IELTS Academic Reading Test

The Academic Reading Test asks you to read three long texts which range from the descriptive and factual to the discursive and analytical. The texts are taken from books, journals, magazines and newspapers, and have been written for a non-specialist audience. All the topics are of general interest. They deal with issues which are interesting, recognisably appropriate and accessible to test takers entering undergraduate or postgraduate courses or seeking professional registration. The passages may be written in a variety of styles, for example narrative, descriptive or discursive/argumentative and may contain non-verbal materials such as diagrams, graphs or illustrations. At least one text will contain a detailed logical argument.

After reading the passages, you will be presented with 40 questions to gauge your reading abilities. These questions will cover reading for main ideas, gist, and detail, understanding logical arguments, recognizing attitudes, purpose, and opinions of writers, and skimming.

There are 12 different question types that will be presented and it is critical that you are familiar with the different types of questions if you wish to achieve a high band score. Remember you have only 60 minutes to read the passages and answer all the questions.

Multiple Choice

Multiple choice tests a wide range of reading skills, including detailed understanding of specific points or an overall understanding of the main points of the text. To achieve this, test takers are required to choose the best answer from four alternatives (A, B, C or D), or the best two answers from five alternatives (A, B, C, D or E), or the best three answers from seven alternatives (A, B, C, D, E, F or G). The questions may involve completing a sentence, where they are given the first part of a sentence and then choose the best way to complete it from the options, or could involve complete questions; with the test takers choosing the option which best answers them.

The questions are in the same order as the information in the text: that is, the answer to the first question in this group will be located in the text before the answer to the second question, and so on. This task type may be used with any type of text.

  1. Read the passage and then read the questions.
  2. The questions will be asked in the same order as the passage.
  3. Locate the paragraph related to the question.
  4. The possible answers will duplicate the keywords in the text or use synonyms. You need to understand the complete sentence.

Identifying Information

Identifying information assesses the test takers’ ability to recognise particular points of information conveyed in the text. Test takers will be given a number of statements and asked: ‘Do the following statements agree with the information in the text?’ They are then required to write ‘true’, ‘false’ or ‘not given’ in the boxes on their answer sheets.

It is important to understand the difference between 'false' and 'not given'. 'False' means that the passage states the opposite of the statement in question; 'not given' means that the statement is neither confirmed nor contradicted by the information in the passage.

Students need to understand that any knowledge they bring with them from outside the passage should not play a part when deciding on their answers.

  1. Scan the passage quickly. Reading comprehension increases dramatically if you know what the text is about before reading it.
  2. Identify the ‘content’ words. These are nouns and verbs.

Identifying Writer’s Views/Claims

This type of task assesses the test takers’ ability to recognise opinions or ideas, and is often used with discursive or argumentative texts. Test takers will be given a number of statements and asked: ‘Do the following statements agree with the views/claims of the writer?’ They are required to write ‘yes’, ‘no’ or ‘not given’ in the boxes on their answer sheet.

Students need to understand that any knowledge they bring with them from outside the passage should not play a part when deciding on their answers.

  1. You will need to think about and look for synonyms of the words that appear in the statements – they will usually not appear word for word in the text.
  2. If you have looked and cannot find information related to the statement, the answer is probably not given.
  3. You will often have to look for negative verbs, and words such as ‘most,’ ‘all,’ ‘never,’ ‘only,’ etc.
  4. There will always be at least one of each answer. i.e., the answer ‘true’ will appear at least once, ‘false’ will appear at least once, ‘not given’ will appear at least once, etc.

Matching Information

Matching information assesses the test takers’ ability to scan for specific information. Test takers are required to locate specific information within the lettered paragraphs/sections of a text, and to write the letters of the correct paragraphs/sections in the boxes on their answer sheet.

Unlike task type 5, Matching Headings, it is concerned with specific information rather than with the main idea. For example, you may be asked to find: specific details, an example, a reason, a description, a comparison, a summary, an explanation. This type of task tests a wide range of reading skills, from locating detail to recognising a summary or definition.

  1. Read the questions first. Identify the information you need to correctly answer the question.
  2. Look out for synonyms (words with same or nearly same meanings as another word) from the question. For instance, “She likes going to the gym and playing tennis”; it could be listed on your answer sheet as “She is an active person.”
  3. The questions will not be asked in the same order as they appear in the passage.
  4. All the possible answers will have a synonym used in the text. Therefore, you need to understand the complete sentence.

