Ways to Improve Your Reading Skills for IELTS

Be an avid reader and read a variety of genres. IELTS Reading can be challenging and intimidating for you if you are not in the habit of reading on a regular basis. Also, you may find it tough if your reading speed is not good as you are required to answer 40 questions in 60 minutes. Furthermore, the difficulty level of the passages increases towards the end, when you may have to work against the clock - less time and more questions.

By reading a variety of articles, you will be able to comprehend different types of passages. There are different types of passages.

• Factual passages have various facts. Note down or underline the different facts that you come across and find them by locating the key words given in the question.Sometimes an issue or a particular situation is explained or described. Such passages may have facts and figures also. You must match the information.
• In an argumentative passage, the author presents his opinion - for or against - about a topic or a study or a situation. In such passages, you must understand the author’s tone, i.e. his positive or negative response to it.
• The pros and cons of an issue are presented by the author in an analytical passage. You must understand the scope of each paragraph so that you can differentiate them according to the pros and cons.
• Discursive passages present arguments for or against a particular theory. Look for the words of contradiction to understand different opinions and views.

If you become familiar with different types of passages, you will read and comprehend faster than others.

Moreover, you do not have to understand the IELTS Reading text. Instead, you should be able to identify the different points covered by the author in that particular text and get a good general view of the entire text to answer the questions based on it. One skill that you need to acquire for this is the skill of skimming.

How should you skim read the text? 

Well, this is what you do daily when you read a newspaper or a novel or an interesting article. Your focus is on just the main points, and you want to read those points as quickly as you can without wasting any time. 

To overcome the impediments that stop you from doing well in the IELTS Reading, here are some tips and tricks:

Speed Reading: When you read faster, you are more absorbed into what you read. You get so engrossed in reading that your mind becomes logical, leading to active reading and stopping you from getting stuck on hard and unimportant words.

Avoid the following if you want to read fast:

1. Reading word to word - This is extremely time-consuming and leads to slow speed. Also, there are chances that the mind might wander, losing focus on what is being read. Instead, read groups of words together.
2. Going back to what has been read - Regression can hamper understanding to a great extent. The flow of reading gets affected and you take much more time to read the given text. So, keep a finger to go across and down the page.
3. Speaking using your lips or speaking in the mind - When you speak out every word, you take more time to read.Get into the habit of skimming.
4. Lack of concentration - When you read slowly, you tend to think about other things in between which distract you. 

Understanding the main idea and the supporting ideas           

When you start reading the passage, you must always try to understand what the passage is about. The author writes about a particular issue or a topic and supports it by giving sub points.

Paying attention to Transition words

Transition words, especially the words of contradiction, such as, although, however, while, will help in comprehending the points easily.

 Paraphrasing what you read

If you start paraphrasing what you skim read, you’ll be able to comprehend effortlessly. A good level of vocabulary will certainly facilitate you in sailing through.

Understanding the different types of questions that are asked in the IELTS Reading

They can be answered well If you practise them regularly.

To increase your IELTS Reading score, you must get enough practice for each type of question. Take different types of practice tests to master them all.

Your reading skills for IELTS will improve if you understand the strategy of locating information in the passage. The passages may be lengthy and you might forget the content. So, make notes of the key points in each paragraph without wasting any time. Paraphrase the questions and locate information in the passage on the basis of your notes. With regular practice, you will improve your IELTS Reading Score.

One of the best ways is to start with shorter articles of different types given in newspapers, journals and magazines. Always note down the main points. Cross check your points with the original article. Also, note down the words that you do not understand. Find their meanings  and summarize the article.

How to practise with shorter articles:

1. Read the heading to understand what the text is about.
2. Look for who, what, when, where, why, how.

When you have to scan the text for information to answer the question, these are the words near which you find your answers. They help you to understand the message in the  passage. Don’t spend time on other words. A big mistake that many make is to read everything word by word. That wastes a lot of time. To speed read, you should know what to give importance.

Example:

3. Read chunks of words together - but focus on key words only. In the text given below, the double slash (//) indicates a break between the different groups of words.The underlined words indicate where your attention should be.

4. Use your finger or a pen or pencil to quickly move to the informative and impact words.