10 Best IELTS Reading Tips And Tricks To Score 8+ Bands

IELTS (International English Language Testing System) is an exam for the English language. This exam measure students’ English language proficiency in four different modules;

• IELTS Listening
• IELTS Reading
• IELTS Writing
• IELTS Speaking

In this blog, you will learn some of the most useful IELTS reading tips and tricks to help you score high in the IELTS reading exam. 

IELTS reading is an important module of the IELTS exam because it will help you boost your overall IELTS score.

So it is important to use proper tips and tricks to master the IELTS reading exam and increase your overall IELTS score.

So let’s get started!

IELTS Reading

You must completely understand IELTS reading before you learn the best IELTS reading tips and tricks to boost your score.

IELTS reading differs for both IELTS exam types (IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training). But the tips to prepare for the reading in both test types are the same.

So the tricks I will mention in this blog will be helpful for both IELTS exam types. But first of all, you must understand the exam structure of the IELTS reading, including the types of questions in IELTS reading.

IELTS Reading Exam Format

This is the format of the IELTS reading exam that every student must know if they aim to get a 7+ band score in IELTS reading. 

Now let’s look at the tips and tricks for IELTS reading without wasting time.

IELTS Reading Tips And Tricks

The tips I will mention will help you whether you are taking the IELTS exam for the first time or taking the exam again to improve your score. 

You must follow these for the best result for at least 10 to 15 days straight. It may be possible that all of the tips may not work for you, but here you will get something for everyone. 

Here you will surely get that one tip by following which you can score 7+ band score in the IELTS reading.

Here are the best IELTS reading tips and tricks;

1. Skim the passage
2. Pay attention to headings and subheadings
3. Read the questions first
4. Be aware of synonyms and paraphrasing
5. Manage your time effectively
6. Use context to understand unfamiliar words
7. Be cautious with distractors
8. Improve your reading speed
9. Use elimination techniques
10. Guess strategically

Skim the passage

Before reading the passages, take a few minutes to read the questions and underline the keywords. Then skim the passage and search for the keywords you have underlined in the questions. 

When you find the keyword in the paragraph, look for the answer nearby that keyword. There are maximum chances that you will get your answer nearby that keyword.

Pay attention to headings and subheadings

It will benefit you if the paragraphs in the passage have headings or subheadings. The headings or subheadings in a paragraph will give you a brief idea of what the paragraph is about. 

So using the heading, it will be easy for you to know where to search for an answer. It can make searching for an answer easy and save plenty of time.

Read the questions first

As I mentioned in the skimming tip, you must read the question properly and underline the keyword before reading the passage in detail.

This will give you an understanding of what to look for and help you focus on relevant information with the help of underlined keywords. 

Underline or highlight keywords in the questions to guide your reading and can save plenty of valuable time in reviewing your answers.

Be aware of synonyms and paraphrasing

Another one of the most useful and valuable IELTS reading tips and tricks is being aware of synonyms and paraphrasing. 

Paraphrasing is beneficial for the IELTS reading and useful in the IELTS writing module. To get a high score on the IELTS exam, you must be aware of paraphrasing and synonyms. 

In IELTS reading, you will not get the same line or word in the paragraph as in the question instead, you will get its synonym or paraphrased line. 

So if you have a good knowledge of paraphrasing and synonyms, you can easily identify the location of your answer.

You must look for words with similar meanings or sentences expressing the same idea differently.

Manage your time effectively

Time management is also a helpful tip not only for reading modules but also for IELTS writing. So, students must have this skill of managing their time effectively to secure a good band in the IELTS exam.

The skimming process will help you manage your time properly and finish your reading module 5 to 10 minutes in advance. 

You can use these 5 to 10 minutes to review your answers or check for any answers you have doubts about. 

The more you practice by considering the time, the more efficiently you can manage your time.

Use context to understand unfamiliar words

Using context to find the meaning of unfamiliar words is also one of the most useful IELTS reading tips and tricks.

To develop this skill, you can ignore the usage of a dictionary while practicing the IELTS reading. 

While practicing reading, guess a word’s meaning according to the words in its surroundings, and after completing your reading, search in the dictionary whether you have guessed the word’s meaning right or not. 

This process will also help you to gather a lot of useful vocabulary for IELTS writing and speaking.

Be cautious with distractors

Distractors in the reading passage are the information in the reading module that is only added into the passage just to mislead you.

This information is written in the passage in such a way that some students may get confused and select that as an answer to a question.

To avoid this, students are advised to get the proper meaning of the line before selecting any answer.

Improve your reading speed

Another useful IELTS reading tips and tricks is improving your reading speed. This tip helps you manage your time and finish your reading on time. 

So developing this skill will directly impact your time management skill.

Use elimination techniques

When you can not find the right answer to the question at that time, this trick comes into play. 

Using this, you can eliminate the options given for the same question one by one and, in the end, select the answer that is left.

Guess strategically

The last IELTS reading tip and the trick is the guessing strategy. You must know that IELTS reading has no negative marking, so you must answer all the questions.

For a question whose answer you can not find in the passage, you make take a guess and fill in the answer by guessing. 

There are chances that the answer you have guessed is the right answer. 

Conclusion

In this blog, I have discussed the IELTS reading tips and tricks that students can use to improve their IELTS reading scores. 

Before preparing for any exam, you must be aware of its format and question because it will be hard to improve your score without knowing the format.

Skimming, time management, being careful of any distractors, improving reading speed, using elimination techniques, and developing guessing strategies are some of the most important and useful tips and tricks for IELTS reading.

I hope this blog has cleared all your queries about the IELTS reading tips and tricks, but if you still have any questions, please contact our experts.

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