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IELTS Reading Methods

IELTS Reading Skills

There are many factors to take into account before taking the IELTS reading exam. You must have a strong vocabulary, high reading speed, and other skills. But at its foundation, you need sound tactics if you want to stand a fair chance of succeeding.

In this session, I'll go through a few tactics you can use to raise your IELTS reading results. Some of these will be general approaches that direct how you take the test, while others will be more targeted approaches that direct how you approach certain passages or problems.

The fact that there is no one ideal technique and that people have attained band 9 by approaching the exam in

1. QUICKLY READ THE TEXT BEFORE START

The reason why this is probably the most popular piece of advice you will hear from IELTS trainers worldwide is that doing so will make it easier for you to get the answers you need and will enable you to finish the test quickly.

The approach is straightforward: skim the text rapidly before you even consider the question. This entails swiftly skimming the headlines and skimming the paragraphs to look for keywords and other important information. Don't obsess about small details. Gain a general understanding of the subject without diving deep.

This strategy is excellent and most people find it effective. However, some instructors advise carrying out things slightly differently.

2. FIRST READ THE QUESTIONS

Don't try to implement both of these suggestions because this is the opposite of the prior one.

In essence, this approach advises reading the questions first, then diving into the material. Read the questions first so that you know what to expect from the content and what to pay attention to as you read, rather than skimming it for a broad concept.

You can quickly read the text after reading the questions to start identifying potential responses. After that, you can carefully answer each question one at a time. Easy!

3. USE SYNONYMS TO YOUR ADVANTAGE BY LEARNING THEM

Synonyms are vital to IELTS reading performance. Anyone who has taken a few practice exams or an actual exam will be aware of this. Let's examine an illustration:

Which portion of the following includes the information? An illustration of a domestic good manufactured with superior gum.

As a result, we can locate the appropriate passage in a lengthy article by looking up synonyms and illustrations.

4. LET YOUR CHOICES BE GUIDED BY GRAMMAR

One of the best things about IELTS reading is that you don't need to be a grammar expert, which is challenging. But knowing the fundamentals of grammar will truly help you make the best decision. Fundamentally, you should be able to determine whether a gap needs to be filled with a verb, noun, or adjective. Knowing that alone may prevent you from committing an enormous error. Additionally, you must be able to determine whether a word is singular or plural and, in some circumstances, whether it is a single word or a lengthier phrase.

Here's another illustration:

Complete the following notes:

Among the responsibilities

- producing writing for a variety of purposes, both for IFCES and a larger readership.

The answer to this sentence can be found in the section titled "Responsibilities":

Write and edit content for publications like Chemical Engineering Monthly that are meant for both internal and external use.

So how can grammar be used to determine the correct response?

Since "internal" and "external" are adjectives and we need to discover a noun, we know the answer can't be any of those. Additionally, "internal and external use" is meant by "both IFCES and a larger readership." We cannot use the word "copy" since the word "several" indicates that we require a plural noun. NOTE: Because we are unable to change the meaning of words, it is also impossible to state "several copies."

5. The questions are listed in order.

It's crucial to keep in mind this. The questions and answers on the IELTS reading section will be in the same order (IDP confirmed this), so if you get questions 4 and 6 right and are looking for question 5, you know where to look!

The answers are in sequence for the IELTS reading approach.

This can assist you in focusing your search, so long as there isn't a huge difference between the two replies. Once you've done that, you can return to steps 3 and 4 to find the solution.

6. figuring out challenging vocabulary

Although having a strong vocabulary is vital for IELTS reading, you will unavoidably come across words that you are unfamiliar with. When I take practice reading examinations, even I occasionally run into strange words! Despite being a native speaker and a skilled writer, there are occasionally some scientific terms that I do not understand.

So, what should I do in this circumstance?

It depends. I will just omit a term if it is not necessary to the question's solution. After all, thinking about anything if it isn't necessary is a waste of my time.

I will infer the word's meaning from context if I need to know what it means (i.e., if it is present in a place where I anticipate finding the solution). I'll need to read the sentences before and after this word to gather information for it. Other hints may be found elsewhere in the passage, but most of the time you can determine it from the words around it.

For example, say:

Due to growing concerns of a Russian invasion, the US government has ordered all American staff members at the US embassy in Ukraine to leave the country with their families. The US embassy in Kyiv's staff members' dependents was informed by the state department that they had to leave the country. Also mentioned was that non-essential embassy personnel