Every candidate feels that the IELTS Reading test is tough and they have a very short amount of time to answer a large number of questions on very complicated texts. You need to master the reading skills to get a 7 Band Score or higher and have a range of strategies prepared in order to tackle it. Here are some tips:
Read a lot of Academic texts
Develop a habit of reading in your free time! The IELTS texts are “general academic texts”. This implies that they are obtained from sources such as textbooks and specialist magazines and journals. In case you are not familiar with reading such kind of texts in English then you need to start reading them so that you become familiar with the words and language also with the structure used when you meet them in the exam. The three typical sources for IELTS Reading texts are the National Geographic, the New Scientist and the Economist.
Focus
Your focus should be on the text first, then on the questions! Only if you have a good understanding of the text, you can answer the questions more precisely and effectively.
Be able to Categorize
IELTS exam writers select a range of specific type of texts. You need to learn to recognize the type of text you are reading. It will help you predict its structure and you will be able to understand it more quickly. There are four types of IELTS Reading texts – A) analytic texts that will discuss the reasons why something happened or make recommendations or explain a concept B) descriptive texts that describe a situation, explain how something is done or categorize something C) discursive texts in which different opinions are expressed about an issue and D) narrative texts that explain a chronological sequence of events.
Skimming
Develop the ability to skim. Skimming means to read quickly by skipping the unimportant words like prepositions and ignoring the difficult words that you don’t have to understand. You should do this to get a general idea about a text or a paragraph or while intensively searching for the answer of a question.
Scanning
You must learn to scan. Scanning is exactly what you do when you look for a price in advertising text or a name in a telephone book. While scanning you do not actually need to read the text but move your eyes quickly over it. You can scan either left to right or right to left, from top to bottom or bottom to top. You should do this to find out the location of answers in the texts looking out for easy to spot words like numbers, dates and words beginning with capital letters such as place names.
Structure
Learn to recognize paragraph structure. This involves spotting the relationship between main ideas and supporting ideas in a paragraph. Paragraphs are mostly descending i.e., they start with the main idea somewhere near the start and develop from there, however some, frequently first and the last paragraphs of the texts, are ascending – the main idea is found to be located towards the end. This can prove to be helpful particularly when matching the headings to the paragraphs.
Overview
Get the overview of a text before beginning with the questions. Do this by reading the title and the subtitle as well as focusing on the beginnings and ends of paragraphs. This will help you process the information in a text.
Similar phrases
Develop the skill to spot similar phrases. There are different ways of expressing the same thing, such as, “I like to ski” and “skiing is enjoyable”. Many questions, for example, YES NO NOT GIVEN questions and gap fills, test your ability to match up a parallel phrase in the task with its equivalent in the text.
Stop panicking
Don’t panic when you face an unknown or difficult word. IELTS texts are packed with highly specialized vocabulary and therefore you are advised to read relevant texts beforehand to prepare. Skip over difficult words which are unnecessary for your understanding of the text. For words you need to understand, practice trying to guess their meaning using the overall context of the text.
Time management
Manage time in the exam. Most of the IELTS candidates complain about running out of time in the third reading section. Each text should take you about 20 minutes (the examiner will bring it to your notice when 20 minutes have passed). Never spend too long on a single question – either guess the answer if you don’t know the answer exactly or skip the question and return to it later. Also, if you feel you are running out of time, tackle questions like gap fills before attempting “easy-to-guess” tasks.
Every candidate feels that the IELTS Reading test is tough and they have a very short amount of time to answer a large number of questions on very complicated texts. You need to master the reading skills to get a 7 Band Score or higher and have a range of strategies prepared in order to tackle it. Here are some tips:
Read a lot of Academic texts
Develop a habit of reading in your free time! The IELTS texts are “general academic texts”. This implies that they are obtained from sources such as textbooks and specialist magazines and journals. In case you are not familiar with reading such kind of texts in English then you need to start reading them so that you become familiar with the words and language also with the structure used when you meet them in the exam. The three typical sources for IELTS Reading texts are the National Geographic, the New Scientist and the Economist.
