IELTS Reading Overview and Tips

 IELTS Reading

On this page, you will find all the information you need to know about the IELTS Reading test. You will also see the IELTS Reading marking scheme and learn different ways how to succeed in IELTS Reading. We'll describe the types of questions you may face on the Reading test and give you preparation resources: free IELTS Reading test samples to practice reading, useful IELTS Reading tips, and IELTS Reading exercises & lessons to boost your score.

Reading practice 

Reading exercises

 

Tips and tricks

IELTS Reading tests are different for Academic and General IELTS. As you may know, you should take the IELTS Academic module if you're going to study abroad. And if you're intending to work abroad, then you should take the IELTS General module. IELTS Academic reading is more challenging than IELTS General reading.

Both General and Academic IELTS Reading tests have 3 sections with 40 questions in total. The IELTS Reading test lasts 1 hour.

Time	60 minutes
Questions	40
Sections	3

ELTS Academic Reading

This module takes 60 minutes and has 3 sections. Each section has from 10 to 17 questions, making 40 questions in total. Questions become more difficult throughout the test.

IELTS Academic Reading information:

• Texts are taken from books, journals, newspapers, magazines, and websites that cover academic topics for a non-specialist audience.
• All three sections contain 2,150-2,750 words in total.
• One of the sections may contain graphs, charts, illustrations, or other non-verbal material.
• If the text contains some unknown or special vocabulary, the glossary will be given at the end of the text.

Types of questions on IELTS Reading:

1. multiple choice
2. True/false/not given
3. short-answer questions
4. sentence completion
5. notes, summary, plan, diagram, table, or chart completion
6. classification
7. matching paragraphs

You can see the IELTS Academic Reading sample >

How to prepare for IELTS Reading.

1. Learn reading strategies for the IELTS Reading test

You may be used to read every word slowly and carefully to understand every sentence of the text. However, on the IELTS Reading test, you're limited in time, so you have to learn such reading techniques as skimming and scanning. Skimming is quickly reading the text to get only its main idea. Scanning means searching for specific phrases in the text to answer some questions. The best way to learn these reading techniques is to complete IELTS Reading samples, practicing to read and answer the questions quickly.

2. Develop techniques for different types of IELTS Reading questions

After practicing IELTS Reading questions, you should be aware of the types of questions you excel at and those you struggle with. For instance, you may find it easy to answer true/false/not given questions, but have difficulty with matching paragraphs. Therefore, it is recommended to practice each type of question that proves challenging for you individually, in order to improve your skills in those areas.

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