but don't match.

How you approach this question type is personal, so you should choose the strategy that suits you best. We outline two strategies to help you match headings more successfully.

Strategy #1: Read the question first
1. First, read each heading
Try to completely understand the meaning of each heading by reading all of them thoroughly. Understanding the main idea of the heading can be made easier by paraphrasing.

2. Circle keywords within the headings
Underline or circle keywords in each heading such as names, places, dates, and nouns, once you have read them fully. Connecting the correct heading to the appropriate paragraph may become easier with this step.

3. Any similarities or differences between the headings should be noted
In this type of question, headings are often very similar or completely opposite. Similarities and differences will become clearer among the headings, once you have picked out keywords. This will make choosing an option clearer.

4. Read the first and last sentence of the paragraph
The first and/or last sentence of a paragraph often contains the main idea. It is good practice to read these sentences carefully as it will save time. It is also important to skim the other sentences quickly within the paragraph because the main idea might not be apparent until the second or third sentence.

5. The heading that is most suitable for the paragraph should be chosen
Choose the heading that most closely matches the paragraph once you have read through them again. Make a note if you are unsure of the difference between multiple headings, and move on. You may be able to cross some heading options out and answers may become clearer once you’ve read all of the paragraphs. Remember, a heading is the main idea of the paragraph, NOT a specific detail. The same detail in the paragraph such as a matching word may be in the heading, but it may not be the main idea. This can be confusing to test takers.

Strategy #2: Read the text first
Some test takers prefer to skim through the text reading each paragraph quickly to get the general gist of what the text is about and what the main idea of each paragraph is. However, be very careful with timing. Remember you only have 20 minutes per Reading part, so you don't want to spend the full 20 minutes on one question type.

1. Read one paragraph at a time
Again, spend more time on the first and last sentences of a paragraph, trying to identify the main idea.

2. Create your own heading
As soon as you have skimmed through the paragraph, think of your own heading or short sentence that summarises what you have read. Your heading should encompass the main idea and not just specific details.

3. Read each individual heading
For a complete understanding of the meaning, read the headings thoroughly. This time, try to choose a heading that is closely related to the heading that you made up for the same paragraph. Again, make note of multiple options that may fit the paragraph and move on. As you read more paragraphs you may be able to eliminate options. Mark keywords that note similarities and differences as this will aid in eliminating headings with similar meanings.

General tips
a. Be as efficient with your time as possible when choosing the correct heading for both strategies as this can be very time-consuming. Make a note of all answers and move on to the next paragraph if you are unsure of the difference between two or more headings.

b. Eliminating possible answers as you read further into the passage may be an option. Crossing out the heading on the test booklet once you are sure you have the correct heading for the paragraph or have eliminated an option is good practice. This results in less time spent on repeatedly reading the same heading.

c. Finally, skimming is an essential skill for time-consuming question types such as matching headings. This skill will also provide you with more time to do the other questions within the reading section.

d. What you are most comfortable with as well as how much time you have to spend on the question will help you find the best strategy when tackling matching heading questions. This will also become more apparent through practice.

Tips for Matching Headings:

Pay attention to headings that are different or similar to each other.
Spend time paraphrasing keywords in the possible headings.
Read the Paragraphs to find the main idea.
Distinguish between main ideas and extra information in the paragraph.
The headings should provide the main of the paragraph.
Do not try to match words - this is about paragraph aims.
Not all headings might be used.
Your answer will be a numeral (for example, i or vi) or a letter - do not write the words.
There can only ever be one possible heading for each paragraph.

Common Problems:

Below is a list of common problems my students tend to have. Have you experienced any of these problems?

Later in the post, we will look at tips to overcome these problems and a strategy for answering this kind of reading question.

There is too much information to get through and not enough time.
Trying to match a word or words from the headings to a word in the text and eventually end up with a wrong answer.
Some of the headings may appear to have the same meaning.
Some students only read the first sentence of each paragraph and do not understand the main idea of the paragraph in a very short time.
Spending too much time on one paragraph or heading can create pressure on other questions that come afterward.
Answers are not in the same order as the text.

