SEVERAL PRACTICAL TIPS AND KEY STRATEGIES IMPLEMENTED IN THE IELTS READING TEST

It is not uncommon that in order to aim for the best results in the Reading test, it is strongly advised that you must implement a mixture of strategies so that you can take an advantage of your time as efficient as possible. Apparently, it is no longer a secret that there are several tips of essential reading comprehension skills which will help you to tackle a certain number of obstacles in this part of the IELTS exam.

1. SKIMMING AND SCANNING

Obviously, it is a very common habit that we tend to apply both skimming and scanning technique regularly in our everyday lives (particularly, when it comes to the reading activity). The skimming technique applied in reading is basically to identify general ideas from a passage and this could be effectively used if an article presented is long enough such as a researched project or a journal report which requires the test taker to quickly gather some of the key information from any given topics. The scanning method on the other side might be useful to find specific information, for example, finding a departure time on a train timetable or when a movie is playing from its regular schedule.

Both skimming and scanning apparently involve reading a text quickly; hence, they are considered as essential skills to be used in the IELTS exam. However, it is necessary to keep it in mind that even though skimming and scanning are considered as the important skills to use in the IELTS reading test, yet, they are used for different purposes. For example, the skimming method could be better applied during the reading test when you need to read quickly just to look out for the main idea of an article without thinking about specific details. While on the other hand, the scanning technique should be better utilized when you need to find particular pieces of information such as evidence or facts.

2. IDENTIFYING MAIN IDEAS AND DETAILS

Often, the texts or passages organized in the IELTS test are generally divided into paragraphs which make a candidate easier to read. Besides, such a reading passage is usually constructed in these following ways:

a. Paragraph 1 (Introduction): theme, statement, objective, purpose

b. Paragraph 2: topic, supporting points, details, arguments, illustrations

c. Paragraph 3: topic, supporting points, details, arguments, illustrations

d. Conclusion: summary and restatement of main idea as overall

Keep in mind that in the introduction part, the writer usually outlines what he or she is going to discuss about along with the main issues to be raised. Each paragraph presented usually deals with one key issue described, which is stated in a topic sentence and it could also possibly be summarized in the last sentence of paragraph. As for the supporting details or additional facts, they are intended to elaborate further the main idea of given paragraph.

3. UNDERSTANDING A WRITER’S OPINION

Literally, such an opinion expressed is basically defined as a personal belief which can either be true or false. It is different from a fact which statement is known for its truth based on generally accepted evidence. Regardless of the pattern of it, a writer’s opinions in the reading texts are usually introduced by phrases such as:

a. Professor Charles argues that .........

b. Some people claim that .........

c. It is a common belief to notice that .........

d. In Thomas’s point of view, .........

e. Many scientists suspect that .........

On the opposite side, certain number of facts might be introduced by phrases such as:

1. According to the latest researched projects, .........

2. Several scientists have discovered that .........

3. Some researched findings confirm that .........

4. As mentioned, it has frequently demonstrated that .........

The typical list of phrases as you can see from the following above examples are the general form of reported speech. Hence, when it comes to answering the writer’s opinion, you should be careful not to allow your own opinions with your choice of answer. In any case, you must remember that when it comes to understanding a writer’s opinion, you are looking for his or her idea (not yours).