Picture this. You’re on question 28, the clock shows eleven minutes left, and Passage 3 is a wall of text about ocean acidification. You’ve read the same sentence three times. Your pen hovers over the answer sheet.

If that feels familiar, you’re in good company. Almost every student who comes to ReSOLT with a reading problem describes some version of this moment. Their English is usually fine. They read the news, reports, even novels. Yet the IELTS Reading test leaves them short on time, because it doesn’t reward the way most of us read in daily life. It rewards a narrow, trainable skill: finding evidence quickly, checking it carefully, and moving on.

This guide shows you how to finish 40 questions in 60 minutes and still keep a few minutes for checking. The advice comes from what our trainers see again and again in student mock tests, not from a recycled template. Read it once, then use it as a working checklist.

Why Sixty Minutes Feels Like Thirty

On paper, the maths looks friendly. Sixty minutes divided by forty questions gives you ninety seconds each. The catch is that those ninety seconds also have to cover reading roughly 2,000 to 2,750 words of dense English across three passages. A careful reader can burn five or six minutes on one passage before touching a single question.

The exam’s own rules add to the pressure:

You get three passages, 40 questions and exactly 60 minutes.
Every correct answer earns one mark. Wrong answers cost nothing, so a blank is always a wasted chance.
On the paper-based test there is no extra time to transfer answers. You write them on the sheet while the clock runs. Candidates sitting the computer-delivered IELTS type directly, which removes that step.
The passages get harder as you go, so the last one needs the most time and usually gets the least.

Academic vs General Training: Know Which Paper You Are Sitting

Before you plan your minutes, be clear about the paper. IELTS Academic Reading uses three long passages drawn from books, journals and magazines, written for an educated but non-specialist audience. IELTS General Training Reading is split into three sections, running from short everyday texts such as notices and advertisements to one longer, more demanding passage.

Feature	Academic	General Training
Who takes it	Students applying to universities	Applicants for work, training or migration
Text style	Three long, analytical passages	Short everyday texts, then one longer passage
Difficulty curve	Steady climb, hardest at the end	Gentle start, sharp rise in Section 3
Raw score for Band 7 (approx.)	About 30 out of 40	About 34 out of 40
Where time usually leaks	Dense vocabulary and abstract arguments	Lingering on easy sections, then rushing Section 3
Suggested pacing	16 / 20 / 21 minutes + 3 minutes to check	14 / 20 / 23 minutes + 3 minutes to check

One trap worth flagging: General Training feels gentler at the start, so candidates relax and spend too long on Section 1. Then the final section arrives and the clock is already against them. The score needed for each band is also higher in General Training, which leaves less room for careless errors.

A 60-Minute Game Plan You Can Actually Follow

Here is a split that works for most Academic candidates. Adjust it after your first two timed tests, but start here.

Passage 1 (about 13 questions): 16 minutes
Passage 2 (about 13 questions): 20 minutes
Passage 3 (about 14 questions): 21 minutes
Final check: 3 minutes for spelling, word limits and answer-sheet accuracy

Notice that the first passage gets the least time. It is the most accessible, so you should move faster there and bank minutes for later. Good IELTS Reading time management is mostly the discipline of leaving a question before it eats your clock.

Use the ninety-second rule. If a question hasn’t given up its answer in about a minute and a half, circle it, write your best guess and move on. Since there is no negative marking, a guess is free, and you can return if time allows.

The Method: Seven Steps for Every Passage

Read the questions first. Spend 30 to 45 seconds scanning the question set so you know what you are hunting for and what the answer limits are.
Survey the passage. Check the title and any subheadings, then read the first line of each paragraph. That topic sentence usually tells you what the paragraph is about, and you get a mental map in under a minute.
Combine skimming and scanning. Skim to understand the structure, then scan to jump straight to names, dates, numbers and capitalized terms that appear in the questions.
Watch for signpost words such as however, whereas, consequently and in contrast. They mark shifts in the argument, which is exactly where examiners like to place answers.
Match meaning, not wording. The test rarely repeats the question’s phrasing. This is where paraphrasing matters: “rose sharply” in the question may appear as “surged” in the text, and spotting synonyms like these is most of the job.
Confirm before you write. Read the full sentence around your answer, check it fits the limit and copy the spelling exactly.
Write it once and move on. Don’t re-read answers you have already settled unless you have spare minutes at the end.

Question-by-Question Tactics

Different question types demand different reading behavior. Treating them all the same is one of the commonest reasons candidates stall.

True/False/Not Given: These eat time because candidates argue with themselves. Keep one rule. If the passage says the opposite, the answer is False. If it says the same thing in other words, it is True. If the claim simply isn’t discussed, it is Not Given. Never use outside knowledge.
Matching headings: Read the list of headings first and match each to the main idea of a paragraph, not to a single detail. Do the obvious ones, then eliminate.
Summary completion: Check the grammar of each gap (noun, verb or adjective?), then locate the short stretch of text the summary is based on. The answers usually sit close together.
Multiple choice questions: Wrong options are often distractors that borrow a word from the text but twist its meaning. Eliminate rather than hunt for the “perfect” option.
Sentence completion: Obey the word limit A correct answer with one word too many scores zero.

Question type	Time budget	Where the answer sits	Most common mistake
Judgment-based (T/F/NG)	1.5–2 min each	In order, usually one or two sentences	Reading “Not Given” as “False”
Matching information	2 min each	Out of order, any paragraph	Searching line by line instead of by idea
Heading matching	5–6 min per set	Main idea of each paragraph	Choosing a heading that fits only a detail
Summary completion	3–4 min per set	A compact section of the text	Ignoring the grammar of the gap
Multiple choice	1.5–2 min each	In order, may span several lines	Picking the option with familiar words
Sentence completion	About 1 min each	In order	Exceeding the word limit

Building Speed Before Test Day

No tactic can rescue a very slow reader, but speed is trainable within weeks, not years. If you are wondering how to improve reading speed for IELTS, start by dropping the habits that slow you down: sounding out words silently in your head, reading one word at a time, and re-reading sentences out of anxiety.

