IELTS reading

IELTS Reading test: how to manage your time?

The IELTS Reading test consists of 40 questions, designed to test a wide range of reading skills. These include reading for gist, reading for main ideas, reading for detail, skimming, understanding logical argument and recognising writers’ opinions, attitudes and purpose.

You will get similar question types in both the IELTS General Training and Academic tests, however, the reading text topics are different.

Managing your time in the test is important as you only have 60 minutes to answer 40 questions. It is always recommended to spend no more than 20 minutes on each part of the Reading test, however, if you find the first passage easy, you may finish it in a shorter time, allowing you more time to answer questions in the next two passages. The passages get harder as you move through the test, so make sure you keep enough time to tackle the final passage.

General Training Reading

The IELTS General Training Reading passages are extracts from materials that you can find on a day-to-day basis in an English-speaking country. The questions in this section will test your ability to understand content present in everyday materials such as:

Newspapers
Advertisements
Handbooks
Notices.

To become more familiar with these text types, make use of our sample questions. By familiarising yourself with a range of texts and question types before test day, you will be able to manage your time better as you will be better prepared.

Academic Reading

The IELTS Academic test is used for university admissions and professional registrations around the world, so the questions in this section will test your ability to understand content present in academic materials.

To prepare for test day, make sure you read a range of texts on different topics from: