Are you the one preparing for the IELTS test and seeking for best IELTS reading tips? This blog is for you.
The Reading section in IELTS is considered as one of the difficult parts, especially for the non-native English speakers. Most aspirants face hurdles while attempting the reading module on the test day like synonyms, paraphrases, vocabulary, etc.
This is because English is a second language, and is not given much importance among several countries such as India and China.
IELTS’ Reading section is completely academic with Jargon and Sheer fluency. Accent, pronunciation, and intonation are the three key factors that every IELTS test-taker should focus on.
Aspirants usually get taught to follow IELTS Reading tips for better performance.
In fact, they don’t alone help them unless they implement the following ways to improve the IELTS Reading score. Without delay, let’s jump onto the top 10 tips to improve IELTS reading skills.
1. Read Instructions Carefully
To pass the examination and achieve a good score in IELTS reading, instructions were written to help you. Here are some instructions are given in IELTS reading:
- No more than one word
- Two words
- One word and a number
- Two words and a number
2. Practice Reading Academic texts
Make it a habit of reading general texts in your free time as most IELTS texts are general academic texts. Moreover, they can be obtained from distinct sources including textbooks, journals, and magazines.
However, if you are not familiar with reading these sorts of texts in English then start reading them so that you can become familiar with the words and language.
Trying to understand each word is time-consuming. Hence, read the complete sentence and try to understand the damn word.
3. Skim and Scan
If it’s speed reading, skimming and scanning are your accelerators. Because there’s a really limited time of an hour to answer 40 questions, every second is precious.
Skim:
On defining them, skimming focuses on the central idea of the given paragraph and thus, you need to read only a part of the given text.
This is not new! You are doing this fairly often while checking out news within the newspaper, researching during a long article.
You will read the primary sentence (if needed, the second also) and therefore the last sentence of the paragraph to know the main idea of the text.
Scan:
This is done once you need to look for a phrase or a keyword within the text. While doing this, you’ve got to underline the actual details like dates, places, names or events, etc. they could be useful for you at any point in the test.
Scan the text for the keywords you find in the questions. This system would assist you to save time.
4. Time Management
Managing time is one of the most crucial skills for test-takers, so choose passages of between 700 and 1000 words. Allocate yourself 20 minutes to note the key phrases and the main idea, before summarising what you read.
Also, practice making up questions to go with the passage you have read using typical IELTS question types, such as:
- Multiple choices
- True/false/not given
- Matching headings
- Sentence completion
In the IELTS Reading section, if you don’t know any answer, skip it move on without spending much time feeling worried. You can come back to it later.
5. Spellings
This is one of the most common mistakes done by the IELTS test takers; check your spellings twice before writing it in the blank.
For incorrect spellings, you will get zero marks. There will be no excuses for wrong spellings while reading.
6. Follow the Order of Questions
This is one of the key aspects to consider for IELTS reading. However, most test-takers ignore this.
In some kinds of questions, the question order is based on the text while in some other types, it doesn’t. Remember to observe the questions order.
Moreover, it helps in answering the questions easily thus saves time.
7. Enjoy Reading
It is important that you simply enjoy your reading experience. Reading for pleasure not only causes you to want to read more, but it also improves your reading skills. These include the skill of that specialize in what’s most important:
- Following the author’s main ideas
- Increasing your vocabulary
- Developing an awareness of synonyms
Take every opportunity to read. Newspapers, magazines, and journals are great to read while traveling by bus, train, or – for instance – while expecting a doctor’s appointment.
Longer sorts of literature, like novels or non-fiction books, could be better within the comfort of your home. The important thing is to realize the experience of reading what you enjoy during a sort of format.
8. Guess the Meaning from Context
Unless you’re a really proficient user of English, there’ll presumably be some or several words that you simply don’t understand. When this happens, you ought to attempt to guess the meaning from the context.
This suggests watching the words and sentences around the word you do not know so you’ll make an informed guess on what it means. However, you do not have much time, so do that as quickly as you will. Advance quickly though if you do not know – the word might not be important anyway.
9. Practice your reading skills Not the IELTS skills
Get familiar with the IELTS reading test and tips to gain an understanding of the questions given in the IELTS reading section. It is essential to improve your general reading skills rather than practicing for IELTS.
Practice reading English phrases for some time every day so that you can improve your English skills as well as vocabulary. There are thousands of newspapers, blogs, and magazines to choose from online. Practicing regularly helps you become perfect.
10. Take a Mock Test
Taking mock tests frequently would help you in several aspects of your test.
- Develops time management skills
- Makes you adaptive to the test environment
- Builds your own tips and techniques
- Evaluates skill through feedback
- No nervousness at the test time
- This boosts your confidence levels
Follow these IELTS Reading tips to increase your IELTS band score. Remember that reading practice is essential for success on IELTS Reading.
