IELTS Reading Strategy: Managing 60 Minutes and the Order of Questions
IELTS Reading gives you 60 minutes for three passages and 40 questions, and on the computer-delivered test you enter each answer on screen as you go. Spend 16 minutes on Passage 1, 19 on Passage 2 and 22 on Passage 3, and keep the last 3 minutes for checking. For each passage, skim the questions and the first sentence of each paragraph, answer the question types that follow the passage order first, and answer False only when you can point to a sentence that says the opposite.
The format
IELTS Reading is 60 minutes, three passages and 40 questions. The number you get right is converted into a band score, and a wrong answer costs nothing.
In Korea, IDP and the British Council have both run IELTS on computer only since 22 March 2026. You enter Reading answers on screen as you work, and there is no extra time at the end to transfer or tidy them up. Whatever is on screen when the 60 minutes end is what gets marked.
The texts differ between versions: Academic has three long academic passages, while General Training opens with short everyday texts such as notices and advertisements, moves on to work-related texts, and finishes with one longer passage (Academic or General Training).
The two tests also need different numbers of correct answers for the same band:
| Band | Academic: correct answers | General Training: correct answers |
|---|---|---|
| 6.0 | 23–26 | 30–31 |
| 6.5 | 27–29 | 32–33 |
| 7.0 | 30–32 | 34–35 |
| 7.5 | 33–34 | 36 |
These are the widely published conversion figures, and the cut-off can shift by a question or two from one test to the next. Strategy starts here: for Academic 6.5 you can get around 13 of the 40 questions wrong, so the longer you fight one hard question, the more easy ones you lose later. The full table is in IELTS band scores.
The 60-minute plan: 16, 19, 22 and 3
Splitting the hour evenly gives an easy passage and a hard one the same 20 minutes. Passage 1 is usually the easiest and Passage 3 the hardest, so you bank time early and spend it late.
| Section | Time | Finish by (elapsed / remaining) |
|---|---|---|
| Passage 1 | 16 min | 16 min / 44 min |
| Passage 2 | 19 min | 35 min / 25 min |
| Passage 3 | 22 min | 57 min / 3 min |
| Final check | 3 min | 60 min / 0 min |
Check the clock at the three changeover points. Saving a minute or two on Passage 1 buys you time for one more question on Passage 3. Spending 20 minutes on Passage 1 takes four minutes away from the hardest passage.
The last three minutes are not for new questions. Use them to make sure nothing is left unanswered, that no answer breaks the word limit, and that anything you typed yourself is spelt correctly. Change an answer only if you have found an evidence sentence you missed the first time.
When a passage runs over
If you reach a passage's finish time with questions still open:
- Put your best guess into every remaining question. Wrong answers cost nothing, so a guess beats an empty box.
- Write the numbers you want to revisit on your note paper, and move on to the next passage.
- Go back to those numbers only if you finish Passage 3 early. The last three minutes are for checking.
Do the same when one question has taken 90 seconds and the evidence still has not appeared.
The 16-minute rule Stop Reading Passage 1 at 16 minutes. Put an answer into every question you have not finished, note their numbers on your paper, and move on to Passage 2.
How to work through one passage
When students tell me they run out of time, I ask whether they read the whole passage first. Almost always, they do. Reading tests not whether you understand the whole text but whether you can find the part each question is about and read that part accurately. Use these four steps for every passage.
Step 1: Skim the questions (1–2 minutes)
Check which question types you have, how many of each, and whether the questions contain names, numbers or dates. Highlight one key word in each question. If the instructions set a word limit, note it now.
Step 2: Skim the structure (2–3 minutes)
Read the title, any subheadings, and the first sentence of each paragraph. If the first sentence does not tell you what the paragraph is about, read the last one as well. Label each paragraph in a word or two: background, cause, objection, example. These labels are your map for finding answers, and you will reuse them for the matching questions.
Step 3: Start with the types that follow the passage order
Different question types place their answers in the passage differently.
- In passage order: True/False/Not Given, Yes/No/Not Given, multiple choice, sentence completion, short answer, diagram labelling, matching sentence endings. Summary, note and table completion usually follow the order too, but often cover only one section of the passage.
