Using 'key words' in the IELTS Reading Test.

Today's best IELTS tip is about making use of key words in the IELTS Reading Test questions.

So, my students often ask me, "What do you mean by 'key words ?'"

Well, when you read an IELTS Reading Test question, you should look out for the following three things:

1. which words tell you the topic?
2. which other words are the main content words?
3. what part of speech (nouns, prepositions etc) are the words in questions 1 and 2?

Now that you've determined the key words (1 and 2) and identified the focus of the question, let's look how we can use this in practice.

In some IELTS Reading Test Task Types, you are given half a sentence and need to complete it by selecting its second half from a list of choices.

E.g.  Questions 1-6 are the first half of a sentence and you must find the matching half from choices A-K

What I suggest my students do is read the questions 1-6, determine the key words and the focus of the question and then look for these ideas expressed in a similar way in the text.  You then select the appropriate ending from the list A-K, reading through all the options to check you've chosen the correct one.

 

For speaking test tips, why not download my free IELTS Speaking report; Speaking Test Tips from an IELTS Tutor.  I'm sure you'll find it useful!

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Alanna