IELTS Reading

IELTS Reading is a language proficiency test where your ability to comprehend a text is tested. It is designed to test your understanding of language complexities.

The IELTS reading test is different for General and Academic based candidates. The duration of time given to complete both these papers is 60 minutes and candidates have to answer 40 questions carrying 1 mark each; although the content of the reading passage is entirely different for these two types of reading.

You get 4 to 5 long passages to read for IELTSGeneral Paperand 3 long passages forAcademic test paper. The subject varies for General test paper as the topics are taken from various types of magazines, pamphlets, or advertisements, and could be of non-academic content. The academic passages have topics selected from newspapers, journals, books and magazines.

The pattern of questions is different for each section ranging from Match the headings, True or false or Not given, Multiple choice questions, complete the sentences, summary completion, identifying information, matching information, Matching features, Diagram labelling and Note, Table and Flow chart completion.

For paper-based students, once the paper is completed the candidates must write their  answers on the answer sheet given. There is no extra time given for paper-based students to transfer their answers into the answer sheet.

The skills a candidate needs to adopt for reading

• The texts are always paraphrased. It means that similar words or ideas given in the question would be hidden behind different wordings and expressions in the text. For example, a sentence in the passage for summary completion is given as, “the pigment called Egyptian blue, however in the answer option,it is “known as Egyptian Blue”. So identifying the word in relation to the text is crucial for 100% scores.

• Look out for keywords; find the exact location of the rephrased answer in the text and compare it with the keywords in your answer, and that would be your correct answer. For example, a sentence in the question says,“this spice became the main source of food and drink”. The keyword is “main”and ‘spice’. In the reading passage the word main is paraphrased as “primary”.Write a number or make a sign on top of the question answered. This will give you more certainty and you can avoid guesses.

• When you begin with reading,it is important to look out for the Title of the passage; it would help you to understand the passage better. For example, if you know that the passage is about Global warming, it is easier to answer in accordance to the subject given. Any special features like capital letters, underlining italics, graphs and tables should be noted.

• Follow the instructions carefully; do not include more words than required. Your answer would be marked incorrect. If the question suggests not more than 2 words, do not add more words, for example, the passage says water of molecules, the answer should be water molecules.

• Improve your reading speed to practice time management. You need to use a pointer to increase your speed and skim through the passage by underlining important events, places, names and dates, however, make sure to read the comprehension passage or you might not recall anything. Hence, make it a point to learn by reading passages from online practice sites. Just remember you are reading for a purpose and not to retain every word you read.

• The answer for all the questions are there in the passage, so do not change the form of the word in the text and use words from the text only.

• Do not get confused with  suffixes and prefixes as they may suggest a different meaning, for example, suffixes such as  harm – harmless, express – expression and prefixes such as friendly – unfriendly, circle – semicircle.

• Time management is very important. In case you do not know the answer, do not spend too much time on it, either leave it for later, mark it with some symbol, or color, if not make a quick guess. There is no negative marking for IELTS, hence you need to move quickly to the next question.

IELTS exam requires preparation time. You need to prepare by practicing on different types of questions, as well as take mock tests regularly to get familiar with the exam pattern. This will help you to develop reading skills.