INTRODUCTION:
IELTS Reading is not only a test that requires you to have good grammar, but also requires you to have a rich vocabulary about different social fields. Below are some tips to help you get high scores in the IELTS Reading test along with the necessary skills.
CONTENT:
1. Make the best use of your time
Fill in the answer sheet directly: Entering the IELTS Reading test room, you will receive the second: Topics for all questions; A reply ballot; The answer key is the most important because all your answers must be written there. If you only write your answer for this topic, your answer will not be scored. Many candidates waste a lot of time writing answers in the question paper first and then transferring them to the answer sheet. Finally, they realized they didn't have enough time to do this. Therefore, my advice is to fill out the answer sheet directly when you take the test, not wait until the end of the hour. Leaving the difficult question for last
If you spend a lot of time on questions that you find difficult, you won't have enough time to answer easy questions and will lose points! If you don't know the correct answer to some question, leave it and continue with the next question. This way, you can focus on all the questions for which you know the answers. You can come back to difficult questions if you still have time.
Read the question before looking at the text. If you read the text first and then start reading the question, one thing is for sure: you will have to spend more time going back through the text above to find the answer. Therefore, you should reverse this by reading the questions first, grasping the main keywords in the questions, thinking about the information you need to find to answer the questions while you read the text.
2. Read the requirements carefully
Most of the requirements of the IELTS Reading test look similar, but there will be some details you need to pay special attention to. Here are the three most common types of requests: True/false/not given: With this category, when you choose True, it means the entire sentence must be true. However, there will be a few difficult questions where not all the details are correct. Some may be correct while others are wrong, in which case the answer would be False.
Find the right title. If you read all the titles at once and then go back to your selection, you will get confused because the titles are often similar. Therefore, read each title and solve them, then if you are not confident about the answer, check again.
Ask to fill in the blanks: Be aware of the number of words you are allowed to fill in, so make sure you do not exceed the word limit per space.
3. Use scanning method
Scanning is a skimming method that allows you to find information faster. This means you won't have to read every word. You just need to move your eyes over the text, not stopping to read details to avoid wasting time with unnecessary information. This is a great way to understand the main ideas of a text and help you find important information that you will want to read in more detail.
When you want to understand a text, you will tend to read and understand what each paragraph says. Each paragraph has a main idea, and that idea is expressed in the topic sentence. You don't have time to read all the details, so what you really need to understand in each paragraph is the information in the topic sentence.
So where should I find the topic sentence? Usually, it is the first sentence of a paragraph, but it can also appear at the end. The topic sentence represents the main idea of the entire paragraph. Topic sentences are easy to spot because they often serve as an announcement of what's going to happen next. To maximize your time during the test, look for it in the first sentence, then the second sentence, then the last sentence.
4. Stay calm with difficult vocabulary
Don't panic if you come across unknown words. Because even native speakers don't understand all the English words in every text they read, and that's okay because all those words aren't important. Remember that this is not a vocabulary test! You are not allowed to use a dictionary in the test. Therefore, you should also forget about using them while practicing IELTS Reading at home. Complete all test requirements, then go back to the text and learn about the following vocabulary. You may also come across questions that use synonyms for vocabulary words that appear in the text. For example, you have a paragraph about the disadvantages of exposing children to too much television. The question may not use the word “disadvantages” like the text, but it may use a synonym, for example “downsides” or “drawbacks”. Therefore, you will definitely get a better IELTS Reading score if your vocabulary is rich.
5. Improve your reading speed
There is only one way to improve your reading speed: the more you read, the better and faster you read. You should take IELTS Reading tests regularly to practice reading texts and questions. You can also improve this skill by reading English novels or comics. Over time, you will see your reading speed improve significantly.
CONCLUSION:
Above are five ways to help you improve and prepare better for the IELTS Reading test. Hope you have found for yourself a suitable study method and achieved the best results in the upcoming IELTS exam.
Thank you!