IELTS Reading Practice Tests: Free Sample Papers for Academic and General

Bhaskar Das

Oct 3, 2024

Highlights:

  • Improvement: Solving IELTS reading mock tests under timed conditions improves your time management skills.
  • Skimming: Improve your ability to read the gist and understanding of the main idea.
  • Resources: Many prep websites including IDP offer various IELTS practice tests for free.
  • Format: You need to answer 40 questions within 60 minutes in IELTS reading.
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IELTS reading practice tests will help you understand the IELTS exam pattern, IELTS reading test question types and face the real-time examination. The IELTS reading mock tests will help to improve your time-management skills. You will face questions like MCQ, identifying a writer's views/claims, matching headings, matching information, matching features, and matching sentence endings types of questions.

IELTS Exam Reading Practice Tests have three sections. You must ensure that you turn pages quickly to make your practice as realistic as possible. Take your time and give yourself an hour to finish all three sections. You need to answer 40 questions within 60 minutes to complete IELTS exam reading practice test. Preparing for the IELTS exam involves thorough IELTS reading practise, especially in the IELTS Reading section. The IELTS reading test evaluates your ability to comprehend and interpret written texts in English.

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Reading practice in IELTS can be found in various resources including IDP to help beginners. Top coaching centers and online courses conduct IELTS Reading mock tests to track students' progress and analyze their performance.

IELTS_Reading_Practice_Tests

IELTS Reading Practice Tests

To be proficient in the IELTS reading section, IELTS practice test is a great way to prepare. There are 2 sections in IELTS Reading - IELTS Academic and IELTS General. You must complete IELTS general reading practise test if you are going abroad for jobs and other similar purposes. On the other hand, IELTS academic reading practise test is for students taking admission to universities abroad. Both IELTS academic reading and IELTS general reading have distinct sections. A sample IELTS Reading will have passage and questions like this:

IELTS_Reading_Sample

A few IELTS general reading mock test and IELTS academic reading mock tests are provided below:

IELTS Academic Reading Practice test

IELTS General Reading Practice test

IELTS Reading Practice Samples

To understand the IELTS Reading test better, we have provided a few examples and multiple samples here. You can check these IELTS exam reading tests for free. Regular practice with sample papers helps you to improve IELTS reading band score. Some of the IELTS reading samples are:

IELTS Reading Question Types

The IELTS reading practice test helps to frame and train the mindset for the actual test. The IELTS Reading task comprises three passages that measure analytical skills, reading comprehension, and the ability to effectively and efficiently read for the general idea, for the primary point of view, making the inferential analysis of the passages, writer’s opinion, and inclination, etc. The IELTS reading practice test with answers helps to ace the IELTS reading score. Here are the Question Types in IELTS Reading:

Types Explanation
Multiple Choice Questions These types of questions include 4-5 answer choices, and candidates have to choose the correct answer.
Sentence/note Completion questions In these types of questions, you are required to complete an incomplete sentence following the word limit.
Complete the table-type questions Complete a table that is provided within the word limit.
Short answer type questions provide a short answer to the questions asked. You don’t have to provide the answer in detail
Label the diagram type of questions In the diagram labeling questions, you are required to complete the diagram with suitable words depending on the situation.
Matching type questions Matching the sentence endings type questionsIn these types of questions, you are required to match the initial phrase of a sentence to the most appropriate ending of it. Match the features type questionsYou need to match the most appropriate features of a column to a category in another column. Match the heading-type questionsIn this subset of matching questions, you are required to match the paragraphs given in a column to the appropriate heading mentioned in another column.
Complete the summary-type questions In these types of questions, the context and a fair understanding of the passage are of utmost importance.
True/False/Not Given or Yes/No/Not Given For these types of questions, candidates need to understand the writer’s perspectives and then answer.

More IELTS Reading Practise Tests

Steps Before IELTS Reading Practice Tests

Remember that the secret to performing well on the IELTS Reading Exam is to practice regularly. Make sure to schedule regular study sessions to go over practice exams and find any difficult topics that need more focus in the IELTS Exam pattern. Students will be given the following instructions for the real exam:

  • Do Not Open: Until you get instructions, do not open this question paper.
  • Identification: Fill in the blanks at the top of the page with your name and candidate number.
  • Read carefully: Carefully read the instructions for every section of the paper.
  • Answering: Use a pencil to directly answer each question on the answer sheet.
  • Time Limit: Students have a set amount of time to finish the answer sheet.
  • Submission: Students will be required to submit their answer sheet and the question paper after the exam.

IELTS Reading Practice Tips

To help you ace the IELTS Reading section, we have prepared some of the tips and tricks that you can follow. However, the most important trick is to practice IELTS tests daily on a timed basis.

  • Skimming and scanning technique: Skimming allows you to get an overview of the text, and scanning helps you locate particular details efficiently. Therefore, practice these IELTS reading techniques to manage your time effectively and locate answers swiftly.
  • Identify the keywords: Pay close attention to keywords in both questions and passages and highlight them. They signal important details or concepts in the text that are directly related to the questions.
  • Read the instructions carefully: Different question types will have a specific set of instructions. So make sure to read the instructions thoroughly before going through the questions.
  • Plan your time wisely: There are three passages and a total of 40 questions. You will get 20 minutes to solve each of the three sections. So, allocate a specific amount of time to each passage and question and aim to stick to it to ensure that you have ample time to answer all the questions within every section. Do not waste your time on a difficult question and move on to the next one.
  • Regular practice: Make sure to set aside dedicated time for the IELTS Reading practice test in your schedule. Aim to complete multiple practice tests under timed conditions. It will only improve your reading skills and familiarize yourself with the exam format.

Improving your vocabulary range, sentence formation, and time management skills is important for IELTS reading. Solving the IELTS exam reading practice test regularly helps you to understand the question format, and improve your score.

FAQs

Ques: How can I practice IELTS reading?

Ans: You can effectively practice IELTS reading by taking practice tests and reading books. Many prep websites including IDP offer various IELTS practice tests for free.

Ques: How can I get 8.5 in IELTS reading?

Ans: To get 8.5 in IELTS reading you need to go through each passage to identify the topic’s main idea. Improve your time management, vocabulary, and sentence formation skills to get 8.5 band in IELTS reading.

Ques: Is IELTS reading difficult?

Ans: IELTS reading is considered one of the challenging sections of the exam. You need to answer 40 questions within 60 minutes to answer IELTS reading.

Ques: How to solve IELTS reading easily?

Ans: To solve IELTS reading easily, you need to improve your vocabulary range, sentence formation, and time management skills. Regularly solving sample papers helps you to understand the different types of questions.

Ques: How can I practice IELTS reading at home?

Ans: You can practice IELTS reading at home by reading updated books, taking regular practice tests, and practicing under real-time exam conditions.

Ques: How to improve your reading?

Ans: To improve your reading you need to focus on your vocabulary, look for the main idea, and improve your time management skills.

Ques: How to increase IELTS reading score?

Ans: To increase IELTS reading score you need to do regular practice with sample papers, read books, and improve your skimming and time management skills.

Ques: Can I retake IELTS reading only?

Ans: You can retake any section of IELTS as you want to. The format of IELTS one-skill retake is the same as the normal exam.

Ques: How to prepare for reading?

Ans: To effectively prepare for reading you need to follow a proper study plan, take regular practice tests, and monitor your performance.

Ques: Are there any tips and tricks for IELTS reading?

Ans: Some of the best IELTS reading tips include; reading questions before the test, skimming through the passage, identifying keywords, and trying to answer every question.

*The article might have information for the previous academic years, please refer the official website of the exam.

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