International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic Reading Syllabus

Academic Reading syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Academic Reading in International English Language Testing System (IELTS), not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Reading Test Structure

   3 topics

   • Three passages and increasing difficulty
   • Source texts: journals, books, magazines
   • Forty questions and timing constraints
2. 2

   Question Types

   6 topics

   • True/False/Not Given and Yes/No/Not Given
     • Distinguishing False from Not Given
     • Matching claims to the writer's view
   • Matching headings to paragraphs
   • Matching information, features and sentence endings
   • Multiple choice and list selection
   • Completion: sentence, summary, note, table, diagram
   • Short-answer questions
3. 3

   Reading Strategies

   5 topics

   • Skimming for main ideas and structure
   • Scanning for specific information
     • Locating keywords and synonyms
     • Using numbers, names and capitals as anchors
   • Close reading for inference
   • Identifying paragraph topic sentences
   • Managing unknown vocabulary in context
4. 4

   Comprehension of Academic Text

   4 topics

   • Cohesion: reference words and linkers
   • Distinguishing fact, opinion and claim
   • Understanding the writer's purpose and tone
   • Interpreting data references within text

Academic Reading flashcards for International English Language Testing System (IELTS)

21 of 51 cards from the Academic Reading deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. How many reading passages are in the IELTS Academic Reading test, and how do they progress in difficulty?

   Three passages, presented in order of increasing difficulty (Passage 1 easiest, Passage 3 hardest).

2. From what types of source material are IELTS Academic Reading passages typically taken?

   Authentic texts from books, journals, magazines, and newspapers, written for a non-specialist audience.

3. How many questions in total must be answered in IELTS Academic Reading, and in what time?

   40 questions in 60 minutes, with no extra transfer time (answers are written directly on the answer sheet).

4. On average, how much time can a candidate spend per passage in IELTS Academic Reading?

   About 20 minutes per passage ($\frac{60}{3} = 20$ minutes each).

5. What is each correct answer worth, and is there negative marking?

   Each correct answer scores 1 mark and there is no negative marking; the raw score out of 40 is converted to a band score from 1 to 9.

6. In True/False/Not Given questions, what does each of the three options mean?

   True = the statement agrees with the information in the text; False = the statement contradicts the information; Not Given = there is no information to confirm or contradict it.

7. What is the key difference between True/False/Not Given and Yes/No/Not Given task types?

   True/False/Not Given tests factual information stated in the text; Yes/No/Not Given tests the writer's views, opinions or claims.

8. How can you distinguish a 'False/No' answer from a 'Not Given' answer?

   False/No means the text directly contradicts the statement; Not Given means the text neither confirms nor denies it — the information is simply absent.

9. In Matching Headings tasks, what must each heading describe about a paragraph?

   The main idea, overall topic, or function of the paragraph as a whole — not a minor supporting detail.

10. Why are there usually more headings than paragraphs in a Matching Headings task?

    Extra headings act as distractors that are never used, so each must be evaluated and rejected carefully.

11. What does a 'Matching Information' task require you to do, and what is a key warning about it?

    Locate which paragraph contains a specific piece of information; a warning is that any paragraph may be used more than once or not at all, and questions are not in passage order.

12. In 'Matching Features' tasks, what are you typically asked to connect?

    You match a list of statements or items to a set of options such as people, dates, places, theories or categories named in the text.

13. In 'Matching Sentence Endings' tasks, how should the completed sentence read?

    The chosen ending must combine with the given sentence beginning to be both grammatically correct and factually accurate according to the passage.

14. In Multiple Choice questions, how should you handle the distractor options?

    Eliminate options that are contradicted, only partly true, or not mentioned; choose only the option fully supported by the text.

15. What is a 'list selection' multiple choice question, and how do you mark it?

    You choose more than one correct answer (e.g. TWO or THREE) from a longer list; you must select the exact number requested for the marks.

16. Name the five completion sub-types that appear in IELTS Academic Reading.

    Sentence completion, summary completion, note completion, table completion, and flow-chart/diagram completion.

17. In completion tasks, what is the most important rule about word limits?

    Obey the word limit exactly (e.g. 'NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER'); exceeding it makes the answer wrong even if the meaning is correct.

18. In summary completion, what are the two possible answer sources, and how do they differ?

    Either words taken directly from the passage, or words chosen from a given box list; the box version often uses synonyms/paraphrases rather than exact text words.

19. Are hyphenated words and contractions counted as one word or more in completion answers?

    A hyphenated word (e.g. 'well-known') counts as one word; a contraction is generally not used; numbers written as figures (e.g. 50) count as a number, not a word.

20. What must answers to Short-Answer Questions be drawn from, and what limit applies?

    They must be taken directly from words in the passage and obey the stated word limit (commonly no more than three words and/or a number).

21. Define skimming as a reading strategy and state its purpose in IELTS.

    Skimming is reading quickly over a text to grasp the main idea, gist, and overall structure without reading every word — useful for getting a passage overview before answering.

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