IELTS Reading- True, False, Not

Given Tips and Strategy

Home » IELTS Reading- True, False, Not Given Tips and Strategy
‘True, False, Not Given’ questions requires you to identify if information in a text is true or not.

You will be given a number of factual statements and you have to check the text to see if they
are true or not.

This is probably the most difficult question on the reading paper.

This post will:

● look at example questions

● discuss common problems

● define ‘True’, ‘False’ and ‘Not Given’

● give you tips and advice

● provide you with a strategy to use on exam day

In this article when I refer to ‘statements’ I am talking about the questions, not the text in the
main reading article.

Example True, False, Not Given Question

This sample is taken from ielts.org reading samples and more sample reading questions can be
viewed on that link.
Source: Cambridge English IELTS Past Papers.

As you can see above, you will be given a number of factual statements and asked to look at the
text and decide if the statement is true, false or not given.

Common Problems
The biggest problem here is the ‘not given’ option. Most students are not used to answering
questions like this and it causes them lots of problems because they are not sure what to look
for. They also spend too much time making sure that it is ‘not given’ and this affects the rest of
their test.

Students also fail to understand exactly what each statement means and therefore cannot
identify if it is true or false. Many focus on keywords instead of understanding what the
statement as a whole means.
Another common mistake is identifying keywords in the statements and then trying to find
words that exactly match them in the text. You can do this, but more often the words will be
synonyms.

Finally, some students fail to understand exactly what true, false and not given actually mean
and get confused.

Now let’s look at solving these common problems.

What do TRUE, FALSE and NOT GIVEN mean?

The most important thing to remember is what the words ‘true’, ‘false’ and ‘not given’ actually
mean and therefore what IELTS wants you to write.

● If the text agrees with or confirms the information in the statement, the answer is TRUE

● If the text contradicts or is the opposite to the information in the statement, the answer

is FALSE

● If there is no information or it is impossible to know, the answer is NOT GIVEN

True means that the meaning is the same. It is just similar then it is FALSE. Remember that we
are dealing with factual information so there is no room to say it is similar or nearly the same.

Lots of students have argued with me during practice and said the statement is true because it
‘kind of’ means the same. There is no ‘kind of’ with these questions, only facts.

Very important- Just because an answer is NOT GIVEN does not mean there are no words in the
statements that match words in the text. This is something that confuses people, if words
match then it must be TRUE or FALSE, right? Not really. This is not a good way to think about
these questions because there probably will be matching words for NOT GIVEN answers, they
just don’t have enough information to answer the question as a whole.

Top 10 Tips
1. Ignore anything you already know about the topic and don’t make assumptions. Base

your answers on the text only.

2. Identify any words that qualify the statement, for example, some, all, mainly, often, always

and occasionally. These words are there to test if you have read the whole statement

because they can change the meaning. For example, ‘Coca-Cola has always made its

drinks in the U.S.A.’ has a different meaning from ‘Coca-Cola has mainly made its drinks

in the U.S.A.’

3. Be careful when you see verbs that qualify statements, such as suggest, claim, believe

and know. For example, ‘The man claimed he was a British citizen,’ and ‘The man is a

British citizen’ mean two different things.

4. There will be at least one of all three answers. If you don’t have at least one ‘true’, ‘false’

or ‘not given’ you have at least one answer wrong.

5. Don’t skim and scan the text to find the final answer. You will have to read the

appropriate part of the text very carefully in order to understand what the author means.

6. Don’t look for words that exactly match those in the statements. You should also look for

synonyms. Remember that you are matching meaning, not words.

7. If you can’t find the information you are looking for, then it is probably ‘not given’. Don’t

waste time looking for something that is not there.

8. If you have no idea what the answer is put ‘not given’. You probably have no idea

because the answer is not there.

9. Answers are in the same order they appear in the text. Do not waste time going back.

Keep on reading.

10. YES/NO/NOT GIVEN questions are slightly different because they deal with opinion.

TRUE/FALSE/NOT GIVEN questions deal with facts.

True, False, Not Given Strategy
This is my suggested strategy. There are many different strategies and you should use the one
you feel comfortable with. You can also adapt this strategy to what suits you.

1. Always read the instructions carefully and make sure you know if it is a

TRUE/FALSE/NOT GIVEN or YES/NO/NOT GIVEN question.

2. Read all the statements carefully, trying to understand what the whole sentence means

rather than simply highlighting keywords. Watch out for qualifying words such as some

or always.

3. Try to think of what synonyms might be in the text. This will help you identify the

matching part of the text.

4. Match the statement with the correct part of the text.

5. Focus on the statement again and then carefully read the matching part of the text to

establish if it is true or false. Remember the meaning should exactly match that of the

statement if it is true.

