The Reading test in brief
You have 60 minutes for 40 questions across three sections. There is no extra time to transfer answers, so on paper you write directly on the answer sheet, and on computer you type or click as you go.
- Academic Reading uses three long texts from books, journals and magazines, often on science, history, the environment or social topics.
- General Training Reading starts with short everyday texts such as notices and adverts, moves on to workplace texts like job descriptions and staff policies, and ends with one longer general passage.
General Training needs more correct answers than Academic for the same band, so a GT candidate cannot afford careless errors on the easier early sections.
Question types you will meet
- TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN (and YES / NO / NOT GIVEN for opinions)
- Matching Headings to paragraphs
- Matching Information to paragraphs
- Summary, note, table or sentence completion, sometimes with a word box
- Multiple choice
- Matching features, such as researchers to findings
- Short answers and diagram labelling
Each type rewards a slightly different approach, which is why IELTS Learning's 52 Reading sets come with explanations that show exactly where in the text the answer is found.
Two traps that cost the most marks
NOT GIVEN
The most common error is choosing FALSE when the passage simply says nothing about the point. Ask yourself: does the text contradict the statement, or does it just not mention it? If you have to guess what the writer would think, the answer is almost certainly NOT GIVEN.
Students who read carefully in Arabic, Malayalam or Urdu sometimes bring in background knowledge, especially on familiar topics like water desalination, oil or the Gulf climate. In IELTS, only the passage counts. What you know about Bahrain's summers is irrelevant if the text does not say it.
Matching Headings
Headings test the main idea of a paragraph, not a detail. A heading that repeats a word from the paragraph is often a distractor. Read the first two sentences and the last sentence of each paragraph, decide the main point in your own words, then look at the list.
A timing plan that works
Aim for roughly 17–18 minutes on Passage 1, 20 minutes on Passage 2 and 22–23 minutes on Passage 3. The passages usually get harder, so bank time early.
- Do not read the whole passage word by word before looking at the questions.
- Skim the passage for one to two minutes to see how it is organised.
- Read the questions, underline key words, then scan for synonyms, not identical words.
- If a question takes more than about 90 seconds, flag it and move on. On our computer-style screens you can flag a question and return from the navigator, just as in the real test.
- Never leave a blank. There is no penalty for a wrong answer.
Practising Reading around Manama life
A Reading set takes about 20 minutes, which fits a lunch break at the office in Seef or the gap between lectures at the Sakhir campus. A sensible weekly pattern:
- Two single passages on weekdays, untimed at first, then timed once your accuracy improves.
- One full timed Reading test at the weekend, ideally on a laptop.
- One review session in the Mistake Notebook, where wrong answers are saved automatically. Look for patterns: are you losing marks on NOT GIVEN, on spelling in completion questions, or by running out of time on Passage 3?
Bank and insurance staff often read fast but skim too lightly for detail, while students fresh from school may read carefully but too slowly. Notice which describes you, because the fix is different: the first group needs to slow down on the key sentence, the second needs strict time limits.
Outside practice sets, read English every day. Bahrain's English-language newspapers, business articles from the finance sector and long-form science pieces are all good material for Academic candidates. GT candidates should read workplace notices, policies and adverts carefully, because that is exactly what the test uses.
Charged sets for band 7 and above
If you are regularly scoring 30 or more out of 40 in Academic Reading, you are close to band 7. To push higher, use our Charged sets: harder passages with denser vocabulary and more tempting distractors. They are designed for students aiming at 7, 7.5 and above, including nurses and doctors who often need high scores in every module.
Start with a free set
Try a free sample Reading set to see how the explanations work, then check how many correct answers you need with the Band Score Calculator. Sign up free and begin your IELTS Reading practice today.