- Spread across the passage: matching headings, matching information (which paragraph contains a piece of information), matching features (linking statements to people, dates or categories).
With the in-order types, the evidence for each question comes after the evidence for the one before. If question 3 was in the second paragraph, question 4 is further down. Take them one at a time:
- Pick the word in the question that is hardest to paraphrase: a name, a number, a date, a capitalised word or a technical term. Words like these usually appear in the passage unchanged.
- Scan the passage for that word. Do not read sentences; look for the shape of the word.
- Read the sentence you land on, plus one sentence either side, carefully.
- Highlight the line that gives the answer, and enter your answer on screen straight away.
The rest of the question will usually be paraphrased: went over budget in a question might be cost more than planned in the passage, and employees might be staff. Look for the same meaning, not the same word.
Step 4: Leave the spread-out types until last
Once the in-order questions are done, you know roughly where everything is. Then do the matching questions. Matching headings becomes a matter of comparing your paragraph labels from step 2 with the list of headings; the list contains headings that are never used, so pair off the ones you are sure of first. Give matching headings no more than seven minutes per passage.
Three on-screen tools
The test providers list three tools on the Reading screen: highlight, notes, and copy and paste. Practise all three before test day so they cost you no time in the exam room.
| Tool | How it works | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Highlight | Select text in the passage or a question, then right-click | The key word in each question, the line that gives the answer |
| Notes | Attach a short note to text you have highlighted | Paragraph labels, places to come back to |
| Copy and paste | Copy words from the passage into an answer box | Gap-fill answers |
Highlight only the key word in each question, the line that answers it, and the opening of any paragraph you want to label. Highlight everything and you have highlighted nothing; mark only the evidence line and the final check shows you at a glance where each answer came from. Attach a two- or three-word label to the opening of each paragraph as a note, and the matching questions become a comparison of labels instead of a reread. The test centre also gives you paper and a pen, but a note on the screen sits right next to the paragraph it describes.
Copy and paste gap-fill answers
A gap-fill answer must be the word exactly as it appears in the passage, and one wrong letter makes it wrong. Copying from the passage removes spelling mistakes, but two checks are still yours:
- The word limit. If the instructions say ONE WORD ONLY and you paste a short workshop, that is three words, and the answer is marked wrong. Articles count as words.
- The form. The grammar around the gap decides singular or plural, noun or verb. Find the word in that form in the passage and copy that one.
After pasting, check that no comma or full stop came along with the word.
Enter every answer as you go
You get paper and a pen, but only answers on screen are marked. Collect answers on paper to enter at the end and time can run out first, so use the paper only for the numbers you want to revisit. For the full screen layout and a two-week adjustment plan, see Computer-delivered IELTS in Korea (Korean).
Deciding True, False or Not Given
True/False/Not Given asks whether each statement agrees with the information in the passage. The decision comes down to what you can point to in the text.
| Answer | The passage | You can point to |
|---|---|---|
| True | says the same thing in other words | a sentence with the same meaning |
| False | says the opposite | a sentence that contradicts the statement |
| Not Given | does not say | nothing |
The method
- Split the statement. Who, what, how, and any qualifier such as only, all, always, first, most. Vegetables were the only seeds borrowed in the first season splits into (1) vegetables, (2) only, (3) the first season.
- Find the place with a word that is hard to paraphrase. The questions follow the passage order, so look after the evidence for the previous question.
- Read that sentence and one either side. The contradiction often comes in the very next sentence.
- Judge each piece. If every piece matches, the answer is True. If the passage contradicts even one piece, it is False. If nothing is contradicted but the passage says nothing about one piece, it is Not Given.
False needs a sentence you can point to
The mistake I correct most often in my Korean students' Reading is answering False because the evidence could not be found. Not finding it is actually a sign of Not Given.
False or Not Given To answer False, you must be able to highlight a sentence in the passage that says the opposite of the statement. If there is no such sentence to point to, the answer is Not Given.
Four traps
| Trap | How it catches you | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Common sense | It is true in the real world, so you answer True | If the passage does not say it, it is Not Given |
| Partial match | The first half matches the passage, so you answer True | Check every piece; a missing piece means Not Given |
| Qualifiers | You read past only, all, always, first | Check whether the passage says something that strong |
| Same word | A word from the passage appears, so you answer True | Compare what the sentences mean, not their words |
Qualifiers can push the answer to False or to Not Given: if the statement says only and the passage mentions something else as well, it is False; if the statement says first and the passage never says whether it was first, it is Not Given (questions 3 and 1 in the example below).
