The test in brief
IELTS Reading lasts 60 minutes and has 40 questions across three sections. There is no extra time to transfer answers in the paper test, and in the computer-delivered test you type answers straight into the screen.
- Academic Reading has three long passages from books, journals and magazines, written for a general but educated reader.
- General Training Reading starts with short everyday texts such as notices and adverts, moves to workplace texts like job descriptions and staff guidelines, and ends with one longer general passage.
For band 7, Academic Reading typically needs about 30 correct answers out of 40. General Training needs more correct answers for the same band, because the early texts are easier.
Question types you will meet
Our 52 IELTS Reading practice sets cover every common type, with an explanation for each answer:
- TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN and YES / NO / NOT GIVEN
- Matching Headings
- Matching Information (which paragraph contains...)
- Matching Features
- Summary completion, with or without a word box
- Sentence, table, note and flow-chart completion
- Multiple choice
- Short-answer questions
The two biggest traps
NOT GIVEN
Many students choose FALSE when the answer is NOT GIVEN. The rule is simple but hard to follow under pressure: FALSE means the passage says the opposite; NOT GIVEN means the passage does not say it at all. If you find yourself thinking "well, it is probably true", stop. You are using your own knowledge, not the passage.
Matching Headings
Students often match a heading to a paragraph because the same word appears in both. Headings usually describe the main idea of the whole paragraph, and the test-writer often places a tempting word in a wrong option. Read the first two sentences and the last sentence of the paragraph, decide its main idea in your own words, then look at the list.
A timing strategy that works
Sixty minutes for three passages sounds like 20 minutes each, but Passage 3 is usually the hardest. Try this:
- Passage 1: about 17 minutes.
- Passage 2: about 20 minutes.
- Passage 3: about 23 minutes.
Do not read the whole passage slowly first. Skim it in two or three minutes for structure, then go to the questions. Use the flag-for-review button for any question taking more than a minute, and come back at the end. Never leave a blank: there is no negative marking.
IELTS Reading practice that suits Bhopal students
If you studied in a Hindi-medium school, as many students from Bhopal and nearby districts did, you may understand English well but read it more slowly. That is normal and fixable. Speed comes from volume.
- Read English every day. Use the commute from Kolar Road or Bairagarh, or a lunch break at the office, to read a newspaper editorial or a long article on your phone.
- Practise with timed sets in short sessions after college. One passage in 20 minutes is enough on a weekday.
- Choose texts outside your field. Engineering students from RGPV colleges are often comfortable with technical texts, but IELTS passages range from archaeology to psychology. Read widely, including science, history and social topics you would never choose yourself.
- Review every mistake. Your wrong answers go to the Mistake Notebook automatically, so you can see patterns, for example losing marks only on Matching Information.
The highlighter and notes tools on our screens work like the computer-delivered test, so practise using them. Highlighting key words in the questions first is a good habit.
Charged sets for band 7+
Once your normal Reading score is steady, move to our Charged sets. These are harder Reading sets with denser passages and more subtle distractors, built for students aiming at band 7 or above, such as those applying to competitive postgraduate programmes or healthcare registration. If you regularly score 30 or more on standard sets, the Charged sets are your next step.
Academic vs General Training: practise the right one
Do not mix them. If you need General Training for work or migration, spend your time on everyday and workplace texts; if you need Academic, practise long passages. When you register, you pick your track, and your sets follow it.
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