I Cracked IELTS Reading: Band 2 to 8.5 in 3 Weeks (Academic)

Let's talk about Isle's reading section.

And I know after watching this video, the reading section is not going to sound so scary. Well, you must be thinking she's too confident for saying that, but yeah, I don't consider myself

an ISS expert randomly throwing tips and tricks around that word like magic. I

just have so much experience with ISS. I

was once a struggling student myself and now I'm an online English language tutor and I also help my students with their ISS exam. so I can share my experience

ISS exam. so I can share my experience and what worked for me and what didn't and what I could have done differently to score even higher when I was preparing for my test. So a couple of years ago I was sort of preparing for my

ISS exam. I was looking at ISS materials

ISS exam. I was looking at ISS materials every now and then and honestly it kind of looked easy. I was like you know what it's just a language test how hard it can be right then I booked my test 20 days in advance and that's when I sort

of took it seriously and bought official ISS books for practice and I sat down and took a reading test first under exam conditions. I set up 1 hour timer and

conditions. I set up 1 hour timer and got started. Then I spent one whole hour

got started. Then I spent one whole hour on the first passage and even then I got 50% of the questions wrong. That was a painful surprise. So the next 20 days of

painful surprise. So the next 20 days of my life were all about ISS. I was trying to learn everything about it. Literally

everything, especially the reading part.

I spent most of the time practicing reading section because I was traumatized from the first practice test I took and I had really less time until my test considering where I was score-wise. But I actually ended up

score-wise. But I actually ended up doing pretty good. I scored 8.5. It's

not a perfect score, but it was really good considering I was taking the test for the first time. So without further bragging, let's talk about the reading section. And the biggest question arises

section. And the biggest question arises here is how do I manage my time? Yeah,

we know don't spend more than 20 winners on each passage, but how how do I attempt all the questions in 20 minutes and also get them right? And the crack

code here is to understand the strategy for each question type. Not just shallow trick like okay read the questions first and go to the passage but to know how are you supposed to do that. There are

multiple types of questions from true false not given to matching headings and each type require different strategy because each type is testing a particular reading skill. I'll cover the most common types of questions and also

give my golden advice in the end of this video. If the only thing you know about

video. If the only thing you know about reading section is that you have to complete each passage in 20 minutes and apply the same strategy for all types of questions, then you won't score. No

matter how good your comprehension skills are, you won't be able to manage your time effectively. And on reading section, the first passage is slightly

easier, the second passage is harder, and the third one is the hardest. But

don't already make up your mind and panic when you do the third passage thinking, "Oh, it's really hard, so I'm not going to be able to do it." It just get clever with hiding the answers.

Well, that's it. But anyway, you need different strategies for each type of questions. The goal is to attempt the

questions. The goal is to attempt the questions and get them right. And for

some question types, you can do so without reading the whole passage. And

some question types require you to read the whole passage. For example, for the question types such as true balls not given or matching headings or multiplechoice question can't follow one

same strategy for all of them. These

require different strategies that help you get to the answer quicker and also get it right. I'll explain more about these three types because they are super common and they appear very frequently.

Let's start with the matching headings question. When you get the passage on

question. When you get the passage on the test, the first thing you want to do is look at the questions. And if you see a matching headings questions, do them first because for matching headings questions, you kind of want to read the

whole passage. Otherwise, you can't give

whole passage. Otherwise, you can't give a heading to a paragraph without reading it all. Right? And a way to do it is you

it all. Right? And a way to do it is you read the first paragraph and understand what is going on. Basically, what is the main idea of the paragraph and give it your own heading. The skill being tested

here is are you able to read the paragraph and understand the main idea.

Then look at the headings and pick what best matches with the headings that you gave it. Then go to the next paragraph

gave it. Then go to the next paragraph and do the same thing and so on. In this

way you read the passage while answering the questions. And once you are done

the questions. And once you are done with the matching headings questions then you can go to other questions because now that you have read the whole passage you already know where to look for the answers. Yes, it does require

practice, but practice while keeping this strategy in your head. True or

false not given question. Extremely

common question type and also my personal favorite because it's really tricky. Like it's it's really tricky. I

tricky. Like it's it's really tricky. I

mean, if it was just true or false, then it would have been really straightforward. But no, they had to add

straightforward. But no, they had to add not given option to further mess with your last brain cells. It gets confusing like is it false or not given? Is it

true or not given? And unlike matching headings questions, true false notgiven question test your ability to find a specific detail or information in a passage. When you're dealing with true

passage. When you're dealing with true false notgiven question, first understand the statement, what exactly it's saying, then compare it to the statements in the passage. If the

passage says the same thing, then it's true. If it contradicts, it's false. And

true. If it contradicts, it's false. And

if there's no information about it, it's not given. And I know you already know

not given. And I know you already know that like it's literally mentioned in the question. But let's look at this

the question. But let's look at this example to see how tricky it can get.

Suppose this is a statement in the question. Okay. The university library

question. Okay. The university library is open for 24 hours all week. Okay. We

have to tell if it's true, false or not given. Right? So if the passage says the

given. Right? So if the passage says the university library doesn't get closed for even a minute from Monday to Sunday.