Tips and Solutions:

A million-dollar tip is, do answer this question first. Because you are summarising the paragraphs. By doing this you will be able to get the general meaning of the text as a whole and this will help you with the rest of the question that requires you to take a more detailed look at the text.
You are not expected to read every word of the text. Do not try to understand the details of a paragraph. This will take too long and you don’t have time for this. In this kind of question, you are only expected to understand the main idea of each paragraph. A good way to do this is to read the first one or two sentences and the last sentence of the paragraphs.
You can also briefly look at the rest of the paragraph but you don’t have to read every word. It will help you get a general meaning of the paragraph and guess the probable heading.
Skim the text to understand the general meaning of the paragraph. Don't read too fast. If you go through the information too fast, you may end up understanding nothing which turns out a complete waste of time.
If there are words you don’t understand, don’t worry about this. Again, you should only worry about the general meaning of the paragraph as a whole, not individual words. Even native speakers will fail to understand every word in the IELTS reading test.
Always stay aware of synonyms and paraphrases. Many students look for words that match exactly with words in the text and ignore synonyms. Don't rush to match the words from the headings to the words in the reading passage. Examiners know that you might have this tendency, that's why they usually put synonyms or paraphrases to test your vocabulary skill. For example, a keyword in the heading might be ‘Beautiful’, however, the word you’re looking for could be many different synonyms of ‘beautiful’ like ‘attractive’, ‘pretty’, ‘lovely’ or ‘stunning’ in the article.
If there are two or three headings that are similar, write them beside the paragraph and try to find out the difference between the two headings. What are the keywords? How does this change the meaning? Which one matches the paragraph best?
If you still can’t decide which one suits you best, move on and come back to it later. The answer will normally be easier to find after you have matched some more headings.
Ignore anything you already know about the topic. You are being tested text-only.
Don’t read too quickly. Some teachers advise that students should just ‘skim’ the text because they don’t have much time. In my experience, this leads to students not understanding most of the text and making mistakes. It is better to do this a little slower and actually understand what is in front of you.
Don’t panic if you know nothing about the general topic of the reading text. The IELTS reading test is not a knowledge test and you are not expected to have prior knowledge of the topic.
Don’t look at the headings first. This will automatically make you look for specific words in the text rather than the main idea. Remember it is your ability to find the main idea that is being tested, not your ability to find specific information. Instead of reading the headings first, ignore them and get the general meaning of each paragraph first by reading the first and last sentences.

Strategy

If this type of question is on the test, do it first.
Don’t look at the headings.
Read the first one or two sentences and the last sentence of each paragraph to understand the general meaning of the paragraph.
Don’t worry about highlighting keywords in the test.
Try to sum up the general meaning of each paragraph in one or two words.
Look at the headings and identify keywords within each heading.
Match any headings that are very obvious and you are sure about.
For the others, write 2 or 3 headings beside the paragraph.
Identify the difference between each of the headings.
Establish if there are any synonyms in the paragraph to keywords in the headings.
If you still can’t pick one, move one. The answer will often reveal itself later.
Repeat until finished.

Practice

Let us look at an example question. Below are two paragraphs from an article called ‘Trees in Trouble- What is causing the decline of the World’s giant Forests?’

Match the two paragraphs with one of the following three headings:

1. How wildlife benefits from big trees
2. Factors that enable trees to grow to significant heights
3. How other plants can cause harm

Paragraph 1 - Big trees are incredibly important ecologically. For a start, they sustain countless other species. They provide shelter for many animals, and their trunks and branches can become gardens, hung with green ferns, orchids and bromeliads, coated with mosses, and draped with vines. With their tall canopies basking in the sun, they capture vast amounts of energy. This allows them to sustain much of the animal life in the forest.

Paragraph 2 - Only a small number of tree species have the genetic capacity to grow really big. The mightiest are native to Northern America, but big trees grow all over the globe, from the tropics to the boreal forests of the high latitudes. To achieve giant stature, a tree needs three things: the right place to establish its seedling, good growing conditions, and lots of time with low adult mortality. Disrupt any of these, and you can lose your biggest trees.

If you look at the above paragraphs you will see that they are full of difficult words like ‘bromeliads’, ‘basking’, and ‘stature’. If you try to read and understand every word you will get nowhere.

Instead, we just look at the first and the last sentences and with some highlighting of keywords and awareness of synonyms it is apparent that the answers are:

Paragraph 1- How wildlife benefits from big trees

Paragraph 2- Factors that enable trees to grow to significant heights

Try them with some past paper IELTS writing questions.

5. Strategy for IELTS Matching Features Question:
In this type of question, you will have to match a list of options with the relevant set of statements. Options will be given in a box. Generally, these options are either features or some names, which are mentioned in the passage. Unlike the given text, statements will not be in order. Along with that, statements will be paraphrased information as compared to the text. Also, in comparison to questions, there will be more options to select from.

In the IELTS Academic Reading Test, this question type goes along with the theme of academic readings. The options will usually be of experts, researchers, and scientists. This type of question is most common with texts that include theories or comments about people, specific dates, things, specific places, or even opinions.

In the IELTS General Reading Test, this question type goes along with the theme of general or work-related readings. The options can range from names mentioned in the passage (usually Section 3), features of something included in an employee handbook (usually Section 2), or features included in advertisements or listings (usually Section 1).

