IELTS Academic Reading Tips for Teachers- Matching headings to paragraphs task

IELTS Academic Reading Tips for Teachers- Matching headings to paragraphs task

In this task type, which often appears in the exam, students are given a text with 5 to 7 paragraph headings missing. They must select the right paragraph headings from a list. There are always more paragraph headings than paragraphs (so that students can’t fill in the last one by a process of elimination).

Teaching tips:

This task type is the best one to start with when practising and teaching IELTS reading for the first time, as doing the task doesn’t usually rely on knowing specific vocabulary and there may be several cues in each paragraph that match each paragraph heading. It can, however, still be a shock for students seeing a real IELTS reading for the first time, so it is best to simplify the task the first few times they see it. The ideas below can also be used later in the course to give students hints before you go through the answers.

An easy start

1. Give the students the texts and paragraph headings cut up so they can physically match them up
2. Give the paragraph headings in order and the text mixed up or cut up and get them to match them
3. Give a real exam task, but without the extra distracting paragraph headings
4. Instead of mixed up paragraph headings, give the students two or more options for each paragraph heading, using the distractors and some of the other paragraph headings as the extra choices
5. Give the students the exam task with the parts of the text that have the important information in already underlined
6. Get the students to do one of the fun tasks below, e.g. where they write their own paragraph headings, before you give them the real exam task, so that they already know the text well

Fun practice

1. Give the students an exam task with the paragraph headings mixed up but no extra distractor headings. Get students to write out the distractor paragraph headings for a task they will then give another team to try and answer (they will need to copy out the real paragraph headings by hand as well so the other group can’t easily see which headings they have written).
2. Give them a task with no headings and get them to write all the mixed up headings for another team to try to match up.
3. Do the task as a running dictation. One student has just the mixed up paragraph headings. The other student runs back and forward to the texts, which are stuck on a wall, and describes what is written to their seated partner. The person seated can only say “Okay” when they think they have enough information about one paragraph to match it to one of the paragraph headings they have been given or “More” if they want their partner to run back and get them more details. The first team to finish the task correctly is the winner.
4. Cut up one exam text between the paragraphs and put all the paragraphs up on various places on the walls around the room with envelopes below each one. Photocopy and cut up the paragraph headings (without the distactors) so there are at least 4 headings per student. Mix them up and give out one cut up paragraph heading to each student. They should stand up, walk around and find the correct paragraph for the heading they have been given, write their name on the back of the paragraph heading paper, put it in the right envelope and go to the teacher to ask for another one. When the time limit is up or all the paragraph heading slips of paper have been used up, the student with the most paragraph headings in the right envelopes is the winner.
5. Give one paragraph heading to each group and ask them to write the text for that paragraph heading. Shuffle up the finished texts and the paragraph headings, give each team someone else’s text and someone else’s paragraph heading (that doesn’t match that text) and then the whole class tries to match them up. This can be done either by showing them to each other or describing them to each other (a bit like a Find Someone Who mingling activity). Obviously people cannot help match the texts and paragraphs that they wrote.

The next step

• The task which is most similar to this but a step up is the “Locating Information” task, where the sentences given match some information somewhere in a particular paragraph (rather than summarizing the whole paragraph like this task).

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Essential tips for IELTS General Training Module

Practice, practice, practice
I have included here a selection of cards for you to practice on. Choose a card, prepare
for 1 minute, writing down the points you will speak about. When you start speaking,
try not to get in trouble – don’t use words unless you know what they mean, don’t use
long complicated sentences where you get lost in words. Try to speak simply and
make it sound interesting.

Describe a book that has had a major influence on you.
You should include in your answer:

•  What is the name of that book and who is the author
•  How you first heard of it
•  What is that book about
•  Why it played such an important role in your life

Describe your favorite restaurant.
You should include in your answer:

•  Where it is located in city
•  What does it look like inside and outside
•  What kind of food is served there
•  What makes this restaurant so special to you and others

Describe a museum you visited. You should say:

•  Where this museum is situated?
•  Why people visit the museum?
•  What did it look like?
•  Why you liked this museum?

Describe a conflict at work you once had
You should mention:

•  The nature of the conflict
•  Why the conflict occurred
•  What you felt at the time of the conflict
•  What you had to do to resolve it

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FREE Twenty tips for IELTS success

1 In Listening, use the example at the beginning of the first section to familiarize yourself with the sound, the situation, and the speakers.

2 Keep listening until the recording stops, looking only at the questions that relate to the part being played.

3 There are often pauses in the recording between different sections. Use these to prepare for the next set of questions.

