IELTS READING TECHNIQUES AND TIPS_47p.pdf

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DOMINIC COLE

IELST READING

TECHNIQUES, TRAP-AVOIDING,

PROBLEM-SOLVING AND TIPS

ACADEMIC MODULE

Collected and re-edited by TRN MNH TRUNG

HONG DUC UNIVERSITY

2016

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IELTS READING

TECHNIQUES AND TIPS

Written by DOMINIC COLE

Collected and edited by Tran Manh Trung – Hong Duc University - 2016

PART 01:

IEL

IELTS

TS READING TECHNIQUES AND TIPS

READING TECHNIQUES AND TIPS

I. IELTS multiple choice reading questions

The multiple choice question should be familiar to most candidates. That doesn’t make it The multiple choice question should be familiar to most candidates. That doesn’t make it easy though. In many ways the skills needed for this question are the same as for the easy though. In many ways the skills needed for this question are the same as for the True/False/Not Given type – only here you get 4 options and not 3. So, in a sense, it’s harder. True/False/Not Given type – only here you get 4 options and not 3. So, in a sense, it’s harder.

A. The primary reading skill

As with the True/False question type, IELTS multiple choice reading questions require As with the True/False question type, IELTS multiple choice reading questions require very close reading of one or two paragraphs of the text. Very frequently the difficult part is very close reading of one or two paragraphs of the text. Very frequently the difficult part is reading the question care

reading the question carefully too. At least 3 of the 4 fully too. At least 3 of the 4 possible answers may look ok until you readpossible answers may look ok until you read them closely.

them closely.

B. The two types of question – fact and opinion

It’s very important to recognise that there are 2 t

It’s very important to recognise that there are 2 t ypes of question those that:ypes of question those that: - ask you for t

- ask you for the writer’s opinionhe writer’s opinion - ask you to fin

- ask you to fin d factual informationd factual information Let me explain why this

Let me explain why this distinction matters with this easy example:distinction matters with this easy example:

Different

Different people people read read for for different different reasons. reasons. For For examexample, ple, the the attraction attraction of of reading reading detectivedetective fiction can

fiction can be in the be in the intellectual challenge of finding intellectual challenge of finding out who diout who di d it, in d it, in an autobiography we canan autobiography we can eavesdrop on the conversations of the great and good or we can laugh at folly in the celebrity eavesdrop on the conversations of the great and good or we can laugh at folly in the celebrity magazine. For many children it is a magic gateway to some other world.

magazine. For many children it is a magic gateway to some other world. Sadly, that is one of theSadly, that is one of the

greatest mistakes they can make.

According to the author

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1. they find out about other countriesthey find out about other countries

2.

2. differendifferent ft from other rom other generationsgenerations

3.

3. escaping into another worldescaping into another world

4.

4. foolishfoolish

Without the words highlighted in red, the answer must be 3., with those words it becomes 4. Without the words highlighted in red, the answer must be 3., with those words it becomes 4. Tip 01: don’t stop reading too soon. An answer may seem right but if the next word is

Tip 01: don’t stop reading too soon. An answer may seem right but if the next word is

something like “but” the meaning changes completely.

C. The traps and how to avoid them

It helps to know how the examiners try and trap you. The way they do this is fairly It helps to know how the examiners try and trap you. The way they do this is fairly predictable. Le

predictable. Let’s look at another examt’s look at another example:ple:

What were the findings of the research in Scotland: What were the findings of the research in Scotland:

1.

1. anti-smoking legislation was more effective in the USAanti-smoking legislation was more effective in the USA

2.

2. advertising of tobacco products had less effect on old tadvertising of tobacco products had less effect on old than on young peoplehan on young people

3.

3. the legislation was unpopular with the print mediathe legislation was unpopular with the print media

4.

4. almost a third of young people stalmost a third of young people stopped smoking after the legislationopped smoking after the legislation

These conclusions are the result of extensive research carried out over the past 20 years around These conclusions are the result of extensive research carried out over the past 20 years around various countries into the effect of banning tobacco advertising. In Scotland it was found that the various countries into the effect of banning tobacco advertising. In Scotland it was found that the incidence of smoking fell by 30% in the 18-24 age group after legislation prohibiting the incidence of smoking fell by 30% in the 18-24 age group after legislation prohibiting the advertising of tobacco products in all print media was introduced. A separate piece of research advertising of tobacco products in all print media was introduced. A separate piece of research in the United States of America found that when tobacco advertising was banned in 34 states, in the United States of America found that when tobacco advertising was banned in 34 states, this reduced the level of smoking by 50%.

this reduced the level of smoking by 50%.

1. In the text but doesn’t answer the questio 1. In the text but doesn’t answer the questionn

Answer 1 above is wrong because it doesn’t answer the question. This was not the Answer 1 above is wrong because it doesn’t answer the question. This was not the findings of the research in Scotland

findings of the research in Scotland It’s easy to fall for this tIt’s easy to fall for this trap as the information is correct.rap as the information is correct. Tip 02: always go back and re-read the quest

Tip 02: always go back and re-read the question before you answerion before you answer

2. Probably true but you’re guessing information 2. Probably true but you’re guessing information

Answer 2 is wrong because we don’t have the information in the text. We might be able Answer 2 is wrong because we don’t have the information in the text. We might be able to guess that this is true, but if it doesn’t sa

to guess that this is true, but if it doesn’t sa y so in the text the answer is not correct.y so in the text the answer is not correct.

Tip 03: always make sure you look at all answers, don’t guess too soon. You may find a

better answer later.

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3. You’re word matching – read the context

This one contains most words from the text so there is an obvious temptation to say “yes”. There is in fact no evidence for this in the text at all. A very typical mistake is to match words in the question and text. You need to read the context for meaning to avoid this mistake. Tip 04: always refocus on the exact wording of the question before giving the answer. Be suspicious of answers that contain almost the same language as the text

4. Correct – you match meanings –

“almost a third” = “30%” and “18-24 age group” matches “young people”

D. Suggested procedure

1. Look at the questions first to see what topics you need to look for – be aware you may need to look for synonyms

2. Concentrate on the stem of the question when you ar e looking for the right part of the text 3. Skim the text to identify the correct paragraphs to read: the questions will go in order so

question 5 will come between 4 and 6

4. Read the the correct part of the paragraph carefully and then re-read the question – looking at each option in turn

5. Ask yourself if you are looking for fact or opinion 6. Delete the answers you know to be incorrect

7. Underline the words in the text that gi ve you the answer

II. True / False / Not given Questions

Perhaps the question type that gives most pain to most IELTS candidates is the True/False/Not given question type. Here are some pointers to help you improve your IELTS band score with a link to some specific practice on this type of question.

