IELTS Reading practice test collection
IELTS Reading
ExamBand · 11 full tests · 33 passages · Academic
11 IELTS Reading practice tests
- Practice Test 1The kākāpō · The box that changed the world · The uses of boredom60:00Start free
- 2 Practice Test 2The Great Stink · How do migrating birds find their way? · Bringing back the dead?60:00Start free
- 3 Practice Test 3The humble pencil · Saving the world's languages · The puzzle of the placebo60:00Start free
- 4 Practice Test 4The Vasa · Is it time for a four-day week? · Giving back the past60:00Start free
- 5 Practice Test 5The Sydney Opera House · Banking on seeds · Is the lecture past its best?60:00Start free
- 6 Practice Test 6The long defeat of scurvy · Teaching machines to see · Spoilt for choice?60:00Start free
- 7 Practice Test 7From the Andes to the world · The problem of space junk · Has technology made sport fairer?60:00Start free
- 8 Practice Test 8Light on the rocks · The changing brain · The trouble with early detection60:00Start free
- 9 Practice Test 9The story of glass · Mapping the ocean floor · The wisdom of crowds60:00Start free
- 10 Practice Test 10Lighter than air · Farming without fields · When money backfires60:00Start free
- 11 Practice Test 11A path between two oceans · Other suns, other worlds · Thinking in words60:00Start free
The guide
About the IELTS Reading practice test
What is in the IELTS Academic Reading test
Academic Reading has three long passages, about 2,150 to 2,750 words in all, taken from books, journals, magazines and newspapers and written for a general reader. They get harder from Passage 1 to Passage 3, and on the computer test you answer directly on screen in 60 minutes. As a result, every IELTS Reading practice test here has the same three-passage shape.
Usually factual or descriptive, with more direct answers.
About 13 questions, such as True/False/Not Given and note completion.
More discursive, often with lettered paragraphs.
About 13 questions, such as matching headings and matching information.
The most abstract, often a detailed argument.
About 14 questions, such as the writer's views, multiple choice and summaries.
The question types you will meet
IELTS uses eleven Reading task types. Our tests rotate all of them, with the real instructions and word limits.
True / False / Not Given
Does a statement agree with the facts in the passage, contradict them, or is it not covered?
Yes / No / Not Given
The same idea for the writer's opinions and claims.
Matching headings
Choose the heading that sums up each paragraph or section.
Matching information
Find which paragraph contains a detail, reason or example.
Matching features and sentence endings
Link people or ideas to statements, or complete a sentence with the right ending.
Multiple choice
Choose the answer that matches the passage's meaning, opinion or purpose.
Summary, note, table and flow-chart completion
Fill gaps with words from the passage, or from a list of words.
Sentence completion and short answers
Copy the exact words from the passage, within the word limit.
Diagram labelling
Label a picture or diagram with words from the passage.
How IELTS Academic Reading is marked
Your correct answers out of 40 become a band score. This is the guide for Academic Reading. General Training uses a different table, with different passages.
- Each correct answer scores one mark, and a wrong answer loses nothing.
- Completion answers must be copied from the passage, spelled correctly and within the word limit.
- True/False/Not Given and Yes/No/Not Given answers are clicked on the computer test, so there is no spelling to worry about.
Source: ielts.org: IELTS scoring in detail
Turn your score into a band with the IELTS band score calculator Every Reading score out of 40, explained| Correct answers (out of 40) | Band |
|---|---|
| 39–40 | 9 |
| 37–38 | 8.5 |
| 35–36 | 8 |
| 33–34 | 7.5 |
| 30–32 | 7 |
| 27–29 | 6.5 |
| 23–26 | 6 |
| 19–22 | 5.5 |
| 15–18 | 5 |
| 13–14 | 4.5 |
| 10–12 | 4 |
From 10 years of teaching IELTS
Tips for IELTS Reading
- 1
Skim first, then go to the questions
Spend two or three minutes getting the shape of the passage, then read the questions and scan for the answers.
- 2
Most answers come in order
Completion, True/False/Not Given and multiple-choice answers usually follow the passage in order. Matching tasks and headings do not.
- 3
Not Given means not there
If the passage says nothing about the statement, the answer is Not Given, even if it sounds true. Never use your own knowledge.
- 4
Give each passage about 20 minutes
Passage 3 is the hardest, so don't spend half an hour on Passage 1. Move on and come back if you have time.
- 5
Read the whole paragraph for headings
The first sentence is not always the main idea. A heading has to fit the paragraph as a whole.
- 6
Copy the word exactly
Check the spelling and the word limit of every completion answer. One extra word makes it wrong.
Questions about the IELTS Reading practice test
Are these Academic or General Training Reading tests?
Academic. General Training Reading uses different, more everyday texts and a different score table: we have separate General Training Reading tests for that.
How many answers do I need for band 7 in Academic Reading?
About 30 out of 40. Band 6 needs about 23, and band 8 about 35.
Is there extra time to transfer answers?
No. On the computer test you answer directly on screen, so the 60 minutes includes everything.
Can I highlight words in the passage?
Yes. As in the computer-delivered exam, you can highlight text and add notes while you read.
Is this IELTS Reading practice test free?
Yes. All 11 Academic Reading practice tests are free, with your band and every answer explained.