Matching Headings

Matching headers tests the test takers’ ability to recognise the main idea or theme in the paragraphs or sections of a text, and to distinguish main ideas from supporting ones. Test takers are given a list of headings, usually identified with lower-case Roman numerals (i, ii, iii, etc,). A heading will refer to the main idea of the paragraph or section of the text. Test takers must match the heading to the correct paragraphs or sections, which are marked alphabetically. This task type is used with texts that contain paragraphs or sections with clearly defined themes.

  1. Read the first and last sentences of each paragraph carefully as they often contain important information related to the main idea.
  2. Think about the main idea of each paragraph. Write it in the margin.
  3. Each heading is used only once.
  4. The answers will not appear in the passage in order.
  5. If words are in a list, eliminate the words that do not fit.

Matching Features

Task focus: Matching features assesses the test takers’ ability to recognise relationships and connections between facts in the text and the ability to recognise opinions and theories. It may be used both with factual information, as well as opinion-based discursive texts. Test takers are required to match a set of statements or pieces of information to a list of options. The options are a group of features from the text, and are identified by letters. Test takers need to be able to skim and scan the text in order to locate the required information and to read for detail.

  1. The questions will not be asked in the same order as they appear in the passage.
  2. There might be more options than sources and vice a versa. Check the instructions.
  3. Skim the paragraph quickly and identify content words. These will be nouns and verbs.

Matching Sentence Endings

Matching sentence endings assesses the test takers’ ability to understand the main ideas within a sentence. Test takers are given the first half of a sentence based on the text and asked to choose the best way to complete it from a list of possible options. This task type may be used with any type of text.

  1. The questions will usually be asked in the same order as they appear in the passage, but not always.
  2. Answers are usually found in one section of the passage.
  3. If words are in a list, eliminate the words that do not fit.

Sentence Completion

Sentence completion assesses the test takers’ ability to locate detail/specific information. Test takers complete sentences in a given number of words taken from the text. The instructions will make it clear how many words/numbers test takers should use in their answers, e.g. ‘NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage’, ‘ONE WORD ONLY’ or ‘NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS’. If test takers write more than the number of words asked for, they will be penalized.

  1. There will not be any contracted words. Hyphenated words count as one word.
  2. The questions will not be asked in the same order as they appear in the passage.
  3. The question will be paraphrased in the reading passage. Look for synonyms.

Summary, Note, Table, Flow-Chart Completion

Summarising assesses the test takers’ ability to understand details and/or the main ideas of a section of text. In the variations involving a summary or notes, test takers need to be aware of the type of word(s) that will fit into a given gap (for example, whether a noun is needed, or a verb, etc.). Test takers are given a summary of a section of the text, and are required to complete it with information drawn from the text. Because this task type often relates to precise factual information, it is often used with descriptive texts.

The information may be in the form of: several connected sentences of text (referred to as a summary), several notes (referred to as notes), a table with some of its cells empty or partially empty (referred to as a table), a series of boxes or steps linked by arrows to show a sequence of events, with some of the boxes or steps empty or partially empty (referred to as a flow-chart).

  1. Look at the chart or table to understand what is being shown.
  2. Pay attention to any labels or headings for the data.
  3. You will need to understand the process described in the passage. You should look for clues in words like 'then,' 'before,' 'next,' etc.
  4. In this type of question, the answers will not necessarily be in the order they appear in the passage; however, they will usually appear in one section or paragraph from the passage

Diagram Label Completion

Diagram label completion assesses the test takers’ ability to understand a detailed description, and to relate it to information presented in the form of a diagram. Test takers are required to complete labels on a diagram, which relates to a description contained in the text. The diagram may be of some type of machine, or of parts of a building or of any other element that can be represented pictorially. This task type is often used with texts describing processes or with descriptive texts.

  1. Briefly look at the diagram to understand what is being shown.
  2. Pay attention to the keywords or labels already present.
  3. You will need to understand the text visually, so you will need to look for words like ‘through,’ ‘under,’ etc.
  4. Use the words already present on the diagram to help you understand the relations between those and the incomplete labels.

Short-Answer Questions

Short answer questions assess the test takers’ ability to locate and understand precise information in the text. Test takers answer questions, which usually relate to factual information about details in the text. This is most likely to be used with a text that contains a lot of factual information and detail.

  1. Check the instructions carefully, know how many words and/or numbers you need to include – answers with too many words will not be marked as correct.
  2. The questions will appear in the same order as they do in the passage.
  3. Pay attention to question words like ‘what’ or ‘when.’ i.e. if the question asks ‘when,’ you will need to look for a time.
  4. Keywords in the questions will often be nouns.