6. Underline the words that give you the answer, this will help you focus and you can check

back later. Again, be careful there are no qualifying words in the text.

7. If you can’t find the answer, mark it as ‘not given’ and move on to the next question.

8. If you are really unsure or can’t find the answer, mark it as ‘not given’.
 IELTS Reading- Summary
Completion
Home » IELTS Reading- Summary Completion
In summary completion question types, you will be given a summary of information
from the text and there will be some gaps in that summary.

You will either be given a list of words to fill the gaps with or asked to find the answers
in the reading text.

Your job is to insert some of the words from the list into the gaps, or if asked, to fill the
gaps with words from the text.

There will be more words in the list than required to fill the gaps.

All of the information contained in the summary will also be contained in the reading
text, but they will use synonyms and paraphrasing, so don’t expect to see the same
words.

Summary completion questions test your ability:

● to understand the general meaning of the summary

● to scan for the correct information in the text

● to be able to identify synonyms and paraphrases

This post will:

● look at example questions

 ● discuss common problems

● give you tips and advice

● provide you with a strategy to use on exam day

Summary Completion Examples

Below is an example of a question that asks you to fill in the gaps with words from the
reading text.

Source: Cambridge English IELTS Past Papers.

Below is another example, but this question is asking you to choose the correct answer
from a list of options. You should notice that there are more options than answers.
Source: Cambridge English IELTS Past Papers.

Summary Completion Common Problems

This question does not expect you to have a detailed understanding of the text. Some
students lose lots of time reading the whole text and trying to understand everything.
You don’t need to do this, focus more on the summary in the question.

Some students read the summary and then look for the exact same words in the
reading text. You are unlikely to find these because the examiners use synonyms and
paraphrasing.

A common mistake is to ignore grammar rules when completing the summary. If the
sentence does not make sense grammatically, then you have the wrong answer.
The examiners also try to trick you by putting a word from the text as one of the options.
Some students recognise this and think this is the correct answer. It is probably wrong
because the answer will normally be a synonym rather than a matching word.

Summary Completion Tips

1. Try to predict the answers before you look at the options or the text. This will help

you spot the correct answer.

2. Should the gap be filled with a verb, noun, adjective or adverb? If your answer

makes the sentence grammatically wrong, then you have the wrong answer.

3. Look for synonyms and paraphrases in the text rather than words that directly

match.

4. Don’t spend too much time looking for the answer to one question. If you can’t

find it, mark what you think it might be and move on. Focusing on the easier

answers is a better use of your time.

5. The answers normally come in the same order as the questions.

6. If you get a list of words, think about the ones that can’t be the correct answer

because of meaning or grammar. You can then eliminate these words.

Summary Completion Strategy

This is my suggested strategy. There are many different strategies and you should use
the one you feel comfortable with. You can also adapt this strategy to what suits you.

1. Read the question carefully. Note how many words you can write (normally one,

two or three) and if you should get the words from the reading text or a list.
2. Skim the summary and try to understand the overall meaning.

3. Try to predict the answers before you look at the reading text. Also, think about

the word type (noun, verb, adjective) that should be included.

4. If you have a list of words, try to guess which 2 or 3 the answer might be. Pay

attention to words that collocate well with the words in the sentence.

5. Identify which part of the reading text the summary relates to. Scanning for

synonyms from the summary will help you do this.

6. Look at that part of the section more carefully and choose the correct answer.

Remember to be careful with synonyms.

7. Check to see if your word makes the sentence grammatically correct.

 IELTS Reading- Multiple Choice
Questions
On both the academic and
general IELTS reading papers you
are likely to be asked multiple
choice questions (MCQs). This
article will help you answer
multiple choice questions more
effectively.
Home » IELTS Reading- Multiple Choice Questions
This article will help you answer IELTS reading multiple choice questions more
effectively.

On both the academic and general IELTS reading papers you are likely to be asked
multiple choice questions (MCQs).

Your job is to simply choose the correct answer from a list of possible choices.

This post will:

● look at example questions

● discuss the reading skills required

● discuss common problems

● give you tips and advice

● provide you with a strategy to use on exam day

Example Questions
There are three different types of MCQ question. You will either have to:

1. choose one answer out of four options

2. choose two answers out of five options

3. choose three answers out of six options

The first option is the most common.

You may also have two different question forms. Either:

1. completing a sentence or

2. answering a question.

Here is an example from the academic test:

Source: Cambridge English IELTS Past Papers.

In this example, you have to choose one answer from four possible options and the
question requires you to complete the sentences.

Here is an example from the general paper:

Source: Cambridge English IELTS Past Papers.

Reading Skills
MCQs test your ability to understand the main ideas contained in a text and then look
for specific information.

