A full Academic Reading paper in the browser: three passages, 40 questions, 60 minutes
Take one passage or all three, answer 13, 14 or 40 questions in nine of the real question types, and see your marks the moment you submit, with the sentence that decides each answer. A full 40-question sitting also shows an indicative band. Nothing you answer leaves your browser.
Read first, then answer
All three passages were written for this site in the style of Academic Reading texts. Passage 1 has about 800 words in seven lettered paragraphs; Passage 2 is longer, about 900 words in eight, with longer sentences and more abstract vocabulary; Passage 3 is the longest and hardest, about 1,000 words in nine, a discussion in which named researchers hold different views. IELTS.org's test format page says the Academic Reading test has three sections, 40 questions and 60 minutes, and that the texts get harder through the paper, so about 20 minutes is the average pace for one passage.
- Choose one passage or the full paper. The passages get harder, as the texts do through the real paper. In the full paper you read Passage 1, press Continue, read Passage 2, press Continue, then read Passage 3, and all three are marked together at the end.
- 13, 14 or 40 questions in nine types, nine of the eleven that IELTS.org lists for Reading: True/False/Not Given, matching headings and sentence completion in Passage 1; matching information, multiple choice and summary completion in Passage 2; Yes/No/Not Given, matching features and flow-chart completion in Passage 3.
- One mark for each correct answer, marked against a key the moment you submit. A blank answer scores no mark.
- The sentence that decides each answer is shown afterwards, highlighted in the passage.
- A score out of 13 or 14 for one passage, with no band; the full paper of 40 gives an indicative band from the band-by-band table the band score calculator uses, built on the conversion points IELTS.org publishes.
No sign-in, no email, nothing stored.
Your answers and the key
Full papers, marked the moment you finish
IELTS Mentor AI is a paid iOS and Android app with full Academic Reading papers marked the moment you finish, and one Skill Map that shows what to fix next.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What this test is, how it is marked and what the score means.
Is this a real IELTS Reading passage?
No. The passages and the questions were written for this site. They follow the shape of the real test, with lettered paragraphs and the same question types, but they are not taken from an IELTS paper, so treat the result as practice and not as a prediction of your band.
When does the test show a band?
Only for the full 40-question sitting, when you take all three passages. IELTS.org publishes its Reading raw-score conversion for a paper of 40 questions, so a score out of 13 or 14 has no official row to be read against, and a score scaled up to 40 would only be a guess. For the full paper the test reads your score from the Academic Reading band-by-band table used by the band score calculator. IELTS.org says the marks needed for a band vary slightly from one test version to another, so the band is indicative: an estimate, not your result on a real test. If you have a raw score out of 40 from another paper, the band score calculator converts it.
How are the completion answers marked?
Your answer to a sentence-completion or summary-completion question is compared with the key after extra spaces are removed and capital letters are ignored, and a few equivalent answers are accepted where the passage allows them. It must also stay within the word limit: as IELTS.org says of the real test, you lose the mark for writing more than the word limit. IELTS Reading completion questions and the word limit explains the rule in detail.
How long should one Reading passage take?
The real Academic Reading test is 60 minutes for three sections and 40 questions, so about 20 minutes a passage is the average pace. A harder passage can take longer and an easier one less, so part of the skill is knowing when to move on from a question. How to finish IELTS Reading in 60 minutes shows how to pace the whole paper.
How do the three passages differ?
Passage 1 is about lighthouses, has about 800 words in seven paragraphs and asks True/False/Not Given, matching headings and sentence-completion questions. Passage 2 is about how life returns to bare ground, has about 900 words in eight paragraphs, uses longer sentences and more abstract vocabulary, and asks matching information, multiple choice and summary-completion questions. Passage 3 is about the argument over what sleep is for, has about 1,000 words in nine paragraphs, sets out the views of named researchers, and asks Yes/No/Not Given, matching features and flow-chart-completion questions. IELTS.org's test format page says the texts get harder through the paper, so the passages are written to get harder from Passage 1 to Passage 3.
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