How to improve reading skills/score – Tricks and Techniques

General reading tips:

 Read each and every question

Firstly, read all the questions given in the question paper and underline the key words
wherever necessary. This will help you to find out the answers in the passage quickly
accurately and precisely.

 Skimming and scanning

Get a general idea of the reading passage by skimming the paragraph. This is done to get
the general idea of the passage. You should skim by reading the full passage, devoting 2-
3 minutes (max.) on the passage. You should underline the key words.

 Developing vocabulary
This is the one main reason why students lack behind with the desired band scores.
Learning vocabulary means understanding the proper usage of words. It’s also about
what collocations can be used with words, for example verbs and match nouns. Practice
reading passages will help to enhances the vocabulary.

 Grammar
Question type such as summary completion and sentence completion require that the
sentence is grammatically correct when you have put the answer in.
HEADINGS
 Try to match the heading with the passage using KEY WORDS.
Key words will help you to locate the answers properly.

For example:

Paragraph A - vi

Paragraph B - iii

 A

Despite its bad reputation, stress historically had a vital role to play. Commonly
referred to as the ‘fight or flight’ mode, the sudden release of stress hormones like
adrenalin and cortisol causes the heart to beat faster, airways to dilate and blood
vessels to open up, all of which push the body towards optimal performance and,
ultimately, survival. In the rest of the animal kingdom, this is still often the difference
between life and death. As he springs off to freedom, the lucky gazelle who escapes the
lion can thank this primal evolutionary response.

In ordinary modern life, although we’re in little danger of being stalked by wild beasts
down city streets, our bodies react to stress in the same ways. Experiencing anxiety, fear
and stress is considered a normal part of life when it is occasional and temporary, such
as feeling anxious and stressed before an exam or a job interview. It is when these acute
reactions are prolonged or cannot be switched off, however, that serious physical,
social and cognitive issues can result. In contrast to the normal everyday stress of
modern life, chronic stress is a pathological state which can significantly interfere with
daily living activities such as work, school and relationships, wreaking havoc on the
body’s immune, metabolic and cardiovascular systems.

TRUE/FALSE/NOT GIVEN – YES/NO/NOT GIVEN

True/Yes: If the statement agrees with the key words in the passage along with the
meaning.

False/No: If the statement contradicts with the key words in the passage and the
meaning of the passage is completely different.

Not Given: This means you can’t find all the information in the passage or that the
passage is lacking behind with some words to know if it is true or false.

For example:

The life and work of Marie Curie

Marie Curie is probably the most famous woman scientist who has ever lived. Born
Maria Sklodowska in Poland in 1867, she is famous for her work on radioactivity, and
was twice a winner of the Nobel Prize. With her husband, Pierre Curie, and Henri
Becquerel, she was awarded the 1903 Nobel Prize for Physics, and was then sole winner
of the 1911 Nobel Prize for Chemistry. She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize.

From childhood, Marie was remarkable for her prodigious memory, and at the age of 16
won a gold medal on completion of her secondary education. Because her father lost his
savings through bad investment, she then had to take work as a teacher. From her
earnings she was able to finance her sister Bronia's medical studies in Paris, on the
understanding that Bronia would, in turn, later help her to get an education.

In 1891 this promise was fulfilled and Marie went to Paris and began to study at the
Sorbonne (the University of Paris). She often worked far into the night and lived on little
more than bread and butter and tea. She came first in the examination in the physical
sciences in 1893, and in 1894 was placed second in the examination in mathematical
sciences. It was not until the spring of that year that she was introduced to Pierre Curie.

1. Marie Curie’s husband was a joint winner of both Marie’s Nobel Prizes. 

2. Marie became interested in science when she was a child.  

3. Marie was able to attend the Sorbonne because of her sister’s financial
contribution. 
Answers:

1. False

EXPLAINATION

Marie Curie is probably the most famous woman scientist who has ever lived. Born
Maria Sklodowska in Poland in 1867, she is famous for her work on radioactivity, and
was twice a winner of the Nobel Prize. With her husband, Pierre Curie, and Henri
Becquerel, she was awarded the 1903 Nobel Prize for Physics, and was then sole
winner of the 1911 Nobel Prize for Chemistry. She was the first woman to win a Nobel
Prize.

The answer is FALSE as Pierre Curie was a joint winner with one of her Nobel
Prizes (1903), she was a 'sole' winner for the other (1911) - the 'only' winner.  

