Welcome to the IELTS Reading Preparation Course
SHARING OUR PROFESSIONAL EXPERTISE
At English One we have been preparing students to take the IELTS test for over a decade; and we’ve taken all the information, strategies, tips and tricks we’ve shared with our students and saved them here for you to learn too. What follows is a comprehensive collection of useful information that you will be able to use during the test to reach the band that you need.
Here’s what we’re going to share with you:
- What you can expect in each section of the test
- Which of your English skills you’ll be tested on
- The different types of questions you will encounter during the test
- The specific strategies you need to use to approach each question type in the test
- How to best deal with the different challenges you’ll encounter during the test
What is the IELTS Reading Test?
The Reading test consists of 40 questions and you have 60 minutes to complete the test. A variety of question types are used in order to test a wide range of reading skills. These include:
- reading for gist
- reading for main ideas
- reading for detail
- skimming
- scanning
- understanding a logical argument
- recognizing writers’ opinions, attitudes and purpose
- completing a table, diagram or a summary
The Academic Reading Test
The Academic version includes three long texts which cover a variety of topics like history, biology, technology, science etc. While the subject matter is quite academic, it has been selected for a non-specialist audience. In other words, you don’t need to have any knowledge of the topics to succeed. However, the texts are recognizably appropriate for anyone entering undergraduate or postgraduate courses or those seeking professional registration. During the test you may encounter technical terms, charts or graphs. The texts are authentic as they are taken from books, journals, reports, magazines and newspapers.
For each of the three passages, you will be expected to answer between 10 to 14 questions.
The General Training Reading Test
The General Training version requires you to read extracts from books, magazines, newspapers, notices, advertisements, company handbooks and guidelines. These are materials you are likely to encounter on a daily basis in an English speaking environment. The main difference is that the passages in the General Training test are shorter and have simpler vocabulary.
The test gets progressively more challenging. The first section usually has two to three short and simple articles that relate to everyday life. In the second section you can expect two short passages that typically relate to work in some way. And the third section commonly has a more abstract or academic topic.
While the General test has slightly easier questions, you do need to get more of them correct in order to reach a higher band.