In the series of articles on the IELTS exam, we continue talking about the parts of the IELTS test . We have explained the four parts of the IELTS exam in the IELTS Academic exam section, which you can follow here .
In this article, we will continue explaining the parts of the IELTS test , specifically the General Training section, specifically the Reading section. Before we begin, here is a reminder of the general basics about the IELTS test and the parts of the IELTS test.
What is the IELTS test?
It is the International English Language Testing System, which measures your proficiency and ability to communicate in English, and proves that you have a certain level of English, whether for work or study purposes. It is an English language test that assesses all four language skills: listening, reading, speaking and writing.
IELTS is recognised by educational institutions in the UK, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Ireland, South Africa and most universities, colleges, academic and professional bodies that teach English worldwide, including the New Zealand Immigration Service and the General Medical Council. IELTS certificates are accepted by more than 6,000 different institutions around the world.
The quality and reliability of the IELTS test lies in the fact that the IELTS test is jointly owned by the British Council, IDP Australia and the University of Cambridge, and they ensure that the test is available to all nationalities. Since the test content is produced in English according to strict international standards, it does not include any cultural or linguistic bias.
Types of IELTS test and the parts of the IELTS test depend on them:
IELTS Academic, IELTS General Training. Each one is designed for a specific purpose.
1- Academic IELTS:
It is the IELTS test for study.
Details about Academic IELTS :
- The IELTS Academic test is suitable for those who want to study in an English-speaking environment or university (higher education).
- You can also take IELTS Academic for professional registration purposes.
- Students can request their IELTS results to be sent to up to five institutions free of charge.
- There is a fee to send results to additional organizations.
- You can also ask your centre to provide your results as long as your IELTS score is valid.
- It is worth noting that the IELTS certificate is valid for two years.
2- General IELTS training:
About IELTS General Training :
- It is the second type of IELTS test that is most suitable for immigration, tourism and employment purposes.
- IELTS General Training is suitable for those applying for study below degree level, which includes an English-speaking school or college.
- IELTS General Training is also required for immigration to Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the UK.
- The IELTS test also features the everyday English skills you will need in social and workplace settings.
IELTS exam method:
parts The IELTS test consists of 4 parts: reading, writing, speaking and listening.
The test parts within the General IELTS and Academic IELTS are the same only in the Speaking and Listening sections, while the parts in the Writing and Reading sections differ.
Now let's review in detail the IELTS General Reading test:
IELTS General Training Reading Section
- Time (60 minutes)
The reading section consists of 40 questions, designed from a wide range of reading skills. These include reading for gist, reading for main ideas, reading for details, skimming, understanding logical argument and recognizing the writers' opinions, attitudes and purpose.
What is included in the reading section of the IELTS General Test :
It includes excerpts from books, magazines, newspapers, notices, advertisements, company brochures and instructions. These are materials that you are likely to come across on a daily basis in an English-speaking environment.
IELTS General Reading Test Guide
There are three sections .
Section 1: Contains two or three short texts or several shorter texts.
Section 2 consists of two texts.
In section 3: There is one long text.
Types of questions in IELTS General Reading training :
A variety of questions are used, selected from the following:
Multiple choice, Identify information, Identify author's opinions, Match information, Match headings, Match features, Match sentence endings, Complete sentence, Complete summary, Complete notes, Complete table, Complete flowchart, Complete chart label, Short answer questions.
How to prepare for the IELTS General Reading test?
Section 1 (Social Communication) : Contains texts related to basic linguistic communication in English with tasks mainly related to retrieving and providing general factual information, for example: notices, announcements, timetables.
Section 2 (Communication in the Workplace) : Focuses on the workplace context, for example: job descriptions, contracts, employee development, and training materials.
Section 3 (General Reading) : This involves reading more extended prose with a more complex structure, with the emphasis on descriptive and instructive texts rather than argumentative texts, in a general context relevant to a wide range of test takers, for example: newspapers, magazines, and extracts from fiction and non-fiction books.
Answers to the reading section of the IELTS General Test :
- Test takers are required to transfer their answers to an answer sheet within the time allowed for the test.
- No additional time is allowed for transportation.
- Care must be taken when writing answers on the answer sheet as assessment is made on poor spelling and grammar.
Custom tags :
Each question is worth one mark.
Reading test model in IELTS General Training :
The IELTS test consists of several tasks or questions that must be completed within a specific time, as follows:
IELTS General Reading Task 1:
Question 1 - Multiple Choice
Task type and format: In this type of task, test takers choose the best answer from four alternatives A, B, C or D, or the best two answers from five alternatives (A, B, C, D or E), or the best three answers from seven alternatives ( A , B , C , D , E , F or G ). They write the answer letter they have chosen on the answer sheet.
