The General Training Reading test consists of three sections and 40 questions. It focuses on situations you might face in everyday life, work-related issues such as applying for a job, and topics of general interest. Learn about questions you might expect to see on the test and see sample answers to help you improve your English language skills.
A quick overview of the IELTS General Training Reading test
The General Training Reading test requires you to read extracts from books, magazines, newspapers, notices, advertisements, company handbooks and guidelines. These are materials you are likely to encounter daily in an English-speaking environment. There are three parts to the test, with Part 1 containing two to three short texts, Part 2 containing two texts and Part 3 containing one longer text.
IELTS General Training Reading practice test with answers
Check out the IELTS General Reading practice tests with answers to help you be better prepared.
IELTS General Training Reading sample questions and answers
IELTS General Training Reading test format
The 40 questions on the IELTS Reading test evaluate a variety of reading skills:
Skimming - reading for gist and to understand the main idea
Scanning - reading quickly to locate a specific piece of information
Reading for detail – reading to understand a logical argument, opinions, attitudes and the writer’s purpose
Multiple-choice
There are three types of multiple-choice questions:
Choose the best answer from four choices (A, B, C or D)
Choose the best two answers from five choices (A, B, C, D or E)
Choose the best three answers from seven choices (A, B, C, D, E, F or G)
Each multiple-choice question may involve completing a sentence, where you are given the first part of a sentence and then you have to choose the best way to complete it from the options or you might have to answer a complete question, choosing the option which best answers it.
The questions are presented in the same order as the information in the reading text. So, the answer to the first multiple-choice question will be located in the text before the answer to the second multiple-choice question and so on.
Identifying information
When you have to identify information, you will be given a number of statements and asked: “Do the following statements agree with the information in the text?”. When you answer the questions, you write “True”, “False” or “Not given” in the answer boxes.
It is important to understand the difference between “False” and “Not given”. “False” means the passage states the opposite of the statement in question. “Not given” means that the statement is neither confirmed nor contradicted by the information in the passage.
Identifying a writer's views or claims
In this question type, where you have to identify a writer’s view or claim, you will be given a number of statements and asked: ‘Do the following statements agree with the views/claims of the writer?’. You will then select ‘Yes’, ‘No’ or ‘Not given’.
It is important to understand the difference between 'No' and 'Not given'. 'No' means that the views or claims of the writer explicitly disagree with the statement, i.e. the writer expresses the view or makes a claim which is opposite to the one given in the question; 'Not given' means that the view or claim is neither confirmed nor contradicted.
Be careful when deciding on your answer that you are not influenced by your own knowledge of the topic area.
This question type assesses your ability to recognise opinions or ideas, and so it is often used with discursive or argumentative texts.
Matching information
In this matching information question type, you are required to locate specific information within the lettered paragraphs or sections of a text, and then you have to select the letters of the correct paragraphs or sections.
You may be asked to find:
specific detail
an example
a reason
a description
a comparison
a summary
an explanation
You will not necessarily need to find information in every paragraph or section of the text, but there may be more than one piece of information that you need to locate in a given paragraph or section. When this is the case, you will be told that you can use a letter more than once.
This matching information question type can be used with any text, as it tests a wide range of reading skills, from locating details to recognising a summary or definition.
Matching headings
A heading refers to the main idea of the paragraph or section of the text. In the matching headings question type, you are given a list of headings and then asked to match the heading to the correct paragraphs or sections. There will always be more headings than there are paragraphs or sections, so some headings will not be used. It is also possible that some paragraphs or sections may not be included in the task. This question type is used with texts that contain paragraphs or sections with clearly defined themes.
Matching headings tests your ability to recognise the main idea or theme in the paragraphs or sections of a text, and to distinguish main ideas from supporting ones.
Matching features
You are required to match a set of statements or pieces of information to a list of options. The options are presented as a group of features from the text with each one identified by letters. For example, you may be required to match different research findings to a list of researchers, or characteristics to age groups, events to historical periods, etc. It is possible that some options will not be used, and that others may be used more than once. The instructions will tell you if you can use the options more than once.
