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Reading exam

The Reading test gives you texts and asks 40 questions about them, in 60 minutes (Exam mode). You read on one side of the screen and answer on the other.

Setting up​

Reading setup — track selector, Exam/Practice, question types The Reading setup screen.

Choose:

  • Track — Academic or General Training (see below).
  • Exam mode or Practice mode.
    • Exam mode → all 3 passages/sections, the 60-minute timer, scored.
    • Practice mode → a single passage, optionally filtered to one question type (the setup screen lists the types actually present in the available tests).

Press START.

Academic vs General Training​

  • Academic — three increasingly difficult passages on academic/general-interest topics.
  • General Training — three sections of more everyday material (notices, instructions, workplace and general-interest texts).

Both have 40 questions and the same question types; the difference is the source material.

During the exam​

The Reading exam — passage on the left, questions on the right Taking the Reading exam.

  • Two panels: the passage on one side, the questions on the other. The divider is resizable — drag it to give more room to whichever side you need.
  • Highlighter: select text in the passage to highlight it (handy for marking where you found an answer). Highlights stay put as you move between passages.
  • Passage tabs switch between Passage/Section 1, 2 and 3.
  • Question navigator, flagging, auto-save, and the countdown timer all work as in the Listening exam.

Submit when finished (or at time-up). Reading is scored instantly.

Question types you'll meet​

The standard IELTS Reading set, including:

  • Multiple choice
  • True / False / Not Given and Yes / No / Not Given
  • Matching headings, information, features, and sentence endings
  • Sentence / summary / note / table completion
  • Short answer

After you submit​

You get your band score, a breakdown by passage and question type, and a review that shows the passage alongside your answers vs. the correct ones — with your highlights preserved. See Results & review.

Tips​

  • Don't over-read. Use the highlighter to mark keywords from the question, then scan for them — you rarely need to read every word.
  • Budget your time: roughly 20 minutes per passage. The on-screen timer is for the whole 60 minutes, so pace yourself.
  • "Not Given" ≠ "False." Practise that distinction in Practice mode with True/False/Not-Given filtered on.