Questions may also involve completing a sentence;
Where the first part of the sentence is given and the test takers choose the best way to complete it from the options.
Or it can include complete questions and choose the best option to answer them.
The questions are in the same order as the information in the text; that is, the answer to the first question in this group will be in the text before the answer to the second question, and so on. This type of task can be used with any type of text.
The importance of this task :
This type of task tests a wide range of reading skills including detailed understanding of specific points or general understanding of the main points in a text.
Number of questions in this task : Variable
Task 2 of the IELTS General Reading test:
Question 2 - Identifying Information
Task type and format:
The test taker is given a number of statements with the question: ( Do the following statements agree with the information in the text? ) Then they write ( True ) or ( False ) or ( Not Given ) in the boxes on their answer sheets.
The questions are in the same order as the information in the text: that is, the answer to the first question in this group will be in the text before the answer to the second question, and so on.
Note: It is important to understand the difference between ( false ) and ( not given ); ( false ) means that the passage states the opposite of the statement in question, while (not given) means that the statement is not confirmed or contradicts the information in the passage.
Any knowledge students bring with them from outside the passage should not play a role in deciding their answers.
The importance of this task :
This type of task assesses the test takers' ability to recognize specific points of information conveyed in a text and can therefore be used with more realistic texts.
Number of questions in this task : Variable
Task 3 of the IELTS General Reading test:
Question 3 - Identify the writer's opinions/claims
Task type and format:
The test taker will be given a number of statements and asked: (Do the following statements agree with the writer's opinions/claims?) They answer (Yes), (No) or (Not Given) in boxes on their answer sheet.
The questions are in the same order as the information in the text; that is, the answer to the first question in this group will be in the text before the answer to the second question, and so on.
Note: It is important to understand the difference between “not” and “not given.” “Not” means that the writer’s views or claims do not explicitly agree with the statement, i.e. the writer somewhere expresses a viewpoint or makes a claim that is contrary to the opinion in the question, while “not given” means that the opinion or claim has not been confirmed or contradicted.
(Any knowledge students bring with them from outside the passage should not play a role when deciding on their answers.)
The importance of this task :
This type of task assesses the test takers' ability to recognize opinions or ideas, and is therefore often used with rhetorical or argumentative texts.
Number of questions in this task : Variable
Task 4 of the IELTS General Reading test:
Question 4 - Matching information
Type and format of this task:
- Test takers locate specific information in paragraphs/sections of the text with letters, and write the letters of the correct paragraphs/sections in the boxes on their answer sheet. They may be asked to find, give specific details, give an example, give a reason, describe, compare, summarize, explain.
- They will not necessarily need to find information in every paragraph/section of the text, but there may be more than one piece of relevant information in a given paragraph/section. In this case, test takers will be told that they can use any letter more than once.
- The questions do not follow the same order as the information in the text.
- This task type can be used with any text because it can test a wide range of reading skills, from identifying details to recognizing a summary or definition.
The importance of this task :
This type of task assesses the test takers' ability to search for specific information, unlike Task Type 5 (Matching Headings), which is concerned with specific information rather than the main idea.
Number of questions in this task : Variable
Task 5 of the IELTS General Reading test:
Question 5 - Matching Titles
Type and format of this task:
- Test takers are given a list of headings, usually identified by lowercase Roman numerals (i, ii, iii, etc.) indicating the main idea of the paragraph or section of the text. They must match the heading to the correct paragraphs or sections, which are marked alphabetically, and write the appropriate Roman numerals in the boxes on their answer sheets.
- There will always be more headings than 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 assignment.
- One or more paragraphs or sections may already be matched with a title as an example.
- No title may be used more than once. This type of assignment is used with texts that contain paragraphs or sections with clearly defined topics.
The importance of this task :
This task tests the ability to identify the main idea or theme in paragraphs or sections of text, and to distinguish main ideas from supporting ideas.
Number of questions in this task : Variable
Task 6 of the IELTS General Reading test:
Question 6 - Matching Features
Type and format of this task:
- Test takers match a set of phrases or pieces of information to a list of options. This set of features from the text, identified by letters, may ask test takers, for example, to match different characteristics of age groups or events to historical periods, etc.
- Some options may not be used, and others may be used more than once.
- The instructions advise that the options can be used more than once.
- The questions do not follow the same order as the information in the text.
The importance of this task :
This task assesses the ability to recognise relationships and connections between facts in a text, and to recognise opinions and theories. It can be used with both factual information and description or narrative texts. Test takers should be able to read and scan a text to locate the information needed and read for details.
