What the Reading test looks like
You get 60 minutes for 40 questions across three passages, and the passages usually get harder as you go. There is no extra time to transfer answers on the computer-delivered test, and on paper you write directly onto the answer sheet within the hour, so timing matters from the first minute.
Common question types include:
- TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN (or YES / NO / NOT GIVEN for opinions)
- Matching Headings to paragraphs
- Matching Information, where you find which paragraph contains a detail
- Summary completion, sometimes with a word box
- Multiple choice
- Sentence completion, short answers, and diagram or table labelling
Academic and General Training are not the same
Academic Reading uses three long passages taken from books, journals and magazines, written for a general audience but with an academic style. If you are an engineering or pharmacy graduate, the content may feel familiar, but the vocabulary and the paraphrasing are what test you.
General Training Reading starts with short everyday texts such as notices and adverts, moves to workplace texts like job descriptions and policies, and finishes with one longer general passage. The texts are easier, but you need more correct answers for the same band. For band 7, Academic usually needs around 30 out of 40; General Training needs noticeably more.
A timing plan that works
- Passage 1: about 17 minutes. Bank the easier marks quickly.
- Passage 2: about 20 minutes.
- Passage 3: about 23 minutes. It is usually the hardest.
Do not read the whole passage carefully first. Skim it in two or three minutes for structure, then read the questions and scan for the relevant part. If a question is taking more than about 90 seconds, flag it and move on. On a computer-style test, the navigator shows you what is left unanswered.
The two traps that cost the most
NOT GIVEN
FALSE means the passage says the opposite. NOT GIVEN means the passage does not say it at all. Many students choose FALSE because the statement "feels wrong" or does not match what they know. Answer only from the text, not from your own knowledge, even if you studied the topic at college.
Matching Headings
Headings test the main idea of a paragraph, not a single word inside it. A heading that repeats a word from the paragraph is often a distractor. Read the first and last sentences, ask "what is this paragraph mainly doing?", and then choose. Do the paragraphs you are sure about first, to shorten the list.
Other common errors include ignoring word limits ("NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS"), copying the wrong form of a word into a summary, and spending too long on one tricky question early on.
Practising reading in Hyderabad
You do not need extra books to read more English. A few habits fit easily into a Hyderabad day:
- Read one long article from an English daily or a science magazine on the Metro between, say, Ameerpet and Raidurg, and summarise each paragraph in a few words. That is Matching Headings practice.
- If you work in IT or pharma, read your company's English policy documents and reports critically: what is fact and what is claim?
- Students at universities such as Osmania or the University of Hyderabad can use their library journals as Academic-style reading.
Then use timed sets to turn that reading into exam skill.
Practice sets with explanations
IELTS Learning has 52 Reading sets for Academic and General Training, covering every main question type. Each answer comes with an explanation that points to the line in the passage, so you understand why you were wrong, not just that you were. Wrong answers go into your Mistake Notebook automatically, so you can review all your NOT GIVEN errors together.
On the practice screens you can highlight text, add notes and drag headings into place, just as on the computer-delivered test.
Charged sets for band 7 and above
Once you are scoring around 27 to 30 consistently, ordinary practice can start to feel comfortable. Charged sets are harder Reading passages with denser paraphrasing and closer distractors, built for students aiming at band 7 and above. They are a good way to stretch IELTS Reading practice in the final weeks before your test.
Try a free Reading set, or register to unlock every set with Full Access (₹999 for 2 months).