IELTS Reading Question Types
IELTS Reading has many different question types. What kinds of questions are easy for you? What kinds are difficult? How do you handle the reading section?
If you struggle with the reading section, you need to know how to approach the reading section and how to answer the questions.
IELTS Reading Test Overview
First of all, there are 3 reading passages on the IELTS Reading Test. You will have 60 minutes to fully complete all three passages and answer the questions. In general, the last passage tends to be the most difficult of the three passages. Some experts suggest that you use 20 minutes for each passage. Others say 17/20/23 minutes for the first, second, and third passage. There are a total of 40 questions to answer for the reading section.
How to Read Each IELTS Passage
I suggest the following strategy for each passage:
- Skim the article quickly. This will give you the big idea of the passage.
- Read the questions.
- Read the passage. Be careful to look for the ideas the questions are asking, but read thoroughly and quickly.
- Find the answers to the questions.
Which Answer Should I Choose?
Reading passages often have True / False / Not Given questions. These questions are based on factual information from the passage.
- True = information in the passage agrees with the statement
- False = information in the passage disagrees with the statement
- Not Given = no information is found in the passage
Reading passages also often have Yes / No / Not Given questions. These questions are based on the writer’s opinion.
- Yes = the statement agrees with what the writer says
- No = the statement disagrees with what the writer says
- Not Given = it is impossible to say what the writer thinks
Don’t Make This Mistake!
Not Given answers are often the most difficult to get correctly. Be careful to separate your personal knowledge with what the passage gives you.
Students sometimes answer True / False or Yes / No because they know from personal experience. However, if the information is not provided in the passage or if the information cannot tell you the writer’s opinion, Not Given is the best choice.
Other times, students make the mistake of writing True for a Yes question or Yes for a True question. Be careful not to make this mistake.
Practice Example with Kabsa!
Here is an example for you. Which answer is True? Which answer is False? Which answer is Not Given?
Kabsa, a popular food in Saudi Arabia, is made with rice, meat, vegetables, and spices. Traditionally it is eaten together by sitting on the floor. Eating with spoons is very rare as Saudis prefer to eat Kabsa with their right hands.
- Saudis usually eat Kabsa with a spoon while sitting at the table.
- The main ingredients in Kabsa are rice, meat, vegetables, and spices.
- Kabsa is served on one large plate for everyone.
Can you explain why you chose your answers? Let me know if this helped you. jerry@learnenglishwithmrjerry.com.