Basically it's saying the same thing, right? It's just a simple example to

right? It's just a simple example to make you understand. So, it's true if the passage says the university library is open for 24 hours only on the working

days. Now, the statement says all week,

days. Now, the statement says all week, but the passage says only on working days. That's a clear contradiction. So,

days. That's a clear contradiction. So,

you're not guessing anymore. It's

spelled out. The answer is false. Right

now, if the passage says the university library offers extended opening hours during exam periods, now this one is the ultimate trap. You're like, "Oh, maybe

ultimate trap. You're like, "Oh, maybe maybe it's open 24/7 during exams." And like students need to study more, so yeah, probably true. And you fell right

through it. This is where ISS is testing

through it. This is where ISS is testing your ability to not assume anything. It

says nothing about 24 hours, nothing about old week, just extended hours during exams. So no matter how much you think it could be true, if the passage

doesn't say it directly, it's not your job to connect the dots. Straight up,

the answer is not given. So moral of the story, your opinion doesn't matter here.

Even if you are Sherlock Holmes, do not deduce. If it's not written in the

deduce. If it's not written in the passage, it's not given. If it's

slightly off, it's false. If it's exact the same thing, it's true. Let's move on to the multiplechoice questions. Again,

very, very common type. Okay. So, always

read the question carefully and not just for the multiple choice question, but all of the questions. I know every second matters and I get you're in hurry, but don't go to the options or

the passage without understanding what exactly is the question asking you. Are

you looking for a main idea or a specific detail? You can be really fast

specific detail? You can be really fast at skimming the text if you know exactly what you're looking for. And this is best for locating the answers in the passage. So after you read the question,

passage. So after you read the question, go to the passage not options passage and locate the information and read that part. Then come back to the options. And

part. Then come back to the options. And

here the process of elimination is your best friend. Eliminate the options that

best friend. Eliminate the options that sound like obviously wrong. And the pro tip here is the options that sound too extreme are usually wrong. Are mostly

wrong actually. Okay. So let's look at this example over here. What is the main reason the writer mentions honeybees?

Okay, so we're given options and this is a multiple choice cluster, right? The

way I would do it is I would not look at the options yet. All I need to know right now is I'm looking for the main reason why the writer mentioned honeybees, right? This would be my cue

honeybees, right? This would be my cue to go to the passage and spot the location where the answer could be. So

let's say after skimming I find it in the passage and the passage it says the global decline in bee populations has raised concerns about the future of agriculture due to their essential role

in pollination.

Okay. So I I understand the main reason why the writer mentioned honeybees is because due to their decline in population uh it's causing some agricultural concerns. Okay. So now I

agricultural concerns. Okay. So now I can go back to the options here and uh look look at the options and the correct option is B. Their decline could impact

global agriculture right and guys I would immediately eliminate the option C cuz it's too extreme and also very incorrect. Now other options might be in

incorrect. Now other options might be in the passage like option A they are disappearing rapidly. Yeah it is true

disappearing rapidly. Yeah it is true they are but that's not the main reason why the writer mentions honeybees. This

is why it's important to read the question carefully so that you don't get confused between two options that sound very similar. Every time you get

very similar. Every time you get confused between two options that both sound correct, there is a high chance that you have not fully understood the question. This is what I mean when I say

question. This is what I mean when I say be strategic. Practice these strategies

be strategic. Practice these strategies and understand your weak areas. And I

say this a lot because I'm pretty sure you don't. Just saying, "Oh, I'm not

you don't. Just saying, "Oh, I'm not good at reading or I'm not good at listening," does not mean you know your weak areas. It is to know very very

weak areas. It is to know very very specifically what is holding you back.

Like if I were to find my weak areas, the way I would do it is by taking a practice test and seeing which parts of the questions I got mostly wrong. If I'm

getting most questions right in passage one, but getting most questions wrong in the passage three, then it's likely a comprehension issue considering passage three is hardest, or is it a specific

question type that I'm struggling with?

Is it the true false not given question that I'm getting wrong every single time? Or is it the matching headings

time? Or is it the matching headings questions? Once you narrow it down, you

questions? Once you narrow it down, you can then focus on the specific skill and strategy required to fix that particular type. Now my golden advice for the

type. Now my golden advice for the reading section is improve your vocabulary. I was trying every strategy

vocabulary. I was trying every strategy but my score was not improving much. But

when I focused on my vocabulary that's when my score improved like significantly. It helps you understand

significantly. It helps you understand the text very quickly cuz otherwise you don't want to read something again and again to understand. And there is actually a strategy to learn words.

Don't just make a list of random words and try to memorize them. When you do a practice test and analyze your wrong answers, figure out why you got them wrong. Which word confused you or misled

wrong. Which word confused you or misled you? This way, you'll remember the word

you? This way, you'll remember the word quickly and recognize it when it shows up again. That is it. Thank you so much

up again. That is it. Thank you so much for watching and supporting. I am more than happy to make more videos about other sections and to help you with your test. Good luck for your exam. Remember

test. Good luck for your exam. Remember

to drink water and keep your mental health in check. I'll see you again in the next video. Until then, have a great day and goodbye.

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