IELTS Academic Reading practice test: free tests, PDFs and a set of ours
Free Academic Reading practice, with PDFs, comes from the test owners. The British Council lists Academic Reading sample tasks and an answer sheet as PDFs, plus an Answer Key for each computer task, and IDP Australia has a free Familiarisation test with Academic Reading answers. Below you also get an original set of ours.
This page is for people sitting IELTS Academic. It shows what the paper looks like, how each question type works in the owners' words, where the free tests and PDFs are, and a short practice set of ours. It is study help, not immigration advice: which version you need depends on the organisation that asked for IELTS, so check with them first.
What the Academic Reading paper is
Three texts, 40 questions, one hour.
IELTS.org, the site the three IELTS owners share, describes the Academic Reading paper like this.
| Question | What IELTS.org says |
|---|---|
| How long is it? | Time allowed: 60 minutes |
| How long are the texts? | Number of sections: 3; the total text length is 2150–2750 words |
| How many questions? | Number of questions: 40 |
| How is it marked? | Each correct answer receives 1 mark. Your final score is given as a band score from 1–9 in whole or half bands, e.g. 4 or 6.5. |
| Where do the texts come from? | Texts come from books, journals, magazines, newspapers and online resources, written for a non-specialist audience. |
| How hard is the argument? | At least one text contains detailed logical argument. |
| Are there pictures? | Texts may also contain diagrams, graphs or illustrations. |
| What about difficult words? | If texts use technical vocabulary, then a simple dictionary definition is provided. |
Our reading: the texts are long, and the total length is the real challenge. A practice passage of one page trains the question types, but only a full set of three texts trains the stamina and the time.
The question types, in the owner's words
Know what each one asks before you practise it.
IELTS.org lists eleven Academic Reading question types, ending with "Question type 11 – Short-answer questions". These are the ones that cause the most trouble, with the rule that matters for each.
| Question type | The rule, from IELTS.org |
|---|---|
| True / False / Not given | 'False' means that the statement contradicts the information in the text. 'Not given' means that the statement neither agrees with nor contradicts the information in the text. |
| True / False / Not given, a warning | You must be careful not to use any information you already know about the topic of the text when choosing your answer. |
| Yes / No / Not given | 'No' means that the statement contradicts the writer's view or claim. 'Not given' means that the statement neither agrees with nor contradicts the writer's view or claim. |
| Matching information | Not every paragraph (or section) may be used and some paragraphs (or sections) may be used more than once. |
| Matching headings | There will always be more headings than paragraphs or sections, so some headings will not be used. |
| Matching headings, repeats | No heading may be used more than once. |
| Multiple choice and sentence completion | The questions are in the same order as the information in the text: that is, the answer to the first question will be before the answer to the second question, and so on. |
| Completion questions, word limit | You will lose the mark for writing more than the word limit. |
| Completion questions, small print | Contracted words such as 'they're' will not be tested. Hyphenated words such as 'check-in' count as single words. |
Our reading: Not given is the answer most people argue with. If the text is silent, it is Not given, even when you are sure the statement is true in real life. The warning about outside knowledge in the table exists for that reason.
Free Academic Reading practice and PDFs
What exists, and where.
The free practice is run by IDP and the British Council, which both run IELTS in Canada. Their own words are in the table.
| Where | What it offers |
|---|---|
| British Council, computer sample tasks | Academic Reading (60 minutes) |
| British Council, answer keys | Answer Key (PDF, 0.02mb) |
| British Council, paper samples | Academic Reading sample tasks (PDF, 0.89mb) |
| British Council, paper answer sheet | Academic Reading answer sheet (PDF, 0.70mb) |
| British Council, full computer sample | This Academic Reading sample will show you three texts to read. |
| British Council, structure of that sample | The test is in three parts, with 40 questions in total. |
| British Council, timing | As these are practice tests, they are not timed. |
| British Council, what it helps with | practise skills like skimming, scanning, and identifying the writer's views |
| British Council, checking | check your answers against model responses and understand where to improve. |
| IDP Australia, free computer Familiarisation test | In this IELTS Familiarisation test you will read 3 long text and answer 40 questions in total. |
| IDP Australia, answers | Academic Reading answers |
| IDP Australia, timing | Unlike the actual IELTS test, these practice tests are untimed |
| IDP, sample questions | Academic Reading free sample questions |
| IELTS.org | Official practice and sample questions and answers |
| British Council, if you book with them | When you book your IELTS test with the British Council, you'll be able to access more than 40 practice tests covering every skill. |
So there are real PDFs, and they are free. The British Council lists a paper-style set of Academic Reading sample tasks and an answer sheet, plus an Answer Key for each computer task. Our reading: print the sample tasks, answer on the sheet, and mark with the key. Do it against a clock, because the owners' computer samples are not timed.
"Prepare for the exam with official Cambridge practice tests, developed by the same team that creates the IELTS exam."
That page is a book you buy, and it says it includes four authentic examination papers. Use the free tasks first to learn each question type, then spend money on full papers if you want more.
How to mark and read your practice
Same rules as the test.
