3 tips on preparing for the IELTS Reading paper

Hello everybody.

Welcome to my third video

in my miniseries of IELTS test tips that I've created

alongside We Love IELTS,

Cambridge’s platform for those preparing for the IELTS test.

And today, I'm giving you my best three tips

for achieving success in the IELTS Reading paper.

Before getting into my tips,

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So, let’s start

by recapping on what the Reading paper consists of.

Both the Academic

and General Training reading papers have three parts

and a total of 40 questions.

However, it’s important to note that the content of the Academic

and General Training papers differ slightly,

so make sure you know which test you're taking

before you start preparing.

Okay, so that’s the structure of the exam.

Now, let’s get on to my tips.

My first tip is to do task-based reading outside of class.

Of course, any type of reading

outside of class will help improve your English ability.

However, I would always advise my students

to do task-based reading outside of class.

This means to read to develop the skills

that you're going to need in the IELTS Reading test.

For example, I’d recommend

that you read a variety of texts and guess

unknown words from context.

Don’t immediately search for a translation

as you won't be able to use a dictionary in the exam.

Highlight the topic sentence in each paragraph.

This will particularly help with Matching heading questions

where you match a paragraph to a heading which summarises

the main point of a text.

Take key sentences and re-write them.

This will help you in the questions

where understanding a synonym

or paraphrase is the key to getting an answer correct.

And, identify the main argument

or the reason for the piece of writing,

and put it into a few sentences.

This is because some questions ask you to identify the writer’s

views or claims.

The phrase, train the way you play,

is a really good motto to stick by.

What this means is that in order to do well in the test,

you should replicate the skills

that you’ll need whilst doing practice.

My second tip would be to practice your skimming

and scanning skills.

In the Reading paper, you only have 60 minutes,

so you won't have time to read every single word

that appears in the text.

Because of this,

being able to skim and scan is really important for you.

First, let me explain

what they mean and then let me show you

how to develop them.

Skimming is reading quickly to get a general idea

of what a text is about.

You can practice this

by an activity such as flash reading.

This is where you read a text very quickly,

for example, in 20 seconds,

and then see what you can remember.

Whereas scanning is reading

quickly to search for specific pieces of information.

To practice this,

you need questions about a text.

So, an activity from a student’s

book or an IELTS practice test is perfect.

So, much like my first tip,

try to practice these skills in any kind of reading

that you do at home.

My last tip is don’t assume anything.

In the Reading paper,

you may see statements that you disagree with or

that you know are not true.

However, you have to base your answers

on what you see in the text,

not what you know or what you think.

Let me give you an example.

We’re going to focus on Question number 40.

It is important

that new housing developments encourage social diversity.

Now, I'm sure you’ll agree,

as would all right-minded people,

that encouraging social diversity in any form

is something positive.

However, the answer isn’t yes.

It is in fact not given.

This is because the writer doesn’t say anything

in the text to confirm this.

There is simply no evidence in the text

for us to be able to put yes.

So, put your real-world knowledge to one side

and base your answers on what you read.

Okay, let’s see a summary.

So, there you go,

three tips that I hope will help improve your performance

in the Reading test.

Don’t forget, for more test tips and resources,

check out the We Love IELTS website.

The link is below the video.

And also, as I mentioned at the beginning of the video,

don’t forget to subscribe to this channel

if you haven’t done so already.

And of course,

if you have any other strategies, tips,

or advice for succeeding in the reading part of the IELTS test,

please comment below.

Thanks for watching,

and I’ll see you next time for more IELTS tips.