Doing IELTS Reading WITHOUT reading! Skimming and scanning

If you’re familiar with the Reading Module organization and have read the article on tips for IELTS Reading, you already know that the timing in this module is pretty tight (that is, there’s not much time to do all the questions; enough, but not much). I’ve already mentioned that if you deduct the time for checking your answers and transferring them to your answer form, you’ve got just over a minute per one question – that’s right, there’s NO time for the actual reading if you’re going to answer all the questions! So, what can you do? Well, for one thing, you’ve got to move fast.

To maximize your score in the Reading part, you need to master two techniques: skimming and scanning. While skimming means quickly looking through the text to get a general idea of what the passage is about and how it is organized, scanning refers to looking for specific details in a text.

Skimming is an essential part of a meaningful reading experience, and it should be done before you read (or, in case with IELTS, before you set about answering the questions for the given section). When skimming a text, you should:

• Skim the text title and the questions you need to answer, which will give you a summary of the text;
• Only pay attention to words that carry meaning, like nouns (e.g. environment, traffic, society) and main verbs (e.g. send, perform, cost);
• Ignore function words, like articles (a, an, the), prepositions (e. g. in, from, with), auxiliary verbs (e.g. was, am, is) because they slow you down;
• Take notice of the text organization, which is indicated with nouns like influence, damage, development, causes, effects, reasons, consequences, advantages, disadvantages, shortcomings, problems, solutions, threats, and  connectors, like so, after, while, therefore, moreover, in addition, thus, etc.;
• As you skim, underline the key words in your test booklet – don’t  worry, you’re allowed to do it.

Once you have skimmed a reading passage, get down to answering the questions using scanning. Here are a few relevant tips:

• Carefully select your scanning words. For instance, in a question like “Why was this facility built?” the scanning words are ‘facility’ and ‘built’. Don’t forget that the reading passage might not have your exact key words, but contain their synonyms instead;
• See if your scanning words include names, places and dates because these usually make great scanning words that really stand out in a text;
• Try to predict what could be written in the reading passage as the answer. For example, to a question like “Why was this facility built?” the possible answer might be marked with words reason or cause, or with an infinitive expressing purpose (e.g. to help…, to protect…, to provide…);
• Pay attention to words qualifying the sentence, including adjectives, adverbs, and relative clauses as they give additional information, which might be essential for the answer;
• If the questions are placed in the order they are answered in the text (which is usually so for multiple choice, chart completion, Yes-No-Not Given, and True-False-Not Given tasks) use them to navigate around the reading passage.

These two techniques are the main reading-related activities that you’re going to need for the Reading module. As for reading in its classical understanding, you will have neither time nor need for it, and you’re not actually supposed to do it. Obviously, to receive the highest possible score, you should practice both skimming and scanning before the actual exam, and, whatever your target band is, they will help you achieve it.