A. The question types

In fact there are two question types here: 1. True/False/Not given: fact based 2. Yes/No/Not given: opinion based

In each case you need to decide if the information in the text agrees with the information in the question. You should note that in the “Yes/No/Not given” questions, you are normally asked to look for the writer’s opinions rather than facts.

B. Note the key skill

The key skill here is to understand that you are interpreting the text and the question. This means that you need to read very closely and pay attention to what the writer means. Don’t

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think of it just as a skimming question, rather a question where you need to read parts of the text and the whole question closely and decide what the writer means.

C. How to get the answers right

True/Yes

There is information in the text that agrees exactly with the statement in the question. Note that you will almost certainly need to look for synonyms here and match meaning and not

words.

False/No

There is information in the text that is directly opposite to or contradicts the statement in the question. Again note that you will also need to think about meaning here. You should pay careful attention to “little” words that qualify or change meaning such as: some , all, often, occasionally

Not Given

This is the one that normally causes the most problems. Something is not given if there is no information about it in the text. Do not spend ages looking for Not Given answers because you will waste time.

D. Guessing intelligently

This is probably the hardest question type. Don’t despair though you have a good chance of guessing correctly. In fact the questions are hard because you have a one in three chance of guessing! Here is my suggestion

1. if you find information in the text about the statement in the question: guessTrue orFalse but remember to read the whole question and not just match words in it 2. if you find no information in the text about the statement guess Not Given – don’t waste

time. Typically, answer are Not Given when they match just one or two words in the question 3. if you have no idea, then guess Not Given. You have a one in three chance of being right

and you may have no idea b ecause it isn’t there!

E. Some examples of how the questions work

Macallan is one of the four top selling brands of malt whisky in the world. It is made in barrels made of Spanish oak that have previously been used for sherry because this adds sweetness to its flavour.

True

Macallan is globally successful.

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False

Macallan is made in metal containers.

This is false because the text says it us made in barrels of Spanish oak.Because oak is a wood this contradicts the words int he question metal containers. Note that you need to think about meaning

Not Given

Macallan is made in Spain.

There is no information about whereit is made. Be careful of the trap of seeing the wordsSpanish and made in the text. Usually with Not Given answers you will find some words in the text that match words int he question without matching the meaning of the whole question.

F. A difficulty – Not Given

The “Not Given” variation is probably what makes this type of question so difficult. How can you deal with this problem? You need to understand that:

 “Not given” does not mean no words in the question are used in the text. Typically, you will find some of words from the question in the text – they simply don’t answer the whole question

 You cannot add information that is probably true: you can only use the information given in the text

G. Some practical tips

1. Read the whole question. Do NOT focus on key words. Think about the meaning of the question.

2. Be especially careful with words such as “often” and “some”. They can change the meaning of the question dramatically.

3. Be careful with questions beginning “The writer says”: here you need to think about the writer’s opinions and not about facts.

4. The questions will follow the order of the text: if you can’t find answer 12, you know it must be somewhere between 11 and 13.

5. Do not spend too long on any one question. If the answer is “Not Given”, there may be nothing for you to find.

6. One possibility is to mark all the “True” answers and all the “False” answers and then guess “Not Given” for the others.

H. A suggested procedure

Here is my s uggested procedure:

1. Read the instructions carefully and note whether you are being asked to look for facts or opinions.

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2. Look at all the questions and see what topics they ask about. You may note key words here, but only to identify the correct part of the text to read.

3. Skim the text to identify which paragraphs you need to read more closely. Note that the questions will follow the order of the text and so the answer to question 10 will follow the answer to question 11

4. Mark on the question paper which paragraphs relate to which question: eg, write 11 against paragraph E

5. Refocus on the question and read the whole question: be careful with tricky words like “usually”

6. Underline the words in the text that give you the answer. This helps you concentrate and also allows you to change your mind, if you find a better answer later.

A variation is to mark the “True” answers first as they tend to be the easiest and then go back to the “False” and “Not given” later.

I. True False Not Given – some tips and an

exercise

This lesson reminds you of some tips on the True False Not Given question t ype in IELTS reading. There are two main points to focus on when you are answering the question: firstly, to think about meaning and not just words, and secondly to focus on the question as much as the text itself. There is also an interactive quiz at the bottom for you to test your skills.

A. Tip one – Underline the part of the text that shows the answer

A forgotten reading skill is to learning how to read intensively when you are looking for the answer itself. Forget “key words” – they only show where to find the answer. Once you have found the right part of the text, read very carefully – you want t o find something that says:

1. This agrees with the information in th e question – True 2. This contradicts the informnation in the q uestion – False

Do NOT read generally at this point. You want to find something you can underline. If you cannot find anything specific that you can underline, then the answer is l ikely to be Not Given.

B. Tip two – Refer back to the whole question and think about its

meaning

IELTS reading is designed how well you understand reading passages. This means you always want to focus on meaning when you are looking for the answer. Once you have found the right part of the text, forget key words. It’s quite possible to find words in the text that match words in the question, but the overall meaning is quite different.

1. Go back to the question and re-read it carefully – focus on the little words too (some, never , generally etc), these can change the meanings of questions dramatically. Ask yourself if you are looking for something absolutely true or something that is qualified in some ay.

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2. Re-read the text. Does it mean the same as the question? Make sure you check the text and question against each other – that they mean the same t hing.

