IELTS - Academic Reading Section
The IELTS Reading Section is the second part of the test, and compromises of three reading sections. The readings are suited for those pursuing undergraduate and post graduate studies, or job seekers.
Reading Detailed Description
There are three reading sections to complete. Each reading will have a variety of questions from multiple question types. This includes texts which range from the descriptive and factual to the discursive and analytical. These are taken from books, journals, magazines and newspapers. They have been selected for a non-specialist audience but are appropriate for people entering university courses or seeking professional registration.
| Section | Description |
|---|---|
| 1 | Contains 2 or 3 short texts, or several shorter texts. Topic: Social Survival – contains texts relevant to basic linguistic survival in English with tasks mainly about retrieving and providing general factual information, for example, notices, advertisements and timetables. |
| 2 | Contains 2 reading texts. Topic: Workplace Survival – focuses on the workplace context, for example, job descriptions, contracts and staff development and training materials. |
| 3 | Comprised of 1 long text. Topic: General Reading – involves reading more extended prose with a more complex structure. Emphasis is on descriptive and instructive rather than argumentative texts, in a general context relevant to a wide range of test takers, for example, newspapers, magazines, and fictional or non-fictional book extracts. |
Each question is worth 1 mark, and equal in mark with all other questions.
Multiple Choice Questions
There are three main multiple choice question styles in the reading test:
- Choose the best answer 4 choices (A, B, C or D)
- Choose two answers from 5 choices (A, B, C, D or E)
- Choose three answers from 7 choices (A, B, C, D, E, F or G)
Though the simplest question type, don't be fooled by the simplicity of the question type. Often times, answers for multiple choice come in quick succession, and the answers themselves cannot be chosen correctly, without listening in detail to the dialog.
True/False, Yes/No Questions
A group of questions will require you to write a response:
True, False or Not Given, for statements such as:
‘Do the following statements agree with the information in the text?’
Another question type requires you to write a response:
Yes, No or Not Given, for statements such as:
‘Do the following statements agree with the views/claims of the writer?’
Though the simplest question type, don't be fooled by the simplicity of the question type. Often times, answers for multiple choice come in quick succession, and the answers themselves cannot be chosen correctly, without listening in detail to the dialog.
Matching Questions
You are required to match a numbered list of items to a set of options on the question paper. There are a number of different type of matching questions such as:
- Match information
- Match headings with paragraphs
- Match sentence endings
For this type of question, you must take care to read all questions and choices before the reading happens, or while listening, you might not be able to listen and read the possible solutions in time. Also, if you are unable to read the question in the given time, you're english skills may not be good enough to score highly on the test.
Sentence Completion
You are required to read a set of sentences and fill in the gap with a given number of words.
Read the instructions very carefully as the number of words or numbers will be limited. For example: ‘NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER’.
Test takers are penalised for writing more than the stated number of words, and test takers should check this word limit carefully for each task.
Hyphenated words count as single words, contracted words will not be tested.
Text Completion
You are required to fill in the gaps in an outline and will focus on the main ideas/facts of reading. Their are 4 main types of documents used for this question type:
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Summary | Used to summarise important overall information about the reading. |
| Notes | Used to summarise key information which is important in the reading. |
| Table | Used to summarise information that relates to clear categories. |
| Flowchart | Used to summarise a process that has clear stages, with the direction of the process shown by arrows. |
You may have write down the missing words from the recording or choose from a list provided, keeping to the word limit stated in the instructions. You do not have to change the words from the recording in any way.
Read the instructions very carefully as the number of words or numbers will be limited. For example: ‘NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER’.
Test takers are penalised for writing more than the stated number of words, and test takers should check this word limit carefully for each task.
Hyphenated words count as single words, contracted words will not be tested.
Diagram Labelling
You are required to complete labels on a diagram, with information from the reading.
This task test your ability to understand dialog and relate it to a visual representation. This includes being able to follow language expressing a place and/or directions.
For some test takers, this task is especially difficult, as you have to intepret the dialog visually, while continuing to listen to dialog. Not to the mention, sometimes the diagram, plan or map is difficult to understand, even for native speakers.
Questions and answers do not necessarily occur in order of the reading.
Short Answer
You are required to answer questions precise factual information contained in a long reading, with a given number of words or numbers.
Read the instructions very carefully as the number of words or numbers will be limited. For example: ‘NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER’.
Test takers are penalised for writing more than the stated number of words, and test takers should check this word limit carefully for each task.
Hyphenated words count as single words, contracted words will not be tested0
Questions and answers are in the same order as the information in the reading.