What should you do during the reading exam to answer the questions correctly? here are the IELTS Reading Tips, Tricks and Strategies
1. Skim the Text: Reading as quickly as possible to get the gist
Speed-read the text without worrying about what you do not know.
a) Highlight proper names, acronyms & numbers e.g. Britain, USA, 50.
b) Focus on facts and figures e.g. Russia is the world’s largest country.
c) Read and underline the first line & last line of each paragraph.
d) Analyse the title and main subheading to perceive main text theme.
e) Headline each paragraph using relevant words from within the text.
2. Scan the Questions: Investigating critical points of detail
Study the questions to research what information you need to find.
a) Note how many questions there are and which pages contain them.
b) Review the question formats to determine which are most difficult.
c) Highlight the key points of detail within the questions.
d) Cross-reference the questions to the corresponding paragraphs.
e) Isolate the sections of the text relevant to the questions.
3. Guess the Answers: Attempting the questions assumptively
Respond to the questions using your intuition and instincts.
a) Eliminate factually impossible answers from alternative options.
b) Deduce the logical grammatical form of missing words.
c) Choose the most practically probable answer from common sense.
d) Make assumptions from your own global subject knowledge.
e) Imagine the likeliest answers from your memory of the base text.
4. Check the Guesses: Reviewing evidence to confirm presumptions
Look back at your draft answers to see whether they are really correct.
a) Justify your initial attempts by referring to textual evidence.
b) Decide whether your original answer makes logical sense.
c) Validate whether the words you use correspond to those in the text.
d) Ensure grammar, spelling, punctuation & handwriting is correct.
e) Note whether you have used the correct number of words/integers.