Strategies for Answering the Matching Features Questions:
There are a few strategies that have to be borne in mind while answering these types of questions. They are listed below:

It is recommended to glance through the questions before reading the passage. This will offer you an idea of what to check while scanning and skimming the passage. Begin thinking of possible synonyms and paraphrases to say what has been listed in the questions.
Always be aware of synonyms and paraphrases. You know the same word can provide different meanings, likewise, the same meaning can be represented by different words. For example, you might see the word "dramatic" in the reading text, whereas in the question sentence the word might be "theatrical".
I would suggest you answer this question first. Because you can get a good understanding of the whole passage if you do this question first. The remaining questions will be much easier for you.
Briefly underline all of the keywords available in the questions, and you will get a better understanding of what should be looked at in the passage.
Identify the keywords in the question sentence. It can be a name, a place, a number, and a date, etc. These are relatively easy to locate in the reading text.
Once you have completed reading questions, have a look at the options from where you can choose. If the given options include names, keep in mind that these names might appear as first or last names in the text. If the options contain different details, look out for these words in the passage.
While scanning the passage, underline or circle options are available in the box. This will help you find out where you would have to read and find later. Also, focus on how often every detail or name is appearing in the passage.
Skim the reading passage to understand the general meaning of it. Scan and mark the paragraphs that you guess contain the answer.
As mentioned above, you must look for information in the passage regarding the answer options. For those answer options that come multiple times in the passage, you would have to skim the surrounded information to match correctly with the provided options.
As a general rule, it is time-restrictive if you read the complete passage. Make sure you are abreast of the scanning technique.
Don’t get confused in case the text has synonyms of the information that is originally present in the question.
Don’t expect answers to be in the order of questions.
Carefully read the statements and try to understand what they mean. Don’t spend too long on this but get the general meaning if you can.
Scan the text for the names and underline them. Do this before reading the text. You'll find them extra quickly by focusing on the capital letter at the start of the name.
Some names will appear more than once. Using a different colored pen for each name can be helpful. Ignore any names, not in the list of answers.
The easiest names to match to a statement will be those that appear only once in the text. Do these first. This will also quickly eliminate the matching statements from further consideration thus narrowing the options for the rest of the names.
The opinion, research findings, or theory of the person may be stated either before or after their name appears so read the section of text around the name to locate it.
Carefully read the details of their opinion, research findings, or theory. As you do so, think of likely synonyms that might be used in the matching statement.
Go to the list of statements and look for a match. When you are sure you have the correct match, fill in your answer and cross through the statement.
Repeat this process with the rest of the names.

Tips for Matching Features IELTS Questions
Some tips to answer the questions and obtain a high band in the IELTS examination are given below:

Read questions and underline or circle key words.
Scan the passage and look for information given in the features and questions.
Skim through the areas that are surrounded by keywords and features in the passage.
Write letters on the answer sheet.
Keep in mind that answers will not be in order.

How to Answer Matching Features Questions:

The first two steps contain "preparation work", which will be done while reading the headings. The last step is to be done with the reading passage itself.

1. Read the Questions - As always, it is a good idea to look at the questions before reading the passage. This will give you an idea of what to look out for while skimming and scanning the reading. In this particular case, the questions will most likely be statements that describe the features, and you should read them before looking at your options.

An optional part of this step (and something that we will do for practice in this exercise) is to start thinking of potential synonyms and different ways to say what is listed in the questions. Why? Remember: the information presented in the questions may be re-stated in a different way in the passage.

2. Pull Out Key Words - This step can be done at the same time that you are focusing on reading the questions. If you briefly underline key words in the questions, you will be better able to know what you are looking for in the passage.

3. Focus on the Answer Options - Once you've read the questions, take a look at the options that you are able to choose from. If the options are names, remember that the names in the text may appear as first and last names. If the options are different details, be sure to watch out for these in the passage as well. Pay close attention to whether or not you will be able to use the options more than once.

4. Scan the Passage - As you scan the passage, you should circle or underline those names from answer options. This will help you locate where you want to read more later.

A great optional strategy is to focus on how often each name or detail appears in the passage. If one of your answer options appears more often than another, it will be more difficult for you to pinpoint the answer. It could be helpful to write a star or symbol next to the areas in which the information is presented so that you can reference it later. Look out for options that appear once or twice in the passage - these will generally be easier to answer, and you may want to focus on these questions first.

Quick Tip! Since you may have to go back and forth in order to find the correct answer, follow this helpful tip. When you find that the entire name is listed in the passage (i.e 'Francis Lloyd Wright' rather than just 'Wright') it is a good sign that it is the first time the person has been mentioned. Usually, the passage will list only the last name of the person after he or she has been mentioned with his or her whole name

5. Skim the Paragraphs - As noted in the previous step, looking for information in the passage about the answer options is an important step. For those answer options that appear multiple times in the passage, you will need to skim the surrounding information in order to match them correctly with the options provided. Additionally, do not be surprised if you notice synonyms of the information provided in the options. For instance, the phrase "a decrease in available funds" could be included in the passage as "a drop in accessible investments".

