The sections get progressively more difficult. Aim to spend about 15 to17 minutes on Section 1, 20 minutes on Section 2 and 23 to 25 minutes on Section 3. If possible, keep some spare time to check your answers.
I would suggest ( and this is how I did it ) that you first read all the questions quickly to get an idea of what type of information is required and whether scanning or skimming (or a combination of the two) is called for. As you read the questions, use a pencil to underline important information such as dates, places and names. If you get a text with a lot of dates, circle them as you go along - chances are the dates are going to be important. If
you circle them you can find them again easily.
Don't worry about writing on the question paper if you need to.
Once you are through with reading all the questions, skim over the text and underline / mark important parts. If you see any information relating to the questions, mark it straight away. You may even be able to answer some questions as you read.
Answer the questions one by one with the help of the underlined parts of the text. Having read the text once, you will find it easy to find specific information by scanning.
The answers usually appear in the text in the same order as the questions.
This will not apply to questions like "In which paragraph does this information appear?" and "Yes / No / Not given". For these question types, the information may be scattered randomly anywhere in the paragraphs.
As soon as you find an answer, write it against the question on the question paper.
Read the instructions for each question very carefully. If the question specifies that you must not use more than three words in your answer, stick to three words.
The toughest questions are the True / False / Not given and Yes / No / Not given ones.True / False / Not given questions are by far the most difficult types of question to answer as they are designed to trick people into thinking about the answer and giving their deduction as an answer.
Do not get stuck on any one question. If you can't get the answer, move on. You can always come back later.
Remember - there is no transfer time for the reading test. Make sure you put your answers down on the answer sheet- not the question paper.
As with the listening test, do not deduce the answer. This is especially true in True / False Not given questions. The answers are in the text, you do not need to work them out.
If you really don't know the answer to a True / False / Not given question, and you want to guess the answer, DON'T choose "Not given" - it's the least frequent answer.
The biggest tip of all: read a lot. Every day read something. The more you read the easier it will be. Study the sentence structure and punctuation of what you read, but most of all, try to grasp the ideas in what you read. Look at a piece of writing and write down some predictions about what the reading will be about. As you read check off these predictions - which ones were right and which ones wrong?
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.
