6. Practice Focusing On The Ideas, Not The Words
When reading a paragraph, focus on the ideas and not the words. This approach is relevant in your Reading test (General Training) that has three sections. Here, each section has two or three factual texts (short-texts) and slightly longer texts on a generic topic, work-related issues, etc. To do well, re-read and rephrase its key ideas in your own words. Please remember that the answers you look for will be definitely rephrased.
7. Try Different Exam Strategies And Choose The Best
Start with a cursory reading to grasp the general idea of what it’s about. Once familiar, you can read it carefully to find the answers. Otherwise, you may read the text only to focus on the information and then go to the question and its options. Try these different exam strategies and choose the best one for you.
8. Improve Your Reading Vocabulary
Improving your IELTS reading vocabulary brings you one step closer to your targeted score. It’s not about learning the meaning of a word. But when you can it and can’t use it. Moreover, you must know what collocations can be used with words, like verbs, match nouns and other common paraphrases. Use a dictionary or thesaurus to help you along the way. Ensure your spellings are correct, while copying from the passage.
9. Identify Keywords, Then Underline And Number
Read the introduction, main paragraph and the conclusion carefully to identify the exact location of the keywords. To locate them, you must learn to spot key words and check whether they can be paraphrased. After locating, compare it with the available options (rephrased answers). After identifying the correct one, underline that rephrased line. It saves your time from guessing. Then write the number on top of the question that is answered by that line.
10. Don’t Panic. Use Context To Understand Unknown Words
If you try to understand the full passage, you’ll get panicked. Instead, use the context of the passage and understand the unknown words. Unknown words include prefixes, suffixes, idioms, phrases, linking words, etc. Prefixes are of different types. For instance, “re-” means repeat, and “un-” means cancel/stop action. Similarly, “-wise” means referring to something in Suffixes. Moreover, Grammar helps you with nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs. So use these simple tools to ace the test.
11. Don’t Leave Any Questions Unanswered
Don’t leave any questions unanswered, as there’s no negative marking system. When you have less time, just guess and write something in the answer box. If you’re lucky, your guessed answer will have one point that could get you from band 6.5 to 7. If you’re taking IELTS on paper, write your answers on the answer sheet. If you leave the cell in the answer sheet blank, you will get zero marks.
12. Read Different English Text
Unless you read different English texts, your reading skills will not improve. From newspapers, magazines, and journals to business letters, press releases, and company reports, there are various English texts available. For longer forms of literature, you can read novels, books, etc. If you’re bored, occasionally listen to broadcasts like BBC and CNN and understand their sentence structure, words and its synonyms.
13. Don’t Compromise Retention For Speed
To not compromise retention for speed while reading, ask yourself the following six question words. Remember that these question tags are for each chapter or paragraph. Who? What? Why? How? When? Where? Alternatively, you can ask yourself: What do I want from this chapter/paragraph/book? This simple trick will make it easier to identify useful information while reading the passage.