After you've done this, start answering your questions. Some things may make immediate sense after having scanned the text, but some questions may take more time. Before we use these tips to look at an example, let's briefly discuss what not to do when answering the Matching Features question type.

1. Do not read the entire passage. As a general rule for the Reading section, it is not necessary and actually time-restrictive to read the entire passage, word for word. Be sure to use the scanning technique, first and foremost, for this section.

2. Do not get confused if the text includes synonyms of the information that is originally presented in the questions. This section is known for using synonyms and presenting information in different ways, which is why it's important to brush up on your vocabulary for this exam.

3. Do not write words or names on your answer sheet. The answers for this question type will be the letters that correspond to the various paragraphs.

4. Do not expect the answers to come in order. Since the questions do not follow the order of the text, you may have to go back and forth in order to find the correct answer. Obviously, this is why scanning is an important tool for this task.

Key tips

The statements will not appear in the same order in the text as they are listed in the instructions. Neither will the names appear in the same order that they are listed.

The statements will usually paraphrase information in the text.

Some of the names might be shortened in the text to an initial and surname, or just the first name or last name might be used. For example, ‘Gregor Borek’ may be shortened to ‘G. Borek’, ‘Gregor’ or ‘Borek’.

It can be helpful to have different colored pens to underline the different names in the text.

Don’t spend too long on any one statement. If you get stuck, move on to the next one. Come back to it when you’ve eliminated other statements and there are thus fewer to choose from.

In some test papers, there will be more statements than there are names and you will be told in the instructions that you can use a letter (i.e. a name) more than once. This is the case in the following instructions from a real test paper.
The answer will not necessarily be in the main idea of a paragraph as in ‘matching headings’ questions. In ‘matching information’ questions, you will be looking for specific information. Some students confuse these two types of questions so be sure that you know which you are answering.

Common Problems

This is not an order question. That means answers could be anywhere in the reading passage, they do not come in order. That's why students need to have a good grasp of the complete picture of the whole passage.
There are so many students who tend to read a whole paragraph to answer this question. It takes a long time, and in fact, it's not a good strategy.
Some paragraphs may contain more than one answer, whereas some may contain none. This is a misleading issue for many students.
There is so much irrelevant information in each paragraph. You don't need to know all the information to answer this question. But many students dive deep into details and get lost. Eventually, they end up wasting time.

Recap
Here are some brief tips to remember when approaching this question type:

Do:

Read the questions first and circle or underline any keywords.
Scan the passage looking for information provided in the features and also the questions.
Skim as necessary in the areas surrounding the keywords and features in the passage.
Write letters on your answer sheet.
Remember that answers will not come in order.

Don’t:

Read the passage first.
Read for general information! You want to read for specific details, use the scanning method first, and then skim as necessary.
Repeat any letters if not instructed to do so in the directions.
Write any words in your answer booklet for this section.

FAQs
1. What are the skills required to attempt matching features questions?
Skills that you would require are scanning the text for names and features, recognizing paraphrasing and synonyms, and using context to figure out the meaning.

2. What are the names of matching features?
In this type, the general names are researchers, experts, and scientists.

3. What will be the statement about?
Normally, you will have to deal with research findings, theories, years, and places.

Tips and Solutions:

I suggest you answer this question first. Because you can get a good understanding of the whole passage if you do this question first. The remaining questions will be much easier for you.
Skim the reading passage to understand the general meaning of it. Scan and mark the paragraphs that you guess contain the answer.
Always be aware of synonyms and paraphrases. You know the same word can provide different meanings, likewise, the same meaning can be represented by different words. For example, you might see the word "dramatic" in the reading text, whereas in the question sentence the word might be "theatrical".
Identify the keywords in the question sentence. It can be a name, a place, a number, and a date, etc. These are relatively easy to locate in the reading text.

Sample Practice

Below is a sample practice. Give it a try! Remember to click either General Training or Academic based on the IELTS test you are taking or plan to take.

Pronunciation and Physiognomy
Imagine the scene: you are sitting on the tube anti on guts someone you instinctively feel Is American, To make sure you ask them the time, fend is light, but how did you know?

