Reading skills for the IELTS test - skimming and scanning

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NARRATION:

One of the biggest problems in the IELTS reading test is time. You have one hour to answer 40 questions, which means that you will have to be able to get the information you need quickly. There are three different skills you will need in the test. Skimming, scanning and reading in detail. Skimming means looking quickly at the passage to get a general idea of what it is about. Scanning means looking at the passage for specific information. Reading in detail requires you to carefully read the section of the passage you are looking for the answer in. Here are some common situations in which you have probably already used these skills. You might skim a newspaper article to see if you think it is interesting enough to read. If you were looking for a telephone number in a directory, you would scan, looking for the specific information you need. If you are assembling a complicated product, you would need to read the instruction manual carefully to make sure you understand all the details of what you have to do. Skimming and scanning skills will help you find the right section of the reading passage to answer the question. Most questions will then require you to read the section you have found in detail in order to get the correct answer. You should not try to read the entire passage in detail or you will run out of time.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• ielts
• reading
• skills
• skimming
• skim
• scanning
• scan

[MrSmile1087]

reading time shouls be 2 hours,

[ilsnz]

@MrSmile1087 That would be nice :) It's is quite hard to get 40 questions completed in the 60 minutes that you are given!

[AnonD253]

These tips are very useful! Are you sure it is not advisable to read the whole passage in detail? Couldn't that lead to possible misunderstandings and having to start again?

[ilsnz]

@AnonD253 The problem with reading the whole passage in detail is time - the idea of skimming and scanning is to locate the approximate area of the answer, then focus on reading a little more closely to identify the exact answer.

Hope that helps!

Patrick

[dramtulrauf]

i got 7 bands bt not 7 in each skill which wz my requirement, im going to take it again bt i still hv severe difficulty in reading,im much worried wht to do now....

i got 6 in reading in previous test

[ilsnz]

@dramtulrauf - Reading can be very difficult, escpecially given the time you have. The best advice I can give you is to practice as much as possible. You might also want to visit our other site IELTSforFREE (dot) com and take the free practice that's on that site.

All the best,

Patrick

[stonojka]

I hate this TRUE,FALSE NOT GIVEN,they are so tricky,how to guess FALSE and NOT GIVEN?

[KimiWarrior]

thank you:)

[ashleywilson62]

@stonojka you are so true I found good tips on a website called fetsystem, so google "fet system ielts"

[ilsnz]

@zain4444 Have your tried our free practice test on our other website - IELTSforFREE (with the normal DOTcom after it)?