C. Some practice questions

The majority of professional players on the ATP and the WTA tours now use polyester strings made by Luxilon, a company that specialised in the past in manufacturing fibres for female undergarments. The trend was started by the then little-known Brazilian player Gustavo Kuerten who more or less by chance discovered that this string was almost completely “dead” – meaning that the players are able to swing much harder at the ball and impart much more spin on it without it flying off uncontrollably as it would do with a traditional gut string. Kuerten of course went on to achieve much success and, in the clay court game at least, is r egarded as one of the modern greats. His most lasting legacy though may not be his titles, rather it may be that his use of a material primarily made for women’s bras allowed him and successive champions to change how the tennis ball flew. Players were able to find completely new angles on the court because, in the hands of a master, a shot hit with a luxilon string that might look as if it were

heading way out of court would suddenly drop like a stone, describing an almost perfect parabola. This technological innovation has revolutionised the way in which the game is now played. For example, Roger Federer, a man who many regard as the greatest player of all time, may have begun his career as an attacking all-court player, but in latter years he has been forced become a much more defensively orientated player who chooses his time to attack more

carefully. Indeed, he is on record as saying that new string technology has changed the face of the game and that he has had to adapt his game to counter players who stand behind the baseline and produce winning shots from almost nowhere.

True/False/Not Given – Luxilon

Question 1

Roger Federer uses luxilon to string his tennis racket.

A

True

B

False

C

Not Given Question 2

The use of luxilon allowed players to hit new types of shots.

A

True

B

False

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Question 3

Roger Federer has always played an attacking gam e of tennis.

A

True

B

False

C

Not Given

Question 1 Explanation:

We know that “The majority of professional players on the ATP and the WTA tours now use polyester strings made by Luxilon” and that Federer believes”new string technology has

changed the face of the game”. You might assume therefore that he uses the string. There is, however, no information in the text about what type of string Federer uses – he may be part of the majority, he may be part of the minority, we simply don’t know.

We find the answer in “ the players are able to swing much harder at the ball and impart much more spin on it without it flying off uncontrollably” and “Players were able to find completely new angles on the court because, in the hands of a master, a shot hit with a luxilon string that might look as if it were heading way out of court would suddenly drop like a stone, describing an almost perfect parabola.”

We have enough information in the text fro m “Roger Federer, a man who many regard as the greatest player of all time, may have begun his career as an attacking all-court player, but in latter years he has been forced become a more defensively orientated player who chooses his time to attack more carefully.” This is a “trick question” if you look only at the words “Federer” and “attacking”, you may want to say True. If, however, you read the whole question including the word “always”, then the answer must be False. The idea is that Federer has changed the way he plays into a more defensive style

D. True False Not Given reading practice

This lesson has two purposes. In it you will find a short exercise to test your True/False/Not Given skills and an explanation of how to deal with more difficult words in IELTS reading texts.

1. The skill of reading closely

The text is designed to be slightly harder than the average IELTS text as it contains quite a high proportion of unexpected words and long sentences. The idea is to focus you on the skill

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of reading closely. The idea is that you need to try and read the text closely before you decide on your answer.

This is especially important in T/F/NG questions which require you to understand the writer’s meaning and not just to see whether you can find a particular word in the text. If you simply match the words in the question with the words in the text, you will very likely go wrong with this text.

2. Dealing with harder words

The first point to note is that you should not panic if you find a word you cannot understand:  it may not be important to understanding of the passage and /or finding the answer

you may be able to guess its general meaning from context (the words around it) This text contains three words that may well be new to you:

utopia dystopia manifesto

You should be able to guess their general meaning by simply reading on. You don’t need a dictionary definition – just a good idea about what the words mean. The tip is to pay close attention to relative clauses (and disguised relative clauses with -ing for ms):

utopias which paint a picture of an ideal society

dystopias in which the world is a much less desirable and often frightening place a political manifesto proposing a form of government

From this you should see that a utopia is something good (“ideal”), dystopia something bad (“less desirable and frightening”) while manifesto is to do with politics and proposes.

3. Visions of the future – True False Not Given reading

Humans have always speculated about what society may or should look like in the f uture and there is a long and honourable tradition of writers who have described their vision of the world in a future age. One possible division of these books is into utopias which paint a picture of an ideal society and dystopias in which the world is a much less desirable and often frightening place. Perhaps the most famous utopia remains Plato’s Republic, written around two

and half thousand years ago, which is also partly a political manifesto proposing a form of government where philosophers kings rule in the interests of the many. In its day, this most

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undemocratic proposal was less controversial than it would be today, as there was a strong body of opinion in Athens that democracy was not a model form of government. While many today may find Plato’s vision unpleasant, his intention was otherwise and the book has the optimistic goal of showing how the ills of society could be cured. This optimism stands in stark contrast to George Orwell’s dystopian nightmare 1984. That book too presents a version of what society may look like in the future, but it has a quite different purpose: the aim of the book is to serve as a warning. The reader is meant to be shocked and horrified by the world of deception and tyranny it portrays, a world where the state authorities, in the form of Big Brother, have absolute control of every aspect of individuals’ lives and where truth is lost.

Test you rself

trt

Question 1

The society proposed by Plato in The Republic is democratic.

A

True

B

False

C

George Orwell wrote 1984 as a warning against communism.

A

True

B

False

C

1984 presents a pessimistic view of the future.

A

True

B

False

C

Not Given

Don't be caught out by the word "proposed" in the question and match it to "proposal" in the text. The idea is "undemocratic"

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In life this is in fact true, but there is nothing in the text about communism. We have no information on the topic, so the answer is Not Given

"This optimism stands in stark contrast to George Orwell’s dystopian nightmare 1984." The opposite of optimism is pessimism and you need to see that 1984 contrasts to the optimism of The Republic. You can also understand this from the word "nightmare", even if you do not understand "dystopian".

4. True/ false/ not given reading practice

This is a little quick practice on the most hated type of reading question. Before you tackle it remember:

True means that there is something in the text that agrees with the question

False means that there is something in the text that contradicts the question

Not given means that there is nothing in the text that answers the question one way or another, You need to look for meanings and not just words. In most cases you get the a nswer right byinterpreting the meanings of phrases/sentences. You should also be careful with your key word strategy. This is one type of question where you need to pay attention to all the words in the question before you answer it – the key words only tell where to l ook not what the answer is.

a. The reading practice

CLOCK - WATCHES

The first timepieces that were worn are the so-called clock-watches of the mid 16th century. They were quite different from the modern day wristwatch in several respects. They were made almost completely from brass and were not round but cylindrical in shape with a hinged metal cover instead of a glass face. This was in the form of a grill so that the hour hand – there was no minute hand or s econd hand – could be seen without opening it. Another difference was that these clock-watches were almost entirely decorative in purpose and were worn in the same way as a necklace or a brooch, typically being attached to the clothing or hung around the neck. Part of the reason for this is that the many of the first watch makers were jewellers by trade, men who had to find a new form of work after Calvin banned the wearing of jewellery in 1547. So they brought the skills of ornamentation to their new craft. So while the most famous clock-watches were the plain Nuremburg Eggs made by Peter Henlein, who is sometimes credited with the invention of the watch, the designs rapidly became increasingly ornate and included shapes such as flowers, stars and animals. Indeed, the nobility, who were the only people able to afford these timepieces, bought them almost exclusively for their appearance and not for timekeeping

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purposes for the simple reason that t hey would often gain or los e several hours in the course of a day.

