The document discusses the format and task types of the IELTS reading test. It provides details about the academic and general training modules, such as the time limit, number of questions, number and length of passages. It identifies the main task types as multiple choice, matching, sentence completion, short answer, and more. The document also offers strategies for completing different task types, such as understanding true/false statements, using context clues to predict words for summaries, and focusing on keywords and qualifiers for multiple choice questions.

1. By: Behrouz Saeedie
Jan 2015
The IELTS Test
Reading

2. Aims:
 To have an overview of Reading Test Format
 To identify task types
 To analyze and practice strategies for task
completing

3. Complete the descriptions below with numbers.
 The academic reading test takes … minutes. No extra
time is allowed for transferring answers onto the answer
sheet. There are … questions, based on … reading texts
with a minimum of ….. words in total.
 Texts are taken from magazines, journals, books and
newspapers. They have been written for non-specialist
audience. All the topics are of general interest.
 The General Training Reading test take … minutes. No
extra time is allowed for transferring answers onto the
answer sheet. There are questions, divided into …
sections, based on ...or… reading texts with a minimum
of ….. words in total.
 Section 1 has two or three texts about everyday life.
Section 2 has two texts about work-related situations.
Section 3 has one general reading text.

4. Complete the descriptions below with numbers.
 The academic reading test takes 60 minutes. No extra
time is allowed for transferring answers onto the answer
sheet. There are 40 questions, based on 3 reading texts
with a minimum of 2,150 words in total.
 Texts are taken from magazines, journals, books and
newspapers. They have been written for non-specialist
audience. All the topics are of general interest.
 The General Training Reading test take 60 minutes. No
extra time is allowed for transferring answers onto the
answer sheet. There are 40 questions, divided into 3
sections, based on 5 or 6 reading texts with a minimum of
2,150 words in total.
 Section 1 has two or three texts about everyday life.
Section 2 has two texts about work-related situations.
Section 3 has one general reading text.

5. Academic Reading module VS General Training
module
Academic module
• 60 minutes
• 40 questions
• Three long reading passages with
tasks
• Texts range from descriptive and
factual to discursive and
analytical
• Includes non-verbal material such
as diagrams or illustrations
• Texts are authentic(e.g . taken
from books, journals and news
papers.
General training module
• 60 minutes
• 40 questions
• Three reading passages with
tasks
• Section 1 contains two or three
short factual texts
• Section two contains 2 short,
work related factual texts
• Section three contains one longer
text on a topic of general interest.
• Texts are authentic(e,g. taken
from company handbooks, official
documents, books and
newspapers)

6. The different task types
Multiple choice
Identifying
information
Identifying
writer’s view
Matching
information
Matching
headings
Matching
features
Matching
sentence
endings
Sentence
completion
Summary, note,
table,
flow-chart
completion
Diagram label
completion
Short answer
questions

7. 
 1- Which paragraph contains the following information?
 2- Complete the sentences below. Use NO MORE THAN ONE WORD from the text.
 3- Choose the correct heading for paragraphs A-H from the list of headings below.
 4- Do the following statements agree with the information given in the text?
 5- Answer the questions below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the text.
 6- Match the inventions with the scientists listed A-C.
 7- Choose the correct letter A ,B, C or D.
1)Matching information 2)Sentence completion 3)Matching headings 4)Identifying
information
5)Short answer questions 6)Matching features 7)Multiple choice
Matching Information Sentence completion Matching headings
Identifying information short answer questions
Matching features multiple choice

8. Task completing strategies
Answering True, False, Not given questions
 In True/False exercises, False covers False and
Not given.
 Turn the statement into a question. You then have
to answer YES/NO. If you can’t, the answer is Not
Given.
 Look for words that qualify the sentence or make
the sentence restrictive like only, little, not many,
etc.
 Look for words that are negative, e.g. ignore,
refuse, deny or words that are positive like help,
like, favor, etc.
 Understand the statements before you look at the
text. Don’t just underline the words to help you to

9. Task completing strategies
Completing summaries with and without a
wordlist
 Check the instructions to find the word limit
 Skim the summary first to get an idea of the
overall meaning.
 Work out the grammar needed to fill in each
space
 Try to predict the answer by giving your own
word.

10. Task completing strategies
Answering multiple-choice questions
 Skim read all the questions to get the general picture
 Focus on content words like nouns, names, verbs, etc.
 Words that help qualify the stem help you to match it with an
alternative and vice versa. So look for words like more, usually,
modals like should, etc.
Completing sentences
 Read the stem of the sentence for completion and try to
understand the meaning.
 Decide the grammar that you need to finish the sentence; most of
the time it is a noun/noun phrase.
Matching headings to paragraphs
 Always do exercises with headings first, as the headings
summarize the text. They help you scan the answers to the other
questions.
 Look always for the most general heading. This may be the first
paragraph or the conclusion
 Headings are usually connected with each other. So, check for
headings that relate to each other: cause/effect; problem/solution

11. Aims:
 To have an overview of Reading Test Format
 To identify task types
 To analyze and practice strategies for task
completing

12. Behrouz Saeedie
Behrouzsaeedie@gmail.com
Thank you