Online IELTS reading practice test | IELTS Preparation classes

WHAT IS IELTS READING?

The IELTS Reading Test evaluates a candidate's comprehension and interpretation of English-language written material. There are three sections with different kinds of questions in each.
The first section of the Academic version includes excerpts from books, journals, magazines, and newspapers. Texts on general themes and work are included in the second segment, and a lengthier, more complex paragraph is included in the third. The General Training edition has three sections: a more challenging passage is found in the third segment, workplace-related texts are covered in the second and everyday life texts are covered in the first.
Student appearing in the exam are required to respond to a variety of question types, including multiple choice, information matching, and sentence completion and various other question types.
In IELTS Reading Test, you will be given different reading passages divided into three sections and you will be asked different types of questions from the reading text. In total you get 40 questions and 60 minutes to complete the task. It's crucial to remember that the Academic and General Training exams contain distinct question forms and text kinds to meet the unique requirements of the test-takers, seeking academic or general goals, but the overall question count stays the same.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN IELTS READING ACADEMIC TEST AND IELTS READING GENERAL TEST?

ACADEMIC TRAINING

In IELTS Academic test, you get three long texts divided into three sections.
The reading topics that you get in the Academic test are going to be the ones that are appropriate for students who want to study in colleges and universities or looking for any professional registration. These topics are taken from various books, magazines, newspapers, and journals.
The Academic Reading test may have slightly more challenging texts and questions, and the scoring is typically stricter due to the academic nature of the content.
The Academic Reading test is designed for those planning to pursue higher education or professional registration, so it assesses a test-taker's ability to understand and analyze academic texts.

GENERAL TRAINING

In IELTS General test,you may get more than 2 short texts in section 1. Section 2 contains two short texts and section 3 has one long text. .
The reading topics that you get in the General test are related to the things that you may come across on day-to- day basis in an English- speaking setting. These topics are also taken from books, magazines and newspapers, however, the kind of topics chosen are different from the Academic test and are more general in nature. Some of the excerpts may also be taken from advertisements, notices, company handbooks and guidelines.
The General Training Reading test may have somewhat more lenient scoring to account for the less complex, everyday texts.
The General Training Reading test, on the other hand, is aimed at those seeking to work, live, or study in an English-speaking country for non-academic purposes, so it assesses more practical reading skills needed for everyday life and work- related scenarios.

WHAT KIND OF QUESTIONS ARE ASKED IN IELTS READING TEST?

Whether it is an Academic Test or General Test, there are a variety of questions that are asked from you to assess your English reading skills.

MATCHING INFORMATION

In this question type, some information will be given to you from the passage containing different paragraphs. The paragraphs will be marked with different letters such as A, B, C and so on. You must identify the correct paragraph from which the given information taken and then write down the respective letter of the correct paragraph in your answer sheet.

IDENTIFYING INFORMATION (True, False, Not Given)

IDENTIFYING WRITER’S VIEWS OR CLAIMS (Yes, No, Not Given)

In this question type, you will be given a set of statements. You must tell that whether those statements agree or disagree with the writer’s view or claims. You may also come across a situation where the statement neither favors nor contradicts the writer’s views/claims. Based on the information given in the passage, you must select your answer as Yes, No or Not Given.

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION

In this question type, you will be presented with a question with multiple options to make a choice. You must select the correct option, out of the given choices to answer the question correctly.

MATCHING SENTENCE ENDINGS

In this question type, you will be given some incomplete sentences from the passage. You must complete the sentences by matching the correct sentence endings from the list of options given to you.

MATCHING HEADINGS

In this question type, you must choose the correct heading for the different paragraphs given in the passage. For this, you will be given a list of headings to choose from. You must identify the main idea or context of the paragraph and choose the correct heading for the paragraph. Note: All the given headings will not be used as there will be a greater number of headings than the paragraphs.

MATCHING FEATURES

In this question type, some statements will be given to you as questions. There will be another list provided with a set of connecting features. Based on the information given in the text, you must match each statement with the correct feature.

TABLE COMPLETION

In Table Completion question type, a table with some missing information will be provided. You must find the missing information from the passage and complete the table by choosing the correct words and/or a number from either the text or the list of words given.