Clock-watches readingSt Question 1

Clock watches only had one hand

A

True

B

False

C

Peter Henlein first worked as a jeweller

A

True

B

False

C

All the first clock-watches were ornate.

A

True

B

False

C

Not Given

Once you are finished, click the button below. Any items you have not completed will be marked incorrect.

Fairly simple I hope. You look for the word "hand" to see where to get the answer and then you read this: "the hour hand - there was no minute hand or second hand - could be seen without opening it". That should te ll you there was only one hand,

This may be the trick question. You do have information about Peter Henlein but there is nothing about his FIRST job. Don't be fooled by seeing this "many of the first watch makers were jewellers by trade". This does not mean that he was one. We just don't know.

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Another question where you need to read for meaning and pay close attention to the question. In some ways the key word is ALL. Read this "So while the most famous clock-watches were the plain Nuremburg Eggs made by Peter Henlein, who is sometimes credited with the invention of the watch, the designs rapidly became increasingly ornate". That means that some clock-watches were plain and not ornate.

III. IELTS paragraphs and headings

A. The IELTS paragraphs and headings task

1. The task is to match between 5 and 7 headings to paragraphs in the t ext. 2. There are always more headings than paragraphs

3. You may need to read the whole text or only a part of it

B. The reading skill – skimming and general meaning

The main skill tested here is your ability to read quickly and get the main meaning of a paragraph. This means that:

1. If you find a word you don’t understand: ignore it – you are looking for meanings of paragraphs not words

2. Don’t simply match a word in the question with a word in the text – read the sentence/paragraph to see how it is being used

3. Concentrate on the openings and closings of paragraphs – that is where the writer normally makes the main point

C. Some problems and their solutions

This can be one of the easier types of question but it is also easy to get them all wrong! Here are one or two difficulties.

a. A large part of the text – too much to read

You may need to read the whole text or a large part of it anyway. Make this problem into a virtue.

One idea is that you do this task first – even if it is not the first set of questions. This allows you to understand what the text is about.

b. Just matching words

Sometimes you can find the answer by matching words in the heading with words in the text. Often though it is not as simple as matching words.The word in the heading may beenvironmental and the word in the paragraph may be green.

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Think meaning, not words. When you look at the headings remember that the paragraphs may not contain those exact same words.

c. Similar headings

Some of the headings seem quite similar and contain similar words.

Make sure you spend time reading them all and try every heading with every paragraph . This may take time but you will avoid a lot of mistakes.

Avoid concentrating on words that are common to all or many of the headings. Look for words that are special to that heading.

d. Only looking at first lines – trying to go too quickly

You want to work efficiently, so often you avoid reading the whole paragraph. Often you can guess the meaning from the first few lines of the paragraph. This is because the writer uses a topic sentence at the start to say what the paragraph is going to be about. The problem is that this only works sometimes. The meaning you need may be in the last few lines of the paragraph, or sometimes from the whole paragraph itself.

Look to see if the final sentence of the paragraph gives a summary of what the paragraph is about.

Don’t stop reading too quickly and skim the whole paragraph . Some paragraphs are a combination of ideas and to get their general meaning you need to skim the whole paragraph for general meaning.

e. Wasting time on one paragraph

Often you waste time because the first paragraph is the hardest to match. You may spend a long time concentrating on that one because it is one of the harder matches and you have lots of options.

Easy. Write in 2/3 headings it could be and move on . When you come back after doing the other questions, it may seem obvious. Don’t guess immediately. Do the task twice and using a code. The code I suggest is that you mark in capital letters (CD etc) if you are certain and small letters (cd etc) if you are unsure.

D. A suggested procedure

1. Look at the headings first. Don’t spend too much time on this, as at least some of them will be wrong. Try and identify what the more important words are. By looking at the headings first, you get a good idea of the general meaning of the text. That will help your reading.

2. Look at the first paragraph. Try to ignore the detail and look for the main point – these arenormally found in the first few lines –that may be the topic of the paragraph. Does it

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match any of the headings? Don’t forget to check final sentences too –that may be a summary of the paragraph.

3. Try all the headings for each paragraph. Lots of mistakes happen because you try and work too quickly.

4. If you are unsure and it could be heading a) or b) – write down a) or b). Don’t guess yet. Come back at the end.

5. Make sure you underline/circle the words in the text that best match the heading. If you do this, you can easily check your answer, if you want to use the same heading for another paragraph later on.

6. Move onto the next paragraph and repeat the process. Don’t expect to complete all the paragraphs first time around.

7. Go back at the end and make a decision about the paragraphs you didn’t do first time. Try and be as careful as possible. Don’t rush.

8. If you are uncertain, it sometimes makes sense to use the same heading for 2 paragraphs. You will get one wrong and one right. If you guess, you may get two wrong (or t wo right!)

IV. ELTS reading text completion questions

This is the next in my series of IELTS reading tutorials where I look at the different types of questions you can expect to find in the exam. In this one, I talk you through the IELTS reading text completion task, showing you some of the problems it can cause and giving you strategies to deal with them.

A. Test yourself

Below is a complete reading passage with 6 sample t ext completion questions. You can either do it now or take the tutorial and come back to it.

