IELTS
JOURNAL
23
Should you read the whole passage?
1. Should you read the whole passage before looking at the questions?
2. Should you go to the questions first and then skim and scan to find the answers?
My answer to question 1 is
no. You don't have time to read the whole passage unless
your English is almost 'native speaker' level.
My answer to question 2 is
yes and no.
Yes - go to the questions first.
No - don't skim or scan unless the question contains a name or number.
My advice is to do the questions one by one. Instead of skimming or scanning, read the
passage carefully. The answers to most question sections will be in order in the
passage, so
you will gradually read the whole passage as you find the answers.
Think but DON’T ‘over-think’ the answer
I've noticed that many students get the wrong answer because they think too much!
They worry about small differences in meaning. For example, look at the following part
of a reading passage:
The two week planned study into the psychological impact of prison life...
Now decide whether the following statement is true, false or not given:
The study aimed to investigate the mental and behavioural effects of life in prison.
The statement is true, but many students put
not given because they "over-think" the
meaning of 'psychological'. They think that the definition of psychological must be
more complex than 'mental and behavioural'.
Don't think too hard about small differences in meanings. 'Mental and behavioural'
might not be a perfect definition of 'psychological', but the overall meaning is the same
(a simple definition of psychology is the study of the mind and behaviour).
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