These are the 10 IELTS reading tips I share with all of my IELTS classes.

Don’t expect to understand every word You can look at the words and sentences around it for clues as to its meaning or you can move on and forget about it.

Practice your reading skills NOT your IELTS skill Reading for pleasure a little every day will not only improve your English skills but also improve your vocabulary.

Read the instructions VERY carefully If you don’t follow these instructions exactly, you will get the question wrong.

Don’t panic Some of the questions will be easy and some will be extremely difficult. The key is not to panic when trying to answer a difficult one.

It’s really a vocabulary test To prepare for this I advise my students to do three things: read, note, and review.

Timing is crucial Try to finish each section finished in 20 minutes. This breaks down to 16-17 minutes to read and answer the questions and 3-4 minutes to transfer and check your answers.

Ignore anything you already know about the topic Please remember that you are being tested on your understanding of the text-only; your own knowledge of the topic should not influence your answers.

Be careful when transferring your answer It is only natural that silly mistakes are made when people are under pressure.

Leave no blank Even if you don’t know the answer, make sure you attempt every question. You might get lucky and you have nothing to lose.