Focus
Your focus should be on the text first, then on the questions! Only if you have a good understanding of the text, you can answer the questions more precisely and effectively.
Be able to Categorize
IELTS exam writers select a range of specific type of texts. You need to learn to recognize the type of text you are reading. It will help you predict its structure and you will be able to understand it more quickly. There are four types of IELTS Reading texts – A) analytic texts that will discuss the reasons why something happened or make recommendations or explain a concept B) descriptive texts that describe a situation, explain how something is done or categorize something C) discursive texts in which different opinions are expressed about an issue and D) narrative texts that explain a chronological sequence of events.
Skimming
Develop the ability to skim. Skimming means to read quickly by skipping the unimportant words like prepositions and ignoring the difficult words that you don’t have to understand. You should do this to get a general idea about a text or a paragraph or while intensively searching for the answer of a question.
Scanning
You must learn to scan. Scanning is exactly what you do when you look for a price in advertising text or a name in a telephone book. While scanning you do not actually need to read the text but move your eyes quickly over it. You can scan either left to right or right to left, from top to bottom or bottom to top. You should do this to find out the location of answers in the texts looking out for easy to spot words like numbers, dates and words beginning with capital letters such as place names.
Structure
Learn to recognize paragraph structure. This involves spotting the relationship between main ideas and supporting ideas in a paragraph. Paragraphs are mostly descending i.e., they start with the main idea somewhere near the start and develop from there, however some, frequently first and the last paragraphs of the texts, are ascending – the main idea is found to be located towards the end. This can prove to be helpful particularly when matching the headings to the paragraphs.
Overview
Get the overview of a text before beginning with the questions. Do this by reading the title and the subtitle as well as focusing on the beginnings and ends of paragraphs. This will help you process the information in a text.
Similar phrases
Develop the skill to spot similar phrases. There are different ways of expressing the same thing, such as, “I like to ski” and “skiing is enjoyable”. Many questions, for example, YES NO NOT GIVEN questions and gap fills, test your ability to match up a parallel phrase in the task with its equivalent in the text.
Stop panicking
Don’t panic when you face an unknown or difficult word. IELTS texts are packed with highly specialized vocabulary and therefore you are advised to read relevant texts beforehand to prepare. Skip over difficult words which are unnecessary for your understanding of the text. For words you need to understand, practice trying to guess their meaning using the overall context of the text.
Time management
Manage time in the exam. Most of the IELTS candidates complain about running out of time in the third reading section. Each text should take you about 20 minutes (the examiner will bring it to your notice when 20 minutes have passed). Never spend too long on a single question – either guess the answer if you don’t know the answer exactly or skip the question and return to it later. Also, if you feel you are running out of time, tackle questions like gap fills before attempting “easy-to-guess” tasks.
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The two diagrams depict the ground floor plan of a building house.
Overall, significant changes were made around the stairs. Before, there was storage under the stairs and a hall beside the stair which got dismissed. Besides, the existing internal doors and internal walls were replaced in a different direction.
On the existing floor plan, there were two entrance doors, and at one entrance door, there was storage under the stairs also with a hall beside the stairs. Besides, there were two internal doors along with walls to separate the kitchen as well as the living room.
On the proposed changes plan, firstly the storage under the stairs also the hall got canceled. Secondly, the internal wall, as well as the door in front of the living room, got canceled, and two internal doors with one wall in front of the kitchen were proposed. Thirdly, at the corner of the kitchen, kitchen furniture was included.
The diagram illustrates the ground floor plan changes, which are made from the previous plan. Overall, we can see there are only minor changes which have been made at the staircase, and the internal walls.
Regarding the proposed changes, it is clear that the internal wall in the Living Room has been removed so as to enlarge it., simultaneously, the storage under the stairs has been eliminated. Further, internal doors are relocated towards the entrance, which are now adjacent to each other rather than opposite. After relocation of the doors, the hall has been now occupied by the full flight of stairs. As far as Kitchen is concerned, the size of it is reduced by adding the kitchen furniture parallel to the entire kitchen walls, which might be the dinning area.
