Latest IELTS Reading Guide

Author: Nevin Blumer
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-01-01
Features: Reading is a key component of the IELTS exam. This book explores the characteristics and patterns of the IELTS General Training and Academic tests, while providing a wealth of authentic practice exercises. It is a reference book for IELTS candidates.
Excerpt:
II. Overview of Test Structure and Steps/Methods for Answering
The IELTS General Training Reading test takes 60 minutes and consists of 40 questions, divided into three parts with increasing difficulty.
Part 1 covers social survival, primarily including practical texts related to daily life, requiring candidates to locate and provide general factual information. It typically includes two passages, each with one type of question.
Part 2 focuses on training survival, usually related to short-term or long-term language or practical training programs. Compared to Part 1, the language is more complex and the expressions more diverse. It generally includes two passages, each with one type of question.
Part 3 consists of general reading, which covers a wide range of topics, has longer passages, and excludes argumentative essays. It includes one passage with approximately three to four types of questions.
Regarding the steps for answering, there are two common approaches: one is to carefully read the passage first and then answer the questions sequentially; the other is to answer the questions directly and refer back to the passage for answers. Both methods have their advantages and disadvantages.
The benefit of reading the passage first is gaining a comprehensive understanding of the overall content, making it easier to locate answers. However, this approach may lead to spending too much time reading, affecting the time available for answering, or finishing the passage only to realize that many parts were not tested. On the other hand, many candidates, due to slow reading speed, fear not completing all questions and skip reading the passage, referring back only when encountering difficulties. This method is highly efficient for simple questions but can result in candidates struggling to find corresponding sections in the passage for more challenging questions. If the order of questions does not strictly align with the passage, candidates may become confused and find it difficult to locate relevant information.
Here, we recommend a simple and easy-to-learn four-step approach for answering:
(1) Review the instructions and commonalities among the questions to determine the level of detail needed when reading the passage. If the question involves headings, focus on the main ideas; if it involves matching, mark names, places, and other special characters; if it involves TRUE/FALSE/NOT GIVEN, pay attention to details.
(2) Skim the passage, reading sentence by sentence and highlighting key terms for each paragraph. Focus on headings, subheadings of each paragraph, captions of accompanying charts, and special formatting (uppercase, underlines, italics, numbers). Quickly scan each paragraph to identify the topic sentence, which is the central idea of the paragraph. Other sentences in the paragraph expand on, explain, or elaborate on the topic sentence. In General Training passages, the topic sentence is usually at the beginning or end of each paragraph. If it’s difficult to identify, mark the key terms next to each paragraph. Key terms are often nouns or words/phrases that are repeated or have reference relationships within the paragraph. Finding and understanding topic sentences or key terms is crucial, not only for grasping the main idea of the passage but also for locating answers to detail-oriented questions. The time spent skimming varies, but for a passage recommended to be read in 20 minutes, it should take about 6–8 minutes. During skimming, focus on the main ideas and key terms, avoid getting bogged down in details, and skip unfamiliar words or phrases. The goal is to grasp the overall structure and main ideas of the passage.
(3) Review the questions, highlight key terms for each question, and scan the passage to locate the answers. Based on the question requirements, return to the passage for targeted reading to find specific information. The key is to analyze the main idea of the question and determine which paragraph it corresponds to. Use the core verb in the question to find its corresponding location in the passage, which may be the exact word or a synonym, such as if the question mentions "return time," the passage might say "the time to get back." Carefully read the relevant information in the passage, ignoring irrelevant details, and use context to infer the meaning of unfamiliar words.
(4) Answer the questions, selecting options if necessary, extracting content from the passage for fill-in-the-blank questions, or comparing information for TRUE/FALSE/NOT GIVEN questions. Leave two to three minutes at the end to review your answers. Reconsider any uncertain answers, ensure they meet the question requirements, and confirm that all answers are filled in the correct places.