Students who understand the IELTS reading and writing format are at an advantage. So, make sure you are familiar with how its testing works. Thus, preparing regularly with the IELTS practice test reading and writing will be helpful for you. However, they assess a variety of your reading and writing skills. While the question structure is identical for the Academic and General Training tests, the content differs.
Moreover, the reading section has three sections and two tasks in the writing part. In addition, these sections last 60 minutes. However, to know about them in detail, read below.
Test Format
The questions on the IELTS reading and writing test evaluate a variety of skills. Read below to learn about them individually:
IELTS Reading
The 40 questions on the reading section or IELTS test check your variety of reading skills. These include:
- Scanning: reading fast to locate a specific piece of information
- Skimming: reading for gist and to understand the main idea
- Reading for Main Idea: reading to know a logical argument, opinion, attitudes, and purpose of the author.
IELTS Writing
There are two writing tasks in this section and you have to complete them under the timeline. Both tasks include:
- In task 1, you have to explain some visual information in your own words (a graph, table, chart, or diagram). However, you need to write at least 150 words in about 20 minutes.
- In task 2, you are given a point of view, arguments, or problem that you need to discuss. Thus, you need to write at least 250 words in about 40 minutes.
Get to know about the format of both sections. Now read below to know how IELTS practice test reading and writing helps you to score higher in the exam.
IELTS Reading and Writing Mock Test
The IELTS score you need to achieve by preparing yourself well in advance of the exam. Moreover, you should prepare for your IELTS with the best study materials, sample papers, and coaching centers. However, you can choose between free or paid online IELTS practice test reading and writing. Since it covers a wide range of IELTS topics. In addition, mock tests are marked by top IELTS experts to ensure you get the best feedback.
Thus, get to know how the IELTS mock test can help you to gain a high score. Now read below to understand the time duration for both sections.
Time Limit
Following is the information regarding time duration in both the reading and writing sections of the IELTS exam:
IELTS Reading
You have 60 minutes to complete 40 questions, so managing your time is vital. There are three tasks in the Reading part, and you must aim to spend no more than 20 minutes on each one. As the test progresses, the task difficulty level will also increase. So, make sure you allow yourself enough time to complete each of them. You may find you can get through the first task more quickly. This can give you more time to spend on the more challenging questions in the next two sections.
IELTS Writing
You have 60 minutes to complete 2 tasks, so managing your time is important. For the first one, you will need to summarise the data from one or more charts, graphs, or tables presented to you. In addition, you could be given a diagram of a machine, device, or business process and be required to explain how it works. So, it is recommended that you spend 20 minutes on the first task.
Furthermore, the second one involves writing in an academic or formal-neutral style about a given topic. It could be in response to a point of view, argument, or problem. The topics here will be interesting and relevant for students looking to enter colleges abroad. So, it’s recommended to spend 40 minutes on the second task.
Understand about the duration of the section and how to manage your time. Now read below to learn about the types of questions asked in both parts of the exam.
Question Types
There is a range of question types in the IELTS reading and writing section read below to get the list of them individually.
IELTS Reading
In the General Training and Academic reading tests, you can expect a wide range of question types, including:
- Identifying information
- MCQs
- Identifying an author’s claims or view
- Matching heading/ information/ features/sentence ending
- Sentence completion
- Summary/ note/ table/ flow-chart completion
- Diagram label completion
- Short answer question
You will be required to manage your time to make sure you can answer many types of questions in the given 60 minutes.
IELTS Writing
There are five types of IELTS writing task 2 questions are as follows:
- Opinion- Agree/ Disagree Type
- Advantages/ Disadvantages Type
- Problem and Solution Type
- Discussion Type- Discuss both views
- Two- Part Question
These are the question types you will see while taking the IELTS writing and reading section. Further, you have to practice for these types of quires you have to take reading or IELTS writing mock test online or offline to be familiar with the format.
Conclusion
Summing up, in the IELTS reading or writing test, you will have 40 questions and two tasks. There is just one right answer for each question. Each correct solution will get you one mark in the reading section. So, your band score will be determined by the total number of points. However, in the writing section, you have two tasks, in the first one you have to write formal and informal letters, and in the second you have to write an essay. Thus, if you are doing self-studies regularly taking IELTS writing mock test online will be helpful for you.