IELTS Reading Tips and Tricks: Check Out the Techniques to Crack the IELTS Exam

The questions in the IELTS exam come from the various aspects of the English language. You have to prepare for the exam with proper time management. You have to solve the questions in the exam within a time frame and to be proficient in every sphere you must be good at managing your time. There are many other qualities that you must have and the techniques that will make you perfect for the highest band. Are you searching for IELTS reading tips and tricks? Do you want to ace this exam? Well, if this is true, you are at the right place. This article will let you learn many tips for reading in the IELTS test. You must keep reading this article ahead for not leaving any point to hinder your success. Here it starts.

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Reading Tips for IELTS

#1. Develop a Daily Reading Routine

The reading section is very important in the IELTS exam. You must inculcate the habits of reading for the examination. You should go through the IELTS reading practice test to have a practical understanding of the reading questions. This will help you in bringing your perceptions to break and new knowledge to take place in your mind.

#2. Things to Read

If you want to build the techniques, you need to have good practice in the reading section along with entertainment and fiction fields. Most of the articles in this section come from books, newspapers, magazines and academic journals. The topics of IELTS general test are covered from various areas related to science, nature, technology and development, history, or eminent innovations. You must read the articles of more than 500 words for clear understanding and practice of reading lengthy articles within the given time frame. All the candidates need to prepare for it diligently.

#3. Improving Your Reading Speed

All the candidates of this exam must have great speed in reading. This is one of the most magnificent traits used in the reading test. People do not give it enough attention due to which they get less marks in the section. You have to learn the art of skimming by picking up words that are useful in a sentence. For example, in the sentence – ‘The sooner you understand the idea of a passage, the faster you can answer’ The words in bold will more or less tell you the essence of the sentence. You should try to read every fifty words in a sentence to see that this helps in increasing your speed. Moreover, it gets hard for you if you read each word with the voice in your head. It somehow slows down your pace. While reading, have a thorough read by not sticking to each word but managing to understand the meaning of the whole sentence. It will help you immensely.

#4. Using Annotations

Annotations help you to find the most precise and specific answer from the passage. You should make the important notes near paragraphs. This process is known as annotation. You must not spend over 3-4 minutes in the annotation and reading of a particular passage. If you take more time, it will be difficult for you to answer adequately. All the candidates must practice giving the right comments or subheadings next to the right paragraph. This process makes you faster at answering the questions. For example – A paragraph comparing a previous innovation to a current one can be called a comparison paragraph.

Also Read: What to Study for the IELTS Test? Check Out the Detailed Course, Syllabus and the Preparation Procedure

IELTS Reading Tips and Tricks

2021-22

#1. Learn to Divide Your Time

All the candidates must know the time limits of each section in the exam. You have to answer 40 questions in 60 minutes. You should be aware that this time division means that for each question you will get 1.5 minutes. In this given slot you have to write down the correct answer. You should also include the time needed to read 1500 words or more on 3 different topics. This could be tough, if you will not practice before. The people who have given the IELTS before must already know that it is quite challenging and hard to focus on every single minute in the test. This is achieved by experience. So, use your brain to know the ways to squeeze the most out of 60 minutes.

#2. Reading Tips for IELTS

For you, here’s the tips for how should broadly divide your time. You should give 5 minutes for reading all the questions and 10-minutes for reading. Moreover, spend time in scanning and annotating the passage along with spending 5 minutes in writing and cross-checking your answer. This is extremely needed for your exam. If you follow this, you will get 20 minutes for each passage. It is a tremendously great strategy that only works well if you time yourself.

#3. Table Completion

The table is given in the question where you will be needed to answer the blank spaces. The grid is made with little information and you need to fill the spaces present.

#4. True, False, Not Given Type

The questions in this portion look innocent and simple but can leave you scratching as you try to understand it. The most challenging part is knowing what’s not given and what is false. You will also get an option that will be contradictory at some given piece of information along with the parts where information will be completely absent. You will have difficulties in finding the true answers.

#5. Flow-chart Completion

The questions related to the flow charts will also be asked in the paper. The flow charts will be given to you and you have to guess the correct option from it in regard to the passage.

Also Read: How to Prepare for IELTS? A Detailed Guide for Ensured Success in 2021

#6 . Short-answer Questions

The most significant thing to take care of for this portion is time limit. The should be managed properly and the answers must be adequately written in the given time.

#7. Diagram Label Completion

These types of questions include a diagram that will be shown to you. It will be given with supporting text. It will help you to find the labels for the given diagram. You must be calm. You must not get panicked if the diagram looks a little complicated. The given supportive text will help you to find all the answers comfortably.

#8. Multiple Choice Questions

These questions require some extra care and gentleness when being answered. This is because of the options. The options presented can be very close to one another. You have to be confident in your reading and concentration. There will be subtle differences in the options for making it difficult for the candidate. But, you can pinpoint the correct one. The necessary element is that you must take a moment before marking the answer.

