IELTS Reading Tips for Band 9 – Proven Strategies to Ace Every Passage

IELTS Reading:

Many people may think it’s hard to get a Band 9, but it’s not. You can get a perfect score if you have the right plan, practice, and attitude. This complete guide will help you learn the skills you need to easily handle every reading passage, whether you’re studying for Academic or General Training.

A Quick Look at the Reading Part of the IELTS

Let’s look at the style first before getting into the tips.

A Quick Look at the Format:
Include Reading for School Reading in General
Questions in Total 40
Texts 40
Pages 3 Long Texts
Three Parts (easy to hard)
Time Limit: 60 Minutes (you can’t take extra time to move solutions)

You have 60 minutes to answer all 40 questions. There is no extra time, not even for sending replies to someone else. This makes planning and managing time very important.

Tip 1: Know all about the different kinds of questions

Reading techniques need to be changed for each type of question. Most of the time, these ten happen:

• More Than One Option
• True False Not Given (or Yes No Not Given)
• Headings That Match
• Information for Matching
• Finishing a Sentence
• Summary Finishing Up
• Flowchart, Table, or Diagram Finishing
• Question with Short Answers

Plan: Get used to the different kinds of questions.
Practise each type of question on its own to get good at how it works.

Tip 2: Get better at skimming and scanning

People who want to be in Band 9 don’t have to read everything word for word.

Skimming means to quickly read the piece to get the main idea.
Pay attention to the keywords, the title, and the first and last lines of each paragraph.

Scanning: Skip reading the whole thing and look for specific information.
You can use scanning to find times, names, places, numbers, and words with capital letters.

Tip 3: Learn how to manage your time well

In the reading part, time is your worst enemy.

Time plan suggestion:
Passage 1: 15 minutes (the shortest and easiest)
Part 2: Twenty minutes (moderate)
Passage 3: 25 minutes (the hardest part)

Keep track of time with a watch or clock. Do not dwell on a single question for too long.

Tip 4: Underline important words in the question

Half the work is done when you understand the question.
Mark important words in the question, like names, times, adjectives, and verbs.
See if you can find any similar words or sentences in the passage.

For example:
What is the main reason why bee populations are going down
Look for: main reason, drop, bee numbers
Then look through the text for those ideas.

Tip 5: Learn how to answer questions that are true, false, or not given

These are hard, and even experienced students get them wrong.

How to Deal with Them:
TRUE: The text directly backs up the statement
FALSE: The comment goes against what was said in the passage
NOT GIVEN: There isn’t enough information in the text

Important Tip: If you can’t find any proof, pick Not Given and don’t guess or assume.

Tip 6: Don’t forget to answer any questions

In IELTS, there are no bad grades. So, pick an answer every time, even if you’re not sure.
Use the process of elimination to get rid of the solutions that are least likely to happen.

Tip 7: Attention on Paragraph Matching Skills

Question types like “Which paragraph contains…” ask you to match facts or headings to paragraphs.

Plan: Do not read the whole sentence again.
Pay attention to the topic words and the last few lines.
Look for the big ideas, not the specifics.

Tip 8: Learn new words for school

It will be easy to read if you know how to use common academic words.

• Learn how to use synonyms (for example, fall = drop, reduction)
• Patterns for paraphrasing
• But, on the other hand, for example, transition signs

Use things like:
Flashcards on Quizlet or Anki
Word List for School (AWL)

It’s not necessary to read the whole passage the first time. It’s not necessary to read every line before the questions.

Instead:
Go ahead and read the questions
Mark important words
Read the chapter quickly to find the answers

Tip 10: Get better at speed and accuracy

People who want to be in Band 9 are quick and exact. You must find a middle ground.

How to Get Better:
Do two or three practice reading tests each week
Set a timer
Look over mistakes
Think about why you got them wrong
Use an easy spreadsheet to keep track of your progress

Breaking Down the Real Band 9 Strategy

This is how someone with a Band 9 score takes the test:

Stage	What They Do
Before Reading	Read all 13 to 14 questions and make notes on them
While Reading	Quickly scan for structure
Dealing with	Quickly look for and get rid of false choices
Look Over	If you have time, only check the questions that aren’t clear again

Example of a Practice Task

Type of Question: Matching Data
Answer: The information below can be found in which paragraph

• A reference to something new that scientists have found about whales
• Information about how whales migrate
• Talk about how noise pollution hurts sea life

Advice:
Look for words like acoustic pollution, migration, and scientific discovery
Match with the subject sentence of the paragraph

Avoid these common mistakes:

• Not practicing in a test setting
• Not following the rules (for example, using more words than allowed)
• Thinking too much about True False Not Given questions
• Reading the whole passage (waste of time)
• Skipping practice with words

These tools will help you improve your reading skills:

• Cambridge Books for the IELTS – Real questions from past tests
• PDF IELTS Liz or Makkar strategy guides and word lists
• Grammarly – checks your grammar and spelling
• Mobile practice with the IELTS Prep App

Checklist for Summarising

Know the different kinds of questions
Get better at skimming and scanning
Don’t waste time
Learn the True False Not Given technique
Build your academic vocabulary
Create the conditions of a real test
Keep track of mistakes and growth

Thoughts for Now

You don’t have to be a genius to get a Band 9 on the IELTS Reading. You just need to plan smartly, practise regularly, and do your best. Pay attention to time, correctness, and knowing the different kinds of questions. Every practice test should be seen as a chance to learn.

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