Assumptions are the mother of all mess-ups!
Don’t assume you know the answer, search for it in the passage. When answering the questions, you must stick to the facts as they are written in the paragraph. Forget all about your personal knowledge and experience! Relying on your own knowledge is the most natural thing for you, so sometimes they use it in IELTS to trick you into making a choice of answer according to what you know or believe and not according to the passage.
Practice, practice, practice!
The only way to make it happen is to practice in using my tips while doing the Reading test.
When practicing, finish the reading test and then check your answers according to answer key. Pay attention to those you've got wrong, not those you've got right –understand why didn't you do them right and try to remember, so that mistake won't come back.
Practice with a clock and copy your answers to the Answer Sheet. You may use the one from the chapter on Listening test; it is similar to Reading test Answer Sheet.
In order to practice, use not only the General Training module tests, but also Academic module reading. This advice has 2 main reasons behind it – there are more Academic texts available to practice on than General Training, and it is a proven strategy to get your score higher, because while hoping for the best you are preparing for the worst. Academic reading is much more difficult than General training, and if you are ready for Academic – General will be a piece of cake for you.
Don’t assume you know the answer, search for it in the passage. When answering the questions, you must stick to the facts as they are written in the paragraph. Forget all about your personal knowledge and experience! Relying on your own knowledge is the most natural thing for you, so sometimes they use it in IELTS to trick you into making a choice of answer according to what you know or believe and not according to the passage.
Practice, practice, practice!
The only way to make it happen is to practice in using my tips while doing the Reading test.
When practicing, finish the reading test and then check your answers according to answer key. Pay attention to those you've got wrong, not those you've got right –understand why didn't you do them right and try to remember, so that mistake won't come back.
Practice with a clock and copy your answers to the Answer Sheet. You may use the one from the chapter on Listening test; it is similar to Reading test Answer Sheet.
In order to practice, use not only the General Training module tests, but also Academic module reading. This advice has 2 main reasons behind it – there are more Academic texts available to practice on than General Training, and it is a proven strategy to get your score higher, because while hoping for the best you are preparing for the worst. Academic reading is much more difficult than General training, and if you are ready for Academic – General will be a piece of cake for you.