Yes/No/Not Given works the same way, except that it asks about the writer's views and claims rather than facts. Check first whether the instructions ask about the information in the passage or the claims of the writer; the signal phrases that show a writer's opinion are in Yes/No/Not Given (Korean).
Worked example: one passage, six questions
The passage below was written for this guide; the town and the figures are invented. Give yourself five minutes, answer the questions, then read the explanations.
Passage: A Library That Lends Seeds
A In 2019, the public library in the small town of Elmsworth began lending something unusual: seeds. Members may borrow up to five packets each spring and grow the plants at home; in the autumn, they are asked to bring back seeds from their own harvest. The idea came not from library staff but from a local gardening club, and staff at first doubted that anyone would use it.
B Demand was far higher than expected. More than 300 packets were borrowed in the first season. Most of them were vegetables such as beans and tomatoes, though herb and flower seeds were borrowed too. Returns have been less reliable: in a typical year, only around a third of borrowers bring seeds back, so the library still buys most of its stock from commercial growers.
C The organisers believe the scheme's real value lies elsewhere. Before their first loan, borrowers attend a short workshop on saving seeds, and several have since set up gardening groups of their own.
Questions
Questions 1-4
Do the following statements agree
with the information in the passage?
Answer TRUE, FALSE or NOT GIVEN.
1 Elmsworth library was the first
in its region to lend seeds.
2 The idea for the scheme did not
come from library employees.
3 Vegetables were the only seeds
borrowed in the first season.
4 Some borrowers have set up
gardening groups that sell seeds.
Questions 5-6
Complete each sentence with
ONE WORD ONLY from the passage.
5 Members can borrow up to five
______ each spring.
6 Before borrowing for the first
time, members attend a ______.1. Not Given: do not fill gaps with common sense
- Evidence: paragraph A, first sentence, began lending something unusual: seeds
- Reasoning: unusual means not common, not first, and no other library is mentioned. You can point neither to a matching sentence nor to a contradicting one.
2. True: recognise the paraphrase
- Evidence: paragraph A, third sentence, The idea came not from library staff but from a local gardening club
- Reasoning: library employees paraphrases library staff, and did not come from paraphrases not from. A statement with not in it is still True when the passage says the same thing.
3. False: check the qualifier
- Evidence: paragraph B, third sentence, Most of them were vegetables … though herb and flower seeds were borrowed too
- Reasoning: herb and flower seeds were borrowed too directly contradicts only, so the answer is False. Answering True because you spotted vegetables is exactly the trap.
4. Not Given: split the statement
- Evidence: paragraph C, second sentence, several have since set up gardening groups of their own
- Reasoning: the statement has two pieces: borrowers set up groups, and the groups sell seeds. The first is in the passage; the second is nowhere. The commercial growers in paragraph B are where the library buys its seeds, not these groups.
5. packets: keep the form
- Evidence: paragraph A, second sentence, borrow up to five packets
- Reasoning: after five, the gap needs a plural. Copy the word from the passage and you cannot drop the s.
6. workshop: respect the word limit
- Evidence: paragraph C, second sentence, Before their first loan, borrowers attend a short workshop
- Reasoning: with ONE WORD ONLY, both short workshop (two words) and a short workshop (three) are wrong. The a is already in the sentence, so the gap takes a single noun.
Two of the four True/False/Not Given answers here were Not Given. Never guess one answer from the pattern of the others; decide each one from the evidence in the passage.
How to practise
Time yourself, and practise on screen
Even when you practise one passage, use test timing (16, 19 or 22 minutes). On a printed page you never use highlight or copy and paste, so practise on screen from the start and enter your answers on screen too. As the test gets close, do full 60-minute sets without stopping.
