Overview of IELTS Academic Reading

1. By
Raihanul
Islam
IELTS
READING

2. COMPLETE THE DESCRIPTIONS
BELOW WITH NUMBERS.
 Time: 60 minutes.
 No extra time is allowed for transferring answers onto the
answer sheet.
 There are 40 questions, based on 3 reading texts with a
minimum of 2,150 words in total.
 Texts are taken from magazines, journals, books and
newspapers. They have been written for non-specialist
audience. All the topics are of general interest.

3. THE DIFFERENT TASK
TYPES
Multiple choice Identifying
information
Identifying
writer’s view
Matching
information
Matching
headings
Matching
features
Matching
sentence
endings
Sentence
completion
Summary, note,
table,
flow-chart
completion
Diagram label
completion
Short answer
questions

4. 
 1- Which paragraph contains the followinginformation?
 2- Complete the sentences below. Use NO MORE THAN ONE WORD from the text.
 3- Choose the correct heading for paragraphs A-H from the list of headingsbelow.
 4- Do the following statements agree with the information given in thetext?
 5- Answer the questions below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the text.
 6- Match the inventions with the scientists listed A-C.
 7- Choose the correct letter A ,B, C orD.
1)Matching information 2)Sentence completion 3)Matching headings 4)Identifying
information
5)Short answer questions 6)Matching features 7)Multiple choice
Matching Information Sentence completion Matching headings
Identifying information short answer questions
Matching features multiple choice

5. TASK COMPLETING
STRATEGIES
Answering True, False, Not given questions
 In True/False exercises, False covers False and Not given.
 Turn the statement into a question. You then have to answer
YES/NO. If you can’t, the answer is Not Given.
 Look for words that qualify the sentence or make the sentence
restrictive like only, little, not many, etc.
 Look for words that are negative, e.g. ignore, refuse, deny or
words that are positive like help, like, favor, etc.
 Understand the statements before you look at the text. Don’t
just underline the words to help you to

6. TRUE/FALSE/NG QUESTIONS
Questions 1 – 4
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Text 1?
Write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
1. Just over one third of the total population of the US is overweight.
2. Asia and Europe have an equal proportion of obese children.
3. It is forecast that the proportion of overweight or obese children in China will
reach 20% in ten years’ time.
4. There is a downward trend in childhood obesity in some African towns and
cities.

7. YES/NO/NOT GIVEN QUESTIONS

8. TASK COMPLETING
STRATEGIES
Completing summaries with and without a wordlist
 Check the instructions to find the word limit
 Skim the summary first to get an idea of the overall
meaning.
 Work out the grammar needed to fill in each space
 Try to predict the answer by giving your own word.

9. TASK COMPLETING
STRATEGIES
Answering multiple-choice questions
 Skim read all the questions to get the general picture
 Focus on content words like nouns, names, verbs, etc.
 Words that help qualify the stem help you to match it with an
alternative and vice versa. So look for words like more, usually,
modals like should, etc.
Completing sentences
 Read the stem of the sentence for completion and try to
understand the meaning.
 Decide the grammar that you need to finish the sentence; most of the
time it is a noun/noun phrase.
Matching headings to paragraphs
 Always do exercises with headings first, as the headings summarize
the text. They help you scan the answers to theother questions.
 Look always for the most general heading. This may be the first
paragraph or the conclusion
 Headings are usually connected with each other. So, check for
headings that relate to each other: cause/effect; problem/solution

10. MATCHING HEADINGS TO PARAGRAPHS OR
SECTIONS OF THE PASSAGE

11. LOCATING INFO QUESTIONS

12. MATCHING LISTS/PHRASES

13. MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS

14. COMPLETION QUESTIONS
DIAGRAM LABEL COMPLETION EXAMPLE

15. TIPS – BEFORE TAKING THE TEST
 Build your vocabulary and synonym word bank
 Keep a notebook of unknown words and make vocabulary cards
 Practice skimming and scanning
 Improve your spelling and grammar
 Misspelled words will be marked incorrect
 Grammar knowledge is important
 Helps you guess the type of word for sentence completion tasks (ex:
n, v, adj, plural n)
 Know word forms (n – v- adj/ Ex: impression – impress –
impressionable)
 Learn organizing words (for matching tasks) such as: advantage, aim,
analysis, benefit, consequence, difference, difficulty, discrepancy,
effect, factor, feature, goal, hazard, influence, objective, outcome,
outline, problem, purpose, reason, risk, role, strategy
 Understand qualifying words (often for multiple choice questions) such
as: mainly, usually, the majority, the most

16. TIPS – BEFORE TAKING THE TEST
 Know prefixes (un-, pre-) and suffixes (-ful, -less)
 Read from a variety of sources
 Do practice tests
 Practice analyzing questions
 Work on understanding meaning to increase your speed
 When you’ve become more comfortable with the reading test, give
yourself timed practice

17. STRATEGIES
1. Read the directions
2. Look at the title and headings of the passage to get an idea of what
it’s about
 You can also read the 1st sentence of the 1st paragraph
3. Look at the questions
 Underline or circle key words in the question
 Think of possible answers
4. Scan the passage for key words and synonyms
5. When you find the paragraph/area where the word is, circle or
underline the word and skim that area
 Is this the correct area? Can you find the answer here? If not, then
you need to search the text again.
6. If you have more than 1 answer, mark the possible answers on your
test booklet (not answer sheet) and then go back after completing
that section

18. STRATEGIES
7. For matching headings questions:
 Skim the headings
 Find key words or organizing words like problem, effects, reason, etc.
and circle or underline them
 Scan the text for key words or organizing words
 Think of the logical order
8. Predict which paragraph each heading relates to
9. Quickly read the paragraphs
 If you have 2 possibilities, write the letters next to it and go back
to it after you have matched all headings

19. STRATEGIES
 Keep in mind, sometimes the questions follow the order of
information
 When you answer the questions, don't spend too much time on the
ones you don't feel sure about. Make a guess and go on.
 Remember that you’re not reading the texts for enjoyment; you
need to quickly find the answer
 After you have answered all the questions, you can go back and
check the ones you aren't sure about (if you have time left)
 Write your answers directly onto your answer sheet
 Don't spend more than 20 minutes on each passage
 You have about 1 ½ minutes to answer each question

20. Thank You