1. Skimming
Skimming means going through the whole passage in just 2-3 minutes to have just a rough
idea of what the passage is about and what each paragraph contains. You do not need to
read it thoroughly and understand the meanings or waste time trying to recall meaning of
a difficult word which you cannot understand in the passage. No matter how thoroughly
you read, after reading the questions, you will not be able to answer them perfectly
without coming back to the passage. Therefore, you have to “skim” it; just pass over the
surface of the text.
Skimming is the most important of the IELTS Reading tips. For skimming, read the 1st
paragraph at a speed triple than your normal reading. The first para will usually tell
you about the main idea of the passage and what sort of information to expect in the
coming paras. Then read the 1st line of each coming para with the same speed and the
rest of the para at a speed at least 5-6 times of the normal. Read the last para of the
passage again at the triple speed as it usually contains the conclusion.
2. Identifying keywords
During the skimming process, you have to identify and underline the keywords. Keywords
are those words which can usually appear as they are without paraphrasing in the
question statements. For example, names of the persons, dates, places, abbreviations and
terminologies.
3. Scanning
Now that you have skimmed and underlined the keywords in 2-3 minutes, read the first
question and come back to the passage. Scan for the information asked. Your previous
skimming and underlined keywords will help you quickly identify the right place in the
passage where the relevant information is located. Find the information, be confident
and mark the answer. Skimming and scanning combined are the most essential IELTS Reading
tips or methodologies to score 7 or higher bands in IELTS Reading.
4. Reading the question statement carefully
You must read the question statement carefully so that you do not miss out any
instructions. For instance, if you are asked to write the correct answer’s serial number
in the answer box and instead of the serial number you write the related word(s), you
lose marks.
5. Paraphrasing
Except the words which cannot be paraphrased (dates, names, places, terms), be ready to
get everything paraphrased in the question statements (question text as well as the
choices given). So keep an open mind for the meaning and synonyms. For example, if the
passage talks about buildings using the word “building” then most probably in the
question statement words like “property”, “establishment”, “structure” will be used.
6. Time Management
To effectively manage the time is another one of the essential IELTS Reading tips. The
passages given in the test are quite long and it is really hard to keep up with the
clock as we have only 60 minutes to answer 40 different questions. Therefore, you have
to strictly stick to the skimming and scanning technique. It does not matter at all
whether you get the full knowledge delivered in the passage or not. Your task is just to
answer what is asked and that’s it. No need to increase your knowledge in these 60
minutes. You have got a whole life for that.
It often happens that a passage comes which makes the reader interested. For instance,
if you are an MBA and you get a passage discussing the latest business strategies being
deployed in the world, probability is that you will be sucked into the text.
7. Ordering
Questions appear in order. If question no. 1 has answer in line 1 of the para 1, then
question 2 will be located after the line 1. Gaps may be wide, so do not panic. If you
find that question no. 3 has answer in line 4 of the para 2, then question 2 must be
located between line 1 of para 1 and line 4 of the para 2. This rule generally applies
to all sort of questions expect the matching information type.
8. Guess if you don't know
Another essential and very easy to apply IELTS Reading tip is to guess. There is no
negative marking for wrong answers. Hence, if you cannot answer a question confidently
even after pondering upon it again at the end of the test, make a guess. Do not leave
any question unanswered.
9. Write answers directly on answer sheet
At the start of exam, you are given a separate answer sheet where you must write all
answers. You will not be given any extra time beyond the 60 minutes test time to write
answers on the answer sheet. Hence, one of the most crucial IELTS Reading tips is that
you write answers directly on the answer sheet rather than noting down on the question
paper and then transferring them to the answer sheet.
10. Write in CAPS
Next in the IELTS Reading tips is to write in capital letters. Since it is allowed to
write down the answers on answer sheet in upper case, hence it is better to write in
caps. Because if you write in lower case, then you have to take care of the first letter
capital in case of certain words. For example, if you write “america”, you lose marks;
if you write “America” or “AMERICA” you gain.
11. Do not use your previous knowledge
Whatever is asked in the question paper, the answers MUST lie in the relevant passage.
If there is no mention in the passage then you must not use your own judgement or prior
knowledge of the topic. It can happen in the YES/NO/NOT GIVEN or TRUE/FALSE/NOT GIVEN
section that the information is NOT GIVEN in the passage but on the basis of previous
knowledge, one answers in either YES or NO; you lose marks in this case.
12. Write clearly
Another vital member of the IELTS Reading tips is to write clearly. It is preferable to
write a Y for YES, T for TRUE, F for FALSE, NG for NOT GIVEN to save the time. However,
you should write these letters in uppercase and write very clearly. If the examiner is
unable to differentiate between a T and an F then you lose marks.
13. Cutting and Over-Writing
Last of the 13 essential IELTS Reading tips is to correctly use cutting and over-writing
option. You have ample space to write word or words in the answer box. If you write
something wrong, it is absolutely fine to strike-through it and write the correct one in
front of it. Do not over-write on the previous one. It may render the whole word
illegible for examiner.