The IELTS reading test is intended to assess your reading abilities. You have 60 minutes to complete 40 questions in this test. IELTS academic and general training reading have different formats and band scores. In the IELTS academic reading exam, there are three long passages to read, each with a word length of roughly 800-900 words, whereas the IELTS general training reading test has five parts. To earn a band 8 in IELTS academic, you must answer 35 or 36 of 40 questions correctly. For IELTS general, you must obtain 37 or 38 accurate out of 40 questions. The biggest obstacle in the IELTS reading exam is managing time and answering all of the questions. Tips and tactics play an important part in the IELTS reading exam, allowing you to answer problems more rapidly.
In this article, we will discuss the different sorts of questions in the reading exam as well as some preparation suggestions to help you earn an 8 in the IELTS reading module:
Question Types:
- Multiple-choice questions
- Identifying a writer’s views or facts
- Identify the given information
- Match the Headings
- Sentence completion
- Summary completion
- Features matching
- Matching sentence endings
- Diagram labelling
- Short-answer questions
- Matching information
- Summary, note, table, flow-chart completion
IELTS Reading Exam Preparation Ideas That Will Help You Increase Your Score
It is critical that you read as much as possible in order to increase your IELTS reading band score. Read a variety of English novels, newspaper articles, blogs, academic information, and so forth. It will allow you to read faster and expand your vocabulary. Reading practise can help you read the sections of the test faster, respond properly, and finish the exam within the time limit.
Skim through the passage
Reading the entire chapter will take a long time, and you may not be able to answer all of the questions in time. Because you do not need to grasp the entire piece, skim the text and search for the important points. To locate the answers to your questions, pay close attention to the headers and subheadings since they will help you find the answers in the material provided. Look for the key points that describe the paragraph.
Scanning
Scanning is the process of fast reading over the lines in search of a certain word or phrase. Scanning the text is a strategy for quickly answering one-word questions.
Identify the keywords
You must highlight the keywords while skimming over the text. Highlighting the keywords can help you locate solutions to the questions more quickly. You may also search for the keyword in the questions and mark them to help finding the same term in the text simpler.
Manage your time
Time management is critical in the IELTS exam. There are 40 questions in the reading segment that you must answer in 60 minutes. If you try to confine each paragraph in the reading segment to 20 minutes, it may not work as well as you think. The first passage in the reading part is quite simple, and the difficulty level rises with each subsequent passage. It’s usually a good idea to leave additional time for the last challenging segment and plan your schedule appropriately.
Keep the order
In most situations, the questions follow the sequence of the text. If you are looking for the answer to the fourth question, it will be followed by the answer to question three, and you can quickly skim and scan the text after answer three to get an answer to your fourth question.
Avoid spelling mistakes
If you want to do well in IELTS reading and avoid having your marks deducted, you must be careful with your spelling. Your spellings must be perfect, and you can look through all of the answers again as you finish your test.
Answer every question
There is no negative grading, and you will not be penalised if your response is incorrect. If you’re stuck with some questions and running out of time, attempt to guess the answer and write it down; chances are, you’ll get the answers right.
Conclusion
Coaching Square provides expert advice to students as they Prepare for the IELTS Exam.
Coaching Square’s IELTS course is designed to help you learn and use the language, tactics, and strategies to increase your band score. Prepare for the IELTS test with the help of Coaching Square professionals who help students excel in IELTS.