IELTS Academic Reading

8 sample papers for IELTS Academic Reading

The Academic Reading section tests a wide range of reading skills and strategies. Some tasks may involve reading for gist (i.e. general understanding, or overall meaning). Others may require you to read for the main ideas in a text. You might also need to read for detail or specific information. Or perhaps you will be required to read closely in order to understand a logical argument in a text.

The content of this resource has been written to closely replicate the IELTS exam experience, and has undergone comprehensive expert and peer review. Each of the 8 exam-styled tests includes the different reading tasks that you may encounter during the IELTS Academic Reading test:

Matching headings

True / False / Yes / No / Not Given

Matching information

Summary completion

Sentence completion

Multiple choice

Matching features

Choosing a title

Categorisation/classification

Matching sentence endings

Table completion

Flowchart completion

Diagram completion

Short answer questions

About the author:

Jane Turner is an associate lecturer in EAP/EFL at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, and an EFL materials writer for international exam boards, universities and publishers. She previously worked as a Cambridge ESOL examiner for the British Council, and holds an MA in Education Management and Cambridge CELTA and DELTA.