#9. Matching Information Questions

In these questions, you will find the paragraphs that are labelled numerically or alphabetically. You must have good practice prior to answering these questions. The major task here is to find the sentence that correctly summarizes, describes, or explains the paragraph or information in the paragraph. You will have to match the correct answer. You have to make sure that your answers are labelled as a,b,c,d, or 1,2,3,4. It will be easier to understand your answers.

#10. Matching Headings Questions

This is the question where the candidates are given with the phrases or small sentences, you have to match those sentences to the correct ones written before the given phrases. The annotations prepared by you will help you exponentially in this portion.

#11. Matching Features Questions

In this question, all of you will generally have to find the information that requires you to match a name with a piece of information. All the candidates want high scores. If the same case is with you, you must learn to look at the names first and then find information associated with them. For example: if the question is asking you who the professor of a certain discipline is, look for the name of the discipline in the article to be able to answer quickly.

#12. Sentence Completion Type

This looks quite simple and scoring but the trick here is to be able to paraphrase. If the correct answer is more than the word limit given in the instructions then you need to fill it with a grammatically correct answer. So, you must be prepared enough for it too.

Also Read: What is the IELTS Reading Test? General Training vs Academics Reading Test

Tips for Reading in IELTS

#1. Look for Patterns and Keywords

The answers in the IELTS general reading tasks must be sequential and precise. This means that you only have to read forward after finding each answer. Moreover, you must know the important things you underline. While reading the questions and passages, don’t hold back from marking them with a pencil. You must acknowledge the facts that after reading the questions, the candidates will need to know how to find the right answer in the passage. It should be done with the help of keywords that you underline.

Hone Your English Language Skills

#1. Point A

To improve your English skills, you have to build your vocabulary by reading as much as possible and keeping a dictionary with you at all times. This will benefit you in enhancing your proficiency in the language.

#2. Point B

Working on your grammar as a correct answer put in the wrong way will cost you points. For example –Swedish households contribute to the process of recycling and reuse by ……………………. their waste. The real answer to this blank space is ‘separating’ but the passage could have ‘separate’ as the word. Therefore, In such cases, its significant for you to know the difference between present continuous tense and simple present tense. These things will save you in the grammar problems. You should know which tense to use when in a sentence.

#3. Point C

Paraphrasing means saying the same thing but with different words. In IELTS this will be a common task. This is essential when you have to write an answer within the word limit provided. For example – You can……………….(see samples) of specimen butterfly craft before ordering. The original passage could have been – ‘you can take a look at the samples of specimen butterfly craft before ordering.’ If the word limit is not more than 2, then the answer needs to be paraphrased to fit the word count.

Also Read: What is IELTS Exam All About? Everything You Need to Know about IELTS Exam 2021

Techniques to Crack the IELTS Exam

#1. Practice Moving on When You Get Stuck

There are times when you get stuck in the questions of this paper. It is quite normal too because the grammar conditions lead you to confusion. But, the only way to get good scores is to move on. If you get stuck on one point and do not get a shift from it, your time will be wasted. Each question has its own time limits and significance. You should start to answer different questions so that at least other things are answered perfectly. This is the strategy of this exam. There are fill-ups where you will find arouse in doubts but you should not waste your time, rather start something else.

#2. Practice with Exam like Conditions

To get your desired output, you should be consciously devoted to each portion. Keep yourself alone and analyse your weaknesses and strengths. You must maintain the same conditions as the main exam while preparing for it to avoid the confusion or last moment hustle. It will help you in reviving your spirit in the exam and you will be confident to answer everything. The candidates who want to excel in the exam must apply this strategy.

#3. Spend Time on Analysis

The questions must be answered perfectly with great concentration. If you lack concentration, then the known answer can get wrong. You should analyse your answers properly for jumping to more than 2 bands. Analysation is of great support in the examination.

#4. Some Important Questions to Ask Yourself while Practicing

There are few questions that you must ask yourself beforehand to ace the IELTS exam. These questions are for your understanding of yourself. For any examination, you must be confident enough from within. These questions let you be confident and encouraged. The questions will also make you realise the true ways to answer perfectly. Here are certain questions.

# Why am I getting the answer wrong?

# Why couldn’t I locate the answer?

# How can I understand the questions faster?

# How do I manage time better?

# How can I paraphrase to make my answers grammatically correct?

#5. Identify the Purpose of the Test

All the candidates of the IELTS exam should understand that the major idea of a reading comprehension test is to check and understand the depth of your vocabulary along with your ability to grasp concepts and paraphrase. Your score will jump to 2 bands if you will take care of all these things gently.

Also Read: Is IELTS Easy for Indian Students? Check Out the Study and Exam Pattern

Conclusion

Therefore, there are many techniques for acing the IELTS exam but the major strategies are hard work and time management. You have to be passionate about your dream and must prepare a proper time chart for ensuring your capabilities in every portion of the exam. Hopefully, this article will help you in your IELTS preparation. If you still have any questions to ask, you can comment below or visit the IELTS Ninja website. You will get professionals to help you in every sector. There might be queries in your mind but once you visit there each of your queries will be resolved gently. So, you need not worry about your exam and leave your stress on the experts of our website. The exact knowledge will be given to you to succeed in the examination.