Advice on Reading and Speaking sections...

**dentist86** · 07-22-2011, 08:11 PM

Hello,
If someone could throw a few handy tips for the Reading and Speaking sections, I'd be much appreciated. Corey is invited..

**Tino** · 07-22-2011, 09:47 PM

Don't read the entire passage in detail, unless your reading skill is so good you can do so in 5 minutes or so. Skip over "high-time" questions (questions that may be easy or hard, but nevertheless take a lot of time to read and answer) and come back to them later. When you study vocabulary, study synonyms, not definitions.

Speaking: Know the structure of the questions, the way material is presented. Use your prep. time well. Don't get frustrated if you get cut off before finishing, it will not effect you score assuming you answered the question otherwise well. If you make a mistake and immediately recognize it, correct it. If you get flustered, stuck, find yourself blubbering: pause and take a quick breath, move on to the next point in your notes. You will not get a perfect score, but you very well may save yourself from a disaster.

Tino

**Masy900** · 10-26-2011, 07:54 PM

Some Reading Tactics:
be familiar with the directions / look over the passage quickly / read the passage at a comfortable rate / answer the questions / skip difficult questions / questions that you skipped / don't spend too much time / review / when you are short in time skim quickly though any part / make sure that you have answered all / don't stop working /
you can find full explanation of these here.

Some Speaking Tactics:
Familiarize yourself with the directions. / Read the questions carefully. / Plan what you are going to say. / follow the outline as you speak. / Use transition words. / Keep track of time. / Know the types of questions.
you can find full explanation of these here.

**dentist86** · 10-31-2011, 12:42 PM

Scored 98 total in iBT.. YAAAY!!!!

**Masy900** · 11-07-2011, 04:20 PM

Very good, Well Done!

Tell us how was the difficulty level of each section in the view of a student who got 98?

**Nuh Yamin** · 07-04-2012, 05:15 PM

Originally Posted by Tino

Don't read the entire passage in detail, unless your reading skill is so good you can do so in 5 minutes or so. Skip over "high-time" questions (questions that may be easy or hard, but nevertheless take a lot of time to read and answer) and come back to them later. When you study vocabulary, study synonyms, not definitions.

Tino

Why study synonyms? why not definitions?
Would you tell me the advantages?

Thanks,
Nuh Yamin.

**dentist86** · 10-29-2012, 04:35 PM

wasn't very difficult. I am originally from Egypt, but my high school English was IGCSE A-Level English with a B score. Pfftt... Go figure. Now I'm looking at Masters with ease

I only handled Barron's and the book delivered as promised.

**BrentWarner** · 02-03-2013, 04:42 AM

Another thing that helps a lot for reading is studying general subject information to increase background knowledge.

It takes some time, but I'd recommend picking a different subject everyday - Art History, Astronomy, Geography, Economics, etc.

You don't need to know everything - but getting a good start by reading the general information about each subject will be helpful. Even just checking Wikipedia for each general subject will help you out a lot.

After a while, you'll have a good working background knowledge on a wide variety of topics, that way you won't need to spend as much time reading and thinking about the general topics and you can focus on the details.

Good luck!