IELTS Reading Test

There are two different variants of the IELTS Reading Test:


IELTS Academic Reading Test


IELTS Academic Reading Test is designed to test a wide spectrum of reading abilities on part of the candidates. The allotted reading excerpts test the candidate’s ability to follow the narrative, relevance and the author's opinions and intentions.

It also assesses your reading comprehension skills vis a vis the different reading modes such as skimming, scanning, glancing and thorough reading.

The reading test consists of three long-form passages extracted from recent academic publications like books, journals, periodicals, magazines or newspapers. The themes are closely related to the kind of material you are likely to encounter in your field of study or at your place of work.

A total of 40 questions relating to the three passages will have to be answered by the candidate. These questions will be formatted in the same vein as the IELTS Listening Test. The formats will range from Multiple choice questions, Sentence completion, Matching, Flow chart completion to short answers. The candidates are advised to prudently follow the instructions for each of the questions and stick to the required word limits.

IELTS General Reading Test


The IELTS General Reading Test will consist of a total of three passages. The passages will be similar to the likes one might encounter in their daily lives. For example, Job Applications, Popular Culture Articles, etc. The passages will likely be extracted from everyday print mediums like newspapers, magazines, notices, books, advertisements, company documentations.

Section one of the General Reading Test will contain passages one might encounter in their daily lives, both social and professional. Examples include invitations, advertisements, notices, etc.

Section two focuses on the professional setting. It tests whether a candidate is suited to navigate the workplace environment. The passages will be excerpts of Job descriptions, applications, offer letters, etc.

Section three will contain a long-form thematic essay on a topic of general interest. This is designed to test that the candidate has the comprehension ability for a good quality of life in an English dominated environment.

A total of 40 questions relating to the three passages will be put to the candidates with the evaluation goals of testing the candidate’s ability to lead a healthy and fulfilling lifestyle in a foreign environment. The candidates are expected to conform to the requirements of every question and stick to the word limits.