IELTS Reading: Free Practice, Tips & Techniques

Practice your IELTS Reading skills for free with essential tips and techniques to succeed in the Reading test. The IELTS Reading test requires a lot of practice and a clear understanding of the different question types and the strategies to handle them.
Develop your reading skills with the useful tips and practice activities on this page to maximise your score. This page is for both IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training. The question types in both tests are the same, and the answering techniques are also similar.
Therefore, you can use all of these reading lessons and tips no matter which version of the IELTS test you are preparing for.

On this page, you will find:

Information about the IELTS Reading test

Essential tips for IELTS Reading

IELTS Reading practice with techniques & advice

Information about the IELTS Reading Test

There are two IELTS Reading tests: Academic and General Training (GT). The main differences are in the layout of the texts, the difficulty level and the topics. However, both tests are the same in terms of question types, techniques and approach. All of the lessons below are suitable for both versions.

1. The test has 40 questions. Each correct answer gives 1 mark, for a total of 40 marks.
2. Your goal is not to understand the entire passage, but to find the correct answers to score points.
3. The scoring scales for Academic Reading and GT Reading are different → see details in BAND SCORES EXPLAINED.
4. You manage your own time within 1 hour.
5. There are 3 reading passages (see details below).
6. You can start with any passage and move back and forth between passages and questions – it’s completely your choice.
7. The Reading test requires a range of different skills, including:
  - Skimming: Reading quickly to grasp the main idea of the passage before answering questions.
  - Scanning: Quickly locating key words or specific information in the text.
  - Analysis: Analysing the sentence that contains the answer to understand it more deeply and choose the correct option.
8. Both Academic Reading and GT Reading use the same question types, so you can practice in the same way for both.
9. There are about 12–14 question types (depending on how they are grouped). When you practise, you should focus on techniques for each question type.
  See more in the READING QUESTION TYPES LIST (link below).
  You will also find practice passages with tips for each question type.
10. The biggest challenges in the Reading test:
  - Time management
  - Paraphrasing and vocabulary range
  - Identifying and choosing the correct answer
  - Understanding each question type clearly

IELTS Reading Passages

Although the question types are the same in IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training (GT), the reading passages are different.

Academic Reading Passage

There are three passages with a similar level of difficulty.
They are usually long, academic-style texts on general topics such as history, natural science, biographies, research, opinions and descriptions. The specific topics are varied and difficult to predict. Your preparation should focus on getting familiar with the question types and exposing yourself to a wide range of topics.
The practice reading texts are designed to help you improve this.

GT Reading Passage

There are also three sections, but the difficulty increases from Section 1 to Section 3.

Section 1: Usually about everyday social situations.

Section 2: Related to work or vocational training.

Section 3: Similar to an Academic Reading passage but slightly easier. Many candidates decide to spend more time on Section 3.

You should practise based on the question types and get used to many different topics.
The practice passages below are designed to support you with this.

Essential Tips for the IELTS Reading Test

The tips below help you understand the key techniques needed for the IELTS Reading test. Click the links (in your original page) for more details:

IELTS READING QUESTION TYPES: A list of all question types in IELTS Academic & GT.
This page is essential for understanding the types of questions that may appear in the test.

IMPROVING YOUR READING SCORE TIPS: Practical techniques to develop your IELTS Reading skills, helping you see what you are doing well and what you need to improve in order to increase your band score.

TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN TIPS: Tips and homework for this question type.
Includes a video explaining the difference between “False” and “Not Given”, along with many other useful tips.

Comprehension and Strategy: Learn the difference between reading for understanding and reading to find information – two separate skills.

How I got Band Score 9 in IELTS Reading: See how one candidate achieved Band 9 in Reading, with effective tips and strategies.

IELTS Reading Practice

Practise your IELTS Reading skills and build your ability for each question type that appears in the test. These practice tasks have different levels of difficulty, helping you build confidence and handle more difficult questions.

Take a strategic approach when you review your answers. The goal is not just to finish the practice, but to analyse the answers, the language, the paraphrasing and the key words, so that you develop awareness, techniques and effective IELTS Reading skills.

Enjoy learning and keep challenging yourself!

Below are examples of practice types (titles translated):

The Most Common Mistakes in IELTS Reading

Matching words instead of matching meaning.
Not spending time to understand the nuance of meaning in words and phrases.
Thinking that paraphrasing is only about using synonyms, instead of expressing the same idea in a completely different way.
Not understanding the purpose and differences between the various question types.
Doing the test in a random way, without clear techniques, strategies or logical thinking.
Doing test after test and hoping to improve, instead of carefully analysing all the answers in order to raise your awareness and test-taking skills.