What the Reading test looks like
The Reading test lasts 60 minutes and has 40 questions across three sections. There is no extra time to transfer answers on the computer-delivered test, and on paper you write directly on the answer sheet within the hour.
- Academic Reading uses three long texts taken from books, journals, magazines and newspapers. They are written for a general audience but are often dense, with plenty of academic vocabulary.
- General Training Reading starts with short everyday texts such as notices and adverts, moves to workplace texts like job descriptions or staff guidelines, and finishes with one longer general-interest text.
Band 7 in Academic Reading needs roughly 30 correct answers out of 40. General Training needs more correct answers for the same band, because the early texts are easier.
The question types you will meet
Our 52 Reading sets cover the full range, each with an explanation for every answer:
- TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN (and YES / NO / NOT GIVEN for opinions)
- Matching Headings to paragraphs
- Matching Information, where you find which paragraph contains a detail
- Summary completion, with or without a word box
- Multiple choice, sentence completion, short answers, and diagram or table labelling
On screen, you will drag headings into place and drop words into summary gaps, just as on the computer-delivered test, and you can highlight text and add notes as you read.
The two traps that cost the most
NOT GIVEN versus FALSE
FALSE means the passage says the opposite. NOT GIVEN means the passage simply does not tell you. The trap is using your own knowledge. If a passage about desalination in the Gulf does not mention cost, you cannot answer FALSE just because you know desalination is expensive. Stick strictly to what the text says.
Matching Headings
Students often match a heading to a paragraph because the same word appears in both. That is usually a distractor. Read the first two sentences of the paragraph and ask: what is this paragraph mainly about? The correct heading normally paraphrases the main idea rather than repeating a word.
A timing strategy that works
Twenty minutes per section sounds simple, but Section 3 is usually the hardest. Try this:
- Section 1: 17 minutes. Bank the time here.
- Section 2: 20 minutes.
- Section 3: 23 minutes.
Within each section, read the questions before the passage so you know what you are looking for. Skim the passage for structure, then scan for specific answers. If one question takes more than a minute and a half, flag it and move on. Answer every question before time runs out, because there is no penalty for a wrong answer.
Practising Reading around life in Sharjah
Reading needs focus, which is hard to find on a crowded bus or in a busy family flat. A few ideas that suit how people live and study here:
- University students at AUS or the University of Sharjah can use a library carrel between lectures for one full passage under time. Academic Reading texts are not unlike the journal articles you are already reading for coursework.
- Commuters to Dubai can read one English article on the way in, such as a science, business or health piece, and note five useful words. Keep timed practice for a quiet table at home.
- General Training candidates working in Sharjah's industrial areas or offices meet workplace English every day. Notice how safety notices, HR emails and job adverts are written: these are exactly the kinds of texts in Section 2.
If Arabic is your first language, you may be a strong reader but slower when scanning English text from left to right for small details. Regular timed scanning practice helps. Speakers of Malayalam, Urdu, Tagalog and other languages often find their biggest gain comes from building academic vocabulary, so use the flashcards alongside your sets.
Charged sets for band 7 and above
Once you are scoring 30 or more out of 40 consistently, ordinary practice may stop stretching you. Charged Reading sets are harder: longer, denser passages and more distractors. They are built for students who need 7.0, 7.5 or higher, for example for some postgraduate courses or professional registration.
How to practise, week by week
- Early weeks: one question type at a time, untimed, reading every explanation.
- Middle weeks: full sections under time, reviewing wrong answers in the Mistake Notebook.
- Final weeks: full Reading tests inside complete mocks, and Charged sets if you are aiming high.
Try a free Academic or General Training set from the practice tests page, or sign up free to start tracking your Reading score.