IELTS General Reading: Your Questions Answered

Let’s start with a lightning round of answers to common and important questions! ⚡

What’s in the IELTS General Reading section?

• It takes 60 minutes total; 20 minutes per section.
  • This total includes the time to transfer your answers from your Question Sheet to the Answer Sheet; I recommend leaving some time at the end of the test to do this.
• It has three different sections with different types of passages:
  • Section 1: Two or three “everyday life” short texts that you’d come across visiting or living in an English-using country, such as advertisements or a list of activities.
  • Section 2: Two workplace-related texts, such as workplace safety warnings or staff instructions.
  • Section 3: One longer text, often some sort of academic topic.
• It has 40 questions/items total
  • Section 1: 14 questions/items
  • Section 2: 13 questions/items
  • Section 3: 13 questions/items

How hard is the IELTS General Reading section?

• It really depends on the person and their background in using English.
• The best thing you can do to gauge your skill level is to take a practice IELTS General Reading test (we have links to some great practice tests at the end of this post). For some, this section might be a walk in the park. For others, it might feel like climbing up a cliff barehanded.
• You can read a more detailed answer to this question in this post: “How Hard is the IELTS?”

How can I prepare and practice for the IELTS General Reading section?

• There’s quite a bit that you can do to prepare for the General Reading section.
• Start regularly reading quality writing: Regularly reading quality writing will improve your overall reading skills, which, in turn, will improve your ability to do well on the General Reading section. Read articles from The Economist or The Guardian — anything that’ll familiarise you with written British English.
• Get quality test prep materials: Get a hold of quality test-prep materials. Quality study materials will guide you through the unique challenges of the IELTS General Reading section, teach you useful strategies, and provide you with official IELTS-like practice materials. It’s crucial that these study materials include practice tests.

IELTS General Reading Practice Test From Magoosh

Quality practice tests are a crucial assessment tool for improving your reading skills for the IELTS General Reading section. Practice tests help us realistically assess our strengths, our weaknesses, and our general skill level. It allows us to clarify what we need help with and what we should focus on in our studies. So, it’s a good idea to periodically take practice tests during your studies

Free Practice Tests

Here’s our IELTS General Training Reading Practice Test (PDF) that you can use to take stock of your current reading level. This practice test only deals with the IELTS General Reading section. Here’s also a full General Training Practice Test (PDF) that includes a Reading section.

How to Use the Practice Tests

Keep in mind that you want to use these to gauge your current skill level. So, it’s important to mimic test-like conditions and rules. This means you should:

• Complete the test in one, uninterrupted sitting.
• Time and hold yourself to the time limits: no more than 60 minutes total, and no more than 20 minutes for each section.
• Don’t just put your answers on the question paper; write your answers down on a separate answer sheet like the actual IELTS paper-delivered test. Here are several ways you can get an answer sheet. You can print out:
  • This official example answer sheet for the IELTS Reading test
  • The Magoosh printable blank answer sheet, which appears on the page before the test in this PDF
  • Create your own based on the official answer sheet

To calculate your score, use the IELTS General Training Reading test table in Magoosh’s IELTS score predictor article.

Other IELTS General Training Reading Tests

I also recommend checking out practice tests from the official IELTS creators (British Council, Cambridge, IELTS, and IDP). You won’t find practice tests that come closer to the real IELTS than the creators themselves.

British Council

The British Council website offers both an IELTS Academic and IELTS General Reading practice test — two of each, in fact. Note that these Reading practice sections are part of larger full-length free IELTS practice tests from the BC.

• Full-length IELTS exams
• Two General Reading practice tests

Cambridge IELTS

Cambridge, the company that publishes the official IELTS preparation books, offers some free PDF excerpts of their IELTS exam print tests online, including a GT Reading test, linked below:

• Cambridge’s IELTS General Reading Practice Test (PDF)
• Answer Keys (provided by Magoosh)

IELTS.org

• IELTS.org General Reading Practice Test (PDF)
• IELTS.org General Reading Practice Test Answer Key (PDF)

More Practice Sets

Beyond the practice sets, IELTS test takers can benefit from additional General Reading practice sets as they get started in their studies. Here are some great resources for more practice materials. Most of these sources are not full Reading practice tests, but rather smaller sets of questions.

• IELTS IDP’s Reading practice sets (paper-based IELTS)
• IELTS IDP’s IELTS CDT Reading practice sets
• IELTS.org’s sample question page for the IELTS paper test (includes sample questions for both Academic and GT Reading)
• IELTS-on-Computer sample test questions from IELTS.org (also includes Reading)
• Magoosh’s guide to using official IELTS websites to find resources for IELTS Reading and the other sections.
• Magoosh practice sets for each of the twelve IELTS Reading question types
• Magoosh’s free IELTS Practice Tests for Academic and General (includes full Reading practice tests)
• Magoosh IELTS Premium (includes video lessons, practice questions, and full-length tests for all four sections)

Additional Resources

Beyond the practice tests and sets, it’d be a great idea to check out the following resources as you gear up for the IELTS General Training module. You’ll want to read through the study resources to get a firm grasp on what you’ll need to know for the General Reading section. And you’ll want to check out the study plans as a way to structure your studies.

Study Resources

• The Complete Guide to IELTS Reading
• IELTS Reading Practice Tests and Resources
• Academic IELTS vs General Training IELTS: What’s the Difference?
• IELTS General Training Writing Practice Test (PDF with Answers)

Free Magoosh Study Plans for General Training

• One-Month General Training IELTS Study Plan
• One-Week General Training IELTS Study Plan

With these resources, you should be well-situated to get started studying for the IELTS General Reading section. All the best, and happy studying!

The IELTS Reading section can feel massive and mysterious — it’s not obvious where we should start! If you’re feeling this hazy and heavy stress, this guide is for you. It lays out concrete steps, strategies, and resources you’ll need to prepare for test day. This guide is a broad overview that deals with both the Academic and General Training versions of the test.

Table of Contents

• IELTS Reading Resources and How to Practice With Them
  • Trusted Practice Materials vs. Quality Reading Materials
• Get to Know the IELTS Reading Section
  • Academic or General Training? Two Types of IELTS Reading Sections
  • Academic IELTS Reading Section
  • General Training IELTS Reading Section
  • Question Types (With Sample Practice Tests)
• How can I practice reading for IELTS? Tips and Tricks
• Next Steps: IELTS Reading Practice and Preparation

IELTS Reading Resources and How to Practice With Them

There are two major practice resources for IELTS Reading prep: trusted practice materials and quality reading materials. It’s important to draw on different resources in your studies to improve your reading skills. This is because different resources more effectively develop different necessary skills.

Think about it this way. Imagine your reading skills like woodworking skills. If we want to build a wooden table to demonstrate that we’re a good table crafter, we’ll definitely need a hammer and some sandpaper to build the table. But we don’t want to use a hammer or sandpaper for every step. Each tool has its own time, use, and place. Likewise, each practice resource is particularly useful for honing certain skills necessary to demonstrate your linguistic proficiency to your examiner. Using each tool for its proper purpose will make the most of your study time.

