How To Do IELTS Reading For A Band 7, 8, 9
Hey there! This is former IELTS examiner Tim James here, and I am going to cover how to do the IELTS reading test to score a band 7, 8, or 9. Here's what you need to do:
Firstly, skim over the first article to get an idea of what it is about. Secondly, read the questions carefully underlining key words. Thirdly, read in detail the paragraph that you think has the answer, and answer the question. Repeat for the next questions and sections.
Obviously, there is a lot more to it than that. So, on this page I am going to teach you the exact same strategies I have taught to thousands of students around the world that have proven to work.
This page will cover:
IELTS reading strategies and tips
IELTS Reading Test Format
The format of IELTS General and Academic is slightly different but both have 3 sections, take 60 minutes nd use the same question types.
Let's get started by stating the basic facts of this task. This is a 60 minute test containing 40 questions and a variety of question types.
The IELTS Academic and IELTS General reading test are slightly different in that the text types are different.
In the Academic version of the test the text sources are naturally from academic sources, such as, journals, books, and newspapers where as in the General test they are from notices, advertisements, company handbooks, books, magazines and newspapers.
There are normally three texts in the Academic test and at least three and up to six shorter texts in the General version but the overall word count is around 2500 words.
All texts are taken from real life sources and the easier texts normally come first with the texts and questions getting more difficult as the test progresses.
IELTS Reading Question Types
These are the same for both IELTS General and IELTS Academic versions of the test. You need to be comfortable completing each of these different question types.
1. Matching sentence parts
2. Matching headings
3. Matching names
4. Matching information to paragraphs
5. Summary completion
6. Sentence completion
7. Table completion
8. True/False/Not Given
9. Yes/No/Not Given
10. Multiple choice questions
11. Short answer questions
12. Labelling a diagram
IELTS Reading Strategies And Tips
Now, I'll take you through a step by step process for answering each of these different question types. You do not have to do it exactly as I suggest, ideally you will come up with your own version of these that suits you.
Matching Sentence Halves
1. Read the instructions carefully.
2. Take a moment to understand the incomplete sentences and underline and keywords.
3. Predict how the sentences could be completed, think about whether it could be a verb, noun, or adjective.
4. Now look at the sentence ending options and match up any that are particularly obvious.
5. Locate the appropriate part of the text that you think has the answer by using synonyms and paraphrases to help.
6. Read that section closely to get the full meaning.
7. Match up the sentence with the correct answer.
8. Repeat 5, 6 and 7 until all sentences are matched.
Top Tips: Many people do poorly in this because they match keywords to words in the text in order to locate the answer. This is wrong, instead match up meanings. The text will often use synonyms and paraphrases but express the same meaning in a different way.
Matching Headings To Sections
1. Read the instructions carefully.
2. Skim read each paragraph by reading the first and last sentence of each paragraph quickly.
3. Label each paragraph in your own words summarizing what it is about.
4. Now, read the headings closely underlining any important key words.
5. Match any headings to paragraphs that are now clear.
6. Next, look for synonyms in the paragraphs that can help to match the headings to the correct paragraph.
7. Compare the meanings of headings to understand the difference between those left.
8. If you still not cannot guess then take a guess and/or comeback later to try again.
Top Tips: Do not rely on keywords to match headings to paragraphs, check for meaning!
Matching Statements To Names
1. Take a moment to understand the question.
2. Study the list of names and then scan through the text and underline the names. Most names will appear more than once.
3. Look again at the name’s that appear only once and read the information surrounding the name carefully.
4. Match the name to one of the statements. Name’s that appear just once are normally easier to match than the others. Think about matching meanings through synonyms rather than looking for matching keywords.
5. Cross out name’s as you match them to avoid confusion
6. Return to the list and repeat the process for the other names until all name’s are matched. Sometimes you will have to read the information around the name more than once to get the correct answer, this is fine.
Top Tips: Questions do not follow the order of the text. You may have to scan backwards and forwards
Matching Information To Paragraphs
1. Take a moment to understand the question and read the statements.
2. Read the statements first.
3. Try to rewrite them in your own words alongside the statement.
4. Skim read the entire text using headings and topic sentences to get an idea of what information is in each paragraph. Label them with a keyword as a reminder of the content.
5. Go back to the statements and try and match them to a paragraph using the keyword labels you added but this time read the paragraph carefully to check it is the correct paragraph.
6. Repeat the process again for the remaining statements. Use keywords, synonyms and paraphrases of the statement to identify possible paragraphs if they are not already obvious.
7. Always read them carefully to check the match before marking the answer.
Top Tips: Answers are not spread evenly throughout the text. There may be two in one paragraph, one or none. Answers may also not relate to the main point of a paragraph.
