IELTS Reading Test
The reading section differs for IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training candidates. Test takers get 60 minutes to complete this section and 40 questions to be answered in this section.
For IELTS Academic Reading, the reading passages are of medium length, and they are extracted from journals, books, magazines, and newspapers. The writing style of most of these reading excerpts ranges from descriptive, factual, discursive, and analytical. In all these passages, a candidate has to recognize the purpose, attitude, or opinions present in writers behind writing these.
For IELTS General Training Reading, three sections are the excerpts from newspapers, books, magazines, guidelines, advertisements, handbooks, and notices.
- For Task 1, the test-taker has to write about “social survival”.
- For Task 2, the test-taker has to write about “workplace survival”.
- Task 3 is a general reading passage with a little complex structure.
IELTS Question Pattern for Reading
The questions include:
- Multiple choice
- Identifying information
- Distinguishing the writer’s views/claims
- Matching information
- Matching headings
- Matching features
- Matching sentence endings
- Sentence completion
- Summary, note, table, flow-chart completion
- Diagram label completion
- Short-answer questions
Not only the types of passages are different in IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training, but the difficulty levels are also different. These tasks also examine the candidate’s focus on detail and their skills of understanding relationships between two factors and analytical skills.
How are the Academic Reading test and General Training Reading test marked?
The Academic Reading test and General Training Reading test are marked by certificated markers, who are regularly monitored to ensure reliability. All answer sheets, after being marked, are further analyzed by Cambridge Assessment English.
Band score conversion
A Band Score conversion table is generated for each version of the Academic Reading test, which translates scores out of 40 into the IELTS 9-band scale. Scores are reported in whole bands and half bands.
Some IELTS Preparation Tips
Every year thousands of aspirants take IELTS with an aspiration to enroll in a dream university. Following Preparation tips for IELTS can help the candidates:
- Before attempting IELTS, beware of the exam format accurately.
- Reading English novels or newspapers or magazines to improve vocabulary.
- Learn new words to strengthen your vocabulary.
- Incorporate new words and proper usage of grammar in writing sections.
- Watching regular news and interviews in English and English movies will help in improving listening and speaking skills.
- Speak in English to gather confidence.
- Practice writing daily to reduce spelling mistakes.
- Strict time management will support the test taker to attempt questions properly.
- Regular mock tests will help in scoring good in each section
- Concentrate on understanding every section rather than memorizing.
- Attempt all questions as there is no negative marking.
Whether you are looking for a career in English-speaking countries or study there, IELTS is necessary to qualify.
Have an excellent preparation for IELTS and see your dreams come true.