TASK 1
These diagrams depict the existing ground floor plan for a house, and the proposed changes made to it's building structure. In the initial floor plan, as you enter the house you immediately walk into a long hall with stairs on it's right side, along with a storage space available under the stairs. At the far end of the hall, there's two doors on both sides, with the kitchen on the left and the living room on the right hand side, behind the stairs.
However, in the second diagram massive changes are made to this floor plan. Now, the hallway is no longer there and instead when you enter the house, you walk right into the living room, with the staircase at the far end corner. Moreover, now the kitchen has a double door entrance, on the left side from the main entrance door and It also includes a separate place for kitchen furniture for more convenience.
TASK 2
In the early years of a child's life, providing a good education is very important to ensure they have a strong grasp on the basics before they are expected to any learn further. Many parents may argue that homeschooling is the right way to educate your children while others would be in favor of children going to schools.
While homeschooling your children would be a highly demanding task, it would ensure that the child is getting individual time and attention. Often, in a big classroom it is difficult for the teacher to pay attention to every student and there is no knowing whether they are focusing in class. Moreover, children might feel more comfortable learning from their own parents and may take more interest and more participation in their learning activities.
However, sending kids to school is more commonly practiced as it is alot more convenient than homeschooling. Homeschooling would be a full time job for a parent and they'd have no choice but to stay at home for the sake of their children. Sending children to schools is a proper way to ensure quality education. For a child's development a well-rounded education is highly important so they learn new skills, get creative, socialise, and do team working, as well as just learning what is in their textbooks.
In my opinion, homeschooling is not the best method of education as children tend to become introverted. Hence, sending children to school is vital in order to develop a confident personality and to have more learning experiences which would help them become their true selves.
The given diagrams depict a plan of a ground floor.
Overall, the most significant changes are supposed to be made between the living room and the kitchen. In the future it is planned to remove hall and storage under stairs. Besides, the stairs zone on the existing floor is obviously smaller than in the proposed one.
Internal doors on the current plan are located on the sides of two internal walls, opposite the entrance door. The renovation implies removing the right internal wall and shifting doors down to the entrance. In addition, in the proposed plan there is no storage under stairs. That way, more space would be left for the stairs zone.
However, future alteration do not affect kitchen and living room. The only thing that is going to be changed is kitchen furniture: the proposed plan shows the presence of furniture unlike existing one. Nevertheless, due to removed right internal wall the kitchen zone becomes more spacious.
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It is often argued that home education is the most proper decision for children’s development, whilst many people consider actually attending school extremely significant. Undoubtedly, both ways of educating children have their own benefits. But personally I believe that going to school is one of the key parts of minors’ socialisation.
On the one hand, children who do not have to regularly attend classes at school have substantially more time for their hobbies. They have possibility to do exactly what they are interested in. Furthermore, home education is also about an individual approach to everyone, so the process of learning becomes more effective, easy and enjoyable for a student. Due to recent research conducted by the University of California, 87% of children who study at home have significant achievements in other spheres of their lives, such as hobbies and various extracurricular activities.
On the other hand, socialisation is a very important part of everyone’s life. School’s major goal is not to simply give some amount of knowledge to pupils but also make them learn how to behave properly in society. Besides, school time gives us unforgettable memories with our peers and ties with them may be really helpful in future. Personally I have been a very secure person before the first grade and only school has been able to teach me how to communicate with people and make friends.
In conclusion, although it seems very convenient to study from home and not having to go somewhere every morning and lose time, I am sure school is an inevitable place that first of all prepares us to real life difficulties and problems.
The two maps display the current floor plan and the one that includes some changes that are suggested to make.
Overall, two main parts namely kitchen and living room are going to remain at their own places but some changes connected with little elements are considered to be implemented.
An existing floor plan has a hall and stairs between kitchen and living room. The two internal doors are located at the top of the map and there are internal walls near them. Besides, a storage is placed under stairs.
The plan that shows us proposed changes has some local differences. Furniture is planned to be added to kitchen. It is suggested to remove one internal wall and the storage under stairs. Besides, the hall is fully removed. The internal doors are going to be placed at the bottom near the entrance door. Stairs are supposed to be expanded in the place where the internal doors, the internal wall, the hall and the storage are now located.
