Ielts course

IELTS course



IELTS (International English Language Testing System)
Unit 1
Academic and General Training Reading tests


Overview

The test takes 60 min, it consists of 40 questions based on 3 (academic) or 5-6 (general) reading texts with total of 2150 words.

The number and type of texts are different in the Academic and General training reading tests, but the reading skills that candidates need and the types of tasks they have to do are mainly the same, so the advice and tasks in Units 1 will be useful whether you are preparing for the Academic or General training reading test.

You will need to write all your answers on the answer sheet provided, as the examiners will not look at the question papers. You must do this within the 60 minutes as you are not given time at the end of the test to transfer your answers. All answers must be written in pencil.



Common problems students have: 

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  Students don’t read carefully enough so they get the wrong meaning.
  
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  Students can’t pick out the key facts from a text.
  
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  Students are used to reading things like websites and magazines but not academic articles.
  
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  Students find it really difficult to pick out the main ideas.
  
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  Students can never tell what the writer thinks about something.
  
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  Students always start reading a text straightaway, instead of looking at the headings and pictures first to help them understand the text.
  
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  Students keep stopping to look up words in a dictionary.
  
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  Students take too long to read a text.
  

You will not be allowed to use a dictionary at the test.