You will need to quickly identify the main idea in order to locate the correct section of
the text.

When you do this it will seem like two or three of the options could be the correct
answer and you, therefore, must read in much more detail to find the specific
information that gives you the correct answer.

Common Problems

Reading the text before the questions– If you do this you are reading ‘blind’ because you
are not sure what you are looking for. You also waste time because you will have to read
the questions and then read the text again, so you have just wasted your time on the
first reading.

Not answering questions– This seems like an obvious one but it would shock you how
many people don’t answer the question at all.

Being tricked by the examiner– examiners love to try and trick you with ‘distractors’.
Distractors are things that look like the correct answer but are actually incorrect. When
you locate the correct section in the reading text, there will appear to be two or three
plausible correct answers. A very common trick is matching lots of keywords from the
question options to parts of the text. Just because there are lots of matching keywords
doesn’t mean it is the correct answer. Also look at the context of the whole sentence
and any qualifying words like most, all, always, sometimes.

Not reading the whole sentence– The first part of a sentence might look correct but the
second half of it might change the meaning. Words like but and however can change the
meaning of a whole sentence. Examiners know you are trying to get the answers as
quickly as possible and will try to trick you in this way.

Not reading the text carefully– Because there are so many ‘distractors’, some of the
‘correct’ answers will appear to ‘jump out’ at you. If you don’t read the text carefully, you
will choose the incorrect answer. Take some time to really understand the meaning of
each sentence.

Top 10 Tips

1. Read the questions before you read the text.

2. You will often be able to eliminate 2 of the four answers and this leaves you with

two choices. Think about the difference in meaning between these two choices

and this will help you get the correct answers.

3. If you are unsure of what the difference is between two or three sentences, it can

help to rephrase them in your own words.

4. If you are running out of time or you really don’t know the answer, have a guess.

You will not lose marks for wrong answers and you have a 25% chance of getting

the correct answer just by guessing.

5. Don’t be tricked by the examiner’s ‘distractors’ especially keywords from the

questions that look the same as the text.

6. If you don’t know anything about the topic, don’t panic. It is a reading test, not a

test of your knowledge.

7. Try to predict the correct answer before you read the text. This will help you find

the correct answer.

8. Before deciding on your answer, always go back and carefully read the questions

before making your final decision.

9. The answers will be in the same order as the text.

 10. You might be asked about both facts and opinions. Facts are things that are

always true or cannot be disproved but opinions are just what people think.

Strategy

This is my suggested strategy. There are many different strategies and you should use
the one you feel comfortable with. You can also adapt this strategy to what suits you.

1. Read the questions carefully.

2. Skim the text to get the general meaning.

3. Underline any keywords in the question and think about any synonyms that might

appear in the text.

4. Read the choices and underline any keywords. Think about the difference in

meaning between the different choices.

5. Predict the correct answer.

6. Read the text and using keywords and synonyms locate the part containing the

answers.

7. Read that part of the text very carefully, thinking about the difference in

meanings.

8. Think about not only which options are correct but how the other options are

wrong.

9. Go back and read the question again and mark your final choice.
 IELTS Reading Matching Headings
Home » IELTS Reading Matching Headings
This article will help you match headings more effectively in the IELTS reading test.

In the IELTS reading test you may be asked to match headings to sections of text. This
type of question tests your ability to understand the main idea of each paragraph.

Headings are short sentences that summarise the information in a paragraph. You have
to pick the one that best summarises the information in a paragraph.

You will be given between 5 and 7 headings and asked to match each paragraph in the
reading text to one heading. There are always more headings than paragraphs.

In this post we will look at:

1. Common problems

2. Tips

3. Strategy

4. Practice

Common Problems

Below is a list of common problems my students tend to have. Have you experienced
any of these problems?

Later in the post we will look at tips to overcome these problems and a strategy for
answering this kind of reading question.
 1. There is too much information to get through and not enough time.

2. Trying to match a word or words from the headings to a word in the text.

3. Some of the headings may appear to have the same meaning.

4. Some students only read the first sentence of each paragraph and do not

understand the main idea of the paragraph.

5. Spending too much time on one paragraph or heading.

6. Answers are not in the same order as the text.

Tips and Solutions

1. Do this question first. By doing this you will be able to get the general meaning of

the text as a whole and this will help you with the rest of the question that

requires you to take a more detailed look at the text.

2. You are not expected to read every word of the text. This will take too long and

you don’t have time for this. In this kind of question you are only expected to

understand the main idea of each paragraph. A good way to do this is to read the

first one or two sentences and the last sentence of the paragraphs. You can also

briefly look at the rest of the paragraph but you don’t have to read every word.

