Do you enjoy reading?
Yes, I do, although I don't read as much as I used to. When I find a good book, I get completely absorbed in it and forget about everything else. It's one of the few things that really takes me out of my own head.
IELTS Speaking Part 1: Reading questions and answers
The examiner wants to hear you describe your reading habits and compare past and present. Summarising the plot of a book won't help you here.
All Part 1 topics
The questions
Answer each one aloud before you read the model — two to four sentences, then stop.
- Do you enjoy reading?
- What kind of books do you like to read?
- How often do you read?
- Did you read much when you were a child?
- Do you prefer paper books or reading on a screen?
- Is there a book you'd like to read again?
- Do you think people read less nowadays than in the past?
Model answers
Written to be spoken, at about band 8. Useful phrases are in bold. Borrow the structure and the phrases — never the whole answer.
What kind of books do you like to read?
Mostly crime novels, the slower kind where the detective is more interesting than the murder. I also dip into history books now and then, especially ones about everyday life in the past rather than kings and battles.
How often do you read?
Most nights, just before bed, even if it's only a few pages. I'll admit I sometimes fall asleep halfway through a chapter. On holiday I read far more, and I can easily get through two or three books in a week.
Did you read much when you were a child?
All the time. My mum took me to the local library every Saturday, and I'd come home with a pile of adventure stories. I was the kind of child who read under the covers with a torch long after lights out.
Do you prefer paper books or reading on a screen?
Paper, without a doubt. I like the feel of a real book, and I find I remember more when I can see where I am on the page. That said, an e-reader's handy for travelling, because it saves a lot of space in my suitcase.
Is there a book you'd like to read again?
There's a long family saga I read at university that I'd love to go back to. It follows three generations of the same family, and I suspect I'd pick up on a lot more now that I'm older and have a bit more life experience.
Do you think people read less nowadays than in the past?
I think they read differently rather than less. People are reading constantly on their phones, but it tends to be short articles and posts rather than whole books. What's really suffered is our attention span, and I've noticed that in myself too.
Useful vocabulary for reading
- completely absorbed in
- So interested in something that you forget what's around you.
- dip into
- To read parts of a book casually rather than from start to finish.
- now and then
- Sometimes, but not regularly.
- get through
- To finish reading or doing something, often a quantity of it.
- without a doubt
- A natural way to give a very firm answer to a preference question.
- pick up on
- To notice something small or not obvious.
- attention span
- How long you can concentrate on one thing.
Now answer them with the clock running.
Timed Part 1 practice with an AI band for each criterion.