True/False/Not Given
1. Take a moment to understand the question and read the statements.
2. Think of synonyms and paraphrases for words in the statements.
3. Skim through the text and use the keywords, synonyms and paraphrases of the statements to find the paragraph with the relevant information.
4. Read that paragraph carefully and underline the part that you believe confirms your answer. This can help if you need to check your answers later.
5. If you cannot find the answer then note it down as not given and move on to the next statement.
6. Repeat until all statements are covered.
Top Tips: Be careful to not simply skim or scan to find the answer. You must read the paragraph intensively to check the facts.
Short Answer Questions
1. Carefully read the instructions noting the word limit.
2. Take a moment to understand the question.
3. Highlight/underline keywords in the question.
4. Think of synonyms and paraphrases for these keywords.
5. Skim and scan to locate the paragraph containing the answer.
6. Reread the question.
7. Carefully read the paragraph and decide on the answer.
8. Fill in the answer and move on to the next question.
Top Tips: Watch out for going over the word limit! You do not have to be grammatically correct here and also avoid giving your opinion.
Yes/No/Not Given
1. Take a moment to understand the question and read the statements.
2. Think of synonyms and paraphrases for words in the statements.
3. Skim through the text and use the keywords, synonyms and paraphrases of the statements to find the paragraph with the relevant information.
4. Read that paragraph carefully and underline the part that you believe confirms your answer. This can help if you need to check your answers later.
5. If you cannot find the answer then note it down as ‘not given’ and move on to the next statement.
6. Repeat until all statements are covered.
Top Tips: Be careful to not simply skim or scan to find the answer. You must read the paragraph intensively to check the writers exact opinion and be wary of qualifying words/phrases again. Make sure you focus on the correct person’s opinion. as there be may be more than one person’s opinion given. Do not let this confuse you.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Read the instructions carefully.
2. Take a moment to understand the question.
3. Highlight/underline keywords in the question AND the options.
4. Think of synonyms and paraphrases for these keywords.
5. Consider how the options are different in meaning, label them as a reminder if needs be.
6. Scan the text for keywords and/or synonyms to locate where the answer may be.
7. Carefully read the paragraph with the different options in mind, reread the question and then decide on the answer. You may be able to rule out some of the options as you read.
8. Select the answer and move on to the next question.
Top Tips: Watch out for ‘distractors’: matching keywords and qualifiers, such as: most, often, sometimes, always. Always read the entire sentence especially if there is a conjunction such as ‘but’, or ‘however’.
Diagram Labeling
1. Take a moment to understand the question and check the number of words you are allowed to write.
2. Look at the diagram and try to get an overall understanding of what it is showing.
3. Underline any keywords or labels that help explain the diagram.
4. Try to predict the word forms required (noun, verb, adjective, adverb)
5. Try and guess the answer.
6. Scan through the text and try and find the paragraph which contains the answer.
7. Read the paragraph intensively to try and get the answer.
Top Tips: Watch out for writing the wrong number of words, or spelling the words incorrectly. Answers are not sequenced in the same order as the paragraphs.
Table Completion
1. Take a moment to understand the instructions and the table.
2. Scan the text to locate the paragraphs with the answer in. Use table headings, other keywords in the table, and paraphrases and synonyms of those keywords to help.
3. Read the paragraph carefully to locate the answer.
4. Copy the words exactly as they are given in to the spaces provided.
Top Tips: Watch out for writing the wrong number of words, or spelling the words incorrectly.
Sentence Completion
1. Take a moment to understand the instructions and pay attention to how many words you are allowed to write.
2. Read the incomplete sentences and underline key words in the sentences and think of possible synonyms or paraphrases for them.
3. Try and guess what the endings of the sentences could be.
4. Scan through the text to try and locate the answers, use the synonyms and paraphrases to help. Answers appear in the same order as the questions.
5. Once you have located a paragraph with the possible answer in, reread the incomplete sentence and then read the paragraph carefully to get the exact meaning.
6. Write in the ending of the sentence using the information you have just read, or if it does not fit scan again, or move on to the next sentence and come back to it later.
Top Tips: You must complete the sentences in a grammatically correct way or you will not get the marks.
Summary Completion
1. Take a moment to understand the question and note the number of words allowed and whether you should take your answers from a list of words or from the text.
2. Try to get an idea of what the summary is about by skimming through it first.
3. Have a go at guessing the answers first and think about the word formations that may be required.
4. Should you have a list of words to select from pay attention to words that often appear together for clues (collocation).
