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IELTS Reading Practice Guide

60 minutes, three passages, 2,000-2,750 words total, 40 questions (roughly 13-14 per passage). No extra transfer time: all answers go directly on the answer sheet within the 60 minutes. Passages are drawn from books, journals, magazines, and newspapers written for a general audience, and increase in difficulty across the three passages, though not always predictably.

Scoring system

  • Scored out of 40 raw questions, converted to a band score from 1-9 using a standard conversion table.
  • Every question is objectively right or wrong: no partial credit, no subjective marking.
  • Spelling must be correct for answers you write in yourself; word limits (e.g. "no more than three words") are strictly enforced.
  • There's no penalty for guessing, so every question should get an answer.

Time management

  • 60 minutes for three passages and 40 questions leaves roughly 20 minutes per passage, though not a strict rule since passages and question types vary in difficulty.
  • Don't spend more than 1-2 minutes on any single difficult question. Mark it, move on, and return if time allows.
  • Many students run out of time on passage 3 because they spent too long perfecting passage 1, so protect your pace across all three.
  • No extra transfer time is given, so write answers directly onto the answer sheet as you go rather than saving it all for the end.

Question types

Each passage typically uses 2-3 different question types, not just one.

  • Multiple choice
  • True/False/Not Given (or Yes/No/Not Given for opinion-based passages), the most commonly misunderstood type; "Not Given" means the information isn't in the passage at all, not that it's false
  • Matching headings: matching paragraphs to a list of possible headings
  • Matching information: finding which paragraph contains specific information
  • Sentence completion
  • Summary/note/table/flow-chart completion
  • Diagram labeling
  • Short-answer questions

How to prepare effectively

  • Practice skimming and scanning separately. Skimming gets you the gist and structure; scanning finds specific details (names, dates, numbers). Most students only practice one.
  • Read the questions before the passage for question types like matching or short-answer, so you know what to look for.
  • Build reading speed with varied material, such as academic articles and long-form journalism, not just IELTS practice tests, since raw reading speed in English is the underlying skill.
  • Learn to recognize paraphrasing. Correct answers almost never use the exact words from the question; they use synonyms and reworded phrasing, which is the core skill the test is measuring.
  • Practice True/False/Not Given specifically; it's the most commonly missed question type and responds well to deliberate practice.
  • Take timed full practice tests regularly, not just isolated passages, so you build pacing instinct under real conditions.
  • Review every wrong answer to understand why it was wrong: usually either a missed keyword, a misunderstood paraphrase, or a True/False/Not Given confusion.
  • Don't try to understand every single word; focus on getting enough meaning to answer the questions, not full comprehension.

Common mistakes, at a glance

  • Confusing "False" and "Not Given".
  • Spending too long on one passage and running out of time for the others.
  • Writing answers that exceed the stated word limit.
  • Choosing an answer because it contains words from the question, rather than because it matches the meaning.
  • Leaving questions blank: always guess if time runs out, since there's no penalty.
  • Misreading question instructions (e.g. "choose TWO letters" when only one is selected).