Test format – Reading
60 minutes
The Reading component 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 recognizing writers' opinions, attitudes and purpose.
IELTS Academic test - this includes three long texts which range from the descriptive and factual to the discursive and analytical. These are taken from books, journals, magazines and newspapers. They have been selected for a non-specialist audience but are appropriate for people entering university courses or seeking professional registration.
IELTS General Training test - this includes extracts from books, magazines, newspapers, notices, advertisements, company handbooks and guidelines. These are materials you are likely to encounter on a daily basis in an English-speaking environment.
IELTS reading sources
Texts are taken from books, journals, magazines and newspapers, and have been written for a non-specialist audience. All the topics are of general interest. They deal with issues which are interesting, recognisably appropriate and accessible to test takers entering undergraduate or postgraduate courses or seeking professional registration. The passages.
Types of questions
Task type 1 – Multiple choice.
Task type 2 – Identifying information.
Task type 3 – Identifying writer’s views/claims.
Task type 4 – Matching information.
Task type 5 – Matching headings.
Task type 6 – Matching features.
Task type 7 – Matching sentence endings.
Task type 8 – Sentence completion.
Task type 9 – Summary, note, table, flow-chart completion.
Task type 10 – Diagram label completion.
Task type 11 – Short-answer questions.
