Practise screen habits without guessing the exam interface
This is a browser-based reading lesson with ordinary text fields and selection menus. It helps you practise moving between a passage and questions, entering concise answers and checking that your response belongs to the correct question. It is not a replica of official IELTS software. The layout, controls and behaviour here should not be used to predict every feature available on test day.
Use a keyboard if you have one, and choose a comfortable zoom level before starting. Tab moves between the ordinary controls on this page; Shift and Tab moves back. You can use your browser’s normal controls for this lesson, but do not assume browser shortcuts or functions are available during an exam. Answers here are not automatically marked or submitted. Reveal the explanations after your attempt and keep a separate note of anything you want to retain.
Divide mistakes into comprehension and interaction. If you know the answer but type it in the wrong box, your review routine needs work. If you enter it neatly but confuse a proposal with a decision, focus on reading. Practising both at once is useful only when you can tell which one caused the error. For the actual interface, use the British Council’s official familiarisation test.
Original passage: A digital noticeboard for the market
A. Market manager Priya Holt introduced a digital noticeboard near the main entrance after visitors complained that paper notices were difficult to find. The board shows a rotating set of announcements, including changes to stall locations and details of demonstrations. It was installed inside the entrance hall because direct sunlight made an outdoor trial screen hard to read.
B. Stallholders send proposed notices to an editor by Wednesday afternoon. The editor checks dates, removes expired offers and arranges the remaining notices for the following week. Although the system can display video, the market currently uses only text and still images. Holt wants visitors to understand a notice quickly without waiting for a sequence to finish.
C. A paper copy of the weekly schedule remains at the information desk. Staff added this after finding that some visitors preferred to keep a list while walking around. The paper schedule and screen use the same source file so that changes can be checked in one place. A staff member compares both versions each morning before the market opens.
D. The first evaluation counted how often visitors asked staff for directions to relocated stalls. These questions became less frequent, but Holt cautioned that the result did not prove the board was responsible. New signs had also been installed at the ends of the aisles. The next review will ask visitors which source helped them, rather than relying only on a change in the number of questions. The market has not yet decided whether to buy a second screen.
Original fictional learning text. The passage and questions were created for this lesson, not copied from an IELTS test.
Enter six answers on screen
For Questions 1–3, write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage. For Questions 4–6, select TRUE, FALSE or NOT GIVEN. Check each question number before entering your response.
Answers and the evidence behind them
Compare your reason as well as your answer. Each explanation identifies the decisive detail and the tempting mistake.
1. Reveal answer and explanation
entrance hall. Paragraph A gives the installation location as inside the entrance hall. The earlier reference to the main entrance provides context, but the specific two-word location requested is “entrance hall”. Check that you typed it into Question 1.
2. Reveal answer and explanation
Wednesday afternoon. Paragraph B sets this as the deadline for sending proposed notices. “Following week” describes when the selected notices will appear, not when stallholders submit them. Keep both the day and the part of the day.
3. Reveal answer and explanation
information desk. Paragraph C locates the paper schedule at the information desk. “Source file” explains how versions stay consistent; it is not a place visitors go to collect a schedule.
4. Reveal answer and explanation
FALSE. The board is capable of video, but the market currently uses only text and still images. Capability and actual use are different. A cleanly selected answer can still be wrong if that distinction is missed.
5. Reveal answer and explanation
FALSE. Holt explicitly warns that the reduction does not prove responsibility because new aisle signs were introduced too. The statement turns a cautious observation into a definite causal conclusion.
6. Reveal answer and explanation
NOT GIVEN. The passage says the purchase has not yet been decided. It does not settle whether a purchase will happen next month. Uncertainty about a future decision is not evidence of a definite purchase or a definite cancellation.
A practical final-screen check
Before opening the answer explanations, make three passes over your entries. First, check numbering: is every answer attached to the question you intended? Second, check the required response type: a word answer belongs in Questions 1–3 and a judgement in Questions 4–6. Third, check content: spelling, the two-word limit and any plural ending. These passes separate different risks and keep review concrete.
For a worked example, “by Wednesday afternoon” contains three words even though the date information is correct. Removing “by” gives the required two-word response. If that was your error, repeat the entry check on a new passage. If you chose TRUE for Question 4, typing practice will not fix the confusion between what a device can do and what it currently does.
Record the time you spent finding evidence separately from the time you spent navigating this page, if that distinction helps. Neither time is an IELTS score. Move next to mixed Academic Reading practice for a longer reading sequence, and use the official familiarisation link above to learn the provider’s interface rather than assuming this independent exercise reproduces it.
Question-format reference: official IELTS Academic Reading guidance, checked 15 October 2026. All teaching examples and practice material on this page are original.