IELTS Reading: 2 questions about exam technique

1. Should you read the whole passage before looking at the questions?
2. Should you go to the questions first, then skim/scan to find the answers?

My answer to question 1 is no. You don't have time to read the whole passage unless your English is almost 'native speaker' level.

My answer to question 2 is yes and no.
Yes - go to the questions first.
No - don't skim or scan unless the question contains a name or number.

My advice is to do the questions one by one. Instead of skimming or scanning, read the passage carefully. The answers to most question sections will be in order in the passage, so you will gradually read the whole passage as you find the answers.

Comments

[Natasha]

hi，simon

I'm so sad for I always can't finish the reading test in time, especially there are two passages that need to select headings.

I will take ielts exam on 5th Jan, what can I do before it.

[Smriti]

Hi Simon,

I have to appear for IELTS General training Module. Are the reading passages different than being discussed on your website or I can practise well from here. Also, why does General Training require more answers to be correct from reading section to get the same band score as of Academic.

Thanks.
Smriti

[Kate]

I have had 6 tests （A）during the past 1 and half years. I got 7
*4，7.5 *1 and 8 *1. I found the reading became difficult，especially the matching and T／F／NG. Some of them were tricky and I had to read the whole passage again and again to find the clues...

[Huong]

Hello Simon.

Could you give me any tips on the question: which paragraph contains this piece of information? i need to spend a lot of time on questions like these and i often need to read the whole passage to answer.

[Smriti]

Hi Simon,

I have a doubt while solving the passage given in Cambridge 6(test 1 Passage 2- Delivering the goods).

Here for Question No 21(T/F/NG) the answer given is True. But I think it should be Flase.
Beacuase in para E, last Line says "Distance therefore poses no obstacle to the globalization of the disk-drive industry". So it means that the answer to question
"Most Contries continue to trade with nearby nations" should be FALSE.

[saru]

Hi simon,
I attend 4 times ielts exam but sometimes i failed in writing and reading but later i got in writing task but in reading task it is really hard for me to get even 6. Now i so upset that i could never make it. please would you be able to give me some idea about it. please anyone don't mind to sugget me.
thankyou very much.

[Mahboubeh-Iran]

Hi Simon,
Thank you for your advice. when I used your advice, I couldn't complete all the test in that time 20 minutes. How can I do for this problem?

[jassi]

hi simon i want your help for listenings and also for readings of general module.can u post some material to me for practice.i would be thankful to u for this help.

[Babu]

Hi Simon,

Thanks for the tip because I have been skimming and scanning the text. As you suggested, if i read carefully, most of the questions are answered correctly.

Thanks for tip.

Babu

[maz8212]

Hi Simon

I have a Qst here..

How come one can answer questions one by one without knowing where the answer is?!
What I mean is, to answer gsts we have to known where the related text is? Later, we can read in our normal pace. This needs skimming at first place, I think.
What do think of this Simon,

Thank you so much!