IELTS Tips: Time Management for the Reading section

Welcome back to the IELTS Success blog! Have you ever done an IELTS Reading test? Did you have trouble finishing the test on time? Did the time limit stress you out? Then this blog post is for you!

In the IELTS Reading test, you must read three texts of increasing difficulty. If you are taking the General IELTS (for immigration purposes), the final reading will be about the same difficulty as the first reading in the Academic IELTS (for university admission).

There are forty questions to answer on the IELTS reading test. Section 1 and 2 will have thirteen questions each, and Section 3 will have fourteen questions.

The time limit for the IELTS reading test is one hour, so ideally you should spend only about twenty minutes on each section. If you spend too much time on one section, you are stealing valuable time from another section.

So, if we divide our total test time by the number of questions, how much time do we have for each question? 

60 minutes ÷ 40 questions = 1.5 minutes per question 

Wow! That doesn’t seem like much time at all. Clearly, we will need to adopt some serious time management skills in order to complete this test in the time allowed. Let’s look at some strategies we might use.

#1 – Don’t read

This advice might sound crazy (it is a reading test after all). However, given the strict time limit and the number of questions to complete, it’s important that you don’t “read” the way you normally would.

Reading, in our everyday lives, usually means reading for understanding. As we read each word, each sentence, and each paragraph, the article develops its message, and we absorb this message as we read. This is not what the IELTS reading test is about.

Instead of approaching the text like a normal article, think of it instead as a puzzle. Rather than reading to understand, you should read to find answers.

#2 – Always Start by Skimming

Clearly, the IELTS reading test is not a normal reading experience. You need to find the answers to 13-14 questions in less than 20 minutes. To do that efficiently, you should start by getting a general idea of what this text is about.

Skimming is the skill that will help you do this. At the beginning of the text, take 2 minutes to run your eyes across the article (don’t read it!) with the goal of catching the general idea.

·      Is this an article about a person? a place? a new technology? a historical event?

·      Do you see a lot of years and dates? Maybe it’s telling a story over time.

·      Do you see a lot of names and quotations? Maybe it’s exploring different opinions on a certain issue.

·      Do you see discourse markers like first, one, another? Maybe it’s giving examples.

Doing this will help you get a better idea of where the answers to questions are probably located in the text. This is important because you won’t have time to read the text thoroughly.

#3 – Don’t be afraid to skip a question

One of the biggest time wasters on the IELTS reading test is trying to find one answer for too long. Finding the answers quickly is essential. However, some questions will naturally be more time-consuming than others. So, what should we do in those situations? Skip it!

Each of the three reading sections contains a mix of “easy” questions, “medium” questions, and “difficult” questions. Now suppose you get stuck on a difficult question. You search and search for the answer, but you can’t find it. You get frustrated and panicked. Soon you have wasted 5 minutes on one question.

What you didn’t realize was that this was a “difficult” level question. The next 3 questions were “easy” or “medium” level questions, but you ran out of time and didn’t get to them. In the 5 minutes you wasted on that one tough question, you could have quickly and easily answered three questions.

All the questions are worth 1 point, regardless of difficulty, so make the best use of your limited time! Don’t waste precious seconds on questions you can’t figure out. Get the easier ones checked off first to maximize your score.

---

That’s all for today but check in next week for more tips for the IELTS test. Thanks for reading and good luck on your test!

Do you need help preparing for IELTS? Join our test prep program at MOSAIC engage. We currently have in-person evening classes three nights a week. Click here for more info!

We are also an IELTS test centre operator with locations across Vancouver. Check out our convenient locations on our IELTS test page.