Difficult Vocabulary in Reading Passages

Difficult Vocabulary

• You may not understand every word in the reading passages.
• You may not need to understand the exact meaning of an unknown word, unless there is a question directly related to it.
• If you don’t know the meaning of the word, then try to guess the meaning of the word from the context.
• The IELTS Academic Module being a formal academic test contains a number of words used when studying at tertiary level.

Positive/Negative Meaning

• Sometimes knowing whether the word has a positive or negative meaning, helps to guess the meaning and in answering a question.

Break the Word Down into Syllables

• Sometimes knowledge of common roots, affixes and possible similarity of words in your own language can help you to identify the meaning.

Look For Connective Words

• They are often near the unknown words.
• They help to identify the general direction of the argument.
• This can help to give some understanding of the unknown word.

Glossary 

• Occasionally a reading passage comes with a glossary of words in the passage that may be technical or not easily understood.

Long complicated words

• You might get a text with masses and masses of long, complicated words.
• Very often these words are key to the meaning of a sentence and therefore key to answering a question.
• However, equally often these words are unnecessary – they are adjectives or adverbs that provide greater description rather than play a part in meaning.
• If you start focusing on words you don’t understand, you will run out of time.
• If the some words are too difficult, ignore them.