What is IELTS Reading?

IELTS reading is a component of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exam, which assesses the proficiency of non-native speakers in the English language. The reading section of the IELTS exam measures an individual’s ability to understand written English in academic or everyday situations.

In this section, candidates are given 60 minutes to read three texts, which are taken from books, newspapers, magazines, or academic journals. The texts are based on a range of topics and are designed to test a candidate’s ability to understand and analyze complex information.

The reading section is divided into three parts, and each part has around 13-14 questions, making a total of 40 questions. The questions are designed to test a candidate’s ability to locate specific information, identify main ideas, understand implied meanings, and make inferences.

The IELTS reading test assesses a candidate’s ability to read and understand a range of texts, from simple to complex, and is designed to test a candidate’s ability to apply a range of reading skills, including skimming, scanning, and close reading.

Types of Questions:

There are several types of questions that may appear in the IELTS reading section. Here are some of the most common types:

  1. Multiple choice: These questions ask candidates to choose one answer from a list of options.
  2. Matching: These questions ask candidates to match two lists of information based on certain criteria, such as matching headings to paragraphs or matching descriptions to people.
  3. True/false/not given: These questions ask candidates to identify whether a statement is true, false, or not given based on the information in the passage.
  4. Sentence completion: These questions ask candidates to complete a sentence using information from the passage.
  5. Summary completion: These questions ask candidates to complete a summary of the passage using a list of words or phrases.
  6. Short-answer: These questions ask candidates to answer a question using one or two words.
  7. Diagram labeling: These questions ask candidates to label a diagram based on the information in the passage.

It’s important for candidates to familiarize themselves with these question types and practice answering them in order to improve their performance on the IELTS reading test.