IELTS General Training Reading Practice

IELTS General Training Reading has three sections. Section 1 contains social survival texts (notices, ads, timetables). Section 2 contains workplace texts. Section 3 contains longer, more complex texts similar to Academic passages. There are 40 questions in 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. A common mistake is choosing 'False' when the answer is actually 'Not Given'.

General Training Reading is generally considered slightly easier, especially Sections 1 and 2. However, Section 3 is similar in difficulty to Academic passages. Band scores are calibrated so both versions are equivalent.

Section 1 contains two or three short factual texts about everyday situations — for example, a hotel notice, a public transport timetable, a product label, a job advertisement, or a community event flyer. Questions test your ability to locate specific information quickly. This section is designed to be the most accessible part of the test.

The test has 40 questions and 60 minutes, giving you an average of 90 seconds per question. In practice, Section 1 questions should take 30–40 seconds each (the texts are short and factual), leaving more time for the longer Section 3 passages. Avoid spending more than 18–20 minutes on any single section.

In matching features questions, you match statements to a list of options (e.g., 'Which section contains information about...?'). In matching information questions, you identify which paragraph in the passage contains a specific piece of information. Both types require you to scan systematically rather than read every word.

In the paper-based IELTS test, you must write your answers directly onto the answer sheet within the 60-minute time limit — there is no separate transfer time (unlike the Listening test). In the computer-based test, you type answers directly into the computer. Always budget time to write or type your answers cleanly.