The Reading test in one minute
You have 60 minutes for 40 questions across three sections, and there is no extra time to transfer answers. In Academic Reading the three passages are long texts of the kind found in books, journals and magazines. In General Training the first sections use short everyday and workplace texts, such as notices, adverts and staff guidelines, and the final section is a longer general text.
As a rough guide, band 7 in Academic Reading needs about 30 correct answers out of 40. General Training needs more correct answers for the same band, because its texts are considered easier.
Question types you will meet
- TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN (and YES / NO / NOT GIVEN for opinions).
- Matching Headings for paragraphs.
- Matching Information: which paragraph contains a given detail.
- Summary completion, sometimes with a word box.
- Multiple choice, sentence completion, short answers, and diagram or table labels.
Each type needs a slightly different method. Multiple choice rewards reading all the options against the text before choosing; summary completion with a word box rewards checking grammar, because only one word will fit the gap both in meaning and in form. On IELTS Learning, our 52 sets include all of them, with explanations that show where in the passage each answer is.
Two traps that cost the most marks
NOT GIVEN
The difference between FALSE and NOT GIVEN is the one students argue about most. FALSE means the passage says the opposite. NOT GIVEN means the passage does not tell you either way. The trap is using your own knowledge. If a statement says a factory used solar power and the passage only says it reduced its electricity bill, the answer is NOT GIVEN, however likely it seems. Engineers and science graduates are especially prone to "filling in" from what they know.
Matching Headings
Headings test the main idea of a paragraph, not a single word. A heading that repeats a word from the paragraph is often the distractor. Read the first two sentences and the last one, decide the paragraph's purpose in your own words, then look at the list. Cross off headings as you use them.
Reading habits for Nashik candidates
Many students here have read heavily in English for engineering, pharmacy or medicine, and that is a real advantage for Academic passages. The difference is that textbooks reward careful, complete reading, while IELTS rewards locating information fast. Practise skimming a passage in two or three minutes before you look at the questions.
If your schooling was in Marathi medium, you may read accurately but more slowly. Build speed with daily reading of English news and feature articles, and do not translate every sentence in your head. For General Training candidates from MIDC plants and offices, the workplace texts in Section 2, such as safety procedures and staff rules, will feel familiar; the long Section 3 text is usually where practice pays off most.
The bus or a two-wheeler commute is not reading time, but a Reading set on your phone during a lunch break at Satpur or Ambad, or between lectures, is very achievable.
A timing strategy that works
- Aim for roughly 17 to 20 minutes per section, leaving the hardest passage the most time.
- Do not get stuck: flag a question and move on. Our sets let you flag for review, just as in the computer test.
- Answer every question. There is no negative marking, so a blank is always a lost mark.
- Check spelling and word limits on completion questions: "NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS" is strict.
How to practise, and when to go harder
Start with single sets by question type until your method is consistent, then move to full timed tests. After each set, look at every wrong answer in your Mistake Notebook and label the cause: vocabulary, misreading, time, or a trap.
When you are regularly scoring around 30 or more, try the Charged sets. These are harder Reading sets built for students aiming at band 7+, with denser passages and closer distractors, so your real test feels manageable.
You can begin with a free sample Reading set from our practice tests, and use Daily Vocabulary to keep adding academic words. Full Access (₹999 for 2 months) opens every set; register when you want more.