In IELTS Reading test takers make simple mistakes
all the time. These simple mistakes can bring your score
down from an eight to a seven or even below. So in this video, I'm going to teach you everything
that you should not do on test day. Make sure you stick around right to the end
of this video to learn each of those 10 mistakes. Right, before we get started, click that subscribe
button. Let's do it. Simple mistake one, writing a word instead
of a letter on your answer sheet. In the paper based test, you have to transfer
your answers from the question booklet to the answer sheet during the time you're given
for the reading test. And if you transfer the word incorrectly,
it will be considered wrong, even if you've got it right. Let me explain. So imagine you're transferring questions 29
to 33 to the answer sheet. What do you write on the answer sheet? The instruction says: Choose the correct letter
A to E for questions 29 to 33. Let's say you decide that the answer for question
number 29 is C. Marcus Adams. And let's say that this is correct. Well done. So what do you write on your answer sheet
in gap 29? Do you write C? or Marcus Adams, or C. Marcus
atoms? Well, if you wrote Marcus Adams, or C. Marcus
Adams on your answer sheet, it would be considered incorrect even if it's the right answer. Always read the instructions fully. Mistake two, not reading the instructions
fully. The instructions in IELTS Reading can be confusing. If you miss an instruction or if you misinterpret
an instruction it could cost you. Let's take a look at that matching question
again. Here's the matching question. Let's take a closer look at those instructions. Okay, see that little: NB You may use any
letter more than once. That could be the difference between you getting
full marks for this question or not. That means that you can use any of those letters
more than once. For example, the answer to question 29 might
be C. And the answer to question 30 might also be C. You have to pay close attention
to the instructions. Mistake three, not understanding how many
words you can or cannot write. This one is pretty confusing, but if you spend
a little bit of time learning how it works, it'll be fine. This applies to any question where you need
to write a word out. Let's take a look at a sentence completion. So to complete this question, we need to write
a word or words. Take a look at the instruction: Choose no
more than three words and or a number from the text for each answer. What does that mean? This is not something you want to work out
on test day. Okay, so I can write no more than three words
and or a number. Okay, so I can write one word, two words,
three words, I can write one word and a number two words and a number, three words and a
number or just a number. I really recommend you write out that instruction
and sit there and focus on it now or after this video and actually write out all the
different possibilities there. Once you understand it, it's fine. But again, please don't try to work this out
on test day. Mistake number four, not completing the sentence
grammatically. Be very careful when you write a word that
it's grammatically correct. Okay, let me show you. Okay, so this is sentence completion where
we need to choose a word and or a number from the text. Here I've written the word 'cow'. Dairy cow produce the most amount of milk. This would be wrong. I need to make sure it's a plural noun 'cows',
that would be correct. Have a look at number two. Soy milk is alternative to cow's milk. Well, I need the correct article there 'an'
alternative. What about number three? Almond milk is made by mixing Almonds water. Well, I need a preposition there and I need
it to be the correct preposition. What about number four: Coconut milk is sweeter
than other milk products. That would be wrong because it needs to be
a comparative adjective, sweeter than other milk products. These are just a few simple examples, but
make sure you read the sentence after you've done it to make sure the grammar is correct. If the grammar is wrong, even if it's the
right word, you will lose a point .Mistake number five, using your own background knowledge
to answer a question. Okay, so it's highly unlikely that on test
day, you'll get a reading passage that you are personally an expert in. But it might happen. You never know. For example, you might be an expert in the
New Caledonian owlet nightjar bird. Or maybe you're an expert on the Spinning
Jenny. Who knows? The point is, you should never use your own
background knowledge to answer a question. Even if you are an expert on the spinning
jenny, and you get a reading passage about the spinning jenny, IELTS might actually change
the facts in the article or in the passage. So even if you think you know the answer,
it still might be wrong. Now, this is kind of relieving, because it
means that all of the answers are always just in the passage, and you need to read the passage
to find the answers. Mistake number six. Word spotting. Word spotting is when you read a question,
you read the answer option, you see a word in the answer option, and you see the same
word in the passage, that must be the correct answer. Not necessarily. For example, let's say you're doing a multiple
choice question and in answer option B, you see the word environmental. And in the passage, oh my god, there's the
word environmental. That must be it. Yes, you found the answer. That was so easy. That's not actually the answer. What you've done there is you've word spotted,
you've seen a word. You've seen the same word in the passage,
and you've made the association that that's actually the correct answer. You're not reading for meaning. You can't just look for the answer. You need to read for the answer. And that's a very different thing. Mistake number seven, looking, not reading. This mistake is probably the main reason people
fail IELTS Reading. What they do is they look for the answer. They don't read for the answer. There's some actual great science here. Take a look at this image. This is from an eye tracking study that followed
how a bad reader in IELTS uses his vision. This is for a single question. One question. Look at this person's attention. What are they paying attention to? Well, everything except for the meaning of
the text. They're looking around. They're looking for the answer. They're not reading for the answer. That person moved their eyes around 470 times. They actually got the answer wrong as well. And it used an enormous amount of time. What you need to do when you read is move
from left to right, reading word by word, phrase by phrase, sentence by sentence. Don't look, read. Mistake number eight, leaving questions unanswered. I actually think it's a good idea to skip
answers that you don't know the answer to because you can come back later on, and you
might increase your chances of finding the right answer there. But if you run out of time, or if you're running
out of time, make sure you guess. There's no negative marking in IELTS reading. So if you guess, you might get it right, who
knows? Mistake number nine, not knowing what to do. You'd be surprised how many people prepare
for IELTS without actually preparing for IELTS and they arrive on test day, open up the reading
booklet look at a question and think, oh my God, how do I do this? So what you're looking at here is a match
information, question type. Imagine that you actually get this on test
day. It's really confusing in the paper based test,
it's essential that you actually do some practice because this will boost your confidence and
being familiar with the question types will make your time management much better. If you click the link in the description below,
you can go across to E2 Test Prep and watch the methods lessons which are not on YouTube. After you've watched the methods lessons to
understand exactly how to do each and every question type, you can apply your knowledge
to the practice questions to build your confidence long before test day. Mistake number 10, just watching videos on
YouTube. E2 IELTS YouTube videos are awesome. There's no doubt about that. But this is passive learning. You're sitting there and you're receiving
information. You're not actually doing anything at all. You need to put pen to paper. Watching YouTube videos is like learning to
drive a car by watching somebody else drive a car. You will never become a good car driver if
you don't get into the driver's seat, hit the accelerator, change gears and use the
steering wheel yourself. You want to be an active IELTS learner not
a passive IELTS learner. That could be the difference between getting
the score you want and not. Alright, let me recap these 10 mistakes. One, writing a word instead of a letter on
your answer sheet. Two, not reading the instructions fully. Three, not understanding how many words you
can and cannot write. Four, not completing the sentence grammatically. Five, using your own background knowledge
to answer a question. Six, word spotting. Seven, looking not reading. Eight, leaving questions unanswered. Nine, not knowing what to do. Ten, Just watching videos on YouTube. Do you know any other simple mistakes you
can make in IELTS Reading? If so put them into the comments below. I'd like to hear what they are. Perhaps you've actually made them yourself. Thanks very much for watching. My name is Jay. I wish you all the best
