IELTS Reading

IELTS READING

What’s the difference between Academic Reading and General Training Reading?

There are two separate reading tests, one for Academic candidates and one for General Training candidates. Before enrolling for the test, you need to decide which test is best for you. See www.ielts.org for advice.

How long does the IELTS Reading paper last?

The test lasts 60 minutes. Within that time, you must complete three separate sections with a total of 40 questions. You must also transfer your answers onto a separate answer sheet (there is no extra time given for this).

What type of information will I read?

The Reading paper has three separate sections. Each section is a little more difficult than the one before and features authentic reading passages. The Academic module contains three long texts of an academic nature. The General Training module features a mixture of long and short texts of a more general nature, as well as texts related to work situations.

How is the Reading paper assessed?

You will be asked a total of 40 questions. In order to assess how much of the reading passages you understand, the questions will usually paraphrase (use different words with the same meaning) the words that are in the text. The questions test a variety of reading skills including your ability to do the following.

Identify the writer’s overall purpose. Follow key arguments in a text. Identify opinions and attitudes. Locate specific information. Distinguish main ideas from supporting details. Extract information from a text to complete a diagram, summary, table or set of notes

 

What type of questions will I need to answer?

There are 12-13 questions in each section, and you will be asked 1-3 different types of question in any section. There are several possible types of question. For some tasks, you need to write words or numbers from the reading passage.

sentence completion summary, note, table, flow-chart completion short-answer questions diagram label completion

 

In other tasks, you need to choose one option from a list and write a letter on your answer sheet.

multiple choice matching information matching headings matching features matching sentence endings summary completion

 

You may also need to decide if sentences are True/False/Not Given or Yes/No/Not Given, based on the information that you read.

How do I answer the questions?

The instructions and the questions will tell you what type of information you need to locate in the texts, and the type of answer you need to write. Carefully follow all of the instructions on the question paper. In this unit, you will be able to practise all of these question types.

How can I improve my Reading paper score?

You can improve your score by following the instructions exactly and remembering the Test Tips in this unit. Managing your time so that you can complete all of the questions is an important part of the Reading paper. This unit will also tell you the reading skills you need to practise in order to achieve your best score. Before the test, try to read a variety of texts and improve your speed-reading skills. Studying all aspects of English (including vocabulary and grammar) will also help improve your IELTS score. If you make any mistakes in the Practice Tests in this book. make sure that you read the texts again carefully and use the Answer Key to help you identify any problems.