IELTS General Reading

Here, you will find all information related to the Reading section of the General module of IELTS. Candidates will be allotted an hour to complete the task. There will be 40 questions in total for the reading test. Every correct answer will fetch 1 mark. There is no negative marking. There are three sections and the difficulty increases progressively. Section 1 - contains some information on everyday English life. Section 2 - contains some work related information. Section 3 - contains some topics of general interest.

Band scores for General module of IELTS Reading

Practise IELTS General Reading

Here are our practice tests for IELTS General Reading. Solving them will help you excel in the actual IELTS exams. Do attempt them to secure a band 8+. You can also refer to the answer key, if you’re stuck in any question.

Reading question types

Given below are some of the reading question types in the Reading test:

Matching heading questions:

Work item : You will be given a list of headings and asked to choose the right heading for paragraphs in a given passage. Skills assessed: 

• Basic understanding of the content of each paragraph.
• Understanding of the central idea of the passage as well as the paragraphs.

TRUE/FALSE/NOT GIVEN questions

Work item: Identify if the question statements are TRUE, FALSE or NOT GIVEN from the information in the passage. Skills assessed:

• Ability to pick out specific information from the passage
• Understanding whether the question statement matches or contradicts the information given in the passage.

Matching paragraph information questions:

Work item: Identifying which section of the passage contains the information given in the question statement. Skills assessed:

• Paraphrasing abilities
• Ability to find information from the passage

Summary completion question

Work item: Completing the summary by filling in correct words from the passage. Skills assessed: 

• Ability to scan the passage for right words.
• Ability to understand ideas.

Sentence completion questions

Work item: Completing the sentences by filling in correct words from the passage. Skills assessed:

• Ability to locate specific information in the passage.
• Grammar

Multiple-choice questions

Work item: Choosing the correct answer from options given. Skills assessed: 

• Basic understanding of the passage given.
• Paraphrasing skills

List selection

Work item: Selecting the correct answer from a list of words. Skills assessed:

• Basic understanding of the passage given
• Ability to scan the passage for specific information.

Choosing a title

Work item: Choosing the best title for the passage from the list of options given. Skills assessed:

• Ability to look for messages in the given passage.
• Ability to derive the central idea of the passage.

Categorization questions

Work item: Identify which category the information from given passage fits into. Skills assessed:

• Ability to locate information in the passage.
• Ability to decide the category using paraphrasing skills.

Matching sentence endings

Work item: Ability to complete the given sentences by choosing the correct endings from a given list. Skills assessed:

• Ability to predict endings by reading the sentences
• Grammar

Table completion

Work item: Completing the table by choosing appropriate words from a given passage. Skills assessed:

• Ability to comprehend details from the passage.
• Ability to locate the right words

Flowchart completion questions

Work item: Completing the flow chart by choosing appropriate words from a given passage. Skills assessed:

• Ability to complete the flowchart from the information in the passage
• Ability to scan the passage for information

Diagram completion questions

Work item: Completing the diagram by choosing appropriate words from a given passage. Skills assessed:

• Ability to locate information in the passage
• Ability to choose the right words

Short answer questions

Work item: Ability to answer the questions using the information provided. Skills assessed:

• Ability to skim the passage for information
• Ability to answer questions with the correct number of words.