One mark for each correct answer, and the British Council says wrong answers do not cost you marks. IELTS.org turns raw scores into bands with four anchor points for Academic Reading. These are averages.
| Academic Reading band | Marks out of 40 |
|---|---|
| 5 | 15 |
| 6 | 23 |
| 7 | 30 |
| 8 | 35 |
- The precise number of marks needed to achieve these band scores will vary slightly from test version to test version.
- The IELTS Academic and General Training Reading tests are graded on the same scale.
- It is usual that a greater number of questions must be answered correctly on a General Training Reading test to secure a given band score.
- We never take marks away for wrong answers.
- Spelling mistakes or poor grammar will cost you marks.
Our reading: never leave a gap, because a guess costs nothing. Check spelling in every completion answer. And do not compare an Academic score with a General Training one. They are graded on the same scale, but General Training needs more correct answers for the same band.
Our Academic Reading practice set
A short made-up passage, six questions, with a key.
This passage is invented for training. It describes a made-up town, so that nothing you already know can help. That is the point: in a real test, answers come from the text and not from your own knowledge. It is far shorter than a real text, so it trains question types, not stamina. Give yourself 10 minutes. Do not use a dictionary.
A In 2019 the town council of Valmere, a port town, ran a trial that changed the opening hours of two of its three public libraries. Until then every library had opened from nine in the morning until five in the afternoon, Monday to Saturday. Under the trial, the two smaller branches stayed open until eight in the evening on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but closed on Saturdays.
B The council expected evening opening to attract workers who could not visit during the day. Early figures supported this. Evening visits to the smaller branches rose by almost a third, and most of the new visitors were aged between 25 and 44. However, the number of children visiting the smaller branches fell, and school librarians reported that fewer pupils returned borrowed books on time.
C Surveys of residents suggested a more mixed picture. Many parents said they had relied on Saturday mornings for family visits and had found no easy substitute. Some older residents said the evening hours were of little use to them, because they preferred not to travel after dark. A small group of users, mostly students, said they were pleased with the change.
D After eighteen months the council did not extend the trial. Instead it restored Saturday opening at the two smaller branches and kept a single late evening, on Thursdays. The head librarian said that the lesson was not that evening hours fail, but that each community needs a different mix, and that more data should have been collected before the change began.
Questions 1 to 3
Do the following statements agree with the information in the passage? Write TRUE, FALSE or NOT GIVEN.
- The trial changed the opening hours of every library in Valmere.
- Most of the new evening visitors were aged between 25 and 44.
- School librarians in Valmere supported the trial.
Questions 4 and 5
Complete the sentences. Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.
5. After the trial, the council restored ____________ opening at the two smaller branches.
Question 6
A. Evening opening should never be tried again.
B. Each community may need a different mix of hours.
C. The trial should have run for longer.
D. Surveys are not a reliable guide.
Answer key and the reason for each answer
| No. | Answer | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | FALSE | Paragraph A says two of the three libraries changed. The statement says every library, so the text contradicts it. |
| 2 | TRUE | Paragraph B says most of the new visitors were aged between 25 and 44. The statement matches. |
| 3 | NOT GIVEN | Paragraph B says fewer pupils returned books on time, but never says whether school librarians backed the trial. The text is silent. |
| 4 | after dark | Paragraph C says older residents preferred not to travel after dark. Two words, so it fits the limit. |
| 5 | Saturday | Paragraph D says the council restored Saturday opening at the two smaller branches. |
| 6 | B | The librarian says each community needs a different mix. C is a trap: the librarian wanted more data before the change, not a longer trial. |
Do not read a band score from this set. Six questions cannot show one. Use it to check your habits: did you answer Question 3 from the text or from your own ideas, and did you stay inside the word limit for Question 4?
How to get more from each practice test
A routine for every passage.
- Time each passage: set a timer for the whole practice test, not just one passage, so you learn how long each text really takes you.
- Mark with the answer key. Next to each wrong answer, write the cause: did not find it, found it but misread it, outside knowledge, word limit, spelling or ran out of time.
- For every wrong answer, find the exact sentence in the text that decides it. If you cannot find one, the answer was probably Not given.
- Redo the wrong answers a few days later, without looking at the key.
- After five passages, count the causes. Fix the biggest one first.
For tips on time, skimming and scanning, see our IELTS Reading tips page, which also shows the full Academic and General Training band tables. If you want to practise Listening too, our IELTS Listening practice test page has the same routine. Once you have a test date, IELTS reschedule, expiry date and account explains how to change it.
Common questions
Yes. The British Council lists Academic Reading sample tasks (PDF, 0.89mb) and an Academic Reading answer sheet (PDF, 0.70mb), plus an Answer Key (PDF, 0.02mb) for each computer sample task.
Time allowed: 60 minutes. Number of questions: 40.
Number of sections: 3; the total text length is 2150–2750 words, says IELTS.org.
No marks are taken away for wrong answers. The British Council says: We never take marks away for wrong answers. Spelling mistakes or poor grammar will cost you marks.
'Not given' means that the statement neither agrees with nor contradicts the information in the text. You must be careful not to use any information you already know about the topic of the text when choosing your answer.
They are graded on the same scale, but a greater number of questions usually must be answered correctly on General Training to secure a given band score, says IELTS.org.
No. The British Council says: As these are practice tests, they are not timed. IDP Australia says its free Familiarisation tests are untimed too.