Trusted Practice Materials vs. Quality Reading Materials

Trusted practice materials — like official IELTS practice tests or Magoosh questions — are great for two things: familiarizing ourselves with the fine-grain details of the IELTS Reading section and trying out reading strategies. The practice materials are especially important for learning the quirks of the particular version of the test you’re taking — be it the Academic or General Training. If you’re in need of trusted practice materials, check these resources out:

• IELTS Reading Practice Tests and Resources
• Recommended IELTS Prep Books
• IELTS Reading Diagnostic Quiz
• Free IELTS Academic Reading Practice Test (Video)

Now’s a good time as ever to discuss a very understandable but short-sighted impulse that we’ll want to head off. When studying for a test, there’s the impulse to answer a bunch of official questions and call it a day. We might think that that’s what we’re going to be tested on, so why not take the practice tests to use strategies and practice reading.

But relying solely or primarily on official IELTS reading passages and questions for your studies isn’t the most effective or even a particularly good use of practice materials — it’s kind of like trying to sand a wood with a hammer. There’s a limited number of these sorts of questions, so relying entirely or mostly on practice material makes it easy to exhaust these resources. Instead, we recommend using quality reading materials to build up your vocabulary and reading comprehension.

Get to Know the IELTS Reading Section

Academic or General Training? Two Types of IELTS Reading Sections

First things first, it’s important to point out that the IELTS Reading section comes in one of two types: the Academic and the General Training. Before you sign up for the IELTS, make sure you’re signed up and study for the correct version of the test. If you aren’t sure about which test you have to take, contact the institution requesting the test results and they can guide you to the correct one.

In general, the Academic passages deal with more specialized, academic topics and closely resemble articles you’d find in a newspaper or magazine. The General Training Reading section covers more general, daily life topics or relates to work in some capacity.

Depending on whether you’re taking the Academic or General Training version, there are several similarities and differences between the two:

Academic IELTS Reading Section

Academic IELTS Reading passages cover a wide range of subjects from environmental science to economic history. It’s important to stress that you don’t need to be a subject expert to do well. What you will need is an expansive vocabulary; test-takers with a large vocabulary have a massive advantage. Academic IELTS Reading passages may contain some technical terms and even visual materials such as charts and graphs. IELTS commonly uses passages from professional and academic journals, textbooks, reports, and newspapers.

The Academic Reading paper consists of three passages. For each one, you will answer 10-14 questions. Here are some sample Reading passages and questions from the British Council (the makers of the IELTS exam) so you can see what Academic Reading passages and questions look like. Try to answer the questions and see how you do!

• Academic IELTS Reading passage 1: Making Time for Science
• Academic IELTS Reading passage 2: The Triune Brain
• Academic IELTS Reading passage 3: Helium’s Future up in the Air

General Training IELTS Reading Section

Like Academic Reading, General Training Reading also includes articles from journals, newspapers and magazines. However, the majority of the passages are much shorter, with simpler vocabulary. Additionally, the topics tend to relate to daily life. Some passages, especially towards the beginning of the General Training Reading paper, are taken from advertisements, guidebooks, magazines, notices, or employee manuals.

While each version of General Training IELTS Reading can be slightly different, you can generally expect that the exam will get more and more challenging from beginning to end. In Section 1, there will be 2 to 3 very short (and relatively simple) articles related to everyday life topics. In Section 2, there will be two short texts. These are often related to work in some way, such as a job application or company handbook. Finally, Section 3 will contain a longer text discussing a more academic or abstract topic. This is the toughest article on the General Training Reading exam.

For more information about the types of topics you might see, check out our blog post on General Training Reading passages.

For practice, here are some reading sample tests from British Council for the General Training IELTS exam. Try to answer the questions and see how you do: Section 1, Section 2 and Section 3.

Question Types (With Sample Practice Tests)

There are several basic IELTS reading question types that you’ll want to familiarise yourself with. Here’s a quick overview of them with practice samples linked below them:

• True/False/Not Given & Yes/No/Not Given
  • General Training Sample: True/False/Not Given
• Multiple choice
  • Academic Sample: Multiple Choice
• Matching
  • Headings
    • Academic Sample: Matching Headings
    • General Training Sample: Matching Headings
  • Information
    • Academic Sample: Matching Information
    • General Training Sample: Matching Information
  • Features
    • Academic Sample: Matching Features
    • General Training Sample: Matching Features
  • Sentence Endings
    • Academic Sample: Matching Sentence Endings
• Sentence Completion and Short Answers
  • General Training Sample: Sentence Completion
  • General Training Sample: Short Answer
• Note, Table, Diagram, or Summary Completion
  • Academic Sample: Table Completion
  • Academic Sample: Diagram Completion
  • General Training Sample: Flow-Chart Completion

How can I practice reading for IELTS? Tips and Tricks

With a grasp on the different versions of the test and question types in mind, we’re now in a great place to talk shop about tips and strategies. Here’s an overview of some of the core strategies you’ll want to regularly revisit:

• IELTS Reading Tips
• IELTS Reading Strategies
• IELTS Reading: Should You Take Notes?
• Identifying Writers’ Views in IELTS Reading
• How to Understand Long Sentences in IELTS Reading?
• Signal Words in IELTS Reading

Next Steps: IELTS Reading Practice and Preparation

Now that we’ve talked about the materials and strategies — the tips and tricks of the test — it’s important to start putting together a study plan. If you’d like help putting together a study plan and have at least a month before your test, check out Magoosh’s Academic IELTS One-Month Study Plan or General Training IELTS One-Month Study Plan. If you’re in a time crunch and only have a week, we have a plan for that too!: One-Week IELTS Study Plan.

In addition to a study plan for the IELTS Reading section, it also helps to have a guide who can walk you through all the concepts and strategies. If you’re looking for lessons for all the different parts of the IELTS as a whole, check out Magoosh’s study plans.

Added up, these strategies and resources for the IELTS Reading section should help relieve the pressure that comes from the test and prep you for the big day!

All the best, and happy studying!

You may ask yourself, “How can I practice reading IELTS passages and questions?” Look no further, my friend. This post is a great place to start if you want to take an IELTS Reading practice test!

In the sections below, I’m going to give you links to full IELTS Reading sections for both IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training. These practice materials come from reputable sources: official IELTS websites, and Magoosh itself. Then after that, I’ll give you some bonus resources as well.

IELTS Reading Practice Tests From Magoosh

Magoosh offers two free full-length IELTS Reading sections: an IELTS Academic Reading practice test and an IELTS General Reading practice test.

IELTS Academic Reading Practice Test

Magoosh’s IELTS Academic Reading practice section comes in video format, as a simulated timed test with all of the questions displaying onscreen. You can pause the video if you need more time, or leave the video running if you want to practice under timed conditions.

IELTS General Reading Practice Test

Our practice section for IELTS General Training Reading (PDF) mimics the paper format of the exam rather than the onscreen one. But this PDF practice test does have a video component. When you get to the answer key at the end of the test, you can click for video explanations of the answers.

Official IELTS Reading Practice Tests

British Council

The British Council website offers both an IELTS Academic and IELTS General Reading practice test… two of each in fact. Note that these Reading practice sections are part of larger full-length free IELTS practice tests from the BC.

• Click here for full-length IELTS exams
• Click here to access two Academic Reading practice tests
• Click here to access two General Reading practice tests

Cambridge IELTS

Cambridge, the company that publishes the official IELTS preparation books, offers some free PDF excerpts of their print tests online.

• Click here for the Academic Reading practice test PDF from Cambridge (PDF)
• Click here for Cambridge’s IELTS General Reading Practice Test (PDF)
• Answer key to both sections (provided by Magoosh)

IELTS.org

• Click here for the IELTS.org Academic Reading Practice Test (PDF)
• Click here for the IELTS.org Academic Reading Test answer key (PDF)
• Click here for the IELTS.org General Reading Practice Test (PDF)
• Click here for the IELTS.org General Reading Practice Test Answer Key (PDF)

IELTS IDP

IELTS IDP, one of the other official sponsors of the IELTS, offers an IELTS Academic Reading Practice test for the IELTS CDT (computer delivered test).

• Click here for IDP’s full IELTS CDT practice test.
• Click here for the IDP’s IELTS Academic Reading practice test
• Click here for the IDP practice test answer key (PDF)

Additional IELTS Reading Practice

In addition to the full IELTS practice reading tests I linked above, here are some sources for extra practice. Most of these sources are not full Reading practice tests, but rather smaller sets of questions.

• IELTS IDP’s Reading practice sets (paper-based IELTS)
• IELTS IDP’s CDT Reading practice sets
• IELTS.org’s sample question page for the IELTS paper test (includes sample questions for both Academic and GT Reading).
• IELTS-on-Computer sample test questions from IELTS.org (also includes Reading).
• Magoosh’s guide to finding resources for Reading and the other sections on the four official IELTS websites.
• Magoosh practice sets for each of the twelve IELTS Reading question types .
• Magoosh’s free IELTS Practice Tests for Academic and General (includes full Reading practice tests).
• Magoosh IELTS Premium (includes video lessons, practice questions, and full-length tests for all four sections)!

Quality Reading Materials for Daily Practice

It’s important to build a broader base of English Reading skills. Don’t just focus on IELTS Reading passages alone!

For other quality reading materials, we’ll want to read newspapers and magazines to focus on cultivating our general reading skills. In particular, we’ll want to focus on publications with high editorial standards. These resources are excellent sources for growing our vocabulary, learning the grammatical ropes, and increasing our reading pace. Plus, unlike practice materials, it’s nigh impossible to exhaust all available reading materials.

Here’s a great set of reading resources that you can use:

• New Scientist: New Scientist is an international science magazine from the UK. In fact, some New Scientist articles can be found in Cambridge IELTS books and past IELTS exams.
• Scientific American and American Scientist: Scientific American and American Scientist are two popular American science magazines. They also include health and education articles, which are very similar to IELTS Academic Reading passages. What is more, Scientific American offers hundreds of 60-second science podcasts, which are great for IELTS Listening practice!
• BBC News: Get the latest news from different parts of the world in English. There are many kinds of reading materials on BBC News that work great for IELTS prep.
• The Economist: The Economist is another common source for IELTS reading passages. Many articles from past exams were taken from this magazine.
• National Geographic: National Geographic contains articles about geography, animals, culture, the environment, travel and adventure, which are common topics for both the Academic and General Training Reading exams.
• History Extra and History Net: History Extra and History Net are two great history magazine websites with podcasts, articles and reviews on a variety of events.

Frequently reading from these sorts of quality reading materials will build out the foundations of your reading skills on which you can effectively build in test strategies.

The IELTS Reading “Big Picture”

Instruction, tips and tricks are as important as practice. To learn about all of the finer points of the IELTS Reading section, check out Magoosh’s Complete Guide to IELTS Reading. Happy studying!

There are 12 different IELTS Reading reading question types. That sounds like a lot, doesn’t it? But have no fear– all of these types have enough in common that they can be studied and mastered together. So what are the types of questions in IELTS reading? Read on to learn about each one, with descriptions and examples!

The examples all come from the Magoosh IELTS service our subscribers use. To practice the questions and get extra help, click on the table of contents, or just scroll down through the article.

Table of Contents

IELTS Reading Question Types: Three Broad Categories

The twelve types of Reading questions in IELTS Reading can be divided into three main formats: completion formats (filling in blanks in a text), answer-the-question formats (providing a response to a question), and matching formats, where one piece of information is matched to another.

In the sections below, we’ll take a closer look at each of the three categories and each of the twelve individual types.

The “Matching” types of questions in IELTS Reading

There are four varieties of matching exercises in IELTS Reading. Read on to learn all about them and practice them.

Matching Sentence Endings Questions

Question Structure

In this case, you’ll see a group of incomplete sentences, specifically the starting part of each sentence. But they’re not really incomplete, because the endings are also right there in front of you. But they’re in a different order. Your job is to match the endings and beginnings of the sentences correctly.

Quick Tips

• Each sentence starter will seem kind of like it could match with any sentence ending. However, if you read more deeply, you may be notice a match sounds strange. Carefully double check for that!
• Once you think you have a match picture it as a complete sentence, scan the passage to make sure the info really does match both halves of the sentence.

Example Question Set

Click here to practice matching sentence endings.


 

Matching Headings Questions

Question Structure

This is somewhat similar to the matching information question type. However, in this case, you’ll be given a heading that could go over a paragraph in the passage, instead of a description of a piece of information in the paragraph.

Quick Tips

• Since the heading applies to the whole paragraph, you should check the paragraphs only for their main idea and purpose.
• Make sure the heading is applicable to everything in the paragraph you match it to. Sometimes an idea form on heading is also expressed as a supporting detail in a different paragraph.
• Because a lot of students ask about this type, Magoosh has a whole tutorial just for IELTS Reading Matching Headings that you should definitely check out.

Example Question Set

Click here to complete a matching headings exercise for IELTS Reading.


 

Matching Features Questions

Question Structure

In Matching Features questions, you’ll be given a short list of concepts or things from the passage. this list will be followed by several descriptions of those things. The goal is to match the things from the passage and the descriptions of them.

Quick Tips

• It can be easy to mistake one similar sounding description or thing for another. Read carefully!
• This question type is all about paraphrasing; the descriptions will often have very different wording than the original text.

Example Question Set

Click here for a question set of this IELTS Reading question type.
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Matching Information Questions

Question Structure

This is one of several IELTS Reading question types that involves matching. In this case, you match a description of the information in a paragraph to its correct paragraph in the passage.

Quick Tips

• The information you’re matching to a paragraph can be a supporting detail in that paragraph, or might be a main idea. Check for both!
• Make sure you have a good idea of the passage structure so that you can quickly figure out where to look for each piece of information.

Example Question Set

Click here for an IELTS Reading passage and a set of practice matching information questions.


 

The “Answering Questions” IELTS Reading Question Types

In these types of IELTS Reading questions, rather than matching or completing information, you simply give responses to questions that you’re asked. While these questions test similar skills, they can look pretty different from each other. Read on to learn more!

True/False/Not Given and Yes/No/Not Given Questions

Question Structure

T/F/NG and Y/N/NG are not exactly the same, but they’re similar enough that it’s helpful to treat them as two versions of the same question type. For T/F/NG, you need to determine if a fact is true based on the passage, or false, or not given in the passage. For Y/N/NG, you are instead checking to see if something reflects the author’s opinions (yes), contradicts an author’s opinions (no), or is simply not expressed by the author one way or the other (not given).

Quick Tips

• Some statements will seem to be true, just based on logic. But if they are not stated as true to the facts or opinions in the passage, you should still mark them “not given.”
• Sometimes the wording of an answer choice will be slightly twisted compared to the passage so that the meaning changes. This is a classic trap for this question type, so be on the lookout!
• There are some subtle but important differences between these two question types. To learn about them, go through Magoosh’s IELTS Reading True/False/Not Given tutorial and then look at our Yes/No/Not Given IELTS Reading guide for comparison.

Example Question Set

Click here to practice these types of question in IELTS Reading.


 

Short Answer Questions

Question Structure

This is one of the IELTS reading question types where you write in your own answer instead of just writing the letters of the correct answers. In these types of questions in IELTS Reading, the wording of the answer will be copied directly from the passage.

Quick Tips

• Remember that sometimes more than one word or phrase from the passage can fit in the blank. If you’re pretty sure two different answers are perfectly acceptable, you can pick either one.
• Make sure you choose wording that is not too general. For example, if a question asks about a specific mountain range, “Rocky Mountains” might be the correct answer, while “Mountains” alone would be too broad.

Example Question Set

Click here for an IELTS Reading passage with a set of short answer questions.


 

Multiple Choice Questions

Question Structure

These questions will be a lot like ones you’ve seen in your own schooling. You’ll be asked a question, and you’ll have to choose the correct answer from a set of answers.

Quick Tips

• If you’re not sure of the answer, see which choices you can eliminate entirely. This may help you get to the right answer by default, or at least narrow things down so that you can make a good guess.
• Read the question first. Then before looking at any of the answer choices, try to think of the answer in your own words. that way, you’ll know what kind of correct answer to look for in the choices.
• Inference skills are often tested in multiple. To boost your inference skills, read Magoosh’s guide to inference on the IELTS.

Example Question Set

Click here for a practice set of this IELTS Reading question type.


 

“Completion” Types of Questions in IELTS Reading

In “Completion” questions, you need to fill in the blanks and complete a second, shorter text that’s presented in the questions. As you might have guessed, the second shorter text will summarize ideas from the passage. Let’s take a closer look at these five IELTS Reading question types.

Sentence Completion Questions

Question Structure

In this type of IELTS reading question, you will see sentences that contain a blank. You’ll put a word or words from the passage into the blank.

Quick Tips

• The word should be a perfect fit, both in terms of meaning and grammar. If you have to change the grammar of a word from the passage to put it in the blank, it’s the wrong answer.
• Don’t accidentally misspell the word from the passage, or it’ll be marked wrong. This is the most avoidable way of missing a question!

Example Question Set

Click here for practice with the sentence completion IELTS Reading question type.
 


 

Diagram Completion Questions

Question Structure

Here we have yet another type among the “completion” types of questions in IELTS Reading. In this case, you’ll complete blanks in a diagram.

Quick Tips

Very often, this question type is associated with scientific or technical passages. To help yourself prepare for this kind of question, practice reading basic science passages that include diagrams, the kind found on general news websites or in high school textbooks.

Use the words on the diagram to scan for the right part of the passage; the passage itself won’t necessarily state that it is describing a diagram.

Example Question Set

Click here to complete a diagram in IELTS Reading.
 


 

Flow-Chart Completion Questions

Question Structure

This question type requires you to fill in the blanks in a flow-chart that portrays a timeline of events or a process that has steps in a certain order.

Quick Tips

• It can be easy to get two adjacent events or steps (events or steps that happened one right after the other) out of order, especially if the two parts have similar wording. Double-check the order of things that happen in the same part of the chart.
• If you have time, at the end of a flow-chart question set, quickly reread all of your answers. This can help you catch anything that you may have missed or misunderstood in the chart.

Example Question Set

Click here for an IELTS Reading flow-chart exercise.
 


 

Summary Completion Questions

Question Structure

In this type of question in IELTS Reading, you’ll see a summary of the entire passage, with missing words. Words from the passage itself will complete the blanks in the summary.

Quick Tips

• What’s really important here is to understand the connection between the paraphrases in the summary, and the original wording in the passage. Find the exact part of the passage that’s being paraphrased, and you’ll find your answers.
• Remember that the summary rephrases words from the original passage. Don’t choose an answer that duplicates a rephrased word in the summary For instance, if you see “large ______” in re
  ference to “tall trees” in the passage, the correct answer in the blank would be “trees,” not “tall trees.”

Example Question Set

Click here to practice some of these types of questions in IELTS Reading.
 


 

Table Completion Questions

Question Structure

This question type, like a number of other types of questions in IELTS Reading, requires you to fill in the blanks in a table of information. This is similar in some ways to the matching information and matching features IELTS Reading question types, since the tables will usually show ideas or things in one column, and related information or features in another.

Quick Tips

• The ideas or things will generally appear in the table in the exact same wording that they have in the passage. Scan for those exact concepts and you’ll be able to find the missing words in the information or features.
• Remember to carefully double-check the instructions, so that you don’t write in an answer that has two many words. (You’ll be told to put in no more than one word, or no more than two words, and so on.)

Example Question Set

Click here for a set of IELTS Reading table completion questions.
 


 

More Help and Practice with the Types of Questions in IELTS Reading

Hopefully, these practice sets– and the excellent answer explanations provided by our lead IELTS instructor Eliot– have helped you build skills and gain confidence. But wait, there’s more! Here are a few additional resources to help you along the way:

• The Complete Guide to IELTS Reading
  • Here, you can explore every aspect of the IELTS Reading section. Learn everything you need to know to get a top score in IELTS Reading, for every passage and question type.
• IELTS Reading Tips to Improve Your Score
  • Our top 10 tips for improving your IELTS score–straight from the IELTS experts
• The Top 4 IELTS Reading Strategies
  • Winning strategies to help you navigate the IELTS Reading section!
• IELTS Reading Practice Tests and Resources
  • This is a great way to see IELTS Reading question types in their natural environment: full IELTS Reading sections.

Let me share some really great IELTS Reading tips with you. What makes them so great? Well, bear in mind that IELTS Reading passages and questions vary a lot– there are two versions of the IELTS Reading test (the Academic IELTS exam and General Training exam) and twelve different IELTS Reading question types. And yet, the 10 tips I’m about to give you will help you build your reading skills for every type of question and passage, no matter which of the IELTS tests you take!

IELTS Reading Tips: The Keys to Success

1. Do Extensive Reading Practice

You should follow this IELTS Reading tip because practice really does make perfect. In addition to the practice tests, there are numerous newspapers, magazines, and websites offering great supplementary reading resources on various topics for your upcoming test. Spend some time reading these materials in your spare time. Once you get used to reading long and difficult passages, your reading speed will definitely increase a lot. This will greatly improve your confidence and understanding when it comes to written English.

2. Expand Your Vocabulary

This is really more of a set of multiple IELTS Reading tips about how to expand your vocabulary.

Needless to say, the more IELTS vocabulary you know, the easier the IELTS Reading exam will be for you. Vocabulary is very, very important if you’re aiming for a high Band score. As you prepare for the exam, make sure to study new words regularly. Your goal should be to learn 15 to 20 new words each day.

Also, try to read in English regularly (15 to 20 minutes per day at least!). It’s an excellent idea to keep a vocabulary journal as you read. Record new and unfamiliar words, and then define each one with a synonym or short definition. Keep it simple. You should return to your list a few times each week to review, focusing attention on terms you have difficulty remembering. Additionally, Magoosh offers a Vocabulary Flashcard app and a Vocabulary PDF word list for the IELTS. (Bonus: They’re both free!) No matter how you prefer to review vocabulary, study a little bit every day!

3. Practice Your Timing

Sixty minutes is not a lot of time to get through all of the passages and answer 40 questions. Since each question is worth the same amount of points (1), it makes the most sense to divide the 3 sections equally—spending 20 minutes per section.

To help you follow this IELTS Reading tip, Eliot, our top IELTS instructor, has put together a timed Reading section video to help you practice that pacing:

4. Focus on the Directions (a Basic Yet Very Important IELTS Reading Tip!)

Attention to detail is very important on the IELTS Reading paper. Unfortunately, too many test-takers lose points unnecessarily because they don’t pay close attention to the directions. The directions for each task will tell you how to mark answers on your Answer Sheet. For example, some questions require numerals (i, ii, iii, iv, v, etc), while others require letters (A, B, C, etc). Short Answer questions are even more complicated. The directions may say something like, “Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage.”

Each set of questions will have its own instructions telling you how to mark your answers. As you practice, get into the habit of looking at these instructions every time. Comprehending the instructions really is the easiest kind of reading comprehension on the exam. You don’t want to miss points because you didn’t notice a key detail in the directions.

5. Skim the Text

Skimming is to get a general idea of the text. You don’t need to read the whole text carefully this time; instead, you can spend two or three minutes skimming the title, the introduction paragraph, the topic sentences, and supporting details of each paragraph. (Basically, look for the main idea and supporting details of the paragraphs and the passage as a whole.) Check out our techniques for IELTS skimming! That tutorial can help you follow this IELTS Reading tip.

6. Read the Question and Identify Key Words

Then you can read the questions and circle or underline the key words. Sometimes, the key words in a question are obvious such as a name, a place or a date. For instance, the key words in How much funds would you gain by now, if you had invested $1000 in the Amazon in 1997? should be Amazon and 1997.

However, in some cases, it is not easy to identify the key words. Just ask yourself, what is the key information in the question? Let’s take the following T/F question for example. New therapies can permanently change circadian rhythms without causing harm. The key information here is Therapies change circadian rhythms. Once you see these key words, you can start scanning the passage for related information.

7. Locate Detailed Information

Locating information will be easier with the help of key words. Some words, such as names and numbers, are quite easy to find in the text. For others, you can predict which paragraph may contain the required information because you have already skimmed the text. Also, do not forget that the information may be paraphrased in the text.

8. Put Answers Directly on the Answer Sheet (One of the Simplest and Most Powerful IELTS Reading Tips!)

Unlike the Listening section, you won’t have extra time to write down answers on the answer sheet. Therefore, once you get an answer, put it directly on the answer sheet.

9. Do Not Spend Too Much Time on One Question or One Section

This is one of the most important IELTS Reading tips, as a lot of students fail to do this! As I mentioned earlier, never spend too much time on a single question. If you get stuck on one question, just leave it for the end. Sometimes, you simply won’t understand a question or a segment within a passage fully. Other times, no matter how hard you try, you won’t find an answer in the text. If this happens, just make your best guess and move on so you don’t miss out on easier points later in the test! You can always return to a difficult question later if you have spare time in the end.

Keep in mind that the hardest questions and the easiest questions count equally towards your final Reading score. Therefore, if you’re struggling to finish all of the questions within 60 minutes, make sure you’re not losing out on easier points because you get stuck on hard questions.

10. Get Familiar With the Question Types

Check out our IELTS reading question types post to find out the common question types. Doing practice tasks on these question types can help you understand the question requirement and learn how to use different strategies to get correct answers.

Final IELTS Reading Tips and Advice

You’ll notice that these tips cover many different aspects of IELTS Reading. This is because it’s important to understand the “big picture” for the Reading section. Make sure you focus on every part of IELTS Reading while giving special attention to any skills you’re weak in. Be aware of your strengths too, so you can build on those strengths while working on your weaknesses.

And for a truly “big picture” look at the IELTS Reading section, check out our Complete Guide to IELTS Reading. This contains additional IELTS Reading tips, tricks, and information.

What’s your IELTS Reading strategy? It’s not an easy question to answer is it? Sometimes it’s hard to find the very best approach for your prep. That’s where we come in. In this article, we’ll give you four winning strategies to help you craft the perfect approach to IELTS Reading!

IELTS Reading Strategies and Techniques

The IELTS Reading exam is probably different than the English reading tests you’ve taken in school. Most of the time, reading exams involve carefully reading a passage from beginning to end and then answering comprehension questions about it. In theory, this is also what you should do on the IELTS Reading paper.

In practice, this approach doesn’t work very well for most people. The reason is simple—there simply isn’t enough time on the IELTS Reading paper to read each passage slowly and carefully AND answer all of the questions. This is especially true on the Academic IELTS, where you only have 60 minutes to read 3 long and complex passages. On the General Training IELTS, it may be possible to read each passage carefully if you are a proficient reader. Nevertheless, I still recommend a different approach. Try these strategies as you practice:

IELTS Reading Strategy 1: Skim Each Passage Before Looking at the Questions.

Learning to skim a passage effectively can save you a lot of time. To skim, take 3 to 5 minutes to look over each paragraph quickly, but in a strategic way. You should read the first line or two of each paragraph normally, but then you should go over the rest much faster. As you skim, you’re trying to notice words that stand out because they seem important. This helps you to get the “gist,” or the basic sense of each paragraph.
 
The ultimate goal of skimming is to notice things in the text that will help you answer questions. You may find people’s names, or important dates. You may also figure out how a passage is organized.

For example, imagine you are reading a historical text. Often, historical passages are organized chronologically, from the beginning of a time period to the end. Skimming effectively will help you to notice this organizational pattern, and this knowledge will most likely help you to find answers to questions more quickly. Any time you get a question that includes a date or time reference, you’ll know where to look because you’ve skimmed the passage effectively.
 
Here is a summary of the key skimming techniques you should master:
 

1. Notice the title of the passage. It often gives you a general idea about the main idea of the text.
2. Read the first sentence or two of each paragraph. Often, this is where the main idea of each paragraph is located.
3. Underline words that stand out to you as important (or highlight the words onscreen if you are taking the computer-delivered IELTS). This will help you get a general idea of what is being talked about.
4. Pick out words that have something in common (i.e., airports, passengers, lounge, fly).
5. Ignore words that you do not know. Focusing on words that are unfamiliar to you will slow you down.
6. At all times, try not to get caught up in the detail when you skim!

Now try it yourself!