Keep an error log
After marking, write one line for every question you got wrong. If you had missed two questions in the example above, the log would look like this:
| Question (my answer → correct) | Evidence sentence | Why I missed it |
|---|---|---|
| 1, T/F/NG (True → Not Given) | Para A, something unusual | Read unusual as "first" (common sense) |
| 5, gap-fill (packet → packets) | Para A, up to five packets | Typed it and dropped the s (form) |
The evidence column is the one that matters. If you only check the correct answer, nothing tells you why you got it wrong, so find the evidence in the passage yourself and write it down; that shows exactly where your reading went a different way. The reasons tend to be one of a few: common sense, a missed qualifier, a partial match, the word limit, spelling or form, and running out of time.
Once the log has about twenty lines, count them by type and by reason. A line such as "T/F/NG, answered False when it was Not Given: 6" tells you what to practise next week. In my classes, lost marks tend to cluster in one or two question types, so read the guide for that type and practise only that type for a while.
Mine finished passages for vocabulary
Use a marked passage once more. For each evidence sentence, write down how the question and the passage said the same thing in different words (employees and staff): the pairs help you recognise paraphrases faster and give you material for paraphrasing in Writing. How to turn a passage into Writing material is in Studying Reading and Writing together (Korean), and how to read a strong text in three passes (content, structure, language) is in How to read model answers (Korean).
If you keep timing yourself and tracking down the evidence for every mistake each week, Reading usually moves sooner than Writing or Speaking. How long it takes depends on your current score and how much you practise each week, so it can't be promised.
What to remember
- Spend 16 minutes on Passage 1, 19 on Passage 2, 22 on Passage 3 and 3 on checking. Time saved early goes to the hardest passage.
- When a passage runs over, answer what is left, note the numbers and move on. Never leave a question unanswered.
- Skim the questions and the first sentence of each paragraph, start with the in-order types, and leave the matching types until last.
- Highlight the evidence line. Copy gap-fill answers from the passage, but check the word limit and the form yourself.
- Answer False only when you can point to a sentence that says the opposite. If you cannot, it is Not Given.
- Log every mistake with its evidence sentence and the reason you missed it, and count them by question type.
What to read next
- Reading question types (Korean): why this guide's order works, type by type.
- Running the 60 minutes (Korean): which questions to let go at each target band, and the habits that eat your time.
- Yes/No/Not Given (Korean): the same method applied to the writer's views, with the signal phrases that reveal them.
- Matching headings (Korean): matching headings from your own paragraph summaries, and eliminating as you go.
- Summary and sentence completion (Korean): how word limits are counted and how to predict the part of speech.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many minutes should I spend on each IELTS Reading passage?
Spend 16 minutes on Passage 1, 19 on Passage 2 and 22 on Passage 3, and keep the final 3 minutes for checking unanswered questions, word limits and spelling. Passage 1 is usually the easiest and Passage 3 the hardest, so the plan saves time early and spends it late. Splitting the hour into three equal 20-minute blocks leaves you short exactly where you need time most.
How should I approach True/False/Not Given on the computer-delivered test?
The rules for deciding are the same however the test is delivered: True if the passage says the same thing, False if it says the opposite, Not Given if it says nothing either way. On screen, highlight the sentence that gives your evidence so you can find it again in the final check, and enter each answer as soon as you decide it. Try the providers' official practice test beforehand so the answer screen is familiar on the day.
Should I leave a question blank if I don't know the answer?
No. Wrong answers lose nothing in IELTS Reading, so an unanswered question is a certain zero while any answer has a chance of being right. If time is running out, put an answer into every remaining question first and note the numbers you want to come back to.
Should I read the passage first or the questions first?
Reading the whole passage carefully before looking at the questions is the slowest way to work. Skim the questions for their types and key words, skim the title and the first sentence of each paragraph, then answer question by question, reading closely only where each answer is. Even matching headings goes faster when you work from the paragraph labels you noted during that first skim.
Is there a quick way to raise my IELTS Reading score?
The fastest gains usually come from how you run the test rather than from your English: keeping to the 16, 19 and 22 minute plan, never leaving an answer empty, copying gap-fill answers from the passage, and answering False only when a sentence contradicts the statement. After that, log each mistake with its evidence sentence and the reason you missed it, count them by question type, and practise the type that loses you the most. If only your Overall score matters, Reading or Listening is usually where half a band takes the least work; if every skill has its own minimum, start with your weakest one.