IELTS Reading test: 9 free resources to help you get a better score

What do you do to get a higher score in the IELTS Reading test? Increase your speed by reading more texts, that’s right. But not just any texts � there is a certain kind of reading passages you will find in IELTS more often. Many of you were asking me: “What should I read?” and here’s the answer � reading passages in the previous IELTS tests came from the following sources: 1. The Economist � a weekly newspaper focusing on international politics and business news and opinion. 2. The Economist Technology quarterly 3. New Scientist - a weekly science and technology news magazine, considered by some to be the world’s best, with diverse subject matter. 4. American Scientist - an illustrated bimonthly magazine of science and technology. 5. The Geographical Journal - publishers of original research and scholarship in physical and human geography. 6. Interscience - online editions of scientific, technical, medical and professional journals 7. Australian geographic - an entertaining and fact-filled reference for anyone who loves and is fascinated by Australia and things Australian. 8. The British museum - online publications 9. Illustrated London News - a pictorial example of a historic social record of British and world events up to the present day. In all of these websites there are articles you can read online (no need to subscribe, they are free) . This way you will get familiar with the style and level of articles you are likely to see in a real IELTS exam. Practice in reading using these resources and you will kill two birds with one stone, improve your speed and expand your vocabulary. And now it�s your turn � do you know of other free sources of IELTS-like reading passages? Please, share!

IELTS Reading tips: True, False, Not Given

Every IELTS Reading test, no matter Academic or General has tasks of this kind. Lots of students tell me (and I agree) that this is a very confusing task.

For those who has no idea what I am talking about, I’ll explain - this task has a statement, and your job is to say is it True, False or Not Given in the reading passage.

How do you “attack” it? First learn the rule:

If the statement clearly appears in text - it is True

If the text clearly says the opposite of statement - it is False

If you didn’t find the statement to be True or False - it is Not Given

For example:
“Smoking is dangerous and can lead to cancer” - T, F, NG

1) If the text clearly says that “smoking is dangerous and leads to cancer” than the answer is T.

2) If the text says that “No research showed evidence that smoking is dangerous and leads to cancer” than the answer is F.

3) If the text says “The research included smoking people of both genders of ages 30 to 45″ and nothing else about smoking - your answer is NG.

Don’t make these mistakes:

Don’t assume anything based on your knowledge and experience, read the text! It is the oldest trick in the book and they use it a lot in IELTS.

Don’t “over think” your answer - you could start building long logical sequences that will take you to the wrong answer.

A few Academic Reading tips

Academic Reading module is a little bit different from General Training - instead of 4 or 5 it has only 3 passages (more difficult ones). Actually the first passage is usually the easiest and then they become more and more difficult. With that said, here come the tips:

First of all - don’t read the whole passage. Train yourself to scan and notice only the important information. After you go over the text for the first time, you should know what each paragraph is about, what its main idea. This way of “reading” saves you a lot of priceless time.

Second, watch your time closely. Don’t divide the 60 minutes you have into 3 equal parts of 20 minute. Why? Because the last passage is the hardest and you are going to need more than 20 minutes to crack it. So I suggest 15 - 20 - 25, but feel free to look for any other timing that works for you.

Third, don’t forget to copy your answers to Answer Sheet. You can write them in the booklet as you read the passage, but you get your score based on what is written in the Answer Sheet.

Forth, if you can’t find an answer to certain question - mark it with big fat ??? so you can easily see it later and move on to the next one, don’t get stuck. Later you can get back and try it again if you have time left.

Fifth, count your words - if instructions say “answer in 3 words” - you need to answer in EXACTLY 3 WORDS, when even “a” and “the” count as a word!

When you practice, read your passage, answer the questions, compare your answers to the Answer Sheet and pay special attention to the wrong answers. You need to understand WHY you made those mistakes and remember them so you won’t make them again.