IELTS Academic Reading Practice

IELTS Academic Reading includes multiple choice, True/False/Not Given, Yes/No/Not Given, matching headings, matching information, sentence completion, summary completion, short-answer, and diagram label questions.

There are 40 questions across three passages, completed in 60 minutes. You do not get extra transfer time — answers must be written on the answer sheet within the 60 minutes.

'True' means the statement agrees with the passage. 'False' means it contradicts the passage. 'Not Given' means the information is not mentioned at all in the passage. A common mistake is choosing 'False' when the answer is actually 'Not Given'.

True/False/Not Given questions ask whether a factual statement agrees with or contradicts the passage. Yes/No/Not Given questions ask whether a view or claim agrees with the writer's opinion. The distinction is important — True/False/Not Given is about facts in the text; Yes/No/Not Given is about the writer's point of view.

Read the questions before scanning the passage so you know what to look for. Skim the passage first to understand its structure, then read the relevant sections carefully for each question. Do not spend more than 20 minutes on any one passage — if you are stuck, move on and come back. Manage your time so you attempt all 40 questions.

In IELTS Academic Reading, 30 correct answers out of 40 typically converts to approximately Band 7.0. The exact conversion varies slightly between test versions. Roughly: 39–40 = Band 9, 35–36 = Band 8, 30–32 = Band 7, 23–26 = Band 6.

Yes. In IELTS Reading, answers that require you to write words from the passage must be spelled correctly. If you misspell an answer that was correct, you will lose the mark. American and British spelling are both acceptable.