IELTS Reading: how to manage your 60 minutes across the 3 passages
IELTS Reading is 60 minutes for 3 passages and 40 questions — and unlike Listening, there is NO extra time to transfer answers. Running out of time on Passage 3 is one of the most common ways good readers lose marks. Here's how to manage the clock.
Budget roughly 20 minutes per passage — but front-load
A simple split is 20 minutes each. But the passages usually get harder, so aim for about 17 minutes on Passage 1, 20 on Passage 2, and 23 on Passage 3 — bank time early on the easier text so the hard one doesn't crush you.
Don't read every word — skim, then scan
Skim the passage first for its overall shape and where the main ideas sit. Then, for each question, scan back to the exact spot using keywords. Reading the whole passage slowly, top to bottom, is what makes people run out of time.
The only way to build reading speed is timed practice on full passages. Take a free IELTS mock test — three passages, one 60-minute clock, marked instantly against the key.
Take a free IELTS mock test →Never get stuck on one question
If a question is eating time, put your best guess, mark it, and move on — a hard question is worth exactly the same one mark as an easy one. Come back if you have time at the end. There are no free marks for suffering.
Write answers straight onto the answer sheet
Because there's no transfer time, write each answer onto the answer sheet as you go — don't plan to copy them across at the end, or you'll lose answers when the time is called.
A quick plan
- Check the clock at each passage boundary — ~17 / 20 / 23 minutes.
- Skim first, then scan for each answer using keywords.
- Guess-mark-move on anything that stalls you.
- Answers go straight onto the sheet, not left for the end.