3. If there are words you don’t understand, don’t worry about this. Again, you should

only worry about the general meaning of the paragraph as a whole, not individual

words. Even native speakers will fail to understand every word in the IELTS

reading test.
4. Be aware of synonyms. Many students look for words that match exactly with

words in the text and ignore synonyms. For example, a keyword in the heading

might be ‘Beautiful’, however the word you’re looking for could be many different

synonyms of ‘beautiful’ like ‘attractive’, ‘pretty’, ‘lovely’ or ‘stunning’.

5. If there are two or three headings that are similar, write them beside the

paragraph and try to find out the difference between the two headings. What are

the keywords? How does this change the meaning? Which one matches the

paragraph best?

6. If you still can’t decide which one suits best, move on and come back to it later.

The answer will normally be easier to find after you have matched some more

headings.

7. Ignore anything you already know about the topic. You are being tested on the

text only.

8. Don’t read too quickly. Some teachers advise that students should just ‘skim’ the

text because you don’t have much time. In my experience, this leads to students

not understanding most of the text and making mistakes. It is better to do this a

little slower and actually understand what is in front of you.

9. Don’t panic if you know nothing about the general topic of the reading text. The

IELTS reading test is not a knowledge test and you are not expected to have prior

knowledge of the topic.

10. Don’t look at the headings first. This will automatically make you look for specific

words in the text rather than the main idea. Remember it is your ability to find the
 main idea that is being tested, not your ability to find specific information. Instead

of reading the headings first, ignore them and get the general meaning of each

paragraph first by reading the first and last sentences.

Strategy

1. If this type of question is on the test, do it first.

2. Don’t look at the headings.

3. Read the first one or two sentences and the last sentence of each paragraph to

understand the general meaning of the paragraph. Don’t worry about highlighting

keywords in the test. Try to sum up the general meaning of each paragraph in one

or two words.

4. Look at the headings and identify keywords within each heading.

5. Match any headings that are very obvious and you are sure about.

6. For the others, write 2 or 3 headings beside the paragraph. Identify the difference

between each of the headings. Establish if there are any synonyms in the

paragraph to keywords in the headings.

7. If you still can’t pick one, move one. The answer will often reveal itself later.

8. Repeat until finished.

Practice
Let us look at an example question. Below are two paragraphs from an article called
‘Trees in Trouble- What is causing the decline of the World’s giant forests?’

Match the two paragraphs with one of the following three headings:

1. How wildlife benefits from big trees

2. Factors that enable trees to grow to significant heights

3. How other plants can cause harm

Paragraph 1- Big trees are incredibly important ecologically. For a start, they sustain
countless other species. They provide shelter for many animals, and their trunks and
branches can become gardens, hung with green ferns, orchids and bromeliads, coated
with mosses and draped with vines. With their tall canopies basking in the sun, they
capture vast amounts of energy. This allows them to sustain much of the animal life in
the forest.

Paragraph 2- Only a small number of tree species have the genetic capacity to grow
really big. The mightiest are native to Norther America, but big trees grow all over the
globe, from the tropics to the boreal forests of the high latitudes. To achieve giant
stature, a tree needs three things: the right place to establish its seedling, good growing
conditions and lots of time with low adult mortality. Disrupt any of these, and you can
lose your biggest trees.

If you look at the above paragraphs you will see that they are full of difficult words like
‘bromeliads’, ‘basking’ and ‘stature’. If you try to read and understand every word you will
get nowhere.

Instead we just look at the first and the last sentences and with some highlighting of
keywords and an awareness of synonyms it is apparent that the answers are:

Paragraph 1- How wildlife benefits from big trees

Paragraph 2- Factors that enable tree to grow to significant heights

 IELTS Reading- Matching Sentence
Endings Tips and Strategy
Home » IELTS Reading- Matching Sentence Endings Tips and Strategy
In IELTS reading, might be asked to complete a ‘matching sentence endings’ question
type. In this question, you will be given a list of incomplete sentences with no endings
and another list with possible endings. Your job is to match the incomplete sentences
with the correct ending based on the reading text.

This is not one the more common questions but should be studied all the same.

You are being tested on your understanding of how the ideas in the sentences are
connected to the main ideas in the reading text.

This post will:

● look at example questions

● discuss common problems

● give you tips and advice

● provide you with a strategy to use on exam day

Example
Source: Cambridge English IELTS Past Papers.

As you can see above, there are a number of incomplete sentences and you must match
them with the correct endings. There will always be more options than you actually
need.
In the exam, there are normally 5-6 incomplete sentences and 8-9 optional endings.

Matching Sentence Endings: Common Problems

Lots of people think that they can answer these questions by using logic and grammar
and they don’t look at the reading text. They think this will save them time and they can
work out the answer quickly just by looking at the answers and matching the sentences
that make the most sense. Don’t do this. It is a test of your understanding of the reading
text more than a test of how sentences generally go together.