1. Text completion exercise

Weather forecasts

It is hard to imagine a world without weather forecasts they have become so essential to so many facets of everyday life in the 21st Century. On an individual basis, of course, people use weather forecasts to decide what to wear: whether they need an umbrella, protection against the sun or even medication against abnormally high pollen levels. The

forecast is also seen as a necessary safeguard to protect life and property and we have also become accustomed to receiving warnings against extreme weather conditions such as

drought, heavy snow, flooding or high winds. In our increasingly motorised age, the weather report is now seen as vital for advising drivers of difficult driving conditions. The forecast is equally important in agriculture and commerce so that famers can grow their crops and commodity brokers can trade them on stock markets. Energy providers are also among a wide range of institutions that rely on an accurate forecast so that they can plan ahead for the services they provide.

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While the technology we use today to provide weather forecasts is new, the stud y of weather patterns is as old as the hills as mankind has always been dependent on weather. In primitive civilisations, hunters, warriors, farmers and shepherds alike would look to the gods

in the sky as the force behind the weather. Often the priests of these gods would enjoy high status and considerable power in the belief they could influence the gods to provide the right weather conditions by performing a rain dance or even, in the case of the Aztecs,

commanding a human sacrifice. The actual forecasting methods usually relied on

observed patterns of events, also termed p attern recognition. For example, if the sunset was particularly red, the following day often brought fair weather. This form of weather lore,

which was passed from one generation to the next, has not entirely disappeared as is

evidenced by such sayings as “red sky at night, shepherds’ delight”. However, not all of these predictions proved reliable, and many of them have since been found not to stand up to

rigorous statistical testing b y meteorologists today.

Our roots of our modern scientific tradition can be traced back to the Babylonians who began to predict weather from cloud formations and, more particularly, the Ancient Greeks. As is the case in so many other fields, Aristotle is considered to have founded the modern science of meteorology when he correctly identified the hydrologic cycle in 350 BC. This cycle, which describes the continuous movement of water on, above and below the surface of the Earth, is fundamental to much of modern weather forecasting. However, Aristotle himself and his follower and pupil Theophrastus largely failed to make the

connection between the water cycle and weather forecasting and their science was scarcely more reliable than the aboriginal rain dance. Indeed, t he word “meteorology” literally means the study of heavenly bodies and the Greeks attempted to explain weather conditions through heavenly signs such as colours of the sky, rings and halos.

The influence of Aristotle on weather forecasting lasted for almost 2000 years and was only gradually eroded by a combination of a series of scientific discoveries and advances in communication technology. One important step forward was made in 1654 when Fernando de Medici set up the first weather observation network with meteorological stations in e leven separate European cities. When this data was centrally collected in Florence, it became possible to analyse weather patterns on a grander scale than ever before by allowing maps to be produced that showed atmospheric conditions over a large area of the Earth’s surface. The

invention of the telegraph in 1837 allowed su ch observations to be collected more

quickly and from a wider region than ever before and as a consequence meteorologists were able to identify the global nature o f weather patterns.

A central figure in turning the science of meteorology into the modern-day weather forecast was Robert Fitzroy. Fitzroy was a man of many talents who had sailed with Charles Darwin in The Beagle, helped to pioneer the use of barometers in the na vy and correctly identified sunspots as an influence on weather conditions As a former naval captain he was aware of the necessity of accurate forecasting and he helped to establish The United

Kingdom Meteorological Office, which became the first national meteorological service in the world. This office would advise ports around the United Kingdom when a gale was expected so that the fishing fleets would not put out to sea. These forecasts were so reliable that they were published in the newly-founded daily newspapers and it is said that Queen Victoria would not sail anywhere unless Fitzroy had said the seas would be calm.

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How has weather forecasting evolved in the p ast 20 years? There have been a number of influences and perhaps the most visible is the use of satellite technology. It is almost

impossible to watch a forecast on television nowadays without seeing a satellite picture showing where the areas of high pressure and low pressure are and how the weather is likely to develop. Indeed, a whole new industry of “nowcasting” has developed, telling us what the weather is like now and what we could expect tot see if we could be bothered to look out of the window. A less evident, but equally relevant, innovation has been the application of the comparatively new science of mathematical modelling to weather forecasting. This involves using the massive computational powers of supercomputers to p rocess all the different variables so as to provide some likely forecasts of what will happen next with the weather. Even here, however, the science is b y no means complete and the weather experts still need to choose between different possible forecasts. How do they do that? Experience and

judgment – not perhaps that different from the ancient Babylonians who decided if it was going to rain by looking at the shape of the cloud.

Complete the summary below.

Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.

Early societies used to predict the weather by noting . Although this body of knowledge was not completely in making forecasts, it was more accurate than performing a rain dance. While the discovery of was academically important, it did not notably improve forecasting methods. The establishment of an was a major step forward because then early

meteorologists charts showing weather patterns. However, real progress was not made until the information that formed the basis of these charts could be sent by means of telegraph.

2. The task

The task is to complete a text with words from the passage. The text you need to complete can vary, sometimes it is a series of sentences, sometimes a table and sometimes a s hort summary.

Notes

- Typically, you will need to read 2/3 paragraphs to get all the answers. Sometimes you may need to read the whole passage

- The questions will follow the order of the passage.

- If there is one thing that makes this task tough, it’s that you need a little grammar to do it well!

Problem 1 – read the question

Be very careful to read the question carefully as the examiners use different words sometimes. Look at these examples:

1. Complete the summary below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.

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2. Complete the table below. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.

3. Answer the question below using NO MORE THAN T HREE WORDS for each answer. In each case you need to do something different.

1. This a text completion task and you can use 1,2 or 3 words from the passage for your answer

2. This is also a text completion task, but this time you can only use 1 0r 2 words from the passage

3. This is not a text completion task. The words you use do not need to come from the passage

Tip: remember in this task you need to use words from the passage. You cannot change the form or order of those words. You must write them down as they appear in the passage.

Problem 2 – a test of grammar

The words you use to complete the text must fit grammatically. Look at this simple example:

Passage

Traditionally, it was always supposed that it was the Egyptians who first domesticated the cat. The primary evidence for this are the depictions of cats in paintings and statuary in Egypt from over 3,500 years ago and it is indeed the case that the ancient Egyptians had an extraordinarily close relationship with cats. One of the major deities in the New Kingdom, Bast, was a cat-goddess that symbolised fertility and motherhood and the Greek historian Herodotus tells how cats were often mummified and given a funeral, sometimes with the mummified remains of mice so that they could enjoy the afterlife

This traditional view has been overturned, however, by the discovery in 2004 of a grave in Cyprus that was 9,500 years old in which the remains of a cat were found next to a human. Clearly, the human association with cats predates the ancient Egyptians by many millennia. It is now thought that it was in the Fertile Crescent, modern-day Iraq, that humans first domesticated the cat. Agriculture was invented in this region and the likelihood is that cats were used to control the rodents and other vermin that fed on the crops and raided the grain stores.

