IELTS headings is the type of questions that scares many inexperienced test takers and negatively impacts their score.
After teaching IELTS for well over 20 years and having tested many strategies I found one that actually really works.
Also I came to learn what students were missing and why they get it wrong.
What students like YOU normally do?
First of all you need to think of headings in the reading part as the type of question in which answers come out of order. In other words, it’s never the type of question you should start your test with.
If you get the headings as the first questions on your test you should skip, as they take more time to be done.
Secondly, headings is a reference question so no inferences can be made. Either the information is on the text or not, do not make assumptions.
Thirdly, do not start by reading the headings, there are too many and they will only confuse you
Lastly, there are always more headings than paragraphs so not all of them will be matched.
How to fix the headings problem
Step 1- Read the first paragraph and mentally summarize it
Step 2- Remember that a heading is like a title for a paragraph, so what you need to really know is the general idea the paragraph provides
Step 3- The beginning and end of a paragraph generally introduce and conclude an idea associated with it.
Step 4- With the summary in mind, now you can read the headings and choose your best answer.
Need some coaching on how to apply these and other strategies?
Either email or Text us on Whatsapp with the word IELTS Reading