4 Answer Listening questions in the order they appear on the Question Paper. Remember that they normally follow the order of the information in the recording.

5 At the end of the recording you have some time to transfer your answers to the Answer Sheet. Check your grammar and spelling as you do so.

6 In Academic Reading, begin by going quickly through each passage to identify features such as the topic, the style, the likely source, the writer’s purpose and the intended reader.

7 As you read, don’t try to understand the precise meaning of every word or phrase. You don’t have time, and those parts of the text might not be tested anyway.

8 Reading tasks sometimes have an example answer. If this is the case, study it and decide why it is correct.

9 Some tasks require you to use words from the text in the answer; in others you should use your own words. Check the instructions carefully.

10 The instructions may also include a word limit, e.g. Use no more than three words. Keep to this by avoiding unnecessary words in your answer.

11 In Academic Writing, you must always keep to the topic set. Never try to prepare sections of text before the exam.

12 Keep to the suggested timing: there are more marks possible for Task 2 than Task 1.

13 Organize and link your ideas and sentences appropriately, using a wide range of language and showing your ability (in Task 2) to discuss ideas and express opinions.

14 If you write less than 150 words in Task 1 or less than 250 in Task 2 you will lose marks, but there is no maximum number of words for either.

15 When you plan your essay, allow plenty of time at the end to check your work.

16 In Speaking, don’t try to give a prepared speech, or talk about a different topic from the one you are asked to discuss.

17 Always speak directly to the Examiner, not to the recording equipment.

18 Whenever you reply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to the Examiner’s questions, add more details to your answer. In each case, aim to explain at least one point.

19 Remember that you are not being tested on your general knowledge but on your ability to communicate effectively.

20 Organize and link your ideas and sentences appropriately, talking clearly at normal speed and using a wide range of structures and vocabulary.

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What should I listen for with picture questions? - Practice 1

The IELTS listening test often has questions that require answering questions based on provided pictures. This section offers advice on how to address picture questions.Which telephone does Susan want to buy?

IELTS Picture Questions 

Write notes:  

Telephone 1 ........................................................................................................................

Telephone 2 ........................................................................................................................

Telephone 3 ........................................................................................................................

Telephone 4 ........................................................................................................................

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More you concentrate more simple and easy it is

More you concentrate more simple and easy it is. IELTS is not tough as i thought before my exams it was a preparation of 15 days all cool and relaxed way.

I just learned few things

READING:First have a look on all questions and then read paragraph simultaneously mark the lines which you found is related to question.Makes easy and saves time.And i scored 7.5

LISTENING:Try out 20-30 tapes concentrate if u miss any where you will automatically loose rest of conversation thinking about what you left.When they give time to read tick the main in question and as conversation starts it is easy to point out.In this way i secured 9.00

WRITING:Short one is clear consider each and every point and mention in a related fashion to make understand quickly so that if a person reads he can draw same picture as it is.Long essay it depends on your sentence formation and remember no spelling mistakes you will surely loose points and dont try to be too complex.If you get an essay where you have two opposite ideas like DEATH PENALTY SHOULD BE IMPLEMENTED OR NOT then if you have points for both then mention both the side of the topic but conclusion should be what exactly you think about it.
Well i dont think i am too perfect in this may be thats why i secured 7.00

SPEAKING:It is really cool part of exam.You get more scared for this where you need not to because the interviewer makes you relaxed and then start.You need not give any logical answer, be yourself say your feelings and dont use too many quotes.
Question will be like your personal profile,your ambition, place you like most, your childhood,person you like most and why,etc.
And i secured 8.00

I hope this will help you formost thing dont get scared be cool then ball is in your court you will not miss even single point.All the best for all you who is about to take IELTS

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FREE Reading Test Tips

Like the listening test, there are no short cuts to a good reading test score - the only route is hard work. However, with the reading test, there are no excuses; you can practice reading where you want and when you want. However, the following tips will help you approach the reading test.   

1. Just having a very basic gist of what a text is about before you start reading will make it easier to understand. Looking at graphs, tables and any illustrations will often give you a good idea of the topic of the text. 

2. Remember - there is no transfer time for the reading test. Make sure you put your answers down on the answer sheet - not the question paper. (See an example of the answer sheet below.)

3. The reading test is designed to be general and designed for people with a variety of educational backgrounds. This means you don't need any specialist knowledge to understand any of the texts. However, some readings may be more familiar than others. 

