October 10, 2010

5 Tips for Identifying Information/Writer's Views in IELTS Reading

When you see questions in IELTS reading that require you to determine certain information and the writer's views, keep the following in mind:

1. Skim the reading passage so you would be able to get the general idea of the content.

2. Try to match the statements/questions with the ones contained in the passage. Be careful because the ideas in the statements/questions most probably won't be using the same words in the passage. Your skill of looking for synonyms would be handy here.

3. If the passage doesn't mention the idea expressed in the statements/questions, then choose 'NOT GIVEN'.

4. If the passage happens to mention the exact idea in the statements/questions, then the answer can be a 'YES' or 'TRUE'. It however helps to analyze the meaning of the whole statement/question carefully. These statements/questions could merely be distractors, so pay attention.

5. If the passage either states an idea which is the opposite of the statement/question or gives data which is in conflict with the statement/question, then choose 'NO' or 'FALSE'.

Next week, you'll be seeing some tips for Diagram/Flow Chart Questions in the IELTS Reading Module.

Cheers. :)

Other IELTS reading tips: