IELTS Reading Section Guide

The Academic Reading test runs 60 minutes and carries 40 questions. General Training (GT) Reading runs on the same 60 minutes and 40 questions. The two versions differ in passage source and topic, not in timing or question count. If you have not picked a version yet, our Academic vs General Training guide walks through the decision.

This guide covers the passage structure for both versions, the 11 official question types IELTS tests, and how the section is scored. Each format section names where the passages come from and what the texts look like on the page. The question-type table groups all 11 types by skill and points each group to the drill where you train it. It closes with a short guide to picking your first practice drill based on your weakest skill. Every number here comes from the official IELTS format pages linked on the claim.

Academic Reading Format

Academic Reading holds 3 sections, one passage per section, with a combined text length of 2150 to 2750 words and 40 questions total. The table below sums up the format.

Where Academic Passages Come From

Academic passages come from books, journals, magazines, newspapers and online sources written for a non-specialist audience. Writing style shifts across the 3 passages between narrative, descriptive, and discursive or argumentative. At least one passage carries a detailed logical argument. Passages sometimes add a diagram, graph or illustration, and technical terms get a simple definition inside the text, so outside subject knowledge is not required.

General Training Reading Format

GT Reading also totals 40 questions across a combined 2150 to 2750 words in 60 minutes, the same totals as Academic Reading. The 3 sections move from short everyday texts to one long general-interest passage. Text length grows as you go, so the heaviest reading sits at the end of the paper. Here is what each section holds.

Section 1: Everyday Topics

Section 1 holds two or three short texts, or several shorter texts, on everyday topics such as notices, advertisements and timetables. The passage count is not fixed at exactly two, so expect the exact split to shift between test versions. Each text is short, so you switch between texts more often here than anywhere else in the paper. Treat every heading, price line and time entry as a possible answer. All 3 GT sections share one 60-minute clock, so a slow start here costs you minutes in Section 3.

Section 2: Work-Related Texts

Section 2 holds two texts focused on work-related topics, such as job descriptions, contracts and staff development or training materials. Both texts sit in a workplace setting, so expect vocabulary about pay, hours, duties and staff rules. Read the sub-headings first when a document has them, then jump straight to the part the question points at. Our GT Reading texts guide breaks down the document types you meet here and in Section 1.

Section 3: One Long General-Interest Text

Section 3 holds one long, complex text of general interest, descriptive or instructive, sourced from newspapers, magazines, books or online. This passage reads closer to Academic Reading in length and density than the texts in Sections 1 and 2. One text carries the whole section, so the questions run in a longer chain across a single argument or description. Budget more of your 60 minutes here than you spend on the short texts in Section 1. Reading the first and last sentence of each paragraph before you start the questions gives you a map of the argument to work from.

The 11 Reading Question Types

IELTS sorts every Reading question into one of 11 official question types. The table below groups them by the skill they test and links each group to a 10exam drill.

Timing and Scoring

The 60-minute limit is fixed for both versions and covers reading, answering and transferring your responses, with no extra time added on top for the transfer step. Split across 40 questions, 60 minutes leaves roughly 1.5 minutes per question. Long passages and their question sets take more than the average, so the short sets have to run under it. Reserve the final minutes for the answer sheet, because answers still sitting on the question paper when time is called never get there.

Each correct answer earns 1 mark toward a raw score out of 40. IELTS converts the raw score into a band from 1 to 9, in whole or half bands such as 4 or 6.5. Every question carries the same 1 mark, so a one-word short answer pays exactly what a long matching-headings item pays. Your raw score counts correct answers only, so fill in every line before the 60 minutes run out. A blank scores nothing, and a considered guess at least has a chance of landing.

Choosing Where to Start

Pick your first drill by your weakest reading skill, not by question type popularity.

• Slow to spot the right paragraph: start with matching questions. These drill scanning for keywords and paraphrases across headings, features and sentence halves.
• Confuse a false statement with one the passage never addresses: start with True/False/Yes/No drills. They train the line between contradicted and simply absent information.
• Lose marks to spelling or word-limit slips: start with completion and short-answer question drills. Every answer here has to match the passage word for word and stay inside the limit.
• Get pulled toward paraphrased wrong options: start with multiple choice drills. They isolate the skill of matching meaning, not matching wording.

Our free IELTS Reading practice on the IELTS exam page runs full 60-minute Academic and GT Reading sections alongside every drill listed above, each scored instantly. Start with one full section under the real clock to see where your 60 minutes go. Then run the drill group for the question type costing you the most marks. Come back to a full section once your accuracy on those drills holds up. No signup is required.

Sources

• IELTS Academic: Reading test format
• Academic test format in detail
• IELTS General Training: Reading test format