This is the complete guide to IELTS reading written by a former IELTS examiner – me!
If you can’t find your question, please put it in the comments.
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Dave
The Test
“How many questions are on the reading test?”
There are 40 questions.
“How long does the reading test last?”
1 full hour with no extra time to transfer your answers.
“How many readings are there?”
There are 3 readings.
“What kind of topics are on the reading test?”
The most common topics are related to science and history. For example, astronomy, psychology, chemistry, biology, neuroscience, etc. Biographies are also very common. Some less common topics include…
“How many different types of questions are there?”
There are 14 different question types.
“How long should each reading take?”
Each one should take around 20 minutes.
“When should I write on the answer sheet?”
You do not have extra time to transfer your answers so don’t write them on the test – right them immediately on the answer sheet.
“Can I write in all capitals?”
Yes, if you want.
“Is capitilisation important?”
No, you will still receive full marks for ‘london’ or ‘London.’
“Is spelling important?”
Yes, you will be marked down for mispelling words.
“Do my answers have to be grammatically correct?”
Yes, pay close attention to the gap-fills to be sure the grammar is accurate.
“What counts as a word for the ‘no more than ____ words’ questions?”
Dates, times and numbers all count as 1 word. 200 is one word, 3,000,000 is one word, 11am is one word, 22% is one word and so on. Words with hyphens like mother-in-law are one word. For dates, 18th September is one word and a number.
“I don’t understand the test. Do you have a guide?”
Yes! Funny you should ask, I have it right here:
“Do wrong answers hurt my score more than blank ones?”
No, fill in all answers even if you are guessing. Do not leave any answers blank.
“How is the reading test made?”
It takes 1 – 2 years for a reading test to be made and every question must be approved and adjusted by dozens of people. The test is very reliable.
“How is the reading test marked?”
Usually the local staff in your country will mark them by hand before recording your scores.
“Do the readings get harder as the test goes on?”
Yes, they do.
“Should I read the questions or the reading first?”
You should skim the reading before reading the questions and finding the answers.
“Do the answers come in order in the reading?”
Sometimes. For some questions they will, like T/F/NG they will, but for other ones, like matching the heading, they will not.
“Is there a difference between the general training and academic reading?”
Yes, the topics on the general training are related to everyday life and newspapers. The topics in the academic test are … uh … more academic.
“Can I write ‘T’ instead of true?”
Yes, abbreviations are generally accepted throughout. You can write ‘T’ for True, ‘F’ for False, “NG’ for Not Given and even things like ‘Y’ for yes and ‘N’ for no. But our advice is to just write the full words to be safe. Why risk it?
“I keep studying but I can’t improve. What should I do?”
The key to reading test (and listening test) is vocabulary. There’s no shortcut to learning thousands of English words. Improve your English vocabulary and your score will improve. But this may take years depending on the score that you want!
“Should I take the computer-based reading test?”
I think the advantages are big enough that most students should. You should practice online with one first to make sure that it is suitable for you but the computer one allows you to:
- Highlight answers
- Copy and past
- View the questions on one side and the reading on the other (no flipping pages!)
If you want to both improve your English and feel comfortable, I now offer online lessons complete with feedback
Couldn’t have said it better myself!
hi
is it incorrect to write t instead of yes?
Hello dear,
I stuck in the last section of the reading. It has been slightly improved after reading news on BBC and Fox News etc. But still, I am getting the required score in the last section. Would you please guide me? Thank you.
What score are you getting? Is it an issue with timing or vocabulary or … ?
Hello dave, thank you so much for your prompt reply. I am struggling for a minimum 7.5 band. But I stuck on 6.5, just because of the last paragraph. both issues I faced. when I read twice and more I understand and it makes sense for me. I suppose lengthy paragraphs make me anxious. I think it is a psychological issue as well.
You might just skip reading the last paragraph then and just focus on it when you need to after reading the questions.
That might help you get over the psychological hurdle as well.
Good advice Dave. thanks.
You’re welcome! I don’t have a great source for IELTS reading tests but if you Google it there are tons and tons out there to practice with.
Practice tests themselves aren’t necessarily going to help you improve though – there is a different between improving and testing your reading skills.
Hello Dave I am struggling to score well in reading I am preparing since last two months & my exam will be on 25 th September please guide me in reading & listening as well..thank you!
and would you please drive me to the best practicing material? Currently, i am doing Cambridge books.
do they change the ielts test everytime?
Yes, otherwise it would be too easy to prepare for!
The format is the same but of course the questions change, Lana.
what can I do if the reading passage is about a topic that I have never met before and it’s full of advanced vocabularies? I have done some practice tests like this and I have to spend more than 20m for the first passage, sometimes I just can’t skim for the answer because I can’t even comprehend the question. At this moment I just wanna cry :<