How Will News Reading Help in IELTS Reading Section?

News Reading can help candidates in improving their skills for the IELTS Reading Section. Besides being an important carrier of news, newspapers are efficient tools for candidates for their IELTS exam. Candidates need to read three long passages to answer 40 questions in the IELTS reading section. These passages include academic based topics as well as topics of general interest. Newspapers can be considered as a source through which candidates can acquire higher IELTS Reading Score.

Ways to use Newspaper for improving IELTS Reading 

Not only for the reading section but also for other sections in IELTS reading newspapers is like strengthening the vocabulary. For test-takers, it becomes really difficult to use the perfect vocabulary for the exam. Therefore one has to be very critical in choosing the correct newspaper.

1. At first, choosing the correct newspaper for non-native English speakers is quite difficult. Try to follow those newspapers that are circulated widely.
2. After choosing the newspaper, the next step is to find out the correct news article for practicing. As mentioned earlier it is preferred to choose articles from the subjects related to education, technology, economy, politics, business, and environment mostly.
3. Find out the best websites that share important news regarding world business, economy, technology, and education. These are the main topics that have been asked in the IELTS Reading and in the IELTS Writing section. The few best websites are like Google, BBC, Economic Times, NY Times, Atlantic, Guardian, and Pitch Fork.
4. Candidates can make use of their writing skills in terms of practicing essays for the IELTS exam. They can read out aloud on the topic they have read and ensure complete fluency. Candidates can write a journal of the vocabulary and ideas developed from reading newspapers.
5. Now coming to the most difficult part that is practicing. IELTS Listening can be a little difficult for non-English speakers due to the accent. Therefore while listening to English news channels, it is always preferred to write down important points as heard. It should also be kept in mind that the audio will be played only for once.
6. Candidates need to ensure that they have well-developed listening skills. By listening to the newspapers when read by someone, it would help candidates to understand the method of reading. Further, candidates can try reading the same manner hence, correctly pronouncing different words.
7. Next to the IELTS Reading section, newspapers are mainly used for learning vocabulary. Focus on knowing news words by using highlights while reading. Find out words, then write down its meaning, antonym, intonation, pronunciation as well as spelling. While finding out the etymological meaning of the word, one will definitely find out similar words easily.
8. Make it a habit of reading new words from the newspaper every day. In the beginning, it will be difficult at first to cope up with new words. With the passage of time, one will know a lot about words and their synonyms, antonyms, and meanings. At first, the reading pace will be slow, then the candidates start picking up the speed of reading new words for IELTS Reading.
9. Speaking about the topics that you must have read in the newspaper or seen on the digital media is important. Candidates would be able to understand the fluency in their English language when they practice speaking in the English language.

Tips for IELTS Reading 

In order to achieve an 8.5 band score in the IELTS reading section, candidates need to follow certain strategies to prepare for the section. Accordingly, reading a newspaper also has its own ways based on which it is possible for candidates to improve skills. Most of the topics given in the IELTS academic reading and IELTS general reading are sources from books, newspapers, leaflets, journals,etc.

1. Candidates need to read some of the general topics in the newspapers like sports, economy, animals, etc. These topics would help candidates in focusing on the IELTS General Reading section that includes topics of general interest.
2. Candidates need to make sure that whatever they read in newspapers and articles, in relevance to the IELTS reading topics, it requires them to practice the same.
3. Candidates need to focus on reading newspapers and articles on a regular basis. It does not mean that candidates devote all of their time to reading newspapers. At least 20-45 minutes of reading help them improvise.
4. It is important that candidates are able to remain focused while reading. Distraction of any kind would not benefit the candidate. Moreover, being focused would allow the candidate to understand the reading topic and find interest in reading the same. It would help them practice for the main exam where they won’t find a way of getting distracted while reading the passage.
5. Candidates should identify keywords from the passage and find their relevance with the questions asked. Developing their vocabulary through reading practice would help them understand different words better and help in their IELTS reading.
6. Candidates should ensure that along with reading newspapers they should also practice on their language skills using the IELTS Reading Practice Papers.

Hence, reading newspapers can be considered helpful for the candidates IELTS Reading test by improving their skills in reading.