The two maps display the current floor plan and the one that includes some changes that are suggested to make.
Overall, two main parts namely kitchen and living room are going to remain at their own places but some changes connected with little elements are considered to be implemented.
An existing floor plan has a hall and stairs between kitchen and living room. The two internal doors are located at the top of the map and there are internal walls near them. Besides, a storage is placed under stairs.
The plan that shows us proposed changes has some local differences. Furniture is planned to be added to kitchen. It is suggested to remove one internal wall and the storage under stairs. Besides, the hall is fully removed. The internal doors are going to be placed at the bottom near the entrance door. Stairs are supposed to be expanded in the place where the internal doors, the internal wall, the hall and the storage are now located.
The picture illustrates the floor plan of an already existing building and proposed changes for a new building .
Overall , it is expected that the new building will have a larger living room , bigger stair case and a modern kitchen.
In the existing floor plan , the kitchen on the right is separated from the hall by a wall on its right . At the center of the floor is a hall which is separated from the kitchen and the living room by two internal walls lying adjacent to each other . Within the hall is a stair case with a storage beneath and two doors one on each wall , located at the upper ends , which permit entry and exit into the kitchen and the living room .The living room is situated at the left end of the floor.
In the proposed plan , the kitchen will be made more modern by adding furniture into it . Also , the wall separating the kitchen from the hall will be extended to occupy the location of the door ,while the door will be moved to the lower end of the same wall .The hall , will be demolished , the storage under the staircase removed , and the staircase extended .The living room on the other hand will be made larger by pulling down the wall on its right end which separates it from the hall. Also , its door will be removed and move to the south end of the kitchen's internal wall , now lying adjacent to the other door .
The picture illustrates the floor plan of an already existing building and proposed changes for a new building .
Overall , it is expected that the new building will have a larger living room , bigger stair case and a modern kitchen.
In the existing floor plan , the kitchen on the right is separated from the hall by a wall on its right . At the center of the floor is a hall which is separated from the kitchen and the living room by two internal walls lying adjacent to each other . Within the hall is a stair case with a storage beneath and two doors one on each wall , located at the upper ends , which permit entry and exit into the kitchen and the living room .The living room is situated at the left end of the floor.
In the proposed plan , the kitchen will be made more modern by adding furniture into it . Also , the wall separating the kitchen from the hall will be extended to occupy the location of the door ,while the door will be moved to the lower end of the same wall .The hall , will be demolished , the storage under the staircase removed , and the staircase extended .The living room on the other hand will be made larger by pulling down the wall on its right end which separates it from the hall. Also , its door will be removed and move to the south end of the kitchen's internal wall , now lying adjacent to the other door .
The map shows architectural design of a house in its current form and planned changes to its design in the future. It can be seen that in the proposed plan the living room area is increased and the stairs are located right in front of the main entrance.
Currently the house has a main entrance that opens into a hall with stairs located in its right side .On the end of the hall there are two doors one on the right side other on the left side. Door on the right opens into a living room and door on the left opens into a kitchen. kitchen also has a separate entrance from outside and it does not have any furniture currently.
In the modified plan main entrance opens into the living room with stairs in front. On the left of entrance there are two doors which open into kitchen which is now modified to have kitchen furniture along its walls.
There is storage under the stairs currently which is excluded in the new plan.
The two diagrams depict the ground floor of the house before and after the proposed changes.
Overall, prominent changes such as stairs, doors and internal walls made the rooms become more functional and more spacious than before.
On the 1st diagram, there is mainly three spaces where as the kitchen on the left-hand side, hall in the middle and living room beside stairs. They were divided by internal walls and there were two doors attached to walls which were located at the opposite of each other. Furthermore, kitchen can be seen as the widest area in the plan. But both kitchen and living room did not have any furniture added.
On the 2nd diagram, the proposed changes for ground floor were made, where most part of the internal walls were dismissed. And then, the staircase has been moved to the other side of the entrance. Furthermore, not only doors to kitchen were widened but also furniture were added. Although living room remained the same, it seems wider than before. Therefore, after renovation plan, living room can be seen as the most spacious space.