IELTS (International English Language Testing System) Academic Reading Syllabus

What is flow-chart completion used to test?

Your understanding of a process or sequence of stages described in the text, filled in following the logical order.

What is the difference between skimming and scanning?

Skimming = reading quickly to get the general/main idea and text organization; scanning = searching quickly for specific details like names, dates or figures.

What reading skill is best for finding the main idea and structure of a passage?

Skimming - reading rapidly over the text to grasp the gist and how it is organized.

What reading skill do you use to locate names, dates, numbers and keywords quickly?

Scanning - moving your eyes rapidly to spot specific target words without reading every word.

What is 'paraphrase recognition' and why is it crucial in Academic Reading?

Recognizing that questions usually reword the text using synonyms/different grammar; answers are found by matching meaning, not identical words.

What is a topic sentence and where is it usually located?

The sentence that states a paragraph's main idea, usually (but not always) the first sentence of the paragraph.

Why is identifying paragraph purpose useful in Academic Reading?

It helps with Matching Headings and main-idea questions by revealing what each paragraph is doing (e.g., giving an example, contrasting, explaining a cause).

What does it mean to 'infer' meaning in a reading passage?

To work out information that is implied but not directly stated, using clues in the text and logic.

What is meant by the 'writer's stance' (attitude)?

The writer's opinion, viewpoint or attitude toward the topic - positive, negative, neutral, cautious, etc. - often signaled by word choice.

What is the Academic Word List (AWL)?

A list of around 570 word families that occur frequently across academic texts; mastering it helps with discipline-neutral academic vocabulary in the test.

What does 'discipline-neutral terminology' mean in Academic Reading?

General academic vocabulary that appears across many subjects (e.g., 'analyze', 'significant', 'hypothesis') rather than specialist jargon from one field.

What are referencing (reference) words and give examples?

Words that point back or forward to something already mentioned, such as 'it', 'this', 'they', 'such', 'the former' - key to following meaning and finding answers.

What are cohesion devices in a text?

Linking words and phrases (e.g., 'however', 'therefore', 'in addition', 'as a result') that connect ideas and show logical relationships between sentences.

How can you guess the meaning of an unknown word from context?

Use surrounding clues - definitions, examples, contrasts, and the overall sentence meaning - to infer the word without a dictionary.

How can word roots and affixes help with unfamiliar vocabulary?

Recognizing roots, prefixes and suffixes (e.g., 'bio-', 'un-', '-tion') lets you deduce a word's likely meaning and part of speech.

What is a collocation and why does it matter for completion tasks?

A collocation is a natural word pairing (e.g., 'make a decision', 'heavy rain'); knowing them helps you predict and select grammatically correct gap answers.

What is 'formal register' in academic texts?

The serious, objective, impersonal style of academic writing - precise vocabulary, few contractions, and cautious/hedged claims.

Roughly how much time should you spend on each passage?

About 20 minutes per passage (60 minutes divided across the three passages).

Why is managing question order and skipping difficult items recommended?

To protect your time - answer easier questions first and move on from a hard one, returning later, so you don't lose marks on questions you could answer.

What does it mean to avoid 'over-reading'?

Not reading the whole passage word-for-word; instead skim/scan and read closely only the parts relevant to each question to save time.

What is the 'time trap' in Academic Reading?

Spending too long on one difficult question or passage, leaving too little time to answer the remaining (and possibly easier) questions.

Is there a fixed pass mark (raw score) for a given band in Academic Reading?

No - the raw-score-to-band conversion can vary slightly between test versions, but it is published as an approximate guide.

Approximately how many correct answers (out of 40) are needed for Band 7 in Academic Reading?

Roughly 30 out of 40 correct answers typically corresponds to about Band 7.

Approximately what raw score gives Band 6 in Academic Reading?

Around 23 out of 40 correct answers typically corresponds to about Band 6.

Approximately what raw score is needed for Band 8 in Academic Reading?

Roughly 35 out of 40 correct answers typically corresponds to about Band 8.

Why should you write answers exactly as they appear in the passage for completion tasks?

Because spelling and the exact word(s) must be correct; a misspelled or altered word is marked wrong even if the meaning is right.

Does Academic Reading have its own separate timing for transferring answers like Listening does?

No - all 40 answers must be written on the answer sheet within the 60 minutes; there is no extra transfer time.

In True/False/Not Given questions, must the statements follow the order of the text?

Yes - this question type generally follows the order in which information appears in the passage.

Why are keywords in a question useful before reading?

They give you specific targets to scan for in the text, helping you locate the relevant section quickly via paraphrases or exact matches.

What overall strategy combines skimming and scanning for each passage?

First skim the passage for main idea and structure, then scan for keywords from each question to locate and read the relevant part closely.