7 SECRETS FOR PASSING ACADEMIC IELTS READING

In order to pass the IELTS Academic Reading Test, your strategy should not be to actually read the three articles in the test in any detail. In fact, if you were to read each of the articles carefully to understand them, you would not have the time to answer the questions.

So what are the strategies you need to succeed and gain a good mark? Here are the 7 secrets to passing the Academic IELTS Reading test.

HOW TO PASS ACADEMIC IELTS READING

You will be presented with three articles, each around 900 words long. The articles are typically sourced from magazines, newspapers, trade journals and academic papers.

You will have one hour to answer 40 questions. This means you will have around 20 minutes for each article; this is not long enough to read an article of 900 words, understand it, and answer around 12 to 15 questions on each one.

The answer is to use the following 7 secrets to getting a good pass mark in the test.

SECRET 1 – THE IELTS READING TEST IS NOT REALLY A READING TEST

SECRET 2 – SKIM READ THE TEXT FOR NO MORE THAN 2 MINUTES

Once you understand that the text is not about your understanding of the content nor a true reading test, you will know not to waste time reading the article in detail.

Instead, you should spend a couple of minutes, at most, skim reading the article. The purpose of skimming the article is to have an idea of the general gist of the piece, the structure and to identify certain keywords. This means that when you get to the questions, you may have gained a good idea exactly where many of the answers may be.

SECRET 3 – YOU DO NOT NEED TO UNDERSTAND COMPLEX VOCABULARY

The articles in the reading test are often taken from technical or trade journals. This means they may contain some complex vocabulary. Some students become stressed during the test by not understanding some of the technical vocabulary or complex expressions in the article.

However, complex vocabulary is very useful in helping to guide you to find the correct answer during the test. It is unlikely that complex vocabulary can be paraphrased so they serve as a marker or a keyword for where the answer to the question may lie.

For example a question might be:

What is the benefit to buyers of a foreclosed property?

You may not have come across the expression foreclosed property or the word foreclosure. However, this is unimportant as the expression foreclosed property is likely to be a keyword that you can scan for and find to locate the answer to the question.

SECRET 4 – REAL NAMES IN THE READINGS ARE YOUR BEST FRIEND

If the article contains people’s names, names of places or names of things, you are in luck. These are highly important keywords When you skim read the article, ring or underline every real name that appears as you go.

When you come to the questions, some will be about the person, places or things mentioned in the text. You merely have to go to the locations you have marked to find the answer.

For example, the question may be:

Penicillin was discovered by a) Alexander Fleming, b) Thomas Edison c) Albert Einstein d) Charles Darwin

Penicillin is a keyword that cannot be changed to a synonym so all you need to do is to look for this word in the text and you will find your answer against the name: Alexander Fleming.

SECRET 5 – BEWARE OF DISTRACTORS

Distractors are words in the questions that seem to point to the answer in the text. Take care and don’t rush to use this as the keyword marker for the answer. It can mean that the question uses the exact word as one that appears in the article, but the article sentence may not contain the correct answer.

For example if the question says:

What is the length of a typical career in Western Europe?

The words typical career could appear in the article in another context and act as a distractor. This often happens in IELTS Reading tests

For example, the text may say something like – In the countries of western Europe, a typical career starts at age twenty-one

This is not the answer, of course. The correct answer is probably to be found with a synonym such as profession, occupation etc. such as – a profession in western Europe typically lasts 35 years before retirement. So the answer is 35 years.

SECRET 6 – NEVER LEAVE A QUESTION UNANSWERED, GUESS IF YOU DON’T KNOW

No marks are deducted for a wrong answer. Therefore, if you are not sure what the answer is, move on. Return to the question once you’ve answered the others.

If you still don’t know the answer, you can make your best guess. This gives you a chance to get a mark at no risk.

SECRET 7 – READ PAST PAPERS BUT ALSO OTHER ARTICLES

If course, it’s useful to read past IELTS papers to see get an idea of the style and to practise the different types of questions. However, you will not get the same articles in your exam as those of past tests so you will need to also read other articles.

The benefit of reading these articles for you IELTS Reading test is that you will gain a wider range of vocabulary and their synonyms. And remember, the IELTS Reading test is more about understanding vocabulary and synonyms.

You can find free English newspapers at allyoucanread/uk-newspapers.com or free English-language magazines at https://www.allyoucanread.com/magazines/

Just make sure to choose a quality newspaper or magazine. A good tip is to also select subjects in the articles you are interested in.

THE SECRETS TO PASSING THE ACADEMIC IELTS READING TEST

As with all the other IELTS tests, passing the reading test with a good mark is as much about technique and strategy, as by having a good level of English.

Remember that the IELTS Reading test is not actually a reading test. It’s more of a vocabulary and synonym test. This will help you to improve your mark and to give you more time to answer all the questions accurately.

Why not leave a comment and let me know of any questions you might have about the Academic Reading Test?