The examiner will try and trick you by connecting ideas in the reading text to endings
that are not the correct answer. Remember that you are matching incomplete sentences
to endings, not endings to the text.

Many people look for the exact words contained in the question in the reading text. The
examiners will probably use synonyms and paraphrasing instead of exactly the same
words. Don’t waste your time looking for words that exactly match with the text, instead
look for synonyms and paraphrases.

For a more detailed look at paraphrasing and synonyms check out our post on sentence
completions tips.

Tips for Matching Sentence Endings

1. The answers are in the same order in the text as they are in the questions, so the

answer to question 2 will be after the answer to question 1 and so on. Locate

question one first and then you know where to begin.

2. Try to predict how each sentence will end before you look at the endings.

3. Start with the incomplete sentences first before you look at the endings or the

text. There are more endings than required, so looking at all of these in detail is a

waste of time.
 4. Think of synonyms and paraphrases that the examiners could be using instead of

exactly the same words.

5. All of the sentence endings appear in the text, but you don’t need to read all of

them, just the ones that you decide to match with the incomplete sentences.

6. When highlighting keywords, it is often a good idea to highlight any names,

including place names, or dates. These are often easy to find in the reading text.

7. Don’t just match words. Make sure the meaning in the reading text matches.

8. Spend more time on the first question because this is the most difficult. You have

lots of different options for the first question and it will take you more time to

work out the answer. The last question should take you much less time because

you have fewer options to choose from.

Strategy for Matching Sentence Endings

This is my suggested strategy. There are many different strategies and you should use
the one you feel comfortable with. You can also adapt this strategy to what suits you.

1. Read the question carefully.

2. Read the incomplete sentences first and don’t look at the endings yet. Try to

understand what they mean and highlight any keywords especially names, places

or dates.

3. Predict what the endings might be before looking at them. Think about what

word type (verbs, nouns, adjectives, adverbs) makes the sentence grammatically

correct.
4. Look at the endings but not in too much detail. Try to see if there are any obvious

answers.

5. Eliminate endings that definitely cannot match. Think about grammar,

collocations, and meaning.

6. Match the endings you think might be correct. Write two or three options if

necessary.

7. Find the correct part of the reading text for each incomplete sentence. Be careful

with synonyms and paraphrases.

8. Understand the meaning of that part of the text and choose the correct answer.
Matching Information to
Paragraphs
In this kind of question, you are asked to match statements to
paragraphs in the reading text. Click here for an example.

The statements could be reasons, descriptions, summaries,

definitions, facts or explanations. What they are doesn’t really
matter. You are not expected to have specialist knowledge in the
reading test.

You do not need to understand what the whole paragraph is about,

just find specific information in the paragraph and match it to one of
the statements. The answer will normally be contained in a whole
phrase or sentence, rather than a single word.

This post will:

● look at an example

● identify the three reading skills required

● discuss common problems

● give you some tips

● provide you with a strategy to use

Example

Source: Cambridge English IELTS Past Papers.

This question is taken from an academic sample paper. As you can

see, you are given a number of statements and you are required to
match these to the correct paragraphs in the reading text.

The paragraphs in the reading text are labelled a, b, c, d and so on.

Your answer will be the letter of the paragraph, not the words or
phrases in the paragraph.
There will normally be more paragraphs than questions, so don’t
worry if some of the paragraphs do not contain the information you
are looking for. Also, don’t worry if you find more than one answer in
one paragraph.

The answers do not appear in the same order as the questions.

Reading Skills

You will first have to be able to skim the reading text to get a general
meaning of each paragraph.

You will also have to scan for specific words within the paragraphs.
It is more likely that you will be looking for synonyms (different
words that mean the same or nearly the same) and paraphrases
rather than keywords from the question statements.

When you have found the words or phrases you think might give you
the correct answer, you have to read very carefully in order to fully
understand the meaning to be able to decide if it is really the correct
answer.

Common Problems

The biggest problem is the fact that you need to look at the whole
text. The answers could be anywhere in the text and they do not
come in order, so it takes time.

Also, the answers might not be the main idea of each paragraph.
Normally paragraphs contain one main idea and reading the first
and last lines of the paragraph can help you understand this. With
these questions, the answer could be in any part of the paragraph
and you cannot therefore just quickly skim to find it.

There is also lots of irrelevant information that you do not need to

consider. The strategy below will help you ignore much of this
irrelevant information.

Finally, as stated above, not all paragraphs contain an answer and

some paragraphs contain more than one answer.

