IELTS READING

Duration : 60 minutes

The Subject of the topic may be Technology, Science research, medical, Agriculture and any past research subject.

There are different types of question types in Academic Reading and General Reading too.

1. Matching Heading Questions:

In this, one has to choose a heading from the list which matches a section or paragraph in the passage usually given in lower roman numbers (i, ii, iii…). The heading will refers to the main point of the paragraph which students have to match with the correct one. The number of headings will be more in number of paragraphs, so choose the correct heading. Sometimes it creates confusion as one heading matches with two or more number of paragraphs so it is important to analyse the content of the paragraph accurately.

2. Identify information (True false or not given/Yes, No, Not Given Questions):

Students will get a number of statements and asked: ‘Do the following statement match with the information given in paragraph?’ Then they are required to give their answers in the form of TRUE, FALSE & NOT GIVEN or YES, NO & NOT GIVEN.

It is important to understand the difference between FALSE, NO and NOT GIVEN. False is used when the statement meaning is opposite to the real one,while No is used when the question statement is disagreeing with the writer's original point of view, whereas Not Given is used when the question statement is not there in paragraph or incompleted.

Identifying information checks the ability of the student of understanding the main point of the paragraph and also help to understand the point of view of the writer.

3. Matching Paragraph Information questions:

In this type of questions Just need to find information in the Paragraph and Match it with the statement. They may ask the student to find the: specific details, a reason, an example, a description, an explanation, a comparison, a summary.

Matching paragraph information help the students to scan for specific information from the content of the paragraph.

4. Summary, Note, Table, Flow-chart Completion Questions:

You will see a paragraph with missing words. You will use the reading passage to fill in the blanks and complete the Paragraph. The given content may be in the form of summary, notes, tables and flow-chart. The answers will not be in the same order always in the content. The instructions will be given how the answer should be like, ‘NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER or ‘ONE WORD ONLY’ or ‘NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS’. The students will not more than the mention words if they do then they will lose bands for that.

This task helps the students to understand the main idea or details of the paragraph content.

5. Sentence Completion Questions:

In this type of task, you are given sentences from the reading with a gap in it. Candidate need to fill it with words. The answers will not be in the same order always in the content. The instructions will be given how the answer should be like, ‘NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER or ‘ONE WORD ONLY’ or ‘NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS’. The students will not more than the mention words if they do then they will lose bands for that.

This task helps the students to locate the main idea or details of the paragraph content.

6. Multiple Choice Questions:

There are 3 or 4 options given in this type of question while reading student need to mark right option after matching information. Sometimes it have completed a sentence question also where one sentence have to complete with the given suitable options. The questions are given in the same way as given in the paragraph.

Multiple choice questions includes detailed understanding of certain points or an overall understanding of the main point of the paragraph.

General Reading

General Reading is considered easier than academic. There are 5 Passages in total since section 2 is divided into 2 parts. The question type, time limit and questions number is same in both types of readings. The Passages have been taken from Magazines, any advertisement of product, opening ceremony of any gym, clubs and supermarkets. The last passage is Lengthy than rest of the three Passages.

1. Matching Heading Questions:

In this, one has to choose a heading from the list which matches a section or paragraph in the passage usually given in lower roman numbers (i, ii, iii…). The heading will refers to the main point of the paragraph which students have to match with the correct one. The number of headings will be more in number of paragraphs, so choose the correct heading. Sometimes it creates confusion as one heading matches with two or more number of paragraphs so it is important to analyse the content of the paragraph accurately.

Matching heading help students to recognise the main idea of the paragraph content.

2. Identify information (True false or not given/Yes, No, Not Given Questions):

It is important to understand the difference between FALSE, NO and NOT GIVEN. False is used when the statement meaning is opposite to the real one,while No is used when the question statement is disagreeing with the writer's original point of view, whereas Not Given is used when the question statement is not there in paragraph or incompleted.

Identifying information checks the ability of the student of understanding the main point of the paragraph and also help to understand the point of view of the writer.

3. Matching Paragraph Information questions:

In this type of questions Just need to find information in the Paragraph and Match it with the statement. They may ask the student to find the: specific details, a reason, an example, a description, an explanation, a comparison, a summary.

Matching paragraph information help the students to scan for specific information from the content of the paragraph.

4. Summary, Note, Table, Flow-chart Completion Questions:

This task helps the students to understand the main idea or details of the paragraph content.

5. Sentence Completion Questions:

In this type of task, you are given sentences from the reading with a gap in it. Candidate need to fill it with words. The answers will not be in the same order always in the content. The instructions will be given how the answer should be like, ‘NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER or ‘ONE WORD ONLY’ or ‘NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS’. The students will not more than the mention words if they do then they will lose bands for that.

This task helps the students to locate the main idea or details of the paragraph content.

6. Multiple Choice Questions:

There are 3 or 4 options given in this type of question while reading student need to mark right option after matching information. Sometimes it have completed a sentence question also where one sentence have to complete with the given suitable options. The questions are given in the same way as given in the paragraph.

Difference between Academic and General

• The main difference between Academic and General Reading is bands score variation for example Academic students acquire 6 bands having 23-26 correct answers whereas 30-31 answers must be corrected for GT Students to achieve same.
• Second Distinction is content Choice. For Academic students –Students come across different types of passages, Narrative, Descriptive or argumentative. Many times it contains diagrams, graphs or illustrations. On the other hand, in general main 3 passages topics are related to everyday life, work related issues and topics of General interest.