The IELTS Reading test gives you 60 minutes for 40 questions. On paper, there is no extra time to transfer answers to the answer sheet, unlike Listening, so your answers must be on the sheet when time ends. On computer, you type answers straight into the screen. Either way, many capable students finish with five or ten questions blank simply because they ran out of time. This lesson shows you how to plan your hour.
Understand the structure
- Academic Reading: three long passages, each followed by around 13 or 14 questions. Passages usually get harder from 1 to 3.
- General Training Reading: three sections. Section 1 has short everyday texts (notices, adverts), Section 2 has work-related texts, and Section 3 has one longer general-interest passage.
- Scoring: every question is worth one mark. A difficult question in Passage 3 is worth exactly the same as an easy one in Passage 1.
- No penalty for wrong answers. A blank always scores zero; a guess might score one.
A simple time plan
A common plan for Academic Reading:
| Passage | Suggested time | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Passage 1 | 17–18 minutes | Usually the easiest; bank marks quickly |
| Passage 2 | 20 minutes | Medium difficulty |
| Passage 3 | 20–22 minutes | Usually the hardest and longest |
| Final check | 1–2 minutes | Fill any blanks with guesses |
Write your finishing times at the top of each passage when the test begins. For example, if you start at 10:00, write 10:18, 10:38 and 10:58. On computer, a clock is shown on the screen; glance at it at the end of each passage.
How to read a passage quickly
You do not need to read every word carefully. Use this three-stage approach:
- Skim (2–3 minutes). Read the title, any subheading, the first sentence of each paragraph and the last paragraph. Get the topic and the structure.
- Read the questions. Underline key words, especially names, numbers and dates, which are easy to scan for.
- Scan and read closely. Find the relevant part of the text, then read those two or three sentences slowly and carefully. This is where the marks are.
Some question types, such as matching headings, are best answered first because they help you understand the whole passage. Others, such as summary completion, follow passage order and are quicker once you know where to look.
Worked example: the two-minute rule
Tanvir, a student from Sylhet, was averaging 26 out of 40 in practice. He discovered that he spent up to seven minutes on single True/False/Not Given questions in Passage 2, then rushed Passage 3 and left eight questions blank.
He adopted a two-minute rule: if a question takes longer than two minutes, he marks his best guess, puts a small star next to it and moves on. If time remains at the end of the passage, he returns to starred questions.
After two weeks of timed practice, he finished every test with all 40 answers filled in. His raw score rose to around 30, not because his English improved overnight, but because he stopped giving away easy marks at the end.
(Individual results vary. The point is the method, not the number.)
Common mistakes
- Reading the whole passage slowly before looking at the questions. This can take 10 minutes on its own.
- Treating one question as a test of pride. No single question deserves five minutes.
- Forgetting the transfer on paper. Write answers directly on the answer sheet as you go, or at the end of each passage, never all at the very end.
- Leaving blanks. Always guess. For True/False/Not Given, even a random choice has a one-in-three chance.
- Ignoring spelling and word limits under pressure. A rushed answer that breaks the word limit is still wrong.
- Practising without a timer. Untimed practice builds understanding, but it does not build speed.
Building speed over weeks
- Read daily in English for 20 minutes: science articles, opinion columns, university news. Speed comes from familiarity with academic style.
- Do one timed passage at least three times a week, strictly 20 minutes.
- Review every mistake. Ask: was it a vocabulary problem, a locating problem or a time problem? Each needs a different fix.
- Take full timed tests under test conditions in the last few weeks before your exam. Use the free practice tests on this site to rehearse the full hour.
Quick tip
Set a phone timer to vibrate at 20 and 40 minutes during practice. When it buzzes, finish your current question and move to the next passage, even if you are not done. Learning to let go is the fastest way to raise your Reading score.
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