IELTS

IELTS is the world’s most popular high stakes English language test. It is the test that opens doors to a world of academic and professional opportunity in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK, USA and many other places around the world where English is a language in the workplace or the classroom.

Thousands of the world’s most reputable universities and colleges will accept your IELTS results as evidence of your English language proficiency. The IELTS test assesses your abilities in all four skills – listening, reading, writing and speaking – in less than three hours.

Academic

This version of the test is for those who want to study at any English speaking university or institutions of higher and further education.

Listening

Listening test format (30 minutes)

The Listening component is the same for both versions of IELTS (Academic and General Training). There are four parts. You will hear the recording only once. A variety of voices and native-speaker accents is used.

Section 1: A conversation between two people set in an everyday social context (e.g. a conversation about accommodation).

Section 2: A monologue set in an everyday social context (e.g. a speech about local facilities or about arrangements for meals during a conference).

Section 3: A conversation between up to four people set in an educational or training context (e.g. a university tutor and a student discussing an assignment, or a group of people planning a project).

Section 4: A talk (e.g. a university lecture).

Reading

Reading test format (60 minutes)

The Reading component consists of 40 questions.A variety of question types is used in order to test a wide range of reading skills. These include reading for gist, reading for main ideas, reading for detail, skimming, understanding logical argument, recognizing writers’ opinions, attitudes and purpose. The Reading component differs in Academic and General Training module.

Academic module

The Academic module includes three long texts which range from the descriptive and factual to the discursive and analytical. The texts are authentic and are taken from books, journals, magazines and newspapers. These have been selected for a non-specialist audience but are recognizably appropriate for candidates entering undergraduate or postgraduate courses or seeking professional registration.

General Training module

The General Training module requires candidates to read extracts from books, magazines, newspapers, notices, advertisements, company handbooks and guidelines. These are materials candidates are likely to encounter on a daily basis in an English speaking environment.

Writing (60 Mins)

The Writing module differs in Academic and General Training.

Academic module

The Writing component of the Academic module includes two tasks. Topics are of general interest to, and suitable for candidates entering undergraduate or postgraduate studies or seeking professional registration.

Task 1

Candidates are presented with a graph, table, chart or diagram and are asked to describe, summarize or explain the information in their own words. They may be asked to describe and explain data, describe the stages of a process, how something works or describe an object or event. They need to write 150 words in 20 minutes time.

Task 2

Candidates are asked to write an essay in response to a point of view, argument or problem. Responses to both tasks must be written in a formal style. The candidates need to write 250 words in 40 minutes.

General Training module

The Writing component of the General Training module includes two tasks which are based on topics of general interest.

Task 1

Candidates are presented with a situation and asked to write a letter requesting information or explaining the situation. The letter may be personal, semi-formal or formal in style.They need to write 150 words in 20 minutes time.

Task 2

Candidates are asked to write an essay in response to a point of view, argument or problem. The essay can be slightly more personal in style than the Academic Writing Task 2 essay.The candidates need to write 250 words in 40 minutes.

Speaking

Speaking test format (11 to 14 minutes)

The speaking component is the same for both Academic and General Training modules. The Speaking component assesses the candidate’s use of spoken English, and takes between 11 and 14 minutes to complete. Every test is recorded. The Speaking component is delivered in such a way that does not allow candidates to rehearse set responses beforehand.

Part 1

Candidates answer general questions about themselves and a range of familiar topics, such as their home, family, work, studies and interests. This part lasts between 4 and 5 minutes.

Part 2

Candidates are given a card which asks them to talk about a particular topic. They have one minute to prepare before speaking for up to two minutes. The examiner then asks one or two questions on the same topic to finish this part of the test.

Part 3

Candidates are asked further questions connected to the topic in Part 2. These questions give the candidate an opportunity to discuss more abstract issues and ideas. This part lasts between four and five minutes.

Practice and prepare for the test

The people who want to take IELTS test the preparation is the key to succeed. The Official IELTS Practice Materials gives you practice test and materials, and in addition you can find the books: Cambridge IELTS 6,7,8,9,10 and 11 are useful for preparation.

IELTS Score

IELTS score is separated into Bands from (0 to 9) you can score a whole band 5.6