What the Reading test looks like
You have 60 minutes for three passages and 40 questions. There is no extra transfer time in the computer-delivered test, and on paper you must write answers on the answer sheet within the hour.
- Academic Reading uses three long passages taken from books, journals and magazines, often on science, history or social topics. They get harder as you go.
- General Training Reading has short everyday texts (notices, adverts), workplace texts (job descriptions, policies) and one longer general passage. GT needs more correct answers than Academic for the same band.
On IELTS Learning you practise only the version that matches your track, so your timing practice is realistic.
The question types you will meet
Our 52 Reading sets cover all of the main types, each with an explanation of why the answer is right:
- TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN (and YES / NO / NOT GIVEN for opinions)
- Matching Headings to paragraphs
- Matching Information (which paragraph contains a detail)
- Matching features such as researchers to findings
- Summary, sentence, note and table completion, including summaries with a word box
- Multiple choice and short-answer questions
- Diagram and flow-chart labelling
On the computer-style screen, headings and word-box summaries use drag-and-drop, just like the real test.
Timing strategy that actually holds
A common plan is roughly 17–18 minutes on Passage 1, 20 on Passage 2 and 22–23 on Passage 3, but adjust it after your first few sets. What matters is having a rule you follow under pressure.
- Read the questions before the passage, so you know what you are hunting for.
- Skim the passage once quickly for its structure: what each paragraph is about.
- Scan for keywords and their paraphrases, then read that part carefully.
- Flag and move on. If a question is taking more than about 90 seconds, flag it and come back.
- Never leave a blank. There is no negative marking.
The traps that catch good readers
NOT GIVEN versus FALSE. FALSE means the passage says the opposite. NOT GIVEN means the passage does not say it at all. Strong students often reason their way to an answer using general knowledge. If you studied the topic in a Jadavpur or Presidency lecture, that knowledge can mislead you; answer only from the text.
Matching Headings. The heading that repeats a word from the paragraph is often wrong. Headings summarise the main idea, so read the first two sentences and ask, "What is this paragraph mainly doing?" Ignore examples and details.
Word limits. "NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS" means a three-word answer is wrong, even if the meaning is right. Check spelling, too; a correctly found word spelled wrongly is marked wrong.
Synonyms. The question rarely uses the passage's words. "Decline" in the question may be "fall", "drop" or "shrank" in the text. Building paraphrase awareness is one of the fastest ways to raise your score.
Practising from a busy Kolkata week
You do not need a free afternoon to practise reading. A single passage with its questions takes about 20 minutes, which fits a lunch break in a Sector V office or the gap between college classes.
- Weekdays: one passage a day, timed. Review every mistake using the explanation.
- Weekend: a full three-passage set in 60 minutes without pausing.
- Every week: look at your Mistake Notebook, where wrong answers are saved automatically, and choose one question type to drill.
If you are a General Training candidate, give extra attention to Section 1 and 2 texts such as timetables, adverts and workplace policies. They look easy, but the questions test exact details, and careless reading costs more marks than difficult vocabulary.
Outside practice, read one longer article daily in good English, such as a science feature or an opinion column, and summarise each paragraph in a few words. That builds the exact skill Matching Headings tests.
Charged sets for band 7+
If you need a band 7 or above, standard sets may stop stretching you. Our Charged Reading sets use denser passages, closer paraphrasing and more tempting distractors. They are meant to feel harder than the real test, so the real one feels manageable. For band 7 in Academic Reading, you typically need around 30 of 40 correct.
Get started
Try a free sample Reading set on our practice tests page, or create a free account to take the complete sample mock. Full Access, at ₹999 for 2 months, unlocks every set including the Charged ones.