IELTS Reading Test – Structure
There are two separate reading tests, one for Academic candidates and one for General Training candidates. Before enrolling for the test, you need to decide which test is best for you. See www.ielts.org for advice. Generally, IELTS academic test is required for studying abroad and IELTS General Training is required for Permanent residency (PR) applications or for work visa in a foreign country.
Your Reading band score is calculated by the number of correct answers you have out of the 40 questions in the test. You do not lose points for an incorrect answer and, thus, you should attempt all the questions. You can use our IELTS Band Score Calculator for free to convert the number of correct answers to band score or use the following table:
Table: Number of Correct Answers to IELTS Band Score for Reading Academic
| Number of Correct Answers | Band Score |
| 40-39 | 9 |
| 38-37 | 8.5 |
| 36-35 | 8 |
| 34-33 | 7.5 |
| 32-30 | 7 |
| 29-27 | 6.5 |
| 26-23 | 6 |
| 22-19 | 5.5 |
| 18-15 | 5 |
| 14-13 | 4.5 |
| 12-10 | 4 |
| 9-8 | 3.5 |
| 7-6 | 3 |
| 5-4 | 2.5 |
Table: Number of Correct Answers to IELTS Band Score for Reading Academic
| Number of Correct Answers | Band Score |
| 40 | 9 |
| 39 | 8.5 |
| 37-38 | 8 |
| 36 | 7.5 |
| 34-35 | 7 |
| 32-33 | 6.5 |
| 30-31 | 6 |
| 27-29 | 5.5 |
| 23-26 | 5 |
| 19-22 | 4.5 |
| 15-18 | 4 |
| 12-14 | 3.5 |
| 9-11 | 3 |
| 6-8 | 2.5 |
The IELTS Reading test is 1 hour in duration and extra time is not given to transfer the answers from question paper to the answer sheet. Pen and paper based IELTS exam answer sheet looks like the following picture. For computer-delivered IELTS Reading test, candidates have to input their answers while taking the test and they are automatically saved on the computer.
Picture: Sample IELTS Reading Answer Sheet
Now go through all the topics mentioned in the ‘Lesson Content’ Box below.