IELTS for Express Entry – General Training Reading Test – Overview
Hi Guys! Welcome back to my blog. On today’s article I’ll be sharing more notes for the IELTS for Express Entry – General Training Reading test.
As always, my main sources will be the primary sources themselves:
I did use them in preparing my application for permanent residence in Canada. And I did prepare that application DIY. I did not engage an immigration agency nor an immigration consultant. However, the fact is that it was not for a lack of trying. We do have a family friend who I approached to consult. But when I let them know where I was in the process, they told me they couldn’t do anything else for me. That wasn’t necessarily bad news. Apparently, I was past the hardest part.
And this is why this blog and my vlog exist. My goal is to help candidates for Canadian permanent residence figure out their application:
- Do they really need an immigration consultant?
- Is there a way to lower cost for application?
- What other ways are there to become permanent residents in Canada?
I answer all these questions and more in this blog. So please look around the site, visit my vlog, or get in touch if you have questions!
Let’s get started with our discussion of the IELTS for Express Entry – General Training Reading test. Do note, there is no special IELTS test for Express Entry per se. But, generally, my notes will be for this purpose.
What Score Do I Need on the IELTS for Express Entry – General Training Reading?
Each stream under the Express Entry program will have its own Language Requirements. In the case of the Federal Skilled Worker Stream, the requirement is a CLB 7. That is an IELTS Band 6 across all four skills: Reading, Writing, Listening, Speaking.
To get the IELTS Band 6 for General Training Reading, a test- taker needs a raw score of 30 out of 40. So the allowance is 10 mistakes. If your level is not yet at this point, that’s okay. Work backwards from your current number of mistakes, until you lower it to 10. And if you still can, keep practising to make less mistakes.
How Do I Prepare to Take the IELTS for Express Entry – General Training Reading?
I would sound like a broken record, because I always say start with the score in mind. Personally, this always works as a clear goal- setting.
Next, will be to get familiar with the test format. And then to start practising until you reach the minimum score required on the IELTS for Express Entry – General Training Reading test.
What is the Test Format of IELTS – General Training Reading?
Have some water. Get enough food. The IELTS – General Training Reading test will be 60 minutes long. There will be 40 questions to answer.
IELTS – General Training – Reading Test Sections
The test will be divided into three sections:
- Section 1 – The first section tests for basic everyday English knowledge. In IELTS’ terms this section checks if examinees have enough English for “‘social survival.”
- Will you be able to understand information on an advertisement?
- Can you find the details you need on the airport flight board?
- Would you understand a notice posted at your gym?
- Section 2 – The second section checks for English needed for “workplace survival.” The materials have more to do with work-related topics:
- job advertisements
- training materials
- contracts
- Section 3 – The third section will have the longest reading material. Think of it as reading a newspaper or a magazine article, or a part of a book.
IELTS – General Training – Reading Test Task Types
There are 11 task types on the IELTS General Training Reading Test.
- multiple choice – questions can range from finding specific information, to understanding the main idea of the text
- identifying information – this task will challenge test-takers to determine if an item is either true or false per the text, or not given (not discussed) at all
- identifying writer’s views/claims
- matching information – the link leads to a sample where there are statements that have to be matched to their source
- matching headings – think of this task type as identifying themes / titles per paragraph
- matching features – this task type banks on the test-takers ability to paraphrase or understand different ways a statement can be said; test-takers will then need to match what is described to the items and choices
- matching sentence endings – is essentially filling in the blanks by completing the sentence with the most logical ending
- sentence completion – is choosing one to three words (depending on the instruction) from the text that is appropriate for the statement
- summary completion, note completion, table completion, flow-chart completion – the logic is the same as sentence completion
- diagram label completion
- short-answer questions – search the text for the needed number of words to answer the question
What are my next steps?
Practice Time! You would have noticed that some task types above link to practice exercises for the IELTS General Training Reading practice test.
Personally, I also used materials from https://www.english-exam.org/IELTS/.
Feel free to time yourself with the 60-minute limit, or just start familiarizing with the task types. Here’s a sample run I shared on a previous post. Remember! The IELTS is an exam, and more than just having English communication skills, it also helps to develop test-taking skills such as skimming, scanning and finding keywords.
I hope these help in getting perspective on IELTS Test Prep. I will be adding more notes about this topics soon – So stay tuned!
Thank you for visiting my blog! And see you on the next post!