Your reading study path
IELTS Reading practice
Find the evidence before choosing an answer. Use this Reading study path to separate main ideas from supporting details, recognise paraphrases and review the mistakes that cost you time.
By IELTSRISE · Updated
What to practise in Reading
IELTS Reading has 40 questions and a 60-minute time limit. A correct answer earns one mark. Practise checking the instructions as carefully as the passage: the answer format and word limit matter.
Academic or General Training?
Academic and General Training use different reading material. Choose passages for the test you will take; do not assume the same raw mark gives the same band in both versions. The evidence-finding routines below are useful for both.
Compare the two test typesA practical reading study sequence
Step 1
Separate missing evidence from contradiction
Start untimed. For each statement, underline the exact supporting or contradicting words. If the detail is absent, explain what you would need to know.
IELTS Reading: True, False or Not Given?Step 2
Identify the paragraph's main job
Write a short summary before looking at the heading options. Check whether your choice describes the whole paragraph or only an example.
IELTS Matching Headings: Find the Main IdeaStep 3
Locate a detail, then justify the match
Move on to matching information. Record the evidence location and the paraphrase linking it to the question before adding time pressure.
IELTS Matching Information: Locate Specific Evidence
An original exercise
Try it before your next practice session
The community library opens at nine on weekdays. On Saturdays it opens an hour later. The notice does not give Sunday opening times.
True, False or Not Given: The library is closed on Sundays.
Show the explanation
Not Given. The notice gives no Sunday schedule. Missing opening times do not establish that the library is closed. Saturday opening at ten is supported; Sunday closure is not.
All IELTS Reading guides
IELTS Reading: True, False or Not Given?
Separate contradiction from missing information in IELTS Reading using a three-step evidence check and original worked examples.
Read guideIELTS Matching Headings: Find the Main Idea
Choose IELTS paragraph headings by purpose and main idea, with an original example showing why matching a keyword can mislead you.
Read guideIELTS Matching Information: Locate Specific Evidence
Find examples, reasons and comparisons in IELTS Reading paragraphs using a passage map and a focused evidence-search routine.
Read guideIELTS General Training Reading: A Practice Routine
Prepare for General Training Reading with everyday notices, workplace texts and longer passages, plus an original conditions-checking exercise.
Read guideFree tools for your study session
Make time for progress
Study plan generator
Build a free IELTS study schedule around your exam date, daily study time and priority skill. Get dated tasks for Academic or General Training.
Try it free →Know your overall score
Band score calculator
Calculate your IELTS overall band from Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking scores. See the average, rounding rule and worked examples for free.
Try it free →IELTS Reading questions
Should I practise IELTS Reading with a timer immediately?
First check whether you can explain your answers without a timer. Once your evidence-finding is reliable, use timed passages and then a full 60-minute attempt. Review both wrong answers and guesses that happened to be correct.
Are these official IELTS Reading papers?
No. These are original IELTSRISE exercises and study guides. Official test-format references are linked below; the short exercise on this page is not a complete mock test.
Put your reading practice into action.
Choose your test type in IELTSRISE and apply what you have practised. An account is required; access depends on your plan or credits.
Start practising reading →Sources and editorial notes
Test-format facts are supported by the official references below. Study sequences and exercises are original IELTSRISE material. IELTSRISE is independent; practice estimates are not official results and no score improvement is guaranteed.
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