A. The writer Arthur Hue’s tier onto remarked that friends of his, whom he met thirty years after they emigrated to the United States, had acquired an “American physiognomy”, i.e. a broadened jaw, an appearance which is also prevalent In the indigenous population. An anthropologist friend of his attributed this to the increased use of the jaw musculature In American enunciation. This “change of countenance” in immigrants had already been observed by the historian M. Fishberg in 1910. To paraphrase the philosopher Emerson, certain national, social and religious groups, such as ageing actors, long-term convicts and celibate priests, to give just a few examples, develop a distinguishing “look”, which is not easily defined, but readily recognised, Their way of life affects their facial expression and physical features, giving the mistaken impression that these traits are of hereditary or racial” origin. All the factors mentioned above contribute, as well as heredity, lint the question of appearance being affected by pronunciation, as in the ease of American immigrants (including those from other English speaking countries) over the course of many years, is of great interest and culls fur further study into the science of voice production. This can only benefit those working in the field of speech therapy, elocution and the pronunciation of foreign languages, and help the student from a purely physiological point of view, Naturally, the numerous psychological and socio-linguistic factors that inhibit most adult learners of foreign languages from acquiring a “good” pronunciation constitute a completely different and no less important Issue that requires separate investigation.

B. The pronunciation of the various forms of English around the world today is affected by the voice being “plated” in different parts of the mouth, We use DUI-speech organs in certain ways to produce specific sounds, and these muscles have to practice to learn new phonemes, Non-Americans should look In the mirror while repeating “I really never heard of poor reward for valor with full use of the USA retroflex hi phoneme, and note what happens to their jawbones after three or four repetitions. Imagine the effect of these movements on the jaw muscles after twenty years! This phoneme is one of the most noticeable features of US English and one that non-A merit and is always exaggerated when mimicking the accent, Likewise, standard British REL is often parodied, and its whine of superiority mocked to the point of turning the end of one’s nose up as much as possible. Not only does this enhance the “performance”, but also begs the question of whether this look is the origin of the expression “stuck up”?

Questions 1-3
Write the appropriate letter in Boxes 1-3 on your answer sheet.

Note that there are more Observations than people, so you will not use all of them.

You can use each observation once only.

Use the information in the text to match the People listed (1-3) with the Observations (1-vii).

People
28 Koestler

29 Fishberg

30 Emerson

Observations
i. Americans use their jaw more to enunciate

ii. Immigrants acquire physiognomical features common among the Indigenous population

iii. Facial expression and physical features arc hereditary

iv. Lifestyle affects physiognomy

v. Americans have a broadened jaw

vi. The appearance of his friends had changed since they moved to the United States

vii. The change of countenance was unremarkable

Answers
1. vi. The appearance of his friends had changed since they moved to the United States
2. ii. Immigrants acquire physiognomical features common among the Indigenous population
3. iv. Lifestyle affects physiognomy

Explanation
For the first question, the answer is in the first paragraph, 1st line; “The writer Arthur Hue’s tier onto remarked that friends of his, whom he met thirty years after they emigrated to the United States, had acquired an “American physiognomy”

For the second question, the answer is in a paragraph from 1st line, “The writer Arthur Hue’s tier onto remarked that friends of his, whom he met thirty years after they emigrated to the United States, had acquired an “American physiognomy”, i.e. a broadened jaw, an appearance which is also prevalent In the indigenous population. An anthropologist friend of his attributed this to the increased use of the jaw musculature In American enunciation. This “change of countenance” in immigrants had already been observed by the historian M. Fishberg in 1910,.” i. is incorrect because it was an anthropologist friend of Koestler who said this” ii. is not correct, because Koestler was talking about his friends rather than Immigrants in general; and v is not stated as a general principle.vi. is incorrect, because Plshberg was talking about immigrants in general, not his friends.

For the third question, the answer can be found In the first para paragraph, 9th line; “Their way of life affects their facial expression and physical features, giving the mistaken impression that these traits are of hereditary or racial” origin.”

iii. Is incorrect, because Emerson says this is a mistaken impression.

6. Strategy for IELTS Matching Sentence Endings Question:

In this ‘matching sentence endings’ question type, you will be given a list of incomplete sentences with no endings and another list with possible endings. Your job is to match the incomplete sentences with the correct ending based on the reading text.

This is not one of the more common questions but should be studied all the same.

You are being tested on your understanding of how the ideas in the sentences are connected to the main ideas in the reading text.

There are a number of incomplete sentences and you must match them with the correct endings. There will always be more options than you actually need.

In the exam, there are normally 5-6 incomplete sentences and 8-9 optional endings.

Tips for Matching Sentence Endings:

The answers are in the same order in the text as they are in the questions, so the answer to question 2 will be after the answer to question 1 and so on. Locate question one first and then you know where to begin.
Try to predict how each sentence will end before you look at the endings.
Start with the incomplete sentences first before you look at the endings or the text. There are more endings than required, so looking at all of these in detail is a waste of time.
Think of synonyms and paraphrases that the examiners could be using instead of exactly the same words. You will have to match meanings and not the exact words. Thus, look for paraphrasing and words.
All of the sentence endings appear in the text, but you don’t need to read all of them, just the ones that you decide to match with the incomplete sentences.
When highlighting keywords, it is often a good idea to highlight any names, including place names, or dates. These are often easy to find in the reading text.
Don’t just match words. Make sure the meaning in the reading text matches.
Spend more time on the first question because this is the most difficult. You have lots of different options for the first question and it will take you more time to work out the answer. The last question should take you much less time because you have fewer options to choose from.
Use the elimination process to get the correct answer.
Don’t read the complete text until you have studied the incomplete sentences and the endings.
Only read the relevant sentences.
You must ensure that the grammatical structure of the two halves of the sentence is matching correctly.