Tips

1. Do this question last. If you do other questions first, you will

become familiar with the passage and this will help you

identify the correct information more quickly and easily.

2. Try to find names, place names and numbers in the questions.

These are often easier to find in the text.

3. Be aware that there may be synonyms. For example, you might

see ‘34%‘ in the question but it might say ‘just over a third‘ or

‘about a third‘ in the text.

Strategy
This is my suggested strategy. There are many different strategies
and you should use the one you feel comfortable with. You can also
adapt this strategy to what suits you.

1. Read the instructions carefully.

2. Read the questions first. Think about synonyms and how you

could paraphrase the statements. This will help you identify

the answer. Saying each statement in your own words can help

do this.

3. Quickly skim the reading text to try to understand the general

meaning of the text.

4. Read the question statements again and predict which

paragraph contains the answer.

5. Scan the text paragraphs you think might contain the answer

for synonyms. If you find a possible answer underline it.

6. Check back with the question statement and mark the answer

if correct. If not, move on to other paragraphs.

 IELTS Reading- Sentence
Completion Tips and Strategy
Home » IELTS Reading- Sentence Completion Tips and Strategy
In sentence completion question types, you will be given a number of sentences with
gaps in them and asked to complete the sentences with words from the reading text.

These questions are as much vocabulary tests as they are reading tests because they
require you to be aware of paraphrasing (using different words to repeat a sentence so
that it has the same meaning) and synonyms (words with the same or very similar
meanings). More on these below.

This post will:

● look at example sentence completion questions

● discuss paraphrasing and synonyms

● discuss common problems

● give you tips and advice

● provide you with a strategy to use on exam day

Example Question
Source: Cambridge English IELTS Past Papers.

As you can see there are three incomplete sentences that we must complete.

Note that it says NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the text for each answer. This
means that we can write one or two words only. If we write any more than this, we get
the question wrong.

Also, note that it says ‘from the text’. This means that we can’t change the words from
the text.

The word limit and whether we should use words from the text or not can change from
question to question so read them carefully.

To access more example reading questions for both the academic and general papers
visit the ielts.org test sample page.

Paraphrasing and Synonyms

In order to do well on the IELTS reading test, you have to understand what paraphrasing
and synonyms are because Cambridge use them so much in the reading and listening
tests and expect you to use them in the writing and speaking tests.
Paraphrasing is simply rephrasing or saying the sentence again, so that it has the same
meaning, but with different words.

Example–

Most men drive cars to work.

The majority of males use automobiles to get to their jobs.

As you can see, both sentences mean exactly the same thing but I have used different
words.

I have used mostly synonyms to do this, i.e. words with the same or similar meanings.

Examples–

most – majority

drive – use

cars – automobiles

work – job

Why is this important?

We have to understand how Cambridge actually make the IELTS reading tests in order to
be successful. The people who write the tests take a piece of writing and they then use
paraphrasing and synonyms to make many of the questions. Therefore if you don’t
understand this, it is like walking in the dark with no lights. Understand it and suddenly
your world becomes brighter.
The table below shows just some examples from an IELTS reading paper. As you can
see, paraphrasing and synonyms are used in many of the questions and if you were
looking for words that exactly match those in the text you wouldn’t find them. Instead be
aware that you are looking for meaning; not words.

Common Problems

As you have probably already guessed from the passage above, the main problem is
students trying to match words in the question with exactly the same words in the
reading text. Instead, you should be looking for words that mean the same thing i.e.
paraphrases and synonyms.

Another common problem is not reading the instructions properly and then writing too
many words or not writing the same words as in the reading text, as discussed above.

Finally, students often start reading the text before the question. This is confusing for
most people and wastes time. Read the questions first.
Sentence Completion Tips

1. Check how many words it asks you to write. If it says ‘no more than two’, you can

write one or two words. If it says ‘no more than three’, you can write one, two or

three words. Remember that numbers are written numerically, such as 72, count

as one word and hyphenated words, such as state-of-the-art, count as one word.

2. Sometimes the question will state ‘using words from the text’ or ‘from the text’. In

this case, you should only use words from the text and not change them or use

different forms of the words. If it does not say this, then you are allowed to

change the words as long as the meaning is the same.

3. The answers appear in the same order as the questions. The answer to number 1

will be above number 2, and the answer to number 3 will be below the answer to

number 2.

4. Remember that your answer should be grammatically correct. Check the type of

word that fits in the space. Is it a verb, noun, adjective or adverb? This will help

you answer the question correctly.

5. When scanning for your answer, make sure you are thinking about paraphrasing

and synonyms.

6. Find where the answer is located in the text before you try to answer the

question. Remember where before what.

7. Read the questions before reading the text.

Sentence completion strategy

This is my suggested strategy. There are many different strategies and you should use
the one you feel comfortable with. You can also adapt this strategy to what suits you.

