IELTS ACADEMIC • GRADUATE ADMISSIONS
IELTS Academic Exam 2026/2027
British Council / IDP A+
Graduate Admissions
2026/2027
Questions & Verified Answers | Band Score Practice | Academic Reading & Listening Skills
A+ 4 100%
QUESTIONS VERIFIED SKILL SECTIONS RATIONALES INCLUDED
CATEGORIES
■ Section 1: READING — MAIN IDEA & DETAIL (20 questions)
■ Section 2: READING — INFERENCE & VOCABULARY (20 questions)
■ Section 3: LISTENING — CONVERSATIONS & MAIN IDEAS (20 questions)
■ Section 4: LISTENING — LECTURES & DETAIL (20 questions)
Score Scale: 0–9 Band | Format: Multiple Choice (A–D) | Skills: Academic Reading & Listening
STUVIAACTUALEXAM
, SECTION 1: READING — MAIN IDEA & DETAIL
Q1. An academic article on urban heat islands explains that cities with extensive concrete surfaces and limited tree cover retain more
heat overnight than surrounding rural areas. The primary purpose of the passage is to:
A. Explain the causes and effects of elevated nighttime temperatures in urban environments
B. Argue that cities should ban all construction
C. Promote a single brand of cooling technology
D. Describe only rural weather patterns
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: The stem focuses on causes (surfaces, limited vegetation) and the resulting temperature difference—classic main-idea framing for an
explanatory academic text.
Q2. A research summary states that participants who slept fewer than six hours for two consecutive weeks showed measurable
declines in working-memory tests. According to the summary, the decline was observed:
A. Only after six months of sleep restriction
B. After two weeks of restricted sleep
C. Exclusively in participants over age 65
D. Only when caffeine was also consumed
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The detail is explicitly “two consecutive weeks”; other options invent unsupported timeframes, ages, or conditions.
Q3. A passage on coral bleaching notes that prolonged sea-surface temperatures only 1–2°C above normal seasonal maxima can
trigger mass bleaching events. The key quantitative detail is that bleaching risk rises when temperatures exceed normal maxima by
approximately:
A. 10–15°C
B. 5–8°C
C. 1–2°C
D. 0.1°C for a single day
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The passage cites a modest but sustained elevation of 1–2°C as sufficient to trigger bleaching.
Q4. In a paper comparing hybrid and fully remote graduate seminars, the authors report higher student satisfaction scores in hybrid
sections that retained biweekly in-person workshops. The main finding emphasizes:
A. Fully remote formats always outperform hybrid ones
B. Workshop frequency is irrelevant
C. Only undergraduate students benefit from hybrid design
D. Periodic face-to-face interaction was associated with higher satisfaction in the studied cohorts
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: The reported result links biweekly in-person workshops to higher satisfaction—central comparative detail.
Q5. A geology textbook chapter states that sedimentary rock layers in a particular canyon are arranged with the oldest strata at the
bottom, consistent with the principle of superposition. The principle illustrated is that:
A. In undisturbed sequences, older layers underlie younger ones
B. Younger layers always contain fossils of larger animals
C. All rock layers form simultaneously
D. Superposition applies only to igneous rocks
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Superposition is the foundational stratigraphic rule that, absent disturbance, older beds lie below younger beds.
Q6. An economics abstract concludes that a modest carbon tax reduced industrial emissions by 8% over three years without
measurable net job losses in the sampled regions. The central claim is that:
A. Carbon taxes inevitably destroy employment
B. Only voluntary measures work
C. The studied tax coincided with emission reductions and stable employment indicators
D. Three years is too short for any observation
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The abstract pairs an 8% emission drop with no net job loss—the dual outcome is the main result.
STUVIAACTUALEXAM Page 2
IELTS Academic Exam 2026/2027
British Council / IDP A+
Graduate Admissions
2026/2027
Questions & Verified Answers | Band Score Practice | Academic Reading & Listening Skills
A+ 4 100%
QUESTIONS VERIFIED SKILL SECTIONS RATIONALES INCLUDED
CATEGORIES
■ Section 1: READING — MAIN IDEA & DETAIL (20 questions)
■ Section 2: READING — INFERENCE & VOCABULARY (20 questions)
■ Section 3: LISTENING — CONVERSATIONS & MAIN IDEAS (20 questions)
■ Section 4: LISTENING — LECTURES & DETAIL (20 questions)
Score Scale: 0–9 Band | Format: Multiple Choice (A–D) | Skills: Academic Reading & Listening
STUVIAACTUALEXAM
, SECTION 1: READING — MAIN IDEA & DETAIL
Q1. An academic article on urban heat islands explains that cities with extensive concrete surfaces and limited tree cover retain more
heat overnight than surrounding rural areas. The primary purpose of the passage is to:
A. Explain the causes and effects of elevated nighttime temperatures in urban environments
B. Argue that cities should ban all construction
C. Promote a single brand of cooling technology
D. Describe only rural weather patterns
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: The stem focuses on causes (surfaces, limited vegetation) and the resulting temperature difference—classic main-idea framing for an
explanatory academic text.
Q2. A research summary states that participants who slept fewer than six hours for two consecutive weeks showed measurable
declines in working-memory tests. According to the summary, the decline was observed:
A. Only after six months of sleep restriction
B. After two weeks of restricted sleep
C. Exclusively in participants over age 65
D. Only when caffeine was also consumed
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The detail is explicitly “two consecutive weeks”; other options invent unsupported timeframes, ages, or conditions.
Q3. A passage on coral bleaching notes that prolonged sea-surface temperatures only 1–2°C above normal seasonal maxima can
trigger mass bleaching events. The key quantitative detail is that bleaching risk rises when temperatures exceed normal maxima by
approximately:
A. 10–15°C
B. 5–8°C
C. 1–2°C
D. 0.1°C for a single day
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The passage cites a modest but sustained elevation of 1–2°C as sufficient to trigger bleaching.
Q4. In a paper comparing hybrid and fully remote graduate seminars, the authors report higher student satisfaction scores in hybrid
sections that retained biweekly in-person workshops. The main finding emphasizes:
A. Fully remote formats always outperform hybrid ones
B. Workshop frequency is irrelevant
C. Only undergraduate students benefit from hybrid design
D. Periodic face-to-face interaction was associated with higher satisfaction in the studied cohorts
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: The reported result links biweekly in-person workshops to higher satisfaction—central comparative detail.
Q5. A geology textbook chapter states that sedimentary rock layers in a particular canyon are arranged with the oldest strata at the
bottom, consistent with the principle of superposition. The principle illustrated is that:
A. In undisturbed sequences, older layers underlie younger ones
B. Younger layers always contain fossils of larger animals
C. All rock layers form simultaneously
D. Superposition applies only to igneous rocks
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Superposition is the foundational stratigraphic rule that, absent disturbance, older beds lie below younger beds.
Q6. An economics abstract concludes that a modest carbon tax reduced industrial emissions by 8% over three years without
measurable net job losses in the sampled regions. The central claim is that:
A. Carbon taxes inevitably destroy employment
B. Only voluntary measures work
C. The studied tax coincided with emission reductions and stable employment indicators
D. Three years is too short for any observation
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The abstract pairs an 8% emission drop with no net job loss—the dual outcome is the main result.
STUVIAACTUALEXAM Page 2