Questions

The (1)________________ were the first people to have the cat as a pet. We know this from (2)______________________ created over millennia ago and it is thought that cats (3)_________________ so that they could enjoy eternal life. There is, however, some doubt

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about this (4)__________________ theory because the remains of a cat were found buried with human remains in (5)____________.

Even before you read, you should be able t o predict - must be a noun after “The”

- likely to be a noun after “from” - must be a verb form

- must be an adjective between “this” and “t heory” - either a place or a time after “in”

Tip: Even if you can’t predict the correct word form before you read, you must check afterwards that what you have written is good grammar.

Problem 3 – recognise synonyms

Another major problem is that the words used in the text you have to complete will not exactly match the words from the passage. This means that you need to read for meaning and simply look for the same words in the passage. So there is no point looking for the word “pet” as the word in the passage is “domesticated”.

3. A suggested technique

1. Read the instructions very carefully: check how many words you can use

2. Read the summary/table/sentences to see what general information you are looking for. Ignore any specific words, think about meaning

3. Skim the text quickly to find the paragraphs you need to read more carefully. It’s a good idea to concentrate the first and last question as they will tell you how much of the text you need to read.

4. Look back at each question one by one and look for what specific information you need. If you can, try and decide if you are looking for nouns, prepositions, verbs or adjectives

5. Find the sentence in the passage that you think most clearly matches the question 6. Check carefully that what you have written fits grammatically and makes sense too. 7. Spell the words correctly!

Answers

Weather text

1. patterns of flight 2. reliable 3. hydrologic cycle 4. observation network 5. produced

6. collected more quickly

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Cat text

1. Egyptians

2. paintings and statuary 3. were often mummified 4. traditional

5. Cyprus

V. Summary completion

This is the next in my series of reading tutorials and looks at the summary completion question type in IELTS reading. First of all I talk you through the task and discuss the problems it presents and the reading skills you need to improve your band score. Then I suggest a procedure to deal with this type of question. There is a sample reading test for you to do at the

end.

A. Format of the question

The format of the question is that you are asked to complete a summary of the reading passage by selecting words from a box. You should note:

1. there are more words in the box t han questions

2. the words on the box are not usually the same as in the reading passage 3. the summary may relate to the whole passage or only a part of it

4. the text of the summary will follow the order of the text of t he passage

B. Key reading skills

Concentrate on understanding the meaning of the passage. Don’t try and match words in the summary and the passage.

The main skill here is the ability to read a text quickly and understand its general meaning. If you can do this, you should be able to predict many of the correct answers even before you analyse the text.

The vocabulary skill you need most is the ability to recognise “synonyms”or words that have a similar meaning. This is because the words from the summary may not exactly match the reading passage itself.

Another key skill is to think grammar. Each word you place in the summary must fit in grammatically. It helps to know whether you need a noun, adjective, verb or adverb.

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C. Problems and common mistakes

Remember that the completed summary must make sense grammatically. Check the parts of speech and read through the completed summary at the end

The main difficulty this task presents is that it requires you to read all or a large part of the passage. One suggestion is to do it first even if it is not the first set of questions – that way you should get a b etter understanding of the passage as a whole.

Another problem is that there are a lot of possible words to consider – normally they give twice as many words as there are spaces. It’s important to be methodical here and make sure you consider all the words before you put in your answer. it may take more time, but you’ll get more questions right that way.

A very common mistake is to fill in a word because you recognise it form the passage. Try not to do this, but rather think about meanings of words as you are almost always looking for a synonym.

Another common mistake is to choose a word that has the right general meaning but does not fit grammatically in the summary passage. One way to avoid this mistake is to read the summary sentence by sentence and not just look at the words either side of t he gap.

D. Sample task – vocabulary and synonyms

Read this short passage and then decide which is the best word to complete the summary sentence:

Passage

Another possibility is that an asteroid or comet will crash into Earth, wiping out most if not all of mankind in seconds. In 1908, an asteroid just 60 metres in diameter exploded above Tunguska in Siberia, destroying 80 million trees. If that happened over an inhabited area, the death toll would be millions – and that was just a small hit, predicted to happen about one every 100 years. The asteroid that killed off the dinosaurs was more than 10kn across, and there are craters in Australia and Norway that suggest that similar-sized rocks have hit in the distant past.

Instructions: Click the answer button to see the correct answer.

1. An asteroid strike was responsible for making t he dinosaurs ______________. a. destroyed

b. dead c. extinct Answer: c

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The answer is “extinct” even though it doesn’t appear in the original passage. It is correct because it summarises the meaning of the passage and is a close synonym of “killed off”.

E. Sample task – grammar and word forms

To help you understand this task, look at this sample summary. What can you predict about each word?

An (1)___________ amount of young people are suffering from depression and other mental (2)__________. There is a (3)_________ with older generations who have been shown to be living longer. Research into this has been carried out by scientists in the United States. They have (4)___________ that there is almost certainly a connection between (5)___________ and mental health.

In the grammar task:

1. Must start with a vowel sound because of “an” and is presumably an adjective coming before the noun amount.

2.We need a noun that follows “mental”. 3. Must be a noun following “a”

4. This is surely a verb form between “have” and “that” – probably a past participle

5. This is possibly an adjective such as “physical” to balance “mental” or it could be a noun such as “diet” to balance the word “health”.

A suggested procedure

Don’t get stuck on any one question. If you can’t find the answer, move on and come back to it later.

1. Read the instructions to the questions very carefully.

2. Skim through the summary ignoring the blanks to understand its general meaning

3. Identify which part of the passage the summary relates to. You don’t want to waste time looking at parts of the passage that are not included in the summary.To do this look at the first and last questions in the s ummary.

4. Look at each gap in turn. If you can, try and predict the meaning of the word from your understanding of the text. Then see if any of the options match your prediction. Remember to look through all the words.