2. Not Given

EXPLAINATION

From childhood, Marie was remarkable for her prodigious memory, and at the age
of 16 won a gold medal on completion of her secondary education. Because her
father lost his...

These are the only facts related to her childhood, there is no mention of science, or her
interest in this subject when she was a child, so because there is no information, the
answer must be NOT GIVEN. 

3. True

EXPLAINATION

From childhood, Marie was remarkable for her prodigious memory, and at the age of 16
won a gold medal on completion of her secondary education. Because her father lost
his savings through bad investment, she then had to take work as a teacher. From her
earnings she was able to finance her sister Bronia's medical studies in Paris, on
the understanding that Bronia would, in turn, later help her to get an education. In
1891 this promise was fulfilled and Marie went to Paris and began to study at the
Sorbonne (the University of Paris). She often worked far into the night and lived on
little...

An important key word here is ‘because’ as a reason will follow this conjunction.

Think of these words and synonyms:  money, afford,

expensive, Sorbonne, university, sister, father, husband, education, finance, financial, paid,
payment, contribution, contribute, give, help. 
Reference words can also help with finding key information, for example, ‘this’ in 'this
promise', refers to the promise to pay for Marie's education. 

So, Marie went to the Sorbonne because Bronia paid for it. The answer is TRUE. 

 BONUS TIPS

 Many words will be paraphrased like work = employment / luxurious = lavish

 Don’t match just key words as you are aiming to match the meaning.
 Not given means that the whole meaning of the statement is not in the passage.
Some key words might be found but not the full meaning of the statement.

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

1. Read the Questions and Underline Key Words - As the answers are most likely to
appear in the text in the same order as the questions, test takers should pay close
attention to the order of questions. Read each statement first in order to get an
overview of the theme of the passage, and underline key words in both the question and
the answer options.

Quick Tip: Pay close attention to "absolute" words in these answer options. These
words include many adverbs of frequency and words that generalize ideas. The most
common include: mainly, all, some, sometimes, often, usually, occasionally, hardly
ever, never, only, and always. When these words are included in an answer option, it
is usually harder to prove correct, and they are often included as answer options.

2. Scan for Information in the Passage - Once you have successfully understood the
information presented in the question and answer options, it is time to search for this
information in the text.

Quick Tip: If you are "stumped" by any given question, skip it and move on. Remember,
the answers will most likely come in order for this section, so you can check your
answers later and get a better understanding for where the difficult question’s answer

may be.

3. Skim Read as Necessary - scanning is an important strategy, but you’ll also have to
understand the information in order to correctly answer the question. Check back on
the answer options and begin to use Process of Elimination until you have reached an
answer.

Process of Elimination (POE): More often than not, there will be two answers that are
very difficult to choose from. For this reason, it’s best to use Process of Elimination
(POE) for each question. First, you can eliminate the option that is the most different
from what you believe to be the answer, or the most different from the information in
the passage. If the option is not even discussed in the passage, you can eliminate it from
your options first. Then, use POE for the remaining two options until you arrive at your
answer.
For example:

Clearly, when older people do heavy physical work, their age may affect their
productivity. But other skills may increase with age, including many that are crucial for
good management, such as an ability to handle people diplomatically, to run a
meeting or to spot a problem work on the policy implications of before it blows
up. Peter Hicks, who co-ordinates OECD ageing, says that plenty of research suggests
older people are paid more because they are worth more. And the virtues of the young
may be exaggerated. ‘The few companies that have kept on older workers find they have
good judgement and their productivity is good,’ says Peter Peterson, author of a recent
book on the impact of ageing. ‘Besides, their education standards are much better than
those of today’s young high-school graduates.’ Companies may say that older workers
are not worth training because they are reaching the end of their working lives; in fact,
young people tend to switch jobs so frequently that they offer the worst returns on
training. The median age for employer-driven training is the late 40s and early 50s, and
this training goes mainly to managers.

Choose TWO letters, A-G.

The list below gives some of the advantages of employing older workers.

Which TWO advantages are mentioned by the writer of the text?

A. They are less likely to be involved in careless accidents.

B. They can predict areas that may cause trouble in the future.

C. They are able to train younger workers.

D. They can deal with unexpected problems.

E. They are more conscientious.

F. They are prepared to work for lower salaries.

G. They are more skilled in personal relationships.

Answers

B. They can predict areas that may cause trouble in the future

G. They are more skilled in personal relationships