Number of questions in this task : Variable
Task 7 of the IELTS General Reading test:
Question 7 - Matching sentence endings
Type and format of this task:
- Test takers are given the first half of a sentence based on the text and choose the best way to complete it from a list of possible options. They will have more options to choose from than there are questions.
- The questions are in the same order as the information in the text: that is, the answer to the first question in this group will be found before the answer to the second question, and so on.
- This task type can be used with any type of text.
The importance of this task :
This task type assesses test takers' ability to understand main ideas.
Number of questions in this task : Variable
Task 8 of the IELTS General Reading test:
Question 8 - Complete the sentences
Type and format of this task:
- Test takers complete sentences with a certain number of words taken from the text, and write their answers on the answer sheet. The instructions will state how many words/numbers there should be in the answers, for example (no more than three words or a number from the passage), (only one word) or (no more than two words).
- If test takers write more than the required number of words, they will lose a mark.
- Numbers can be written using shapes or words.
- The agreed upon words will not be tested.
- Connective words are counted as single words. 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.
The importance of this task :
This task type assesses the test takers' ability to identify specific details/information.
Number of questions in this task : Variable
Task 9 of the IELTS General Reading test:
Question 9 - Summary, Note, Table, Complete Flowchart
Task type and format:
- Test takers are given a summary of a passage of text, and are asked to complete it with information drawn from the text. Note that the summary will usually be of only one part of the passage rather than the whole. The information given may be in the form of several connected sentences (referred to as a summary) , several notes (referred to as notes) , a table with some of its cells blank or partially blank (referred to as a table) , a series of boxes or steps linked by arrows to show them , or a series of events with some of the boxes or steps blank or partially blank ( referred to as a flow chart ). The answers will not necessarily appear in the same order as they appear in the text. However, they will usually come from one section rather than the whole text. There are two different types of this type of task.
- Test takers may be asked to either choose words from the text or choose from a list of answers. Where words from the passage have to be chosen, the instructions will state how many words/numbers the test taker should use in their answers, e.g. (no more than three words or numbers from the passage), (only one word) or (no more than two words).
- If test takers write more than the required number of words, they will lose a mark. Numbers may be written using shapes or words. Contracted words are not tested.
- Connective words are counted as single words. When a list of answers is given, it is most often a single word, and there are always more words or phrases in the box than there are gaps to fill.
- Because this type of task often involves accurate factual information, it is often used with descriptive texts.
The importance of this task :
This task type assesses test takers' ability to understand the details and/or main ideas of a section of text. In the various forms that include summary or notes, they should be aware of what type of word(s) will fit a given gap (e.g., whether a noun is required, a verb, etc.).
Number of questions in this task : Variable
Task 10 of the IELTS General Reading test
Question 10 - Complete the schematic diagram
Task type and format:
- Test takers complete the labels on the diagram that relate to the description in the text. The instructions will state how many words/numbers test takers should use in their answers, e.g. (no more than three words and/or a number from the passage), (only one word) or (no more than two words).
- If they write more than the required number of words, they will lose a mark. Numbers can be written using shapes or words.
- IELTS will not test agreed words.
- Connected words are counted as single words.
- Answers do not necessarily appear in order in the passage.
- However, it will usually come from a single section rather than the entire text. The diagram may be of some kind of machine, parts of a building or any other item that can be represented pictorially.
- This type of task is often used with texts describing processes or with descriptive texts.
The importance of this task :
This type of task assesses the ability to understand a detailed description, and to relate it to information presented in the form of a diagram.
Number of questions in this task : Variable
Task 11 of the IELTS General Reading test:
Question 11 - Short Answer Questions
Task type and format:
- Test takers answer questions about factual details in the text. Test takers must write their answers in words or numbers on the answer sheet. Test takers must write their answers using words from the text. The instructions will state how many words/numbers test takers should use in their answers, for example (no more than three words and/or a number from the passage), (only one word) or (no more than two words).
- If they write more than the required number of words, they will lose the mark.
- Numbers can be written using shapes or words.
- Agreed words are not tested.
- Connected words are counted as single words.
- The questions are in the same order as the information in the text: that is, the answer to the first question in this group will be in the test before the answer to the second question, and so on.
The importance of this task :
This type of task assesses the ability to identify and understand precise information in a text.
Number of questions in this task : Variable
Assessment of the General Reading section of the IELTS exam:
Reading in IELTS General Training - How is it marked?
The IELTS General Training Reading test is scored with validated marks, which are monitored regularly to ensure reliability. After all answer sheets have been marked, they are further analysed by Cambridge Assessment English .
How are scores calculated in IELTS?
IELTS scores are calculated to produce a band score conversion table for each version of the General Reading test which translates scores from 40 to the 9-point IELTS scale . Scores are reported in whole and half points.
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