5. Check with the passage. You can use your “key word” strategy to identify th e correct part of the passage but remember you are looking for syno nyms

6. Check to see if your word is grammatical – think about nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs.

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VI. IELTS reading matching features

In this lesson I look at the IELTS reading matching features question. I help you along with a suggested strategy for approaching this type of question and show you some of the more common traps.

A. An example of how it works

The way this reading works is you have to find elements in the text that match a list of people/places

eg, You have a list of names such as

A. George Stephenson B. Richard Trevithick

C. Archimedes D. James Watt E. the Corinthians

F. John Fitch

and you have to match them to items in the text: Which pioneer

1. was responsible for building a life size steam locomotive

2. legally protected the design of the working model of the steam locomotive 3. created a small scale replica of a steam locomotive

4. was defeated by the limitations of the raw materials available to him 5. understood the potential of steam locomotives to transport people 6. used steam as a form of propulsion

7. discovered how to use steam engines in the manufacturing industry 8. used animals and not steam to power a form of railway

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B. The traps

It may look easy but there are traps.

1. Read the context – don’t word match Look at this example:

The first step was the design of a working model of a steam locomotive by John Fitch in the United States in 1794

You may think that this means you can match John Fitch with 2. You see “the design of the working model of the steam locomotive” and you match it with “legally protected the design of the working model of the steam locomotive”. Sorry, you just lost a point by not reading the context and the question. We see nothing th ere that says Fitch legally protected the design.

2. Read for synonyms – don’t match words

Another problem is that you may need to look for synonyms or similar words in the passage and not the exact words in the question. Look at this example:

8. used animals and not steam to power a form of railway

It is no good looking for the word “animals” in the text because the answer is given by these words:

The Corinthians did not consider using steam to power this prototype of the railway but instead used horses and oxen.

This means you need to read for meaning and not just individual words. 3. You are looking for similar words in every question

In every question, you are going to be looking for “firsts” and “steam” and normally “locomotive’. This means it makes no sens e to concentrate on these words in the t ext.

4. The questions do not follow the order of the text

This is one of those tricky question types where you cannot necessarily read the text and expect to find the questions coming in order. You may have to go backwards and forwards as you read: this is where you need to be sure of your scanning skills.

5. You may use more than one name once

Don’t be trapped into using each name just once. It may be that some names have two or more correct answers.

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C. A suggested procedure

You will find your own way to do this exercise, but here is my suggestion: 1. focus on the names/dates/places: in my example James Watt etc

2. scan the text for those names and underline them in the text – every time they occur 3. look at all the questions for all the names

4. read carefully and look for synonyms in the text

5. underline/highlight parts of the passage that give the answer – 6. mark them “?4” if you are uncertain

7. mark them “4” if you are certain and cross out that question on t he question paper

D. IELTS matching features reading practice

a. How to do this exercise

I suggest that you use the print button at the bottom of the page and do the exercise offline – this is a much better exercise.

I do not suggest that you try and do this as a t imed exercise. It is a long and complex text. Train your skills on it.

b. Questions

Which pioneer …

1. was responsible for building a life size steam locomotive 2. legally protected the design of a st eam locomotive

3. created a small scale replica of a st eam locomotive

4. was defeated by the limitations of the raw materials available to him 5. understood how steam locomotives could transport people

6. used steam for warfare

7. discovered a use for steam engines i n the manufacturing industry

Choose one of ….

A. George Stephenson B. Richard Trevithick

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C. Archimedes D. James Watt E. John Fitch

From Corinth to Darlington –

A journey on two tracks with many detours along the way

A.

There are those who believe that it was George Stephenson who was the inventor of railway transport and indeed many history books do credit him with this achievement. In point of fact though, railway transport had a long and varied history well before Stephenson came along with his legendary “Rocket” and “Locomotion” and he can at best be regarded as the man who popularised steam powered rail locomotion for passengers. Though, even in that sphere, he

should be seen as simply developing ideas of other inventors rather than as being the true originator.

B.

Strange as it may seem, the pioneers of rail transport were the Ancient Greeks of Corinth as far back as 600 BC. They produced a system for transporting boats across the Isthmus of Corinth, the narrow neck of land connecting the Peloponnese with mainland Greece, so that sailors no longer had to take the longer route around the Peloponnese. It worked by pulling wheeled vehicles along a track which was formed by grooves in the natural limestone and this prevented the wagons from leaving the intended route, much in the same way as modern railways

work. Curiously, the technology for creating the first steam engine already existed at this time as Archimedes had invented the steam powered cannon. The Corinthians did not consider using steam to power this prototype of the railway but instead used horses and oxen.

C.

The next great leap forward in rail transport came in Germany in the mid 16th century when a primitive form of wooden rails were introduced. The breakthrough was the so-called “hund” system. This involved the wheels running not on grooves in the ground as previously, but on wooden planks with a pin on the wagon that fitted into the gap between the planks so that the wagon ran in one direction. This system gradually evolved and became increasingly popular as a form of transport as the Industrial Revolution took hold of Western Europe. The reason being that, as coal and other minerals were being mined in ever larger quantities, there was a

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corresponding need for a form of transport that was energy efficient. A wheel running on a rigid rail provided just such a solution for the transport of heavy bulk goods as it needed less energy than the alternative road transport system which was hindered by the uneven road surfaces of the time.

D.

The technology of the Industrial Revolution also pro vided the inspiration for the means t o power these new rail systems in the form of steam. James Watt had seen the potential of steam to drive a wheel and developed a reciprocating engine that helped power the machinery in the cotton mills that were flourishing at the time. This stationary engine was both too large and inefficient to be utilised in transport, but in a relatively short span of time boiler technology improved and smaller engines were developed that could produce high pressure steam that acted directly on a piston so t hat they could drive a vehicle. Indeed, Watt himself patented a design f or a steam locomotive in 1784.

E.

At this point, progression in rail transport accelerated rapidly and within 30 years passenger transport became a reality. The first step was the construction of a working model of a steam locomotive by John Fitch in the United States in 1 794 and a mere 10 years later a full scale steam locomotive was built in the united Kingdom by Richard Trevithick. While he made s everal advances towards constructing a truly functional railway locomotive, especially with the introduction of a fly-wheel system to even out the action of the piston that drove the wheels, Trevithick never managed to construct a locomotive that was more than simply experimental. The one problem he failed to overcome was that his engines were still too heavy to be borne by the tracks as the steel used was simply too weak.