Strategies 2 and 3: Underline or Highlight Key Words As You Skim and Take Short Notes

Strategies 2 and 3 work together with the skimming strategy above. Basically, the goal of “underlining” and taking “notes” as you skim is that this helps you remember what you learned when you go to answer questions. It’s very simple. Here’s what you should do:
 
IELTS Reading Strategy 2

As you skim, quickly underline or highlight each word that seems important in your Question Booklet (which contains your Reading passage). In other words, don’t just skim with your eyes. Use your pencil or the highlight function (if taking the computer IELTS) to underline or highlight things that stand out as you skim the passage.

IELTS Reading Strategy 3

Secondly, as you skim, quickly write very short notes (2-5 words) next to each paragraph with your best guess about the main idea of that paragraph. You don’t have to be comprehensive or even 100% right about your “guess” in order for it to be useful. To be sure, if you had time to read the paragraph carefully, you could almost certainly come up with very good and accurate summary notes. But you might be surprised how close you can come to the main idea of each paragraph just from skimming. Again, this technique works for both the paper-based and computer-delivered IELTS; on the computerized IELTS, there’s actually an onscreen note-taking function.
 
We’ll continue using the IELTS Reading passage from Strategy 1 as an example.

Write a few notes next to both paragraphs with your best guess about each one’s main idea. Try it, and then look at the examples provided immediately below.
 
Here are some example notes:

 
These simple notes can be incredibly valuable. Many questions ask you to find the main idea of a paragraph, like you must do for “Matching Headings” questions (which we’ll look at closely later in this post). Your underlined or highlighted words and notes can even help you with detail questions by providing clues about where to search for answers in the text.

IELTS Reading Strategy 4: Scan the Text Strategically for Answers

After you’ve thoroughly skimmed the text, you’re ready to turn to the questions. Each question type is slightly different, so you’ll have to vary your approach in some ways for each new set of questions. However, the strategy discussed in this section applies to them all. The basic concept is simple: First, read the questions carefully and look for keywords. Then, you scan the passage for answers.
 
When you look for keywords in the questions, you should underline or highlight the most important ones. This may sound like a lot of extra work, but it really shouldn’t require a lot of time. As you read, simply use your pencil to mark up the questions.
 
These keywords provide the concepts for which you’ll need to search in the passage. As you’re probably aware, IELTS questions almost never use the same language as the actual reading passage (except for incorrect answer choices!). Instead, the questions will be paraphrases of information found in the article. This is one way the IELTS tests your vocabulary.

Paraphrases will be synonyms or different forms of words found in the text. A paraphrase could also be an entire sentence that conveys the same meaning as a sentence in the passage, while using different words and sentence structures. When you underline or highlight keywords in the questions, you’re identifying the IDEAS you need to search for in the passage.
 
Use a strategic approach when you scan the reading passage for answers. It’s best to begin with questions that have keywords you think you can find easily in the text. When you answer questions that are “easy” to locate, you will learn a little more about what is contained in the Reading passage because you had to read some segments closely to confirm your answers. This process continues with each question you answer. It is possible (and fairly common!) to find an answer to a different question than the one you’re searching for at that moment.
 
What makes one question easier to scan for in the text than another? Perhaps a question stands out to you because you remember seeing the topic in the text when you skimmed, underlined or highlighted, and took notes at the very beginning. But there are some other things that can make an answer easier to find by scanning. For example, numbers and proper nouns like names or locations often stand out visually in a text. A date like 1950, and the names Jane Smith and New York City would be very easy to locate among other words. Once you find the words you’re looking for, read the surrounding sentences carefully to find the answer to your question.

A Final Word on Using IELTS Reading Strategies

Strategies that help you avoid deeply, fully reading the passage are key. Remember, the only information you need from the passage is the information required to answer the questions. Employ the IELTS Reading strategies above to save time and focus on the info you need. And treat the questions as a sort of study guide for what you should pay attention to in the reading. And last but certainly not least, be sure to tackle the IELTS Reading section as a whole; our Complete Guide to IELTS Reading is a great start for that. Good luck! 🙂

Improving your band scores for each section of the IELTS is the only way to boost your overall IELTS score, which is an average of your four sectional scores, so you’re off to a good start by working on your reading. Luckily, we can learn a lot from the IELTS reading rubric and IELTS reading band descriptors provided by the IELTS test makers.

Table of Contents

IELTS Reading Band Descriptors

IELTS Reading is scored in bands from 1-9, and includes half bands (for example, 4.5 and 5.5). There are 40 questions overall on IELTS Reading, meaning that if you want to move up to the next full band, this means that you’ll have to answer up to 6 more questions correctly. This can seem daunting, particularly if you have just taken the test and expected to score in a higher band. However, a lot happens during the IELTS exam, and understanding how you performed can help you reach a higher band the next time.

What does this look like? Here’s an overview of the IELTS band scores, straight from the official test-maker.

Consider what happened during the exam that may have had nothing to do with your preparation, English skills, or approach. Is there something you can improve upon among these factors that could give you a boost next time?

• Did you just have a bad day?
• Was your stress level too high?
• Was there a particular reading passage that caused you significant problems?

Once you know what caused your lower-than-desired IELTS band score, you can start to find strategies to raise it.

(If you aren’t sure what your current IELTS Reading level is, take a look at IELTS Scores, How to Estimate Your IELTS Score, and What Is a Good IELTS Score? for IELTS Reading band descriptors.)
 

How to Get a Good Score in IELTS Reading

After analyzing your performance on test day, it’s time to get started and find the best ways to raise your score!

Was timing an issue for you during IELTS Reading? Not having enough time to read and answer questions is the #1 problem students report to me about the Reading paper. And actually, traditional reading patterns don’t work very well on the IELTS. Reading the passage from beginning to end before answering questions does not work for most people. One would have to be a very fast reader to approach the test this way and get a high band score!

IELTS Reading Techniques

So what can you do to get faster? Learning strategies that are specific to IELTS Reading is key. It is essential to master these skills through repeated practice. Importantly, it’s essential to master skimming and scanning. When you skim, you strategically read different parts of the text to get the gist of the passage. Scanning, on the other hand, involves strategically looking for key words. The following method helps many students succeed, but takes some time to master!

1. Spend about 3-4 minutes carefully skimming the text.

• Read the first sentence(s) of each paragraph.
• Skim the remainder of the paragraph, underlining or highlighting key words as you go. What key words should you focus on? Look for the names of people, dates, concepts, terminology, and/or steps in a process.
• Overall, try to get the gist of the passage as you skim.
• Try to label each paragraph (2-3 words only), identifying the main topic it contains. This helps you to locate that paragraph quickly when you answer questions. It is also a good mental exercise because finding enough information to apply a basic label to a paragraph shows that you are skimming purposefully and effectively.

2. After scanning, answer questions by scanning. This is challenging. It can be very time consuming to scan for answers in a text of more than 800 words (that you haven’t read carefully).

The solution: Don’t answer questions in order. In each question set, some answers will be easier to find in the passage than others:

• As you look over the questions, you might remember where a topic is discussed in the passage. Start with that question!
• Capitalized names, dates, numbers, etc. stand out among other text when you scan. That information might be easier to find than other information.
• When you skimmed the text, perhaps you found that the text (or a part of the text) was organized in some kind of sequence (chronological, steps in a process, etc). This can be a critical clue about where to search for an answer.
• One of the major benefits of scanning for answers by starting with the easiest (to find) answers in the text is that it is very likely that you will find answers to other questions in the process of searching for these easy-to-find answers.