Strategy for Matching Sentence Endings:

This is my suggested strategy. There are many different strategies and you should use the one you feel comfortable with. You can also adapt this strategy to what suits you.

Read the question carefully. It will be easier to spot the answer.
To start with, read the incomplete sentences and understand the meaning first, and don’t look at the endings yet. Try to understand what they mean and highlight any keywords especially names, places, or dates.
Highlight all of the keywords as this will help concentrate on the meaning and discover the words you will be scanning in the text.
Predict what the endings might be before looking at them. Think about what word type (verbs, nouns, adjectives, adverbs) makes the sentence grammatically correct.
To get the basic idea, look at the endings but not too much in detail. Try to see if there are any obvious answers.
Now, begin looking for potential matches. Many of the possibilities will be wrong because of the grammatical structure or their meaning. Thus, remove these immediately.
Eliminate endings that definitely cannot match. Think about grammar, collocations, and meaning.
Match the endings you think might be correct. Write two or three options if necessary.
Find the correct part of the reading text for each incomplete sentence. Be careful with synonyms and paraphrases when scanning.
Understand the meaning of that part of the text and choose the correct answer.
Once you have found the answer, double-check the matched sentence that is grammatically correct and fill in the answer.

Common Problems:

Lots of people think that they can answer these questions by using logic and grammar and they don’t look at the reading text. They think this will save them time and they can work out the answer quickly just by looking at the answers and matching the sentences that make the most sense. Don’t do this. It is a test of your understanding of the reading text more than a test of how sentences generally go together.

The examiner will try and trick you by connecting ideas in the reading text to endings that are not the correct answer. Remember that you are matching incomplete sentences to endings, not endings to the text.

Many people look for the exact words contained in the question in the reading text. The examiners will probably use synonyms and paraphrasing instead of exactly the same words. Don’t waste your time looking for words that exactly match the text, instead look for synonyms and paraphrases.

Sample Practice

Telepathy

Can human beings communicate by thought alone? For more than a century the issue of telepathy has divided the scientific community, and even today it still sparks bitter controversy among top academics.

A. Since the 1970s, parapsychologists at leading universities and research institutes around the world have risked the derision of sceptical colleagues by putting the various claims for telepathy to the test in dozens of rigorous scientific studies. The results and their implications are dividing even the researchers who uncovered them. Some researchers say the results constitute compelling evidence that telepathy is genuine. Other parapsychologists believe the field is on the brink of collapse, having tried to produce definitive scientific proof and failed. Sceptics and advocates alike do concur on one issue, however, that the most impressive evidence so far has come from the so-called ‘ganzfeld’ experiments, a German term that means ‘whole field’. Reports of telepathic experiences had by people during meditation led parapsychologists to suspect that telepathy might involve ‘signals’ passing between people that were so faint that they were usually swamped by normal brain activity. In this case, such signals might be more easily detected by those experiencing meditation-like tranquillity in a relaxing ‘whole field’ of light, sound and warmth.

B. Various theories have been put forward, many focusing on esoteric ideas from theoretical physics. They include ‘quantum entanglement’, in which events affecting one group of atoms instantly affect another group, no matter how far apart they may be. While physicists have demonstrated entanglement with specially prepared atoms, no-one knows if it also exists between atoms making up human minds. Answering such questions would transform parapsychology. This has prompted some researchers to argue that the future lies not in collecting more evidence for telepathy, but in probing possible mechanisms. Some work has begun already, with researchers trying to identify people who are particularly successful in autoganzfeld trials. Early results show that creative and artistic people do much better than average: in one study at the University of Edinburgh, musicians achieved a hit-rate of 56 per cent. Perhaps more tests like these will eventually give the researchers the evidence they are seeking and strengthen the case for the existence of telepathy.

Questions 1-3

Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A —G, below.

Write the correct letter, A—G, in boxes 1-3 on your answer sheet.

Researchers with differing attitudes towards telepathy agree on
Reports of experiences during meditation indicated
Attitudes to parapsychology would alter drastically with

A the discovery of a mechanism for telepathy.

B the need to create a suitable environment for telepathy.

C their claims of a high success rate.

D a solution to the problem posed by random guessing.

