IELTS General Reading Overview

The IELTS General Reading test evaluates your ability to read and understand a wide range of texts, including advertisements, notices, and official documents. It is designed to test the type of reading skills you’ll need in everyday life in an English-speaking country. The test includes a variety of question types that assess your understanding of factual information, opinion, and inferences.

Test Format

Duration: 60 minutes (including time to transfer answers to the answer sheet).
Number of Questions: 40 questions.
Number of Sections: 3 sections; the total word count is approximately 2,150–2,750 words.

Question Types

A wide range of question types are used in the IELTS General Reading test, which include:

Multiple Choice: These questions test your ability to understand specific details or overall meaning.
Identifying Information (True/False/Not Given): Assess your ability to identify whether information is true, false, or not mentioned in the text.
Identifying Writer’s Views/Claims (Yes/No/Not Given): Test your ability to recognize the writer's opinion or claims in the text.
Matching Information: Test your ability to locate specific pieces of information in the text.
Matching Headings: These questions assess your ability to match headings to sections of a text.
Sentence Completion: Test your ability to understand and fill in missing details within the text.
Summary Completion: Assess your ability to fill in gaps in a summary of the text.
Short-Answer Questions: These questions test your ability to locate and understand precise information in the text.

Scoring

Each correct answer is worth 1 mark, and your score out of 40 is converted to the IELTS 9-band scale. The final score is reported in whole and half bands.

General Reading Text Features

The IELTS General Reading test contains three sections, each with progressively more challenging content. The texts cover a variety of topics you might encounter in daily life, such as advertisements, instructions, and official correspondence. Understanding the text features will help you improve your reading strategies and approach.

Difficulty Progression

The difficulty of the IELTS General Reading sections increases with each passing section. Section 1 consists of short texts, such as notices and advertisements, whereas Section 2 presents more detailed information, such as workplace or social-related texts. Section 3, the most challenging, includes complex texts, such as articles or formal letters. Understanding the structure will help you better manage your time during the test.

Reading Task 1

Task 1 of the IELTS General Reading test typically involves a short factual text, such as a notice, advertisement, or simple instruction. It assesses your ability to locate specific information quickly. The question types include multiple-choice, short-answer questions, and sentence completion.

Reading Task 2

Task 2 features a longer passage, which might contain more complex information or be related to work or social situations. It includes questions that test your ability to analyze and interpret details, such as identifying information and matching headings.

Reading Task 3

Task 3 is the most challenging section and usually involves a long, detailed passage, often containing abstract or theoretical content. You will be asked to answer questions that test your understanding of both explicit and implied meanings.

How Texts Are Chosen

The texts in the IELTS General Reading test are chosen from real-world materials that candidates might encounter in daily life, such as advertisements, notices, and official documents. They are selected to be relevant to the kinds of reading skills required for living and working in an English-speaking country.

How Much is the Exam Cost?

The cost of the IELTS General exam can vary depending on where you are located. On average, the exam costs between $200 and $300 USD. It’s important to check with your local test center for specific pricing and registration details. The fee typically includes both the General and Academic Reading tests, along with the other sections: writing, listening, and speaking.

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Note: Unlike the Listening test, no extra transfer time is given in the Reading test. You must write your answers directly on the answer sheet during the 60-minute Reading test.