IELTS Academic reading practice tests

Preparing for your IELTS Academic Reading test

We want you to feel confident and ready on test day. Below you'll find official sample materials for the IELTS Academic Reading test to help you practise before you sit.

The IELTS Academic Reading test differs from General Training — it features three long texts drawn from books, journals, and magazines, and is designed to test a wide range of reading skills. These official practice materials will help you:

• get familiar with the Academic Reading test format and question types
• practise skills like skimming, scanning, and identifying the writer's views
• work through tasks under timed, exam-like conditions
• check your answers against model responses and understand where to improve.

Academic Reading Sample task Multiple Choice (one answer)

You will read an extract from a Part 1 text about older people in the workforce.

Click on the correct answer.

Academic Reading Sample task Multiple Choice (more than one answer)

You will read an extract from a Part 1 text about older people in the workforce.

Click on the correct answers.

Academic Reading Sample task Identifying Information (True/False/Not Given)

You will read an extract from a Part 1 text about the scientist Marie Curie.

Click on the correct answers.

Academic Reading Sample task Note Completion

You will read an extract from a Part 1 text about the scientist Marie Curie.

For each question, write your answer in the gap.

Academic Reading Sample task Table Completion

You will read an extract from a Part 1 text about dung beetles.

For each question, write your answer in the gap.

Academic Reading Sample task Matching Features

You will read an extract from a Part 1 text about the development of rockets.

For each question, click on the correct space in the table.

Academic Reading Sample task Summary Completion (selecting words from the text)

You will read an extract from a Part 3 text about the ‘Plain English’ movement, which promotes the use of clear English.

For each question, write your answer in the gap.

Academic Reading Sample task Summary Completion (selecting from a list of words or phrases)

You will read an extract from a Part 3 text about language.

For each question, write your answer in the gap.

Academic Reading Sample task Sentence Completion

You will read a Part 2 text which discusses whether birds evolved from dinosaurs.

Click on the correct answer.

Academic Reading Sample task Matching Sentence Endings

You will read an extract from a Part 3 text about the scientific community in London in the 1700s.

Click on the correct answer.

Even more IELTS Academic - paper sample tests

Academic Reading (60 minutes)

Texts for the Academic Reading test are taken from books, journals, magazines and newspapers.

A variety of tasks is used, including: multiple-choice questions, identifying information, identifying writer’s views/claims, matching information, matching headings, matching features, matching sentence endings, sentence completion, summary completion, note completion, table completion, flow-chart completion, diagram label completion, short-answer questions.