F.

The Napoleonic wars provided the stimulus in the next stage of this journey towards a workable form of rail transport. It became highly desirable that a means was found move provisions around the continent so that the all-important supply lines were not broken. Necessity being the mother of invention, it was not long before two key advances were made: a twin cylinder locomotive that was light enough not to break the rails and an adhesion system that ensured the weight of the locomotive was distributed evenly through a number of wheels. The success of these technological advances can be seen by the fact that the first commercially successful steam locomotive railway was in operation by 1812, transporting coal. At this point George Stephenson saw the potential of the new steam locomotive for passenger transport and,

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after a decade of improving on the existing technology, he was instrumental in the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825 in the north east of England. 600 people made a short journey of 26 miles and a new era in transport began.

c. Circle your answers and see how to solve the answers

1. Which pioneer was responsible for a life siz e steam locomotive ? A, B, C, D, E, F

2. Which pioneer was legally protected the design of a steam locomotive ? A, B, C, D, E, F

3. Which pioneer created a small scale replica of a steam locomotive ? A, B, C, D, E, F

4. Which pioneer was defeated by the limitations of t he raw materials available to him? A, B, C, D, E, F

5. Which pioneer understood how steam locomotives could transport p eople? A, B, C, D, E, F

6. Which pioneer used steam for warfare? A, B, C, D, E, F

7. Which pioneer discovered a use of steam engines in the manufaturing industry? A, B, C, D, E, F

d. Answers:

1.B 2. D 3. E 4. E 5. A. 6. A 7.D

VII. Matching sentence endings in IELTS reading

In this lesson I discuss the matching sentence endings question type in IELTS reading and suggest an approach to deal with t his task.

A. An example of the question

You get a series of incomplete sentences and you need to match them their correct ending using information from the text. There are normally 5 or 6 sentences and 8 to 10 different endings. For example:

Sentence beginnings

1. The tourism industry in the UK suffered financially 2. There was a ban on burials of animals in quicklime 3. The first animal became infected

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4.The policy of transporting dead animals was challenged in the courts 5. A policy of vaccination was not introduced

Sentence endings

A. because a farmer used untreated waste as feed.

B. because the number of cases fell between May and September. C. because footpaths were closed due to the foot and mouth outbreak. D. because it also affected animals that were not affected by the disease E. because it might reduce the profits of farmers.

F. because a similar programme had worked well in The Netherlands. G. because of the adoption of European legislation in the UK.

H. because many abattoirs were closed

B. Understanding how it works

This question is designed to test your understanding of the main ideas in a text. You will be NOT be looking for exactly the same words in the text as in the question, but words/phrases that have a similar meaning. In addition, you need to understand before you approach this type of question that:

1. the questions follow order of the text

2. the questions may test part of the whole text, not all of it 3. the sentence endings look grammatically similar

4. you will not use all of the endings

C. A suggested approach

Concentrate on the sentence beginnings

The general idea is that you focus on the sentence beginnings and not the sentence endings. The simple reason for this is that not all the sentence endings appear in the text and you will waste time if you concentrate on them.

1. Find the correct section of text

Find the part of the text that t he questions relate to. One way to do this is scan the text for key words in the question. Once you have found the paragraph for question 1, then you know that the answer to question 2 comes later in the text and so on.

As you do this, it is sensible to ignore words that occur in more than question and words that occur frequently in the text. Focussing on proper names and dates is often a g ood approach.

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2. Look for synonyms in the text

The answer will normally be found by looking for words in the text that have the same meaning as one of the sentence endings, rather than using exactly the same words.

3. Check back with sentence beginning

Once you have found the “correct” ending, check your answer by making the complete sentence.

4. Think about meaning

Don’t be tempted to word match. If you find a word in the text that matches the sentence ending, read carefully. This may be an examiner trap. It is not always that easy. Go back to sentence beginning and match it with the ending. Does the whole sentence make sense? Does the whole sentence match what you find in th e text?

5. Think about grammar

This is a similar piece of advice. Make certain that the sentence you make is grammatically accurate. It is a mistake simply to match words.

6. Be methodical – check every ending with every beginning

It is very easy here to write down the first option you think is possible. Don’t. The examiners set traps. Be careful and look at every ending for each question. This will take a little more time, but you will certainly avoid mistakes.

7. The first question is the hardest – give it more time

In this type of question, it makes absolutely no sense to give one and half minutes to every question. The first question you look at will be hardest as you still have all the 8/9 options available to you. Likewise the last question will be the simplest and quickest to do as you will only have around 4 options left.

If you can’t find the answer to the first question immediately, don’t panic. Spend some time on it, note 2/3 different answers it could be and move on. You can always come back to it later, when you have got some other answers right.

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PART 02:

IELTS READING PRACTICE AND MORE

TIPS

MORE PRACTICE EXERCISES

A. True False Not Given – some tips and an

exercise

This lesson reminds you of some tips on the True False Not Given question t ype in IELTS reading. There are two main points to focus on when you are answering the question: firstly, to think about meaning and not just words, and secondly to focus on the question as much as the text itself. There is also an interactive quiz at the bottom for you to test your skills.

1. Tip one – Underline the part of the text that shows the answer

A forgotten reading skill is to learning how to read intensively when you are looking for the answer itself. Forget “key words” – they only show where to find the answer. Once you have found the right part of the text, read very carefully – you want t o find something that says:

1. This agrees with the information in th e question – True 2. This contradicts the informnation in the q uestion – False

Do NOT read generally at this point. You want to find something you can underline. If you cannot find anything specific that you can underline, then the answer is l ikely to be Not Given.

2. Tip two – refer back to the whole question and think about its

meaning

IELTS reading is designed how well you understand reading passages. This means you always want to focus on meaning when you are looking for the answer. Once you have found the right part of the text, forget key words. It’s quite p ossible to find words in the text that match words in

the question, but the overall meaning is quite different.

1. Go back to the question and re-read it carefully – focus on the little words too (some, never , generally etc), these can change the meanings of questions dramatically. Ask yourself if you are looking for something absolutely true or something that is qualified in some ay.

2. Re-read the text. Does it mean the same as the question? Make sure you check the text and question against each other – that they mean the same thing.