1. Read the instructions carefully, noting how many words you can write and if they

want you to include the exact words from the question or not.

2. Read the incomplete sentences first. Think about what word form can be used

and try to predict the answer. Also, think about keywords and how they could be

represented by synonyms or paraphrasing.

3. Locate where the information is located by scanning quickly. If you can’t locate

the answer quickly, move on.

4. Read the incomplete sentence again.

5. Study the reading text more carefully to establish the answer.

6. Check your spelling.

7. Repeat with the other sentences.

 IELTS Reading- Short Answer
Questions
Home » IELTS Reading- Short Answer Questions
This post will help you answer short answer questions more effectively by looking at a
sample question, identifying common problems and giving you a strategy to use on
exam day.

Short Answer Questions

These questions are often called ‘comprehension’ questions and they are very common
in English classrooms all over the world. Most students have answered these kinds of
questions before and for this reason, most students tend to do quite well with them.

Despite this, there are some common problems that cause students to make mistakes
and throw away marks.

Short Answer Example

Source: Cambridge English IELTS Past Papers.

Common Problems
 1. Synonyms and paraphrasing are the biggest problems. Students who are

unaware of these tend to look for keywords in the text that directly match those

in the questions. This wastes lots of time and good time management is

essential in the reading test.

2. Word limit can also cause people to throw away easy marks. If you write over the

stated word limit you will get the answer wrong.

3. You don’t have to read every word of the text. These questions test your ability to

skim and scan for specific information. You also won’t have time to read every

word.

4. Students often see a word they don’t understand in the question or text and either

panic or spend too much time thinking about the meaning.

5. Some students try to write full sentences. Your answers don’t have to be

grammatically correct so stay under the word limit.

Skills Tested
1. Ability to skim the passage quickly and understand the overall meaning.

2. Ability to scan for specific information.

3. Understand the question being asked.

4. Identify keywords.

5. Think of possible synonyms and paraphrases of keywords.

Tips
1. The answers appear in the same order as the text.

2. Look at and understand the questions first before you start reading the text. What

is the question actually asking?

3. You will probably be given a word limit, for example ‘NO MORE THAN THREE

WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER.’ Make sure you don’t go over this limit.

4. As stated above, the answers do not need to be grammatically correct, just short

answers.

5. Don’t give your opinion, just the answer in the text.

6. Keywords in the question will normally be nouns or noun phrases.

7. When you find your keywords always think synonyms and paraphrases.

Strategy
1. Read the instructions carefully and note the word limit.

2. Read and understand the questions. Think about the information you will need to

find.

3. Underline any keywords in the questions.

4. Think about synonyms or paraphrases for these keywords.

5. Find part of the text question 1 relates to.

6. Read question again.

7. Read the section containing the answer carefully and identify answer.

8. Continue with next question and repeat until finished.

 IELTS Reading- Labeling a Diagram
Tips and Strategy
Home » IELTS Reading- Labeling a Diagram Tips and Strategy
On the IELTS reading test, you might get a question that asks you to label a diagram.
This post will:

○ show you examples

○ look at common problems

○ give you tips

○ provide you with a strategy for answering these questions.

Examples

There are three kinds of diagrams you might get: a technical drawing of a machine or
invention, something from the natural world or a design or plan. Below is an example of
a natural process taken from a sample test at IELTS.org.
Below is an example of a technical drawing:
Source: Cambridge English IELTS Past Papers.

Common Problems

The main problem with these questions is students focus too much on the diagram and
try to understand everything about it. Unfamiliar diagrams can cause panic and lose you
time. This is not a test of your technical knowledge but a test of your reading skills. You
should try to understand generally what is happening in the diagram, but the relationship
between the text and the diagram is more important.

Another big problem is failing to locate the paragraphs that contain the answers quickly
and losing time reading the whole text.

Students also lose marks in this section by writing the wrong number of words or
spelling words incorrectly.

Tips
 1. Check how many words you are supposed to write, it will tell you in the question.

In the example above you can only write ‘one or two words’, any more than this

and you will lose marks. Remember that numbers count as one word and

hyphenated words like ‘state-of-the-art’ count as one word.

2. Identify the type of word (noun, verb, adjective) you need. This will help you find

the correct answer.

3. The answers do not always come in the same order that the paragraphs are in.

4. Do the easiest questions first. You are more likely to get these correct. If you

cannot find the answer to a difficult question, move on and come back later.

5. Try to predict the answer before you read the text. This will help you find the

correct answer.

Strategy

1. Check how many words you can write.

2. Study the diagram and try to understand generally what is happening. Don’t

spend too much time doing this.

