Exam Pattern
IELTS Exam Pattern
International English Language Testing System: Reading
Both reading papers run 40 questions in 60 minutes with free movement between passages, exactly as the real test allows, and neither deducts anything for a wrong answer. What differs is the material. Academic uses three passages of the kind found in journals and textbooks; General Training moves through three sections of rising difficulty, from notices and advertisements to workplace texts to one longer general-interest piece. The raw score out of 40 converts to a band afterwards, so a total here feeds that conversion rather than being the band itself.
The IELTS exam pattern below is checked stage by stage, so one stage cannot inherit another stage's scoring rules.
Academic Reading
Official 2026 pattern| Questions | 40 |
| Total marks | 40 |
| Duration | 60 minutes |
| Negative marking | 0 per wrong answer |
| Sections | Passage 1, Passage 2, Passage 3 |
| Test | Qs | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| Passage 1 | 13 | 13 |
| Passage 2 | 13 | 13 |
| Passage 3 | 14 | 14 |
Timing: Single composite 60-minute timer for all three passages combined: no sectional lock, you can move between passages freely, the same as the real test.
IELTS Academic Reading has three passages of increasing difficulty, taken from books, journals, magazines and newspapers, worth 40 questions in total. There is no negative marking: each correct answer scores 1 mark, and the raw score out of 40 is later converted to a band score from 1 to 9 using IELTS's published conversion table. This practice test uses a multiple-choice format for every question so it can be scored instantly; the official test also uses other formats such as matching and sentence completion for the same reading skills.
Official source · checked 14 August 2026The IELTS Academic Reading exam pattern is 40 questions carrying 40 marks, to be answered in 60 minutes. That works out to about 90 seconds per question on average, before any time spent reading instructions or revisiting marked answers. The 3 sections are Passage 1, Passage 2 and Passage 3. Passage 3 carries the most, 14 marks of the 40 or about 35%, against 13 marks for Passage 2. All sections share one composite timer, so you are free to move between them and spend your time where it earns most.
IELTS Academic Reading marking scheme
- Each correct answer is worth 1 mark.
- There is no negative marking, so leaving a question blank can only cost you: an unattempted question and a wrong one score the same zero. Attempt everything.
- Worked example: attempt 32 of the 40 questions and get 24 right and 8 wrong, and you score 24 out of 40.
Practising against the same clock is the point of a mock test: at 90 seconds a question, the difference between a good score and an average one is usually pacing rather than knowledge. Attempt a free IELTS mock test to see where your time actually goes.
General Training Reading
Official 2026 pattern| Questions | 40 |
| Total marks | 40 |
| Duration | 60 minutes |
| Negative marking | 0 per wrong answer |
| Sections | Section 1, Section 2, Section 3 |
| Test | Qs | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| Section 1 | 13 | 13 |
| Section 2 | 13 | 13 |
| Section 3 | 14 | 14 |
Timing: Single composite 60-minute timer for all three sections combined: no sectional lock, you can move between sections freely, the same as the real test.
IELTS General Training Reading has three sections of increasing difficulty: Section 1 uses short social or survival texts (notices, advertisements, guides), Section 2 uses workplace-related texts, and Section 3 is one longer, general-interest text similar in style to the Academic test. There is no negative marking: each correct answer scores 1 mark, and the raw score out of 40 is later converted to a band score from 1 to 9. This practice test uses a multiple-choice format for every question so it can be scored instantly; the official test also uses other formats such as matching and sentence completion for the same reading skills.
Official source · checked 14 August 2026The IELTS General Training Reading exam pattern is 40 questions carrying 40 marks, to be answered in 60 minutes. That works out to about 90 seconds per question on average, before any time spent reading instructions or revisiting marked answers. The 3 sections are Section 1, Section 2 and Section 3. Section 3 carries the most, 14 marks of the 40 or about 35%, against 13 marks for Section 2. All sections share one composite timer, so you are free to move between them and spend your time where it earns most.
IELTS General Training Reading marking scheme
- Each correct answer is worth 1 mark.
- There is no negative marking, so leaving a question blank can only cost you: an unattempted question and a wrong one score the same zero. Attempt everything.
- Worked example: attempt 32 of the 40 questions and get 24 right and 8 wrong, and you score 24 out of 40.
Practising against the same clock is the point of a mock test: at 90 seconds a question, the difference between a good score and an average one is usually pacing rather than knowledge. Attempt a free IELTS mock test to see where your time actually goes.
IELTS exam pattern: frequently asked questions
Is there negative marking in IELTS?
IELTS Academic Reading has no negative marking; IELTS General Training Reading has no negative marking. An unattempted question always scores zero, so the choice is only ever between guessing and leaving it blank.
How many questions are there in IELTS?
IELTS Academic Reading has 40 questions, IELTS General Training Reading has 40 questions. That leaves about 90 seconds per question in IELTS Academic Reading and 90 seconds per question in IELTS General Training Reading.
What are the total marks in IELTS?
IELTS Academic Reading is out of 40 marks, which works out at 1 mark a question, IELTS General Training Reading is out of 40 marks, which works out at 1 mark a question.
How long is the IELTS exam?
IELTS Academic Reading runs for 60 minutes, IELTS General Training Reading runs for 60 minutes.
Does IELTS have a sectional time limit?
No. IELTS runs every section on one composite timer, so you can move between sections freely and give the slower ones more of your time.
How many stages does IELTS have?
This site covers 2 objective stages: Academic Reading, General Training Reading. Each stage is checked against the official notification separately, because scoring rules routinely differ between stages of the same exam.