01. Always read the instructions carefully before answering the questions. If your answer is not in accordance with the instructions given, you will lose marks.
2. Skimming and Scanning are the two techniques commonly used to become acquainted with the text. In skimming you read the first few sentences in each paragraph or section and see what it is all about.It would be advisable for you to make a map for the passage in the margins. It means you may jot down some words in the margin of each paragraph to tell you what it covers. That way, later when you are looking for the answer to a particular question you can easily identify the relevant paragraph. In scanning you read less. You flip through the enitre passage to get a hang of what it deals with. For most candidates the skimming technique works better.
3. Time management is very important when it comes to the reading test. If you do not manage to answer all the fourty questions in less than sixty minutes you will be in trouble. A good idea is to spend 15 mins on the first passage,20 on the second and 25 on the final one. There is no negative marking in the IELTS Reading test which means it does not matter if you have more wrong answers to questions based on a particular passage. You will get full credit for your correct answers.
4. You may answer the easier questions first.Do not spend too long trying to answer a difficult question.Move on to the next question. You could use the time to answer three or more further questions correclty this way.You can go back to the tough question later.
5. You must realise that the number of correct answers you need to qualify for a particular score differs for Academic and General Training. For Academic for 30 correct answers you will be awarded a score of 7 but in the General version you need 34 right answers to be eligible for a 7 score.
6. You need to employ different strategies for each question type. As soon as you start preparing for the examination you need to become familiar with the different question types for the IELTS Reading test. Each question type demands a particular skill from you.
7. Most reading questions are ordered in such a way that their answers appear in the same sequence as the passage. The exceptions are Matching Questions.
8. You must understand that the questions are always paraphrases of sentences in the passage. You must watch out for synonyms and paraphrases as you hunt for the answers.
9. Always look at the example answers. They can tell you whether you are supposed to look for general or specific information.
10. A good mastery of English Grammar can definitely help you score better in the Reading module. If your grammar skills are strong enough you can easily predict what kind of word will fit in a gap. Look at the grammar of the question statement and see if the choices you have fit its grammar.
