I can't concentrate when reading long passages. What can I do to improve my concentration?
It’s important to note that when you take the IELTS Reading test, you should never read every single word of each passage from start to finish. Instead, you should use the reading strategies in the Reading Academy course, which are designed to help you analyse the questions and text so as to find the answers without reading all of the passage. As part of that, you should also develop your skimming and scanning skills. Here’s how:
How can I increase my reading speed?
How can I use skimming to manage my time in the reading test?
Having said that, IELTS Reading passages are demanding, and they do require a high level of concentration, and there will be times when you need to read a paragraph or two closely in order to find the answer. So, developing your ability to concentrate on texts is also important.
Here are some ways of improving your concentration when reading:
- Make sure you’re in a distraction-free environment.
That means turning off your phone, disconnecting the internet, and if possible, going to a quiet room. - Set yourself a goal and stick to it.
If you lose concentration after reading one paragraph, for example, set yourself a goal of reading two paragraphs. When your mind starts to wander, start again and keep going until you complete the two paragraphs. Next time, try three paragraphs, and so on. - Reduce the amount of time you spend on social media or surfing the internet.
A lot of time spent on social media involves reading a short chunk of text, quickly responding and then switching to something else. This can get a person out of the habit of concentrating on longer texts. If you cut down on social media, you’ll increase your ability to concentrate. - Keep practising with longer texts.
Don’t give up. Do some reading of longer texts every day, and in time, you’ll notice that your concentration is improving. - Improve your vocabulary.
Not knowing the meanings of keywords in a text can make it very hard to concentrate because most of the time, you don’t know what’s being communicated. Keep a vocabulary notebook, and after every reading session, do some work on the key vocabulary you couldn’t understand and update your vocabulary notebook. Here’s how: How can I compile a vocabulary notebook?
