IELTS Academic Reading Practice: Student Book

14 units! IELTS academic reading sample tests with answers

“…exceptional …easy to follow, comprehensive in skills practice and flexible for a range of study plans.”
Tony Rusinak, Dalhousie University, in: IATEFL Voices, Issue 288 (September–October 2022), p. 12.

“…invaluable … you will not be disappointed.” —Martin Sketchley, ELT Experiences

“...tremendously useful for students.” —David Wills, TED-IELTS

“A versatile book that can be used by a wide range of teachers and learners alike.” —Jim Fuller, Sponge ELT

“…extremely valuable for students who haven’t developed good study skills or learning habits." —Tim Warre, Tim's Free English Lesson Plans

14 different Academic Reading tasks

Each of the 14 units in this book introduces a different reading task that you may encounter during the IELTS Academic Reading test:

1. Matching headings
2. True / False / Yes / No / Not Given
3. Matching information
4. Summary completion
5. Sentence completion
6. Multiple choice
7. Matching features
8. Choosing a title
9. Categorisation/classification
10. Matching sentence endings
11. Table completion
12. Flowchart completion
13. Diagram completion
14. Short answer questions

Each unit contains three two-page sections:

1. Think and prepare...

... starts with some questions to get you thinking about the unit topic, and introduces some challenging words and phrases that will appear in the practice activities that follow.

2. Practise...

... introduces a new reading task for you to practise the task type using a text that is shorter than what will feature in the exam. It starts with some strategies and tips for how to approach each task, for you to try these strategies out during the activities then reflect on what went well, what you learned and what you will need to do to improve.

3. Put it to the test...

... includes a text that is designed to replicate an IELTS Reading test task. There is no support here – it’s just you, the text and the questions!

Appendices to support your IELTS preparation:

• Task info and tips: Definitions of each task type, and tips on how to approach the task.
• Extra activities: Further practice in applying different task types to the units’ texts.
• Answers: Comprehensive answers and guidance for each activity.
• Glossary and Index: Definitions of all high-level vocabulary used.

About the authors

Peter Clements is an academic-skills specialist with extensive international teaching experience. He co-authored the global coursebook StartUp (C1) for Pearson, regularly contributes to One Stop English and blogs for teachers at eltplanning.com. Peter currently teaches IGCSE ESL, IELTS and first-language English at St Andrews International School, Bangkok.

Paul Murphy is a specialist in teaching English for Academic Purposes. He has taught at the University of Glasgow, Glasgow International College and the British Council. Paul has been a certified IELTS Speaking examiner since 2017, and currently teaches EAP at Mahidol University International College in Thailand.

See our Amazon reviews below

'It takes a little bit of time to understand how to use it but it has really helped me to improve my English. A lot actually.' - Matthew