Improve your IELTS Academic Reading score
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WELCOMEWelcome to IELTS Online Academic Reading
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Meet Your Course Trainers
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Course Overview
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Using the platform
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IELTS ACADEMIC READING TESTIELTS Academic Reading Test2 Topics
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READING SKILLS & STRATEGIESIntroduction to Skills and Strategies
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Reading Techniques5 Topics
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Guessing Unknown Vocabulary
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Identifying Opinions
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Lesson summary
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QUESTION TYPESIntroduction to Question Types
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Multiple Choice6 Topics
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Identifying Information6 Topics
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Identifying a Writer's Views6 Topics
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Matching Information6 Topics
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Matching Headings6 Topics
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Matching Features6 Topics
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Matching Sentence Endings6 Topics
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Sentence Completion6 Topics
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Summary Completion8 Topics
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Note Completion6 Topics
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Table Completion6 Topics
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Flow-chart Completion6 Topics
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Diagram Label Completion6 Topics
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Short-answer6 Topics
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IELTS PRACTICE TESTSIELTS Academic Reading Mock Tests2 Topics
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COURSE CONCLUSIONOverall Tips for a Greater Score
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Congratulations on Course Completion!
IELTS Academic Reading Test Explained
IELTS Academic Reading Test Explained
The IELTS academic reading test is the same in its two formats. That is, the paper-based and computer-delivered tests have the same features in terms of question types, content, timings and scoring. In either format, you will be assessed on your ability to:
- read for gist and main ideas,
- read for specific information,
- read for detail,
- understand the organisation of a text,
- understand processes,
- understand logical arguments, and
- recognise writers' opinions, attitudes and purpose.
Let's see some of the features of the test in more detail:
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Reading passages
There are three reading passages, which are taken from books, journals, magazines and newspapers. These are designed for a non-specialist audience. The passages may be written in a variety of styles such as narrative, descriptive or discursive/argumentative, and at least one passage will contain a detailed logical argument.
Passages may contain non-verbal materials such as diagrams, graphs or illustrations. If a passage contains technical terms, a simple glossary is provided.
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Question types
There are 14 different questions types used in the IELTS academic reading test. Your test will not contain all the question types, but it is a good idea to be familiar with all of them as you cannot predict which will be in your test.
There are usually 2 – 3 question types used with each reading passage. This means that the whole reading test may use around 9 different question types.
| Question types | |
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Recording your answers
When you have to select words or numbers from the passage, the instructions will make it clear how many words/numbers you should use in your answer. For example, the instructions may say to use NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS or NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER. If you use too many words or numbers, your answer will be marked wrong.
Please note:
- Numbers can be written using figures or words (e.g. 12 or twelve).
- Contracted words are not tested, i.e. you will never need to write doesn’t, couldn’t, etc. in an answer.
- Hyphenated words count as single words, i.e. self-assessment is considered one word.
- Care should be taken when recording your answers as poor spelling and grammar are penalised.
Now, let’s have a look at how you record your answers in the two different test formats:
Paper-based test
In the paper-based IELTS Academic reading test, you will receive a question booklet and an answer sheet. You can highlight and underline in the question booklet. This is not looked at by the examiner and is not marked.
You must transfer your answers to the answer sheet during the test time. Answers which are not on the answer sheet are not marked.
Computer-delivered test
When you do the computer-delivered test, the reading passage and the questions are displayed on the screen at the same time. The reading passage is on the left, and the questions are on the right. You can move between the questions and reading passage at any time. To see all of the text and the questions, you’ll need to scroll up and down.
Different question types require you to answer the questions in a different way. For some questions, you need to:
- choose one answer (multiple choice)
- choose more than one answer
- decide which paragraph or section contains the information listed in the table and click on the correct space in the table
- click on a heading for a paragraph or section and move it into the gap
- write an answer in a gap or on a label on a diagram.
You can change an answer at any point during the test by clicking on the answer and then choosing or writing a new answer. When the 60 minutes is finished, your answers are saved automatically.
You can highlight words or sections of text or even take notes when doing the computer-delivered test. Other useful features include changing your screen settings, adjusting the size and colour of the text, and saving time by copying and pasting directly from the text.
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Marks and band scores
Your reading test is assessed in the following way:
- One mark is given for each correct answer in the test.
- The total number of correct answers (out of 40) is then converted into an IELTS band score between 0-9.
- The reading test band scores come in whole bands (e.g. 5.0 or 6.0) or half bands (e.g. 5.5 or 6.5).
Here’s an example of band score calculations.
| Band score | Raw score out of 40 | ||
| 5 | 15 | ||
| 6 | 23 | ||
| 7 | 30 | ||
| 8 | 35 |
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Timing
There are 3 passages in the reading test, which you must complete in 60 minutes. Therefore, you should spend about 20 minutes on each passage. The passages get progressively more difficult. Passage 1 is the least challenging and passage 3 is the most challenging. Therefore, if possible, you should try to complete passage 1 quite quickly.
The recommended times for each passage are shown in the table below:
| Passage | Time | ||
| 1 | 15 minutes | ||
| 2 | 20 minutes | ||
| 3 | 25 minutes |
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IELTS computer-delivered
You do not need to have special computer skills to do your IELTS test on the computer, but it is strongly recommended that you familiarise yourself with the format by doing some practice questions, which are available online.
For more information about the computer-delivered IELTS academic reading test, watch this video.
