Skill hub
IELTS Reading
Sixty minutes, forty questions, and the one section where Academic and General Training are genuinely different tests: different texts, and a different conversion from marks to band.
Different on Academic and General Training. The question types are shared; the texts and the band table are not.
- 60 min
- Three sections, answered in any order
- 40
- Questions, one mark each, no penalty for a wrong answer
- 30 or 35
- Correct answers for the band 7 average, Academic or General Training
What differs by test type
| Aspect | Academic | General Training |
|---|---|---|
| Texts | Three sections from books, journals, magazines, newspapers and online sources, written for a non-specialist audience | Three sections of increasing difficulty: everyday notices and timetables, then workplace texts such as job descriptions and contracts, then one long text of general interest |
| Total length | 2150 to 2750 words | 2150 to 2375 words |
| Questions | 40, one mark each | 40, one mark each |
| Band 7 average | 30 correct | 35 correct |
| Band 6 average | 23 correct | 30 correct |
| Who sits it | Applicants for degree study and professional registration | Applicants for migration, work experience and training below degree level |
The question types are the same on both: multiple choice, matching, True, False or Not Given, sentence and summary completion, and short answers. So the technique guides apply to both tests. What changes is the raw score you need for a band: more answers have to be right on General Training for the same result, because its texts are easier.
Start with the raw score to band guide
Where marks go missing
- Time. Sixty minutes for three sections and no transfer time, so a section that runs long takes its minutes from the next one.
- Not Given. It means the text does not say, not that the statement is false, and the two are confused more than any other pair.
- Copied words. Completion answers must be the words in the text, spelt as the text spells them, within the word limit.
- Reading everything. The questions tell you where to look; a passage read start to finish is a passage read twice.
Turn a raw score into a band
Academic and General Training use different tables.
Drag to your number of correct answers out of 40. The band updates as you go.
Academic Reading band
7.0
30 out of 40 is the average IELTS publishes for band 7 in Academic Reading. 5 more marks reach the band 8 average.
- Correct answers
- 30 / 40
- Next published average
- Band 8 at 35
- Marks to reach it
- 5
Reading guides
All 1 in the guides indexFormat facts and conversion figures checked against ielts.org on 6 September 2026. The figures are the average marks IELTS publishes for each band, not a guarantee for any single test.
More hubs
Practise Reading against the clock, with the right table
The Compass IELTS app times each section, marks to the official rules, and converts your raw score on the Academic or General Training table.