Multiple choice questions in the Reading module

The reading module is the second part of the IELTS examination. It lasts 60 minutes. You will have to answer 40 questions on a variety of task types. Three or four reading passages are given.

The Academic Reading module usually has three passages; the General Training Reading module has three or four passages. Note that answers need to be written on the answer sheet itself. You will not get extra time for transferring your answers at the end of the Reading module.

The task types are usually the same in both Academic and General Training modules, but the passages are of different types.  The passages given for reading in the General Training module are usually instructive. The Academic module will contain at least one passage organized as a logical argument.

Each section in the Academic Reading module has 13-15 questions and each section in the General Training Reading module has 8-15 questions.

Different types of questions are asked in the Reading module. In this lesson we will take a look at the multiple choice questions.

Multiple choice questions

Multiple choice questions usually focus on the main ideas discussed in the passage. Some of these questions will ask you to choose the most appropriate answer from up to four possible options. Some multiple choice questions ask the student to choose multiple answers from a longer list of options.

Note that while answering these questions, you don’t have to list the options in the alphabetical order.

Multiple choice questions may cover one section of the passage or the whole passage. You will have to read the entire passage to read some of these questions. Some answers, on the other hand, can be found in particular sections of the passage. The questions usually appear in the order in which the information is given in the passage. The questions and the options are usually paraphrased so don’t expect to find the exact same words from the passage.