Read in phrases. Train your eyes to take in three or four words at a glance.
Do a 20-minute timed read daily from magazines such as New Scientist, Scientific American or National Geographic. Summarize each paragraph in five words.
Build IELTS Reading vocabulary by topic clusters (environment, health, technology, education, urban planning) instead of random word lists.
Strengthen reading comprehension by asking one question after every paragraph: what was the writer’s point?
Use a stopwatch. Read a 600-word article in four minutes, then answer three questions from memory.

Why Do I Run Out of Time? Five Habits to Drop

Reading the whole passage word for word before looking at a question.
Staying stuck on one hard question. It is worth one mark, exactly like an easy one.
Panicking over unfamiliar topics. You never need background knowledge, because every answer is in the text.
Leaving blanks instead of guessing.
Saving the answer-sheet transfer for the last minute on the paper test. Write as you go.

In our experience, the gap between a 6.0 and a 7.0 is rarely vocabulary. It is decision speed: how quickly a candidate decides that a question is not worth another minute.

Score Targets: How Many Questions Can You Miss?

Target band	Academic (approx. correct)	General Training (approx. correct)
5.0	15 out of 40	23 out of 40
6.0	23 out of 40	30 out of 40
7.0	30 out of 40	34 out of 40
8.0	35 out of 40	37 out of 40

So for Band 7 in Academic you can miss about ten questions, while General Training allows only about six. Conversion varies slightly between test versions, so treat these as planning figures. Decide your IELTS Reading band score goal, measure the gap, and only then pick your exam date.

A Four-Week Practice Plan

Practice only works when it is timed and reviewed. Official-style IELTS Reading practice tests, such as the Cambridge IELTS books, are the best material because their question design matches the real exam. After every test, update an error log: note the question type, why you missed it and what you will do differently.

Week 1: One question type per day, untimed. Focus on why each answer is right.
Week 2: Single passages in 20 minutes with no pauses.
Week 3: Two full 60-minute tests, each followed by a proper review.
Week 4: Full tests at the same time of day as your booked slot. Cut your error log down to the top three repeat mistakes and fix those.

When Self-Study Hits a Ceiling

Self-study takes many candidates to 6.0 or 6.5. The jump beyond that is harder because you cannot see your own blind spots. You may believe you are misreading questions when the real issue is that you attack heading tasks in the wrong order. Someone has to watch you work.

That is what our trainers do at ReSOLT. Our IELTS coaching in Mumbai covers all four modules, with separate preparation for Academic and General Training. You sit a timed IELTS mock test under exam conditions, then go through it question by question with a trainer. The fix is specific to you, not a generic list. You receive personalized feedback that moves you toward your target band score instead of a vague “practice more.”

Classroom batches at Andheri, Dadar and Malad, plus live online classes
Weekday and weekend batches, with programs running two to three months depending on the schedule
Trainers who track your progress and flag recurring errors
Digital study material, doubt-solving and revision support

Not sure where you stand? Call +91-7208 727 920 or write to info@republicschools.in. Share your latest score and target, and our team will walk you through which track and timeline makes sense before you book your exam.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I really finish all 40 questions in 60 minutes?

Yes. Most well-prepared candidates do, and not by reading faster everywhere. They read selectively, move quickly through the easier passage and abandon stuck questions early. Three to four weeks of timed practice usually makes the pacing feel natural.

How many correct answers do I need for Band 7?

About 30 out of 40 in Academic and about 34 in General Training. The exact conversion differs slightly between test versions, so use these as planning numbers rather than guarantees.

Should I read the passage or the questions first?

Read the questions briefly first. Knowing what to look for turns reading into a search. Then survey the passage for structure before locating answers. Reading every line first rarely pays off inside 60 minutes.

Is there negative marking in Reading?

No. Wrong and blank answers both score zero, so always write something, even a guess.

Do I get extra time to transfer answers?

Not in Reading. On the paper-based test you write on the answer sheet during the 60 minutes. Listening has transfer time on paper, but Reading does not. On computer, you type answers directly.

Which question type takes the longest?

For most candidates, questions about the writer’s views and heading-matching tasks are slowest, because they need an overall understanding of the passage rather than a quick lookup.

Is Academic or General Training easier?

Neither is universally easier. General Training texts are shorter and more familiar, but the score needed for the same band is higher. Choose by purpose: universities usually ask for Academic, while work and migration often need General Training. Confirm with the institution or immigration authority.

How long does it take to improve reading speed?

It depends on your starting level and consistency. Candidates who practice daily for four to six weeks often notice better pacing, though building vocabulary takes longer.

Should I answer questions in the order they appear?

For most types, yes, because answers follow the order of the text. The exceptions are matching tasks, which can be done anywhere. If a set looks easy, do it first and bank the time.

Can coaching help if my Reading is already decent?

Yes. Above 6.5, gains come from technique and timing rather than basic English. A trainer who reviews your mock test can spot patterns, such as over-checking or poor question order, that you cannot see yourself.

Final Thought

Finishing on time is a skill you build, not a talent you either have or lack. Set your pacing, learn how each question type behaves, practice under the clock and review every mistake. If you want an expert eye on your approach, speak to a ReSOLT trainer and turn your next mock test into a plan.