Reading Vocabulary

Veteran IELTS test-takers may have noticed that IELTS Reading rewards a large vocabulary. You can benefit from this knowledge by learning 10-15 new words every day and keeping a vocabulary journal. In fact, Magoosh can help you with mastering these words; check out our IELTS vocabulary flashcards!

Question Types

IELTS Reading questions also become a lot easier once you are familiar with the question types that appear most often on the exam. How can you do this?

First of all, become familiar with each question type with our free guide to IELTS Reading Question Types. If you subscribe to Magoosh; we have detailed lessons that cover strategies for each question type, and guided sample questions (within the lessons) that show how to apply the strategies discussed.

English Reading for IELTS Reading Mastery

Finally, if the test format itself is not the challenge, improving your English skills by building reading into your daily schedule is a fantastic way to boost your IELTS Reading band score over time.

You don’t need to read for hours and hours each day to improve reading comprehension. Students who spend 15-30 minutes reading IELTS-like material each day will see improvements over time. This isn’t a shortcut, but it is the best way to improve reading comprehension over time. Here is a list of appropriate reading resources:

Reading Resources List

• New Scientist: New Scientist is an international science magazine from UK. Some New Scientist articles, such as one called Flawed Beauty: the Problem with Toughened Glass, can be found in Cambridge IELTS books and past IELTS exams.
• Scientific American and American Scientist: Scientific American and American Scientist are two popular American science magazines. They also include health and education articles, which are very similar to IELTS Academic Reading passages. What is more, Scientific American offers hundreds of 60-second science podcasts, which are great for IELTS listening practice!
• BBC News: Get the latest news from different parts of the world in English. There are many kinds of reading materials on BBC News that work great for IELTS prep.
• The Economist: The Economist is another common source for IELTS reading passages. Many articles from past exams were taken from this magazine.
• National Geographic: National Geographic contains articles about geography, animals, culture, the environment, travel and adventure, which are common topics for both the Academic and General Training Reading exams.
• History Extra and History Net: History Extra and History Net are two great history magazine websites with podcasts, articles and reviews on a variety of events.
• Choose articles from any of these major newspapers:
  • The New York Times
  • The Telegraph
  • Australian
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Globe and Mail

Common IELTS Reading Mistakes to Avoid

In this video, Magoosh’s IELTS expert Eliot explains how to avoid the top five mistakes he commonly sees students making on the IELTS Reading section. With these tips under your belt, you’ll be well on your way to a great IELTS Reading score!

How to Get a Good Score in IELTS Reading: Final Review

While moving up one or more IELTS Reading bands doesn’t often happen overnight, it is absolutely possible! It will take time and commitment; it will also take a series of great resources (such as you’ll find at Magoosh!). But at the end of the day, don’t get discouraged! As the saying goes, slow and steady wins the race.

For a quick review, bookmark this page and scroll down to these tips to remind you of exactly how to keep your practice at its most effective!

Here’s how to get a good score in IELTS Reading…

1. Practice skimming and scanning techniques that will help you move more quickly through the test
2. Improve your English vocabulary
3. Become familiar with IELTS reading question types
4. Understand the Reading band descriptors
5. Practice reading IELTS-level material
6. Study online with Magoosh online prep!

Now that you know how to get a good score in IELTS Reading, perhaps you’re interested in how to improve your score for the other sections of the IELTS. See our accompanying posts on the band descriptors for Listening, Speaking, and Writing.

IELTS Reading Practice Test for Diagnostic Purposes

This quiz is shorter than a full IELTS Reading section. It contains the one task you’ll find on both IELTS Academic Reading and IELTS General Training Reading: an educational article followed by 10-14 questions. (This article and question set come for our full-length free IELTS practice test.)

The passage itself appears below. After the passage, you can click to “Start Quiz” to answer the questions. Feel free to read the whole passage first, or skim first, or go straight to the questions and check for answers. Different methods work for different students.

IELTS Reading Score Calculator

One great reason to take this IELTS Reading diagnostic is to estimate your baseline IELTS Reading score. This can help you understand how much studying you need to do in order to achieve your target score.

Once you’ve read the passage and completed the diagnostic questions, you’ll receive your answer key, raw score, and estimated IELTS band via email. Review that information and save it for later so that you can revisit it at a later date to see how much progress you’ve made in your IELTS prep. If you’re unfamiliar with IELTS scoring, you can learn all about IELTS Reading band scores in our post What is a good IELTS score?

IELTS Reading Assessment: Start of Quiz

THE CICADA’S SONG

Section A
Cicadas are insects famous for their ability to generate a distinct sound with an auditory power that can rival the decibel level of a rock music concert and exceed the engine roar of a motorcycle. With close to 3,000 species of cicada identified and documented, this family of insect is found worldwide. For the majority of its life, the cicada remains underground, where it is nourished and sustained through sap secreted by the roots of trees. When mature, the insect tunnels to the surface and sheds its skin to reveal its adult form. This life cycle varies among the species, with certain types maturing and ready to reproduce in just one year. One of the most eagerly anticipated and studied species of cicada is Magicicada Septendecim, a periodical brood that attracts plenty of media attention for its emergence every 13 or 17 years across the Midwestern United States in vast, swarming numbers. In these swarms, the cicadas generate their “music,” signaling their presence, and the onset of summer, for anyone and anything to hear for miles and miles around.

Section B
Only male cicadas are able to generate the sound their species is known for, utilizing a unique physical trait and noise-making process that differentiates them from crickets, which many people incorrectly assume to be similar to cicadas. While crickets generate their distinctive chirp through stridulation, or the rubbing together of body parts, cicadas essentially produce a drumbeat amplified very much in the same way that the sound of an acoustic guitar is created. Males are blessed with a body part known as a tymbal, which is a rigid and pliable exoskeleton-based appendage that can move in a wave-like manner, producing a clicking when it strikes the inside of the abdomen of the cicada. Because the abdomen of the cicada is for the most part hollow, the clicking sound is amplified, giving the cicada’s song its famous power.

Section C
The primary purpose of the male cicada’s song is to attract a female with which to breed. Cicadas tend to be very well camouflaged, and can blend into their surrounding tree-based environments easily. The song of the cicada provides the clues through which the female cicada can find the nearest male. However, the cicada also appears to use its song for defensive purposes in a unique way. Whereas most insects and animals aim to scare off potential dangers by increasing the volume of their warning sounds (e.g. the rattlesnake), cicadas, when threatened, actually diminish the noise that they make. The reason for this is that cicadas are hardly ever alone in a given area, and thus it is difficult for a hunter to pick out the song of an individual insect while distracted by its neighbors. Should a predator be detected, nearby cicadas become very quiet to decrease the odds that they will be singled out among the roar of their more distant kin.