E the significance of the ganzfeld experiments.

F a more careful selection of subjects.

G a need to keep altering conditions.

Answers

1. the significance of the ganzfeld experiments.

2. the need to create a suitable environment for telepathy.

3. the discovery of a mechanism for telepathy.

Explanation

For the first question, the answer is in the first para, seventh line; “Sceptics and advocates alike do concur on one issue, however, that the most impressive evidence so far has come from the so-called ‘ganzfeld’ experiments, a German term that means ‘whole field’.”

For the second question, the answer is in the first para, ninth line; “Reports of telepathic experiences had by people during meditation led parapsychologists to suspect that telepathy might involve ‘signals’ passing between people that were so faint that they were usually swamped by normal brain activity. In this case, such signals might be more easily detected by those experiencing meditation-like tranquillity in a relaxing ‘whole field’ of light, sound and warmth.”

For the third question, the answer is in the second para, fifth line; “Answering such questions would transform parapsychology. This has prompted some researchers to argue that the future lies not in collecting more evidence for telepathy, but in probing possible mechanisms.”

FAQs

1. What are the skills required to attempt matching sentence endings questions?

You should know how to scan keywords, recognise grammatical structures, identify paraphrasing and synonyms, and using context to make predictions.

2. What type of keywords should I underline?

You can underline keywords like modal verbs, nouns, names, numbers, dates, places, and more.

3. Will I get sentences exactly as mentioned in the passage?

No, you will not get exact sentences. They will be paraphrased and synonyms will be used.

7. Flow Chart Completion, Summaries & Tables

Flow-chart completion questions test your ability to understand details and/or the main ideas of a section of the passage.

Here are some key points about Flow-chart completion questions:

You’ll be asked to complete a flow-chart by selecting words from the passage. It’s much less common, but you could be asked to select from a list of possible answers instead.
The flow-chart will summarise a sequence of events in a process.
The answers don’t necessarily occur in order in the passage but will usually come from one part of the passage rather than being spread across the entire passage.
They’re generally used with descriptive passages.

Recommended strategy:
Here’s my recommended strategy for answering Flow-chart completion questions. I’ll use Question 1 to demonstrate the steps you need to take.

Step 1 > Quickly study the flow-chart
Don’t spend too long on this step. Your goal is to gain a general understanding of what the flow-chart is summarising. Pay attention to the title (if there is one). This will help you find the relevant part of the passage.

Step 2 > Identify key words
Key words are the important words that help you understand the focus of the question. Key words include names, places and figures, as well as nouns, verbs and adjectives.

You can look for key words in the title (if there is one). Each box or step in the flow-chart will also contain key words. Here’s the first part of the flow-chart with the key words highlighted.

'Grants' seems to be a proper noun of some kind – most likely someone’s surname. The fact that it starts with a capital letter will make it easy to find in the reading passage. Another useful key word is 'early 1977' because numbers tend to stand out in the passage.

Step 3 > Scan the passage to find the key words
Once you’ve identified the key words, you can scan for them in the passage. It’s important to keep in mind that synonyms – words and phrases with the same or a similar meaning – are often used in the passage rather than the actual key words from the question, so you need to look for them, too.

Step 4 > Read carefully
Once you’ve found the relevant part of the passage, read it carefully and decide on your answer. You should always read the sentences before and after the sentences that contain key words to make sure you don’t miss anything.

Final tips

Here are some important final tips:

Remember that the answers don’t necessarily occur in order in the passage.
Remember that all of your answers must be words from the passage.

READING TIPS from IDP India, British Council, and University of Cambridge.

1. To improve your performance in the Reading test you need to practice reading a variety of English texts. This will help you develop the ability to read quickly, as is required under test conditions.

2. Read every question carefully first before reading the passages. This will make it easier for you to find the answers. Underline possible answers as you go.

3. When you come to reading the passage, read it quickly the first time in order to get a general idea of what it’s about. Don’t worry about words you do not understand. Then read each question again to remind yourself which parts of the passage you will need to read again in detail.

4. The Reading passages always contain the information you need to answer the question. You won’t have to use your own knowledge of a topic.

5. If you are copying words from a question or reading passage to use in your answer, remember that your
spelling must be accurate. The Reading test may sometimes include questions which test your overall understanding of a passage. For example, the question may ask what the topic of a particular passage is. Try underlining key words and ideas in each paragraph as you read to help you understand the key message of each passage.

6. Circle or underline key words as you read. For example, if a reading passage contains many place names or dates, circle them as you go along. This will make it easier to find these details later, if they come up in any of the questions.

7. If you are asked to label a diagram, you will find the words you need in the text. Be sure to copy them carefully from the text with the correct spelling.

8. If there are questions you cannot answer, leave them and move on to the next question. This will help you to stay calm and positive. Go back to those questions at the end, if you have time.

9. Make sure you write down your answers for the Reading test on the answer sheet - not the question paper. There will b e no extra time to transfer your answers after the Reading test.

IELTS Reading FAQs

Are the IELTS reading papers the same for both Academic and General Training?

The reading skills required (prediction, finding specific information, identifying opinion, etc.) are the same for both tests. Styles of the question, for example, multiple-choice, sentence completion, etc., are also the same for both the Academic and General Training papers.

The only difference is the type of text you will be given. This is to reflect the different expectations and motivations of both types of candidates. On the Academic paper, there will be three long academic texts that are similar to the type of reading you might expect at university. The readings are taken from academic journals, magazines, books, and newspapers.

On the General Training paper, you will be given a mixture of long and short texts of a much more general nature and some related to work or social situations. The readings are taken from notices, flyers, timetables, documents, newspapers, instructions and manuals.

How can I improve my reading?
You will find all of the free guidance you'll need for IELTS Reading on my Reading Mini-Course. It's completely free to join and has all the free strategies you will need to improve your IELTS Reading exam skills.

Can I use all capital letters?
Yes, as long as you are consistent with your answers.

How do I answer _____ questions?
You'll find strategies for each question type listed on the page below:

Do you have practice questions?
We do, but they are only available to our VIP Students.

How can I read faster?
This depends on a number of factors, but you'll find out the opt strategies to improve your fast reading skills tremendously.

How can I complete the reading test on time?
In short: improve your exam technique and your reading speed.

How many questions do I need to answer correctly?
That depends on the score you need to achieve. You'll find help with calculating your score here.

Do skimming and scanning work?
To a very limited extent. Read the following article if you wish to gain a comprehensive understanding of skimming and scanning and when to use them.

Is Band 7 good?
In order to score Band 7 in the Reading Section of the IELTS, one needs to get around 30 – 32 (Academic Test) and 34 – 35 (General Test) questions right out of a total of 40. It is a pretty good score. Band 7 and above are considered very good. Band 9 involves scoring 39 to all the questions right so that standards are pretty high.

How long should I spend on each text or passage?
You should be looking to spend around 20 minutes for each passage. There are 3 passages in total and an overall sectional limit of 60 minutes. Spend your time wisely.

Do all the answers come in order in the passage?
Nope. Answers do not always come in order in the passage for all Question Types. Short Answer questions, Sentence Completion, and the True / False Question Types usually come in order, but be prepared for any contingency and do not assume answers come in order. Train yourself to hunt for information.

What kind of passages appears in the Academic Test?
Passages are usually taken from books, newspapers, academic texts and journals, and online publications. They are of the university level and usually contain complex words, illustrations, and charts. The non-verbal parts of the passage are also important and useful.

Should I take the Academic Test or The General Test?
We have covered this at the beginning of this article.

Should I write the IELTS or TOEFL?
The answer can be found in this link. Do go through it!

Contact

I'm always looking for new and exciting opportunities. Let's connect.

http://insight-english-academy.business.site/
insightengy@gmail.com

887-008-5410

Insight English Academy, Madurai!

Travel Overseas

An Authorised TOEFL IBT & IDP IELTS Test Center!

A leading Overseas Educational and Jobs Consultant.

IELTS READING

Overview!

What’s the Difference Between the Academic and General Training Reading Test?

QUESTION TYPES OF READING MODULE

1. Multiple Choice Questions:

2. Identification of the author’s views/information within the passage:

3. Matching Information:

4. Matching Headings:

5. Matching features:

6. Matching Sentence Endings:

7. Flow-chart Completion, Summaries, and Tables:

8. Diagram-Label Completion:

16. Short Answer Questions:

IELTS Reading Task Focus

Key tips

Sample Practice

Telepathy

Questions 1-3

Answers

FAQs

1. What are the skills required to attempt matching sentence endings questions?

2. What type of keywords should I underline?

3. Will I get sentences exactly as mentioned in the passage?

Final tips

Contact

IELTS READING

Overview!

What’s the Difference Between the Academic and General Training Reading Test?

QUESTION TYPES OF READING MODULE

​

1. Multiple Choice Questions:

​

2. Identification of the author’s views/information within the passage:

​

3. Matching Information:

​

4. Matching Headings:

​

5. Matching features:

​

6. Matching Sentence Endings:

​

7. Flow-chart Completion, Summaries, and Tables:

​

8. Diagram-Label Completion:

​

16. Short Answer Questions:

IELTS Reading Task Focus

Key tips

Sample Practice

Telepathy

Questions 1-3

Answers

FAQs

1. What are the skills required to attempt matching sentence endings questions?

2. What type of keywords should I underline?

​

3. Will I get sentences exactly as mentioned in the passage?

Final tips

Contact