5. Scan through the text, and use synonyms to find the area which may have the information needed.
6. Once located read this section carefully and formulate a sentence ending.
7. Write a sentence ending making sure that it makes sense grammatically.
Top Tips: You must complete the sentences in a grammatically correct way or you will not get the marks.
IELTS Reading Skills For Band 7, 8 and 9
Check out my super awesome explanation of the IELTS reading skills you need to succeed in the video below, or read the text under the video.
There are 3 key skills for scoring a high band in the IELTS reading test. They are:
Skimming – This means quickly reading main features such as, topic sentences, headings, sub headings and generally brushing your eye over a text for any other striking key words, phrases, sentences and bullet points.
This gives you an idea of where different key information is located in a text, this is very helpful when it comes to locating the answers to questions rapidly.
Scanning – This is when you quickly look over a text for a specific item. This could be a:
♦ number, such as the value of something ($12.99),
♦ a name, perhaps of an inventor (Henry Ford),
♦ a year, when a business was established (1980),
♦ the date of an important event (9/11),
♦ the time that an event is going to end (2 pm),
♦ the name of an historic place (Trafalgar square) and so on.
These are often the easiest and quickest answers to pick out, especially if you already know from skimming which part of the text they are likely to be in.
Intensive Reading – This is when you read a section of a text very carefully to completely understand what it is saying. This is normally done once you have skimmed or scanned an article to find the whereabouts of the correct answer.
Notice I said ‘a section of text’, you do not read all of the article in the IELTS test intensively, you would run out of time!
How To Prepare For The IELTS Reading Test Without Going Mad!
Firstly, just sit down and take a practice test, choose one from the links below and make sure you do it under timed conditions with no help. Mark your paper and see what score you got. All the inks provided will be able to tell you your band score from your test result.
Also, make sure you don’t cheat by giving yourself a mark when you spell something incorrectly, you will only be kidding yourself, the examiners on test day will not give you those marks so neither should you!
Secondly, if it is not the band core you need then you need to take a closer look at your practice paper. Have a look and see what question types you got wrong. Is there a particular type of question that you could not quite do?
Often, you can easily identify a particular question type that you are struggling with. This is actually good news because what you can do is learn the step by step strategy that I have given you on this page and try using that strategy a few times with a different set of questions.
You don’t need to do it under tied conditions yet, wait until you are comfortable with the strategy, or modify it to a strategy that you are comfortable with. Then, have another go at a full paper and see what your score is, hopefully it will be the score you need.
If it is still not at the band score you need then it’s time to get serious. After you have done everything you can to improve your technique the only option you have left is to improve your actual level of English.
Generally, this takes longer but is the best method overall, crucial to this really though is time. Ideally, you would have started preparing for your IELTS tests months (or even years) in advance. In which case the solution is simple. Start reading in English for extended periods of time each day.
You can read anything you want, books, news articles, comics even, read something you are interested in because then you will be more likely to keep doing it. Make sure you keep some sort of vocabulary journal for noting down new words and make sure you read my guide on how to learn vocabulary here.
Learning vocabulary is key to not only the IELTS reading test but also to the listening section too. The reason being is because they use a lot of synonyms (different words with the same meaning) in the test articles and questions.
So, read every day and work on your vocabulary. Don’t just do an endless series of past papers, that will make you really bored. In fact, I have seen students get really angry and frustrated at IELTS because they feel trapped by the IELTS system.
Remember, IELTS is just a test. It is not a perfect test but it is reasonably accurate at getting your true level of English as there are no real short cuts, tricks or cheats for the test. This is a good thing because it rewards those who actually focus on improving their English.
Now you know that, be encouraged by that and commit to reading as often as you can the types of articles and books that you enjoy. Then, when you are ready, go over the strategies I have given you for each question type and try the test again.
Hopefully, you will now be much closer to your goal. In which case you might be ready to go ahead and book your IELTS test. Ideally, you would do three practice tests and get the score you need to succeed before you book your test, this will mean that you should also get that score on test day and prevent you from wasting money on having to repeat the test again.
If you are still struggling then you might want to use the services of a professional IELTS examiner/service where you can get feedback on what exactly you are doing wrong. This is the service that I recommend you use - they give great feedback and have thousands of candidates get the score they need.
Ok, so I hope you have found this section useful. Here are some useful links below.
IELTS Reading Practice Tests
IELTS Writing Task 1 (Academic)
Discover how to describe all types of visual data that you may see in this part of the test.
Sshhhhh! Listen closely, here are some valuable tips, techniques and strategies for maximising your listening band score.
IELTS Writing Task 1 (General)
Discover how to write in the correct format and tone for this part of the test.
Learn 'what' to say and 'how' to say it in each part of the test to impress the examiner.
