Sayedul Abrar

Founder and Head of Academics

IELTS Professor

CELTA, DELTA (Master’s Degree) Accredited Corporate Skills Trainer

University of Cambridge, UK British Council Singapore
Teacher Trainer, British Council Bangladesh E-Moderator (Online Lessons)
Cambridge Speaking Assessor British Council India
Short Course Syllabus
Days and Dates Topic
3rd March, Monday Reading Overview + Heading Matching
5th March, Wednesday Listening Overview + Category Matching
10th March, Monday Writing Overview + Body Paragraph Writing
12th March, Wednesday Speaking Overview + Topic wise cue card practice (People)

Rules:
- All class recordings are available but videos will be shared with only active participants.
- Classes are collaborative in nature, meaning you will have to work with others to learn and teach
under my supervision.
- At the end of each class there will be an online test. You must finish your test to get a certificate.
- I highly encourage asking questions but please use the raise hand function to ask.
Class outline
By the end of today’s lesson, we will be better able to
- Understand the requirements of the reading test
- Difference between Academic reading and GT reading
- Recognize top priority question types
- Understand skimming and how it helps to save time in the test
- Develop exam strategy for Heading Matching question type
- Learn 20 new words in their context
Most frequent question types
50% Skills
50% Strategy
- Fill in the blanks (Carries 40%)
- True/Yes/False/No/Not Given (Carries 20%)
- MCQ (Carries 10%)
- Heading Matching / Locating Information (Carries 10%)

Universal Reading Skills

1. Reading for specific information (Scanning)

2. Reading for gist (Skimming)
3. Reading for detailed understanding
4. Reading for underlying meaning
True or False?
- You need to read the first sentence and the last sentence of each
paragraph.

- One heading can be used multiple times.

F
- It is a good idea to look at the list of headings first before reading
the passage.

- All paragraphs in the reading passage can be skimmed.

- Heading given in the IELTS passages represent the whole

paragraph
Let’s start with the smallest paragraph
Egyptologist Miroslav Verner writes, ‘Few
monuments hold a place in human history as
significant as that of the Step Pyramid in
Saqqara. It can be said without exaggeration
that this pyramid complex constitutes a
milestone in the evolution of monumental
stone architecture in Egypt and in the world as
a whole.’ The Step Pyramid was a
revolutionary advance in architecture and
became the archetype which all the other great
pyramid builders of Egypt would follow.
- This is a milestone in stone architecture
- Other builders will follow the structure
Monument = a structure or building that
is built to honor a special person or event
Significant = important or noticeable
Exaggeration = the fact of making
something seem larger, more important,
better, or worse than it really is
Complex = a large building with various
connected rooms or a related group of
buildings
Milestone = An important event or
achievement in history
Revolutionary = Something that changes
everything completely
Archetype: a typical example of
something, or the original model of
something from which others are copied
List of Headings

i The areas and artefacts within the pyramid itself

ii A difficult task for those involved

iii A king who saved his people

iv A single certainty among other less definite facts

v An overview of the external buildings and areas

vi A pyramid design that others copied

vii An idea for changing the design of burial structures

viii An incredible experience despite the few remains

ix The answers to some unexpected questions

Unfortunately, all of the precautions and
intricate design of the underground
network did not prevent ancient robbers
from finding a way in. Djoser’s grave
goods, and even his body, were stolen at
some point in the past and all
archaeologists found were a small
number of his valuables overlooked by
the thieves. There was enough left
throughout the pyramid and its complex,
however, to astonish and amaze the
archaeologists who excavated it.
However, there was enough left throughout the
pyramid and its complex to astonish and amaze the
archeologists who excavated it.
- Precaution was not enough for preventing robbery
- Whatever remained surprised the scientists
Precautions = an action that is done to
prevent something unpleasant or
dangerous happening
Intricate = lots of small parts that are
connected in complicated way
Prevent = to stop something from
happening or someone from doing
something
Valuables = Small objects, specially
jewellery
Astonish = To surprise someone very
much
Throughout = in every part, or during
the whole period of
Excavate = to remove earth from a
place in order to find old objects
buried there
List of Headings

i The areas and artefacts within the pyramid itself

ii A difficult task for those involved

iii A king who saved his people

iv A single certainty among other less definite facts

v An overview of the external buildings and areas

vi A pyramid design that others copied

vii An idea for changing the design of burial structures

viii An incredible experience despite the few remains

ix The answers to some unexpected questions

Let’s now look at a big paragraph
When finally completed, the Step Pyramid rose 62 meters high and was the tallest
structure of its time.
The complex in which it was built was the size of a city in ancient Egypt and
included a temple, courtyards, shrines, and living quarters for the priests.

What is your prediction for the rest of the paragraph?

The two sentences do not have any contradiction and it’s telling us there will be more description
with measurements.

Let’s skim to check our prediction.

When finally completed, the Step Pyramid rose 62 meters high and was the tallest
structure of its time. The complex in which it was built was the size of a city in ancient
Egypt and included a temple, courtyards, shrines, and living quarters for the priests.
It covered a region of 16 hectares and was surrounded by a wall 10.5 meters high. The
wall had 13 false doors cut into it with only one true entrance cut into the south-east
corner; the entire wall was then ringed by a trench 750 meters long and 40 meters
wide. The false doors and the trench were incorporated into the complex to
discourage unwanted visitors. If someone wished to enter, he or she would have
needed to know in advance how to find the location of the true opening in the wall.
Djoser was so proud of his accomplishment that he broke the tradition of having only
his own name on the monument and had Imhotep’s name carved on it as well.

The paragraph mostly talks about the pyramid’s external

features and what is in its surrounding
List of Headings

i The areas and artefacts within the pyramid itself

ii A difficult task for those involved

iii A king who saved his people

iv A single certainty among other less definite facts

v An overview of the external buildings and areas

vi A pyramid design that others copied

vii An idea for changing the design of burial structures

viii An incredible experience despite the few remains

ix The answers to some unexpected questions

IELTS Professor’s exclusive tips:

Small paragraphs cannot be skimmed, you have to read the whole thing.

If there are negative markers like but, yet, however, nevertheless, on the other hand, on the
contrary in small paragraphs. Give more importance to that part.

Long paragraphs will have to be skimmed to save time. Check for immediate
contradiction. If not found, skim from a prediction point.

Give the paragraph your own heading.

Each paragraph will have only one heading, it will not overlap.

Never read the heading at first, this will confuse you.