Tuesday, November 19, 2013

How To Answer Sentence Completion Type Questions in IELTS | Academic Reading

Sentence completion type in IELTS academic reading may ask for NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER or sometimes A WORD only or NOT MORE THAN TWO WORDS. In some cases, candidate may be asked to complete an incomplete statement.


So how do you solve these problems?

To answer a question that asks for NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS, it is best to identify the KEYWORD in the question. This keyword will be used to find the section or area in the passage where your can find the answer. If you are asked to write the word/s taken from the passage, don't forget to spell the word/s correctly.

If you are asked to complete a statement, it would help if key ideas from that incomplete statement are identified. Then, scan the passage to find for similar ideas, and choose the best one from the given possible answers. You need to be careful though because the number of choices here are more than the number of questions.

For you to save time, it is not necessary for you to go back at the beginning because the information occurs in text order.


Remember that you only have 60 minutes to answer 40 questions from 3 different passages, so you need to utilize certain strategies like this.

The Strategy in Answering True or False and Not Given Questions in IELTS | Academic Reading

Identifying the writer's view or simply the true or false and not given question is probably the most difficult to answer in IELTS academic reading.

This type may ask whether the given statement agrees with the view or claim of the writer, or whether the statement agrees with the information in the text. The purposes of these question types are to determine the examinee's ability to identify opinions or ideas or to recognize particular points of information that a passage conveys. In this type, the candidate is usually confused on which answer to give.

What is the best approach to break this confusion?

One way is to find the keywords in the statement. These keywords will help you to identify the area in the passage that possibly contains the answer. Then, skim the passage and read the first statement carefully and thoroughly. Having done this, scan the passage again for the area that will confirm (true) or deny (false) the given statement.

In the case of not given, this would probably your answer if the information in the passage neither confirms not denies the statement.

This question type may be hard but there is one thing that you should be happy about. The areas in the passage that confirm or deny or neither of the two (not given) are in order in the passage.


So you will save much time because you don't need to return at the beginning to check each statement.

How To Answer Multiple Choice Questions In IELTS | Academic Reading

In any test, multiple choice question is probably one of the hardest types to answer. It is because the candidates are asked to choose from four choices A, B, C, D. All these alternatives appear to be the right answer. However, only the best answer should be chosen.

So how do you break this dilemma in choosing the right answer in IELTS academic reading?

Simple. In answering this type of question in IELTS academic reading, you need to remember that the questions are in the same order as the information in the passage.

This means that your answer to the first question is found before the answer to the second question, and so the answer to the second question appears before the answer to the next question. The pattern continues to the next question.

It may also be sentence completion task.


7 IELTS Useful Tips That Should Not Be Ignored

Here are some IELTS useful tips that you may consider in order to have a better chance of getting a much better result in the IELTS test. These tips are summmed up in 7 letter word: P-R-E-P-A-R-E


Avoiding them is costly!

P-Practice
“Practice Makes Perfect” they say. This is true in any endeavor we venture in. Wondering why after so many years in your job, you can do most of your tasks with relative ease?

Taking this test is no difference. In order to be successful in this test, you should keep on taking practice tests as many as you can applying all the useful tips you have learned so far from reading lots of IELTS materials. But don’t leave it at that. You should evaluate your progress and find out which of the sub-tests needs more time on it.
Don’t overburden yourself practising on the module which you find easier than the others.

R-Read
“Reading maketh a full man”, said Francis Bacon. Read loads of materials about the subject you are not so good at. If your weakness is on writing, read books on how to improve on it.

One of the best ways to improve your writing is to read something about your interest. Get the gist of the article, and re-write it in your own words as if you are writing it for publication. Do this all the time and you will be amazed at how much you have improved.
Francis Bacon continued, “Writing maketh an exact man.”

E-Eliminate Distractions
Don’t take this test for granted! Your future lies on it.

If you really wanted your future to take off, take the test and these IELTS useful tips seriously. There are times when we can’t easily set aside some of the things we normally do. I understand that. But we are talking here of your future. Turning mobile or cellphone off or getting offline from social networking site for sixty minutes will definitely help increase your level of comprehension.

P-Positive Attitude
If others can, so can you. Is it as simple as that? Nope! It is not just about believing that you can do it just like the others. It is about doing the right things in order to achieve your goal.

A-Allocate Time
Did you take the test twice, thrice, or more? Did the scores vary significantly? No, I am sure. Why?

Remember this. IELTS is a standardized test. No matter how many times you take the test, the difference in you score won’t be significant. That is if you don’t prepare or practice. Let us take this sample:

You got a score of 7 in listening and in speaking but 6 only in reading and writing in your first try. You practised a lot in reading but not in writing before you took the second try. Most likely, the result would be the same except that your score in reading increased slightly. Reason? You allocated more time practising reading, but neglected writing.

Do-Does-Did

Click the answer button to see the answer.

  1. I don't like ice-cream, but he ___.
    a. do
    b. does
    c. did
  2. You don't need glasses, but I ___.
    a. do
    b. does
    c. did
  3. Sally didn't enjoy the movies, but everyone else ___.
    a. do
    b. does
    c. did
  4. Dave doesn't want to go out tonight, but his girlfriend ___.
    a. do
    b. does
    c. did
  5. My parents don't live in England, but I ___.
    a. do
    b. does
    c. did