DIAGRAM LABEL COMPLETION

In Diagram Label Completion question type, you will be presented with a diagram with incomplete labelling. The information regarding the diagram will be given in the passage. The diagram given can be of anything that can be demonstrated in the picture form such as any processes, any technical drawing, a structure or design of something, a plan or methodology of something, etc. You will be tasked to label the diagram correctly after analysing the diagram and information provided.

SUMMARY COMPLETION

In this question type, an incomplete summary will be given to you from the passage. You will have to fill in the blanks with the appropriate words from either the passage itself or from the list of words given. Note: Usually, the summary given will be from a part of the passage.

SENTENCE COMPLETION

In this question type, you will get some incomplete sentences and you must complete those sentences using the information from the text provided.

FLOW CHART AND NOTE COMPLETION

In both question types, you will either get an incomplete flow chart or an incomplete note and you must complete the chart or the note by choosing the correct words and/or a number from either the text or the list of options given.

SHORT-ANSWER QUESTIONS

In this question type, you are given a few questions from the text. You must provide short answers to those questions (word limit will be mentioned in the instructions) based on the information given in the text.

Scoring out of 40	Band Score
40-39	9
38-37	8.5
36-35	8
34-33	7.5
32-30	7
29-27	6.5
26-23	6
22-19	5.5
18-15	5

Scoring out of 40	Band Score
40	9
39	8.5
37-38	8
36	7.5
34-35	7
32-33	6.5
30-31	6
27-29	5.5
23-26	5

IMPORTANT TIPS FOR IELTS READING TEST

Always read the instructions carefully and follow the word limit for your answers.
In some of the question types, the information given in the passage and the questions asked may follow a different order. So, it is important that you understand each of the question types properly and practice accordingly.
Learn the skimming and the scanning technique. Skimming the passage helps you to get the basic idea of the text and scanning the passage helps you to locate the specific information in the text.
A lot of times the information that you are looking for in the passage to figure out the answer, is either paraphrased or synonyms are used instead of the exact same words or lines; therefore, be diligent while locating the information in the text.
Do not leave any answer blank as there is no negative marking for the wrong answer.
Do not forget to mark the important keywords in the text when you are skimming the passage. This will help you to get the basic overview of the passage and will also help you to locate the information more easily which will save your time.
Please keep in mind that if you are spelling the answer wrongly then you won’t get a score for that question.
Also, if by mistake an answer is marked with the incorrect number of words then you won’t get the score as well.
You won't have any more time at the end of the IELTS Reading test to transfer your answers to the answer sheet.
Avoid being tricked by time. Fill out the response sheet as you proceed.

SO, WHAT’S THE STRATEGY TO WIN?

The IELTS Reading test has around 10-14 distinct question categories, as the list above illustrates. Depending on which preparation source you look at, each have different titles, but we believe the ones mentioned above best captures what each entail. It's crucial to understand that addressing these categories calls for various approaches.

You will likely run out of time to finish the test and make mistakes quickly if you attempt to answer every sort of question with the same abilities and strategies. You will also likely lose marks. When it comes to the IELTS Reading test, time is your worst enemy.

At Xpertmyy IELTS, you can be extremely time-efficient and make the most of the 60 minutes allotted for the test by employing the tactics we provide. We will be taking you through various tips and tricks along with strategies to not only clear your exam but with great band score.

SAMPLE IELTS READING QUESTION FOR REFERENCE

Source: official IELTS website, www.ielts.org

This is an illustration of a multiple-choice question type and how the questions and instructions will be formatted. It's a portion of a question from an earlier exam.

You might wish to try answering it yourself for practice before verifying the answers. Please review the important tips provided above, they provide a ton of advice to assist you in answering multiple choice questions.

Quick Tip on How we would do it: To gain a general understanding of the information included in each sentence, first look through all four possible endings for each statement. Read the material quickly once more to understand the gist of it. Proceed to question 1 and highlight important terms there.

I hope these above-mentioned tips have been useful to you to solve the sample question. Your confidence and ability level will both rise swiftly with more practice and by following these tips and strategies.

IELTS Reading