4. If you are reading and answering texts out of sequence, take special care to ensure you don't write your answers in the wrong places on the answer sheet.  

5. If you are not sure of the answer to a question, it is natural to read text carefully to try to find the answer. If you dwell on a question in this way, you may run out of time. Remember, the reading test is 60 minutes long and there are 40 questions. If you spend one minute of each question that gives you 20 minutes to read a lot of text. If you really can not find the answer to a question easily, move on to the next question. 

6. Although there is no grammar component to the IELTS Test, grammar is important. As with the listening test, you can predict possible answers using the grammar of a question and using the reading text to check which answer is correct. Look at this example. 

There have been at least 500 ........... to correct this problem. 

a) Attempts b) Versions c) Tries d) Table Monolith 

The fact that '500' precedes the missing word might suggest it should be a plural noun or an adjective. There are no adjectives in the answers and only three plural nouns: Attempts, Versions, and Tries. Now you can use the text to check the answer.  
  
7. As with the listening test, do not deduce the answer. This is especially true in True / False Not given questions. The answers are in the text, you do not need to work them out. For example: 

"The introduction of new government policies gave people better lives: they had jobs and more money to spend." 

Now look at the answer: 

The introduction of new government policies had positive long-term benefits on peoples' lives. True / False / Not given 

If people had jobs and more money, surely this is better for them, and so it is natural to consider this a 'true' statement. However, the key here is 'long-term'. From the text, it is impossible to say whether the new jobs lasted 20 years or one day. If you don't make assumptions it is impossible to answer question. As a result the correct answer should be: Not given.  

8. True / False / Not given questions are by far the most difficult types of question to answer as they are designed to trick people into thinking about the answer and giving their deduction as an answer. 

9. Many students are generally very good at reading tests - they are very good at spotting the key words in a question, finding those keywords in a text, reading around the key words and finding the answer to the question. However, as with the listening test, in the IELTS reading test the words in the questions are often not the words you will find in the answer. As a result you have to look for synonyms of key words as well as the actual keywords. Consider a word like 'correct' - among others, possible synonyms include: 

a. Right 
b. Accurate 
c. Exact 
d. Truthful 
e. Spot on 
f. Proper 
g. Acceptable 
h. Accepted 

Depending on the context, only some of these synonyms might apply. You need to be aware of for these words as well as the keywords you are looking for. In addition, consider antonyms - words with the opposite meanings. A sentence like 'It wouldn't be wrong' would mean 'correct' in certain contexts. As you can see, you will need a fairly deep understanding of vocabulary. 

10. If aren't going to finish, guess some of the answers. It is surprising how many students leave multiple choice answers blank because they don't know the answer. If you have the choice of A, B, C or D, you have a 20% chance of getting the question right so just put one of the answers in!

11. If you really don't know the answer to a True / False / Not given question, and you want to guess the answer, DON'T choose "Not given" - it's the least frequent answer. 

12. If a reading text is very specific in topic (e.g. the development of the computer chip), don't think to yourself that you don't know anything about that topic and therefore can't answer the questions - the more specific the topic, the more factual and straightforward it will to allow everyone to have a chance at answering the questions. 

13. Some texts contain an opinion which you have to recognize. Remember that sentences starting with phrases like 'While it can be argued that…' do NOT express the author's opinion, they are more often a statement of someone else's opinion.

14. You might get a text with masses and masses of long, complicated words. Very often these words are key to the meaning of a sentence and therefore key to answering a question. However, equally often these words are unnecessary - they are adjectives or adverbs that provide greater description rather than play a part in meaning. If you start focusing on words you don't understand, you will run out of time. If the some words are too difficult, ignore them. Try this as an exercise - get a copy of an English language newspaper and find an article with lots of words in it you don't understand. Physically cross all the words out and then read the article to see if you can understand it. Chances are you will be able to.

15. If you get a text with a lot of dates, circle them as you go along - chances are the dates are going to be important. If you circle them you can find them again easily.

16. Likewise with names; even if there aren't a lot of names, circle the ones you find so you can find them again easily.

17. Don't worry about writing on the question paper if you need to.

18. The biggest tip of all: read a lot. Every day read something. The more you read the easier it will be. Study the sentence structure and punctuation of what you read, but most of all, try to grasp the ideas in what you read. Look at a piece of writing and write down some predictions about what the reading will be about. As you read check off these predictions - which ones were right and which ones wrong?

19. If you are really running out of time leave all the True / False / Not given and Multiple Choice questions until the end because you don't have to read anything to answer them. 

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