How do I learn from my Reading mistakes?
Don't look only at your score: decide what you will change next time.
2 min read · Updated 9/8/2026
The key idea
Seeing the correct letter after a mistake and moving on teaches little. For that question, write three notes:
- What did I choose, and why?
- Which part of the text shows the correct answer?
- What specific step will I change next time?
Separate out the cause: the meaning of a word, what the question asks for, finding the place in the text, falling into a trap, or time. If you write “carelessness” for every mistake, the direction of your practice will not be clear.
See an example
Mistake: You chose True for “All students attended”.
Passage: Most students attended.
Useful note: I read most as all. In the next TFNG question I will compare the words that express quantity.
This note is more concrete than the advice “be more careful”.
Now you try
Passage: The course fee includes materials but does not include lunch.
Your wrong answer: Lunch is included in the fee — True.
Write a three-line mistake note: your mistake, the evidence and your next checking step.
A personal draft. It is not saved when you leave or automatically graded.
Reveal the answer and explanation
Answer and explanation
Example note:
- I chose True because I only looked at the word includes.
- The phrase does not include lunch contradicts the statement; the answer must be False.
- I will check the part after but and the negative separately.
Then solve a similar new question. Memorising the same answer does not show that the mistake has been fixed.
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Official sources for this topic
IELTS · Reading