IELTS General Training Reading · Lesson 1 of 4
General Training Reading: how the test works
The three sections, the kinds of text you will read, how the test differs from Academic, and how to plan your time.
In this lesson you will
- understand how the General Training Reading test works
- know what kind of text appears in each section
- see how it differs from the Academic test
- plan your 60 minutes
The test
The General Training Reading test
You have 60 minutes to answer 40 questions, and each correct answer is worth one mark. There are three sections, and the texts get longer and more difficult. They come from sources such as notices, advertisements, company handbooks, books, magazines and newspapers.
| Section | What you read | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Section 1 | Several short everyday texts | Notices, advertisements, timetables |
| Section 2 | Two texts about work | Job descriptions, contracts, training materials |
| Section 3 | One longer text on a general topic | A descriptive or instructive article from a book, magazine or newspaper |
Which section?
In which section would you be most likely to read each text?
- A bus timetable
- A company's rules about sick leave
- A long magazine article about the history of bridges
- An advertisement for a local swimming pool
- Details of a staff training course
Academic and General Training
What is different?
The two Reading tests have the same length, the same number of questions and the same question types. The differences are the texts and the scoring.
| Academic | General Training | |
|---|---|---|
| Texts | Three long texts | Short everyday and workplace texts, then one longer text |
| Focus | Academic topics, often argumentative | Practical information, then descriptive or instructive writing |
| Scoring | Fewer correct answers are needed for each band | More correct answers are usually needed for each band |
| Correct answers (approximately) | General Training band |
|---|---|
| 40 | 9 |
| 37–38 | 8 |
| 34–35 | 7 |
| 30–31 | 6 |
| 23–26 | 5 |
Source: published British Council figures. The exact numbers can vary slightly between tests.
Why the first sections matter: the short texts in Sections 1 and 2 are easier, but you need a high score overall. Careless mistakes are expensive, so read the instructions and check word limits.
Check your understanding
- The General Training test has 40 questions.
- You get 90 minutes.
- The question types are different from those in the Academic test.
- Section 3 is one longer text.
- About 30 correct answers gives you approximately Band 6.
Question types
Use the same strategies
You will meet the same question types as in the Academic test, so the strategy lessons in our Academic course work for General Training too. Use this list when you need help with a question type.
| Question type | Strategy lesson |
|---|---|
| Multiple choice | Lesson 10: Multiple choice |
| True / False / Not Given and Yes / No / Not Given | Lesson 11: True / False / Not Given |
| Matching information | Lesson 4: Matching information |
| Matching headings | Lesson 3: Matching headings |
| Matching features | Lesson 12: Matching features |
| Matching sentence endings | Lesson 9: Matching sentence endings |
| Sentence completion | Lesson 5: Sentence completion |
| Summary, note, table and flow-chart completion | Lesson 6: Summary and other completion |
| Diagram label completion | Lesson 7: Diagram label completion |
| Short-answer questions | Lesson 8: Short-answer questions |
A suggested time plan
Section 3 is the hardest, so try to save the most time for it.
| Section | Suggested time |
|---|---|
| Section 1 | 15 minutes |
| Section 2 | 20 minutes |
| Section 3 | 25 minutes |
Lesson and passages written for Tips4IELTS, based on the official IELTS General Training Reading test format.