3. Highlight keywords or labels.

4. Identify the types of words required and try to predict the answer.

5. Scan the text and identify where the information is located.

6. Read in more detail to find the answer.

7. Check spelling.
 How to Complete IELTS Reading in
Less than an Hour
Home » How to Complete IELTS Reading in Less than an Hour
One of the most challenging parts of IELTS Reading is completing it within the time that
you are allocated. With just one hour to complete 40 questions, it is imperative that you
realise that the exam tests both your reading skills and your ability to read under timed
conditions. This blog post will detail an effective five-step solution that will allow you to
manage your time wisely during the test, increasing your chances of passing it the first
time.

1. Familiarise yourself with the questions

The most basic but necessary method of improving your timing is by familiarising
yourself with the IELTS Reading exam format. This means that you must learn which
types of question could appear on the day of the exam and how you are expected to
respond to them. Doing so will stop you from being taken by surprise, therefore allowing
you to maintain focus and direct all of your attention on to how to answer the question,
without worrying about what the questions are asking of you. Being in control of the
situation and being aware of what is expected of you will allow you to work much more
efficiently.

2. Have a strong strategy for each question

Once you are familiar with the exam questions, you will notice that each question tests a
separate sub-skill of reading. Therefore, to answer each question effectively and
efficiently, you must have a strategy for each question type. By ‘strategy’ I mean a
step-by-step system that helps guide your ability to answer the questions – like a map
which tells you exactly how to get from point A to point B. The key to learning these
strategies is repetition.
Our VIP Students will tell you – simply learning a strategy is not enough. The best
strategy in the world won’t work after a single attempt – you will need to repeat it many
times before you can truly improve your reading time management. Feel free to watch
the video below to hear the strategies that Priyanka used to get a Band 9 in IELTS
Reading:

Repeated practice of strategies will remove the thinking process from your answers so
that your ability to source and relay information will come to you naturally. This will
ultimately prevent you from getting lost and wasting precious exam time.

Remember to be careful of the strategies you choose to practice. By practising with a

poor strategy, you damage your chance at passing IELTS Reading before you even take
the exam. You can take a look at the strategies we recommend below:

3. Learn from your mistakes

It’s inevitable: when you practice, you make mistakes. Fortunately, with IELTS Reading,
the answers are either right or wrong. As such, every mistake you make should be

treated like gold dust.

The reason for this is that every mistake is an opportunity to improve. Once you identify
your mistakes, you can determine exactly how to improve. Do not waste these
opportunities.

Once you complete a number of practice tests, you should take note of the patterns in
your mistakes – whether they are specific questions that you struggle with, repeated
spelling errors or difficulty with synonyms. Once you identify these patterns, you must
attack your weakest area until it is no longer an area of weakness.

If you need to improve your IELTS Reading timing then you must repeat this process of
identifying, attacking and improving areas of weakness. Doing so will give you the
confidence to work smoothly and effectively on exam day, eliminating the sense of
panic you get when you spy a question that you can’t tackle.

4. Improve your vocabulary

Many of the questions in IELTS Reading focus on a synonym or paraphrase of the
answer that is located in the text. For this reason, the exam tests your vocabulary as
much as it tests your reading skills. Therefore, improving your vocabulary will allow you
to locate the correct answers much more quickly on exam day. Admittedly, this is a
difficult step to implement as it can’t be learned in a week or even a month.

However, you can improve your vocabulary by following a simple three-step process:

i. Read English Every Day

This is essential if you want to get a high score in the IELTS exam and can be done on
the way to work, on your lunch break or after your dinner. No matter how busy your
schedule, you should always make time to read.

ii. Record New Vocabulary

When you read in English, you will encounter new words that you haven’t come across
before. Record these in a notebook, alongside any information you will need to
remember them. This can be in the form of antonyms, synonyms, collocations,
definition, pronunciation or example sentences.

iii. Use & Review

Make an active effort to use the words that you record. Then every few weeks you
should review your vocabulary – recap what you do know and attack what you don’t.
Once you invest this time, your reading skills will improve massively, as will your time
management.

5. Get the score you need before the test

Every single day we advise IELTS pupils not to book the test until they’re confident they
will get the score they need. This is because you will never be able to outperform your
practice scores on exam day. When you work hard and learn from your weaknesses until
you no longer have any, your IELTS skills will progress far more effectively than if you
had simply hoped for the best.

I hope that this article has shed some light on the amount of work required to improve
your IELTS Reading timing. Now that you have reached the conclusion, you are left with
two choices:
If you need our professional help in preparing for the exam then always feel free to send
us an email at <[email protected]>. We don’t have the capacity to tutor
everyone, but we do respond to every IELTS question we receive. We really are happy to
help, so why not let us?