Hello Reader,

I am so sore! This past weekend I worked on building a dresser we picked up at IKEA for my kids. I must say that IKEA instruction manuals SUCK. (Sorry if you love IKEA instruction manuals..maybe my mind just doesn't understand them well.)

I had to backtrack on my build progress several times because I had not correctly understood the instructions. Backtracking on an IKEA build means unscrewing and pulling apart things you had just screwed and put together.

It sucks time and kills any joy you had about building something with your own two hands.

I was ready to throw everything out the window, I was so frustrated!

At one point, I found myself standing there alone in the middle of my kid's room, staring at the instructions. Staring. Staring. And totally NOT understanding.

Minutes went by.

I simply could not figure it out! I went downstairs and grabbed a drink of eggnog. (Cus...why not?) Then went back to it. Took me way too long to finally figure it out, and then my youngest son came to help so that made the rest of the project a little less painful.

But geepers IKEA - please, please invest in improving your instructions!!!

But reading diagrams...that can be tough. (Especially if you're working with an IKEA product.)

My biggest takeaway from an hour long CELPIP webinar on Reading Task 2

Reading task 2 is all about reading diagrams. They can be anything from a bus route map to a travel brochure, and if you're not careful, you can easily find yourself stuck.

The most valuable takeaway from that webinar I watched last week: Don't immediately dive in and start trying to answer the questions.

This is the fastest way to get lost and miss details that are hiding right in front of you - in plain sight! This is so important, the podcast is focused on it this week.

🎧 Listen right here👉 Hiding in Plain Sight: Tips for Tackling CELPIP Reading Task 2.​

The strategy: preview the text first.

How? Take 30 seconds to first look over the diagram. Notice keywords like dates, times, prices, locations, features etc.

You're not trying to memorize anything here. Your goal is to simply know WHERE things are on the diagram so that when it comes time to start answering the questions, you'll actually have a strong idea of where to look!

Slowing down a little to preview the diagram will actually help you save time later. Make sure you do it!

For more tips, please enjoy this week's podcast episode!

📨 Over to you: what's your best reading tip for reading task 2? (Or what's your biggest challenge?) Reply and let me know, and I will share it in my next podcast.

Have a great week!

Aaron