IELTS KEY Reading

By Peakenglish

This book should help to prepare you for the academic reading section of IELTS. Each chapter follows the same format: an introduction to the skill/question type, a guided practice section using a well-explained strategy, a tips section intended for quick reference, as well as multiple passages to practice what you have learned. All of the answers for each chapter are at the back of the book. We use The Flesch Reading Ease, Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, and LancsLex to ensure all materials are suitable for the levels indicated and vocabulary is level appropriate.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Peakenglish
• Release date: Jan 21, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005609702

Book preview

About IELTS

IELTS stands for the International English Language Testing System. It is an exam owned and managed by IDP Australia, The British Council, and Cambridge Examinations.

Previously, there was only a paper-based test, held mostly on Saturdays, which you would take along with other candidates in a room. Now though, some centres also have a computer-based IELTS test, which you can do on any day.

It is a test to measure the English ability of people who wish to study or work in countries, places or organisations where English is the main language of communication. It uses a band scale of 1-9 to indicate ability, with 1 being a virtual non-user of the language and 9 completely fluent, or expert. You are tested on four criteria: speaking, listening, reading and writing. In this book we will focus on the reading portion of the test.

Reading is the second part of the IELTS test, and takes 60 minutes. It consists of three reading passages of (generally) increasing difficulty. The average length of each passage is between 700 and 800 words although sometimes they can be a little bit longer (to give you an idea this section of the book is about 450 words). These passages range from descriptive and factual to discursive and analytical. They are taken from a wide variety of books, journals, magazines, and newspapers. The passages are selected for a non-specialist audience but are suitable for people who are entering university courses or seeking professional registration.

There are a total of 40 questions to answer. Each passage will typically contain 3 question types and be worth a total of 13-14 points. They do this using a variety of different question types such as matching headings, filling in gaps in a passage, giving short answers etc. Each question is worth one point and your score will be converted to the IELTS 9-band scale. These questions test your ability to: read for detail; read for the general sense of a passage; read for the main idea; understand inferences and implied meaning; follow the development of an argument; and, recognise the opinions, attitudes, and purpose of a writer. We will look at each specific question type in each section of the book to give you plenty of practice.

The Academic and General Training Reading Tests are graded to the same level. However, because the texts in the Academic Reading Test are more challenging overall than those in the General Training Test, more questions need to be answered correctly on a General Training Test to receive the same grade. The Academic Test is far more popular than the General Training Test so this book focuses on the Academic Test. However, the techniques, tips, and passages in this book should prove useful for both tests.

IELTS Reading Test Tips

There are test tips in each section of this book dealing with each specific question type: for example spelling is important in the ‘short answer section’, but it’s not important in the ‘matching paragraph section’. If you hope to achieve a good score in the IELTS exam, there is no substitute for hard-work and practice. However, with the reading section of the test, you have the benefit of being able to study anytime and anywhere you want. The following tips will help you in gaining the score that you hope to achieve in the IELTS exam, so let’s begin.

The first tip answers the question of should I read the text/answers first? The answer to this question is entirely dependent on the individual. Some students perform better reading the text first and, conversely, some students do better when they start with the question. You need to experiment with both strategies and see what works best for you. Many students find it helps to skim through the questions first in order to build a basic understanding of what may be important in the passage. Others prefer to skim the passage first to gain a general understanding and to see how the information is presented. Both methods work, the tip here is to find which method works BEST for you.

A great resource for learners of English is the New General Service List (NGSL) and the New Academic Word List (NAWL) which can both be found here: NGSL. They offer a fast and effective way to improve your vocabulary.

Before you begin to read have a quick look at the headings, graphs, tables, or any illustrations. These will often give you a good understanding of what the text is about.

Don’t panic too much about time BUT remember that there is no time to transfer your answers from the reading material to the answer sheet. So pay attention to how much time you spend on each section and leave yourself enough time at the end to transfer your answers.

Connected to the above point, be sure to write your answers in the CORRECT position when transferring them and give yourself enough time for this process. This may seem fairly obvious but if you only have a couple of minutes left it is easy to start filling in information in the wrong place.

Read the instructions for each question type carefully. Don’t try to save time by skipping this part. The instructions give you crucial information about how many words the answer should include, what exactly you need to do, and so on. Always read the instructions, even if you have done the test before or have done several practice tests!

The more practice you do the more you may notice that the questions follow the order of the information in the reading passages. This is generally true (about 95%) and should help you to pinpoint answers more quickly.

The passages that are chosen for the IELTS test are designed to be general. This means you don't need any specialist knowledge to understand any of the texts. Try to read broadly to understand how different kinds of academic passages are organised.

If a reading is in your specialist subject avoid the urge to answer any questions using your knowledge: all IELTS questions should be answered using the information provided in the test.

It is common to read texts/questions out of sequence. If you find yourself doing this, take special care to write your answers in the correct places on the answer sheet.

Time is very important in most exams and IELTS is no different. If you can’t answer a question it may seem natural to reread the text until you find the necessary information. However, spending too long on a question, may cause you to run out of time. Remember, the reading test is 60 minutes long and there are 40 questions. If you really cannot find the answer to a question fairly quickly, move on to the next question. And remember all the questions are worth one point: spending lots of time on a difficult question may mean you miss the opportunity to answer some ‘easier’ questions.

Near the end of the exam, if you still have blank spaces, spend a little time to fill in your best guess. If you have a lot of time left, then by all means, spend more time on some questions. Give yourself the BEST chance to get as many answers correct as possible.

Although the IELTS exam has no grammar section, some questions in the reading section can be answered using your knowledge of grammar. Sometimes it is possible to predict answers using the grammar of a question and using the reading text to check which answer is correct.

Reading topics which are highly specialised (e.g. the evolution of the giant mollusc), may seem daunting but the more specific the topic, the more factual and straightforward it is likely to be so don’t panic.

The IELTS exam is designed to be challenging and, as such, a passage may contain lots of vocabulary that you haven’t seen before. Sometimes these words are key to the meaning of a sentence and, therefore, key to answering a question. However, try not to focus on the words that you don’t know: often they will be filler words and, perhaps, not absolutely necessary to understanding the text or answering a question.

If a passage has a lot of dates or proper nouns, it is a good idea to underline them. More often than not, the dates/proper nouns, will be important and may help you pinpoint useful information quicker.

Reading doesn’t exist in a bubble. All the skills in the IELTS are inter-related. Most paragraphs should follow the structure of PREP…that is point, reason, example, point (again). When you learn useful information about writing try to apply it to your reading, speaking, and listening skills and vice versa.

You have 60 minutes per text so 20/20/20 seems like a good split. However, 17/20/23 is better if you can manage it. It will give you more time nearer the end to check answers and fill in blanks. Experiment with timings to give yourself the best chance to answer all the questions well.

The most important tip is to read a lot. Read every day. Practise makes perfect. Pay attention to the sentence structure and punctuation of what you read but most of all try to grasp the ideas of your chosen reading material. Nearer the exam practise complete exams, time yourself, challenge yourself, and you will see your score improve.

Summarising and Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing and summarising are slightly different but, for our purposes, they are similar enough that we don’t have to go into too much detail. To paraphrase is to restate information from a text in roughly the same number of words, and it should be accurate and in your own words, whereas to summarise is to state a text’s main ideas and key supporting points simply, briefly, and accurately in your own words. So, for example, in the

Reviews for IELTS KEY Reading

[sara · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very helpful
Hopefully I get a good band in reading??