Matching features will assess your ability to recognise relationships and connections between facts in the text and your ability to recognise opinions and theories. It may be used both with factual information, as well as opinion-based discursive texts. You will need to be able to skim and scan the text in order to locate the required information and then read for detail to match the correct feature.
Matching sentence endings
When you have to match sentence endings, you are given the first half of a sentence based on the reading text and you are asked to choose the best way to complete it from a list of possible options. There will be more options to choose from than there are questions. You will then have to choose the correct option to complete the sentence. The questions are in the same order as the information in the passage: that is, the answer to the first question in this group will be found before the answer to the second question, and so on.
Matching sentence endings assesses your ability to understand the main ideas within a sentence.
Sentence completion
In this sentence completion question type, you will complete sentences taken from the reading text. The instructions will make it clear how many words or numbers you should use in your answer, e.g., ‘NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage’, ‘ONE WORD ONLY’ or ‘NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS’. If you write more than the number of words included in the instructions, you will lose the mark. Numbers can be written using figures or words. Hyphenated words count as single words. The questions are in the same order as the information in the passage: that is, the answer to the first question in this group will be found before the answer to the second question, and so on.
Sentence completion assesses your ability to locate details or specific information.
Summary, note, table, flow-chart completion
In this summary completion question type, you will be given a summary of a section of the text and will be required to complete it with information taken from the text. The summary usually refers to only part of the passage rather than the passage as a whole.
The given information may be in the form of:
Several connected sentences of text (referred to as a summary)
Several notes (referred to as notes)
A table with some of its cells empty or partially empty (referred to as a table)
A series of boxes or steps linked by arrows to show a sequence of events, with some of the boxes or steps empty or partially empty (referred to as a flow-chart)
The answers will not necessarily occur in the same order as in the text. However, they will usually come from one section rather than the entire text.
There are two variations of this task type. You may be asked to:
Select words from the text
Select from a list of answers
Where words have to be selected from the passage, the instructions will make it clear how many words or numbers you should use in your answers, e.g., ‘NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage’, ‘ONE WORD ONLY’ or ‘NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS’. If you write more than the number of words asked for, you will lose the mark.
Numbers can be written using figures or words. Hyphenated words count as single words. Where a list of answers is provided, they most frequently consist of a single word.
Because this task type often relates to precise factual information, it is often used with descriptive texts.
It will assess your ability to understand details and/or the main ideas of a section. In the variations involving a summary or notes, you will need to be aware of the type of word(s) that will fit into a given gap (for example, whether a noun or a verb is needed, etc.).
Diagram label completion
In this question type, you are required to complete labels on a diagram, which relates to a description contained in the text. The instructions will make it clear how many words or numbers you should use in your answers, e.g., ‘NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage’, ‘ONE WORD ONLY’ or ‘NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS’. If you write more than the number of words asked for, you will lose the mark. Numbers can be written using figures or words. Hyphenated words count as single words. The answers do not necessarily occur in order in the passage. However, they will usually come from one section rather than the entire text.
The diagram may show some type of machine, or parts of a building or any other element that can be represented pictorially. This task type is often used with texts describing processes or with descriptive texts.
Diagram label completion assesses your ability to understand a detailed description and to relate it to information presented in the form of a diagram.
Short-answer questions
In this question type, you are required to answer a question by providing a short answer. You will answer questions that usually relate to factual information about details in the text.
You must write your answers using words or numbers from the text. The instructions will make it clear how many words or numbers you should use in your answers, e.g., ‘NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage’, ‘ONE WORD ONLY’ or ‘NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS’. If you write more than the number of words asked for, you will lose the mark.
Numbers can be written using figures or words. Hyphenated words count as single words. The questions are in the same order as the information in the text.
Short-answer questions assess your ability to locate and understand precise information in the text.
Can I retake IELTS Reading only?
Yes, IELTS now allows the retaking of one section per test. You're eligible to book IELTS One Skill Retake after you have recently completed a full IELTS on Computer test and received your IELTS test score, from an eligible test centre. You must book your IELTS One Skill Retake within 60 days of your original test date.