Section D
Scientists who study the cicada raise interesting observations about the evolutionary development of the cicada song and the cicada’s short breeding period. Cicadas live underground for most of their lives and only rise to the surface for several days or weeks at most to find a mate and then die. The reason for this lies in the sedentary nature of the cicada, which makes the insect an easy target for birds and other predators, which consume the insects in great numbers. However, by emerging in the millions all at once, cicadas increase their chance of survival as a species into the next generation, as predators simply cannot significantly impact the numbers of their prey in such a brief period. Meanwhile, the power of the cicada song has proven to be an effective tool for collective breeding, as each insect must locate a mate quickly while outlasting potential predators.

Section E
Cicadas garner the attention, adoration, and sometimes scorn of the general public for the distinctive sound that they create and their occasionally suffocating abundance. In temperate environments all over the world, the ubiquitous buzz of the cicada’s song dominates the backdrop. One must be careful not to come too close to the most powerful of cicadas, whose sound, if heard from just outside the human ear, is known to cause long-term or irreversible physical damage. The cicada’s unique tymbal structure, hollow abdomen, and stamina allow it to generate noise for up to 24-hour cycles, leading to the love/hate relationship people may have with the insect. The cicada plays to its evolutionary strength, with the power and majesty of its song as the key to its survival.

Start the quiz below to answer the questions about this passage. Submit an answer to move on to the next question. You will still be able to see the full passage as you go from question to question.

Additional Resources for IELTS Reading Prep

How’d you do on the quiz? If you want to improve your score, or make sure you maintain your score, Magoosh can help. Check out our Complete Guide to IELTS Reading, our IELTS Vocabulary flashcards, and our IELTS Test Prep product.

To measure your other IELTS skills, see our diagnostic quizzes for Listening, Writing, and Speaking!

And once you’ve done a good set of diagnostics for the whole test, it can be helpful to assess your skills. For that, see our IELTS Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking skills checklists in our article “How Hard is the IELTS?“

It’s no secret that taking practice tests is one of the best ways to prepare for the IELTS.

This is because a realistic practice test will help you:

• Build stamina (the IELTS is a long test, so one of the things you need to learn is how to take a long test!)
• Get comfortable with the exam format (if you’ve taken a bunch of practice tests, you won’t have any nasty surprises on test day because you already know what’s coming!)
• Learn your strengths and weaknesses (so you can study more efficiently!)

The takeaway here is that you should definitely be taking IELTS practice tests!

To get you started, we’re proud to present our brand new IELTS resource: the “IELTS Academic Reading Practice Test [With Answers]” video. Watch the embedded video below, or scroll down for a full video transcript!

What Will I See in the “IELTS Academic Reading Practice Test [With Answers]” Video?

In this free video, our IELTS expert Elliot will give you a brief introduction, followed by a full-length IELTS Academic Reading practice test — that means you should set aside at least 60 minutes for uninterrupted studying!

The practice test consists of three sections, just like on the real academic IELTS reading exam. The video also includes a study timer, to help keep you on track. You will have 20 minutes to complete each section. (A printable version of the practice test is available too, if that better suits your study style.)

Once you’ve completed the practice test, check your answers — find out how you would have scored on the real IELTS and where you should focus on improving.

“IELTS Academic Reading Practice Test [With Answers]” Video Transcript:

Hi I’m Elliot, the IELTS expert from Magoosh.

And in this video we have a full length IELTS reading test for you.

And we’re going to take a look at how to you use this test in this video and the features of the test so that you can use to practice for the IELTS exam.

Now, this is an academic IELTS reading test okay? So, this pertains to the academic IELTS only.

All right, now, what’s included on the exam?

Well, there are three sections and each of the sections should take you 20 minutes just like on the real academic IELTS exam, okay?

So, we have divided the video into those three sections, and if you look below there’s a link that you should follow to access the questions, and the reading passages for this test.

Now as you go through the exam on your screen you’ll see the name or the title of the reading passage that you should be reading at that time along with the 20-minute timer countdown how much time you have left in order to complete that particular section.

Now as you are probably aware, on the actual IELTS exam, you have 60 minutes and there are no 20-minute timers going anywhere, right?

But it is strongly suggested that you practice trying to complete all questions for each section in the 20-minute time frame.

Because each of them take about the same amount of time on the real exam and so getting a feel for that timing can be a really important thing.

So that’s what we have for you in this video.

Again, on the screen you’ll see the timer counting down for that section.

And when that 20 minute timer for that section ends, the title of the next reading passage will come on the screen and so on all the way through to the end of the test which takes 60 minutes just like on the real exam.

All right, so follow the link.

When you’re ready to begin the test, follow the link below, okay?

Open the questions and the reading passages that you find there and you can use the video as a timer as you go through the test.

More IELTS Practice Tests

Ready for more practice?

Take a look at our IELTS Listening Practice Test Video, and hop on over to our blog for some advice on where to find other free IELTS practice tests—including the one from Magoosh!

Happy studying! 🙂

IELTS Reading passages are known for their advanced vocabulary and grammar. IELTS passages also contain complex (and interesting!) information.

How can you keep track of all this? What is the best way to notice and remember the meaning of the words and grammatical structures? And how do you stay focused on the most important information?

Some test-takers deal with this by taking notes. Some IELTS teachers seem to approve of this, while others recommend against note-taking in IELTS Reading. So who is right? Is taking notes really the best way to get a good IELTS Reading score?

The answer to the question I just asked is…. “Maybe.” Whether or not you should take notes depends on your learning style. In addition, if you do decide to take notes, your note-taking method is important. Take notes the “wrong” way, and the notes probably won’t help you.

Taking Notes in IELTS Reading: Best Practices

Let’s first look at the best way to take notes in IELTS Reading.

If you’re going to take notes in the IELTS Reading section, remember this: less is more. What do I mean? I mean that you shouldn’t take too many notes. Instead, your goal should be to take as few notes as possible. If you can write down a single word instead of a phrase, go with that. And the notes on your reading should never be written in complete sentences.

Remember, you aren’t writing your notes so that someone else can understand them. You’re writing the notes so that you can understand them. The notes are really just reminders to yourself, reminders of thoughts that are already in your head. It shouldn’t take more than word or two to help you recall important things you’ve just read.

The less time you spend writing your notes, the more time you’ll have to read the passage and answer the questions. Not only that, but if your notes are too wordy, they may actually cause you to understand the reading less. If you focus too much of your energy on note-taking, you’ll simply copy ideas from the reading into your notes, without really thinking about what those ideas mean.

One of the best ways to “minimize” notes is to simply underline or circle words and phrases in the IELTS Reading passage (or use the onscreen highlighting function if you’re taking the computer-delivered IELTS). If need be, you can also add a few short notes about why certain words and phrases are important.

How to Know if You Should Take Notes

As you practice the IELTS, do some trial-and-error to see if note-taking works for you. For some reading passages, take minimal notes, as described above. For other passages, try to answer the questions without any notes. Which approach leads to more accuracy and better scores for you? Of if you’re getting the same scores, which approach makes you the most comfortable?

You can see which approach works best with a free reading practice test, like the one found in the video below:

In short, if notes seem to work well for you, take them and use them. If not, then you’re a no-notes kind of IELTS prepper.

I hope this helps! For more tips and tricks for IELTS Reading notes and so much more, see our complete guide to IELTS Reading.