After training 1000’s of students for IELTS and after taking feedback from students, we found that students find the IELTS Reading section is the most challenging.
The IELTS Academic reading consists of 3 passages, 40 questions that need to be answered in 60 minutes. The three passages are of varied length. Usually, it is the first passage, which is the shortest and easiest. the second passage is lengthier and more difficult and the third passage is the lengthiest and the most difficult.
The most important tip that we can give is to manage your time well! Pick up the shortest passage first and try and solve it within 15 minutes. The second passage, which is slightly lengthier and more difficult, should be allotted 20 minutes. The third passage which is the lengthiest and the most difficult should be given 25 minutes.
Managing time is not easy if your approach is skewed. We have always advised out students to not devote too much time towards reading the passage. A quick run through should be sufficient. Find out the central theme of the passage and move to the questions. Your energy and time should be spent in reading, understanding the questions and then findings the answers. Students typically spend more time reading the passage and are left with little for the questions. Understanding the question correctly is the most important as only then you will be able to find the correct answer.
If you are not able to locate the answer – move on. Getting stuck with a question is a common and happens to alot of students. Our brain plays this little trick with us. It tells us that if we haven’t answered a question we cannot go on to the next one. IELTS is a pen and paper test and hence you enjoy the freedom of moving on to the next question without answering the previous one. You can always come back to it with a fresh mind. Getting stuck means losing precious time.
Before you select an answer go through all the available choices. It’s English not maths! There is no perfect answer. There is the best available choice. Go through all the answers; eliminate them one by one and you will automatically be left with the right choice. Even if you are dead sure that it is (a) which is the right choice make sure that you go through all of them. You never know – there maybe a better answer!
IELTS reading is not only about your language skills – It is about logic and reasoning abilities as well. Especially, question types like Yes, No, Not Given require that you apply logic. We have at several occasions come across students whose language skills were not the best but managed to perform well on the reading section because of their ability to use logic.
At Rosemounts we prime you for success. Our IELTS classes are not about teaching English but revolve around the essentials. We take the clutter away and help you focus on the techniques required to ace the IELTS exam.
Contact us to register for our IELTS sessions and ACE your exam!
