IELTS Reading Test

I think I did quite well, 7.5 out of 9.0 for my reading. At 9.40 a.m., I was given a booklet contains about 40 questions and we were asked to use another page of the answer sheet that we used for listening test (the front page for listening test and back page for reading test). As usual, we listened to the instructions before starting our test.

If you really believe in what you’re doing, work hard, take nothing personally and if something blocks one route, find another, never give up. ~Laurie Notaro, best selling writer.

The test began and I briefly scanned how many passages that I got, I had three passages with 10-13 questions for each passage. So, I estimated it might take about 5-7 minutes to read and answer in 10-15 minutes for each passage. I started reading the questions for the 1st passage before I read the passage. When I was reading, I underlined and jotted down some key words at the side of every paragraph.

After reading, of course I couldn’t remember every detail of the story, so I took a glance at the questions and figured out which paragraph the answer would be hidden in. Underline key words is really helpful for lengthy paragraphs as all passages are about one or two pages long. So, I scanned questions, found answers, and made sure I wrote every answer on the answer sheet correctly.

For questions that I’m not sure about the answer, I tried to put an answer and circled the question number, so that I could double check it once I finished answering all questions. Do not spend too much time on each question, write an answer for safety in case I have out of time for double checking, at least I won’t get a blank on my answer sheet.

So, I repeated the same method for the 2nd and 3rd passages, I remembered that the last passage contains many scientific words that I learned during my secondary school. So, I was able to understand most of the scientific terms. Make sure you write all the “True/False/Not Given” in full spelling for secure, even though I have read some IELTS forums saying that it is okay to answer in “T/F/NG”. I was not brave enough to test it out, so I wrote everything in full spelling, which I think it makes me feel comfortable rather than just put a symbol on my answer sheet.

So, I did not buy any IELTS reference books because I could get an abundance of past year questions, tips, techniques, and practices. If you’re really initiated as I did, you can get a number of native speakers or test candidates to practise with you on any kind of social media, and it won’t cost you a cent, e.g. IELTS Academic Resources

DO SOMETHING FOR IT,  AND YOU WON’T REGRET~

~ Photo credit (modified): Condesign / Pixabay / CC BY-NC

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