This document provides general tips for the IELTS reading exam. It recommends that test takers first read the questions carefully and underline keywords before reading the passage. It also advises test takers to divide their time equally among the different sections and questions. The document outlines the different types of reading questions that may appear on the exam, such as multiple choice, short answer, sentence completion, and matching. It stresses the importance of practicing these question types.

1. General Tips for IELTS Reading Hints
• Fill in your name, ID number, and the answers.
• When you finish a section – transfer your answers – DON’T WAIT!
• What does the title/heading say or mean? If you don’t understand…
- move on and keep reading. It will become clearer later on.
DO NOT READ THE PASSAGE First! (you need a reason to read – and to look for info).
First - read the questions carefully and the questions’ instructions.
• What are the keywords for each questions? UNDERLINE THEM or Highlight them.
• REMEMBER – the reading exam has 3 parts.
• There are more keywords in short texts.
• Skim: Find the keywords quickly from one paragraph to another paragraph
- don’t read everything – just find other keywords – near those keywords.
• Scan: Find keywords/information slowly in one paragraph
• If you read with your finger – you are too slow! All the words are in the text.
• Don’t spend more than 25 min on the first question.
• Articles get harder / 15 min>20 min>25min / You can write on the paper…
60 min
3 articles
40
questions

2. General Tips for IELTS - ReadingDuring the Exam
1. Take off your watch. Put it in front of you
2. Look through the paper. How many sections
are there?
3. Divide up the time equally for each section.
Quickly look at the texts. Study any:
• Titles ‫العناوين‬
• Headings ‫العناوين‬‫الرئيسية‬
• sub headings ‫الفرعية‬ ‫العناوين‬
• Illustrations ‫التوضيحية‬ ‫الرسوم‬
• Diagrams ‫البيانية‬ ‫الرسوم‬
• words in bold type or italics ‫بخط‬ ‫الكلمات‬
‫مائل‬ ‫أو‬ ‫عريض‬
Read the questions carefully.
Identify the question type.
Make sure you do exactly what they say.
Read the glossary beside the passage, if
there is one.
• Don’t spend too long on one question.
• If you don’t know the answer, guess.
Incorrect answers are not penalized.
• Make sure you copy all words taken from
the texts correctly as you will lose marks for
bad spelling.
• Don’t forget your answer may be given in a
diagram, graph or illustration.

3. General Tips for IELTS - Reading
Make sure you are:
-familiar with the instructions for the
different question types
so you can:
-quickly look at the questions and know
what to do.
Read as much as possible. Make it a habit.
• Work on your reading skills such as:
- guessing the meanings of unknown words
- understanding reference words in texts
- and reading quickly.
Read newspaper articles and practice the following:
•dividing the content into facts and opinions
•finding the topic sentences of paragraphs
•writing summaries
•interpreting any diagrams or tables
•thinking of headings you could give to paragraphs
•underlining the pronouns and working out what they refer to
•underlining unknown words and seeing if you can work out what
they mean
•reading the first paragraph and seeing if you can predict what will
•come next
Before the Exam

4. Study Focus on IELTS
or
Insight into IELTS or the glossary in 101 Hints p.172-
174
Work on expanding
your vocabulary.
Choose 5 new words
from (special) IELTS
books’ vocabulary
sections or articles to
learn each day
General Tips for IELTS - Reading
Write the words on
cards and test
yourself (regularly)
Do as many practice
tests as you can to get
used to the task/question
types.

5. Multiple
choice
‫التختيار‬ ‫متعدد‬
Short answer
questions
‫على‬ ‫الاجابة‬
‫القصيرة‬ ‫الئسئلة‬
Sentence completion
questions
‫الجملة‬ ‫إكمال‬ ‫أئسئلة‬
Notes/ table/ form/
summary/ flow
chart/diagram
completion questions
‫ملظحظات‬/ ‫نموذج‬ / ‫اجدول‬ /
‫رئسم‬ / ‫البياني‬ ‫الرئسم‬ ‫ملخص‬
Identifying information:
Yes, no, not given or
True, false, not given
‫المعلومات‬ ‫تحديد‬ :
Classification questions
‫الئسئلة‬ ‫تصنيف‬
Matching
‫مطابقة‬‫توصيل‬
Choosing
headings
‫العناوين‬ ‫اتختيار‬
Scanning & identifying
location of information
‫موقع‬ ‫تحديد‬ ‫و‬ ‫القطعة‬ ‫قراءة‬
‫المعلومات‬
Labeling a diagram
which has numbered
parts
‫أو‬ ‫اجدول‬ ‫على‬ ‫المعلومات‬ ‫وضع‬
‫أاجزاء‬ ‫إلى‬ ‫مقسم‬ ‫بياني‬ ‫رئسم‬
General Tips for IELTS – Question Types
1 2 3
4 5 6
7 8 9 10
Keywords??

6. Multiple
choice
‫التختيار‬ ‫متعدد‬
Short answer
questions
‫على‬ ‫الاجابة‬
‫القصيرة‬ ‫الئسئلة‬
Sentence completion
questions
‫الجملة‬ ‫إكمال‬ ‫أئسئلة‬
Notes/ table/ form/
summary/ flow
chart/diagram
completion questions
‫ملظحظات‬/ ‫نموذج‬ / ‫اجدول‬ /
‫رئسم‬ / ‫البياني‬ ‫الرئسم‬ ‫ملخص‬
Identifying information:
Yes, no, not given or
True, false, not given
‫المعلومات‬ ‫تحديد‬ :
Classification questions
‫الئسئلة‬ ‫تصنيف‬
Matching
‫مطابقة‬‫توصيل‬
Choosing
headings
‫العناوين‬ ‫اتختيار‬
Scanning & identifying
location of information
‫موقع‬ ‫تحديد‬ ‫و‬ ‫القطعة‬ ‫قراءة‬
‫المعلومات‬
Labeling a diagram
which has numbered
parts
‫أو‬ ‫اجدول‬ ‫على‬ ‫المعلومات‬ ‫وضع‬
‫أاجزاء‬ ‫إلى‬ ‫مقسم‬ ‫بياني‬ ‫رئسم‬
General Tips for IELTS – Question Types
1 2 3
4 5 6
7 8 9 10
Keywords??