I get asked about IELTS reading on a daily basis so I have put together a list of the top 10 most asked questions about reading and given my answers.
1. Should I read the whole text?
Most IELTS students realise that this is actually not possible to do in the time (for most people). So the answer is no. By using good skimming techniques you should be able to glean enough of the meaning of the text to obtain an overview. Personally, I only skim the first paragraph and, like the introduction in your writing, this should give you a good idea of where the text is going.
2. How can I manage my time?
This is a million dollar question. There is quite a lot to do in a short spec of time. But it is possible to do it all in the time – otherwise they wouldn’t expect it. Your level of skill at reading will dictates how long it takes. The more skilful you are the less time it will take. The key is not to spend too long on any one question – just one minute. If you can’t find the answer move on and come back to it later. If there are too many questions to leave then your skill needs improving. Forget the time and go back to finding all the answers – however long it takes.
3. Why do I feel panic when I do the reading test?
This question is related to number 2 above. It is a fact that the more you look frantically for something the less you can find it! Many students I work with found the reading caused them to panic and therefore their scores were very low. Yet once they managed to take away the panic the score leapt up to Band 7 and even Band 8.
Recently one student had so many errors that it simply didn’t make any sense from her English level. Finally I realised that she had her eye on the clock at every question and this was making her so panicked that she was blind to even the easiest answers. Once she learned to ignore the time and just focus on the questions then the timing stopped being a problem and she managed to get a high score.
4. Which key words should I choose?
In reading, the more key words you have from the question the easier it is to match the place in the text. It will usually be 3 or 4 but sometimes in Section 3 especially, you may need to paraphrase the whole question. Some key words will get you the location (numbers, names, dates or topic-based words for example) and others will help you see if you have the right place (in the future, in the past , before… after…. etc.). Some will help you get exactly the right answer especially in TFNG (only, sometimes, always, never etc.).
5. How can I be sure my answer is correct?
You need to go backwards and forwards from question to text to be absolutely certain you have the right information. Then make sure that this information answers the question. The question is the key thing, so if you are trying to ‘squeeze’ the information from the text into the answer then it probably isn’t correct and you’ll have to see if this same information is also in another part of the reading text. This is why you need 3 or 4 keywords as they will help you to see if you are in the right place.
6. What if there are words I don’t understand?
This will happen from time to time. There are sometimes words that I don’t know especially in technical passages. Use the words around this word to help you to work out the meaning. If you can understand the meaning of the sentence without the unknown word then it isn’t important. If you can’t understand then you’ll have to guess at its meaning. If the question shows that this word is likely to be the answer then you’ll have to risk writing it down even if you don’t know it but your instinct should tell you if this is the correct word for the answer. Reading widely will help you to improve your vocabulary and also deal with words that you don’t know.
7. How can I improve mt vocabulary for reading?
The best way to improve vocabulary is by reading. Read anything magazine articles, blog posts, articles or novels it will all help. In my experience, the people who get high scores in reading are generally those with a good ‘reading habit’ not just in English but also in their own language. Try to read without consulting a dictionary and guess at words you don’t know. Only look words up where you really cannot understand. If you are new to reading widely then start with something that is familiar – articles about your own field or subject area or things that you are already interested in – in that way the topic will be familiar and you will be able to understand more.
8. I don’t understand the passages so how can I find the answers?
If you are struggling a lot with understanding the meaning of the passages then it could be that your English language level is not yet ready for the band you want. The best thing to do is to go back and do more general English practice and then come back to IELTS in a little while. This would be the best advice. However, if you have already booked your IELTS test then this may not be practical so in that case take your time with the passages and try to find all the answers without timing. This is good advice for anyone struggling with the time issue – focus on getting the answers correct first before you start to worry about the time. In most cases as you get more answers correct so the time will improve.
9. How can I master YNNG and TFNG?
These questions can be quite tricky especially in Section 3. Firstly you need to really understand the question (statement). Try paraphrasing it for yourself so that you know EXACTLY the answer you are looking for. Turn it into a proper yes/no question e.g.
If the question says: ‘He loved travelling by train even when he was a child’ change it to (in your head) ‘Did he really love travelling by train even as a child?’ In this way you can answer your question ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ and if you can’t answer the question from the information in the passage then it must be NG.
Address every word in these questions they are all important. If they are in section 3 then you may need to paraphrase even more and also look at not only the sentence with the specific information but the one before and after too.
10. My reading score fluctuate from band 6 to band 7.5 why is this?
The most common reason for this is that there is a type of question (often YNNG) or types of questions that cause you some problems and when you get several of these in a reading they will make your score drop. The key is to focus on these question types and make sure that you can get the answers correct. If you don’t, then this fluctuation will continue.
Another possible reason is that you score well when the reading passages are about topics that are familiar to you and when they are not then you are challenged by them. If this is the reason then you need to read more widely to improve your vocabulary (see number 6).
Doing test after test and not addressing these specific issues means that your score will always depend on what you get in the test rather than on your ability to deal with new vocabulary or all question types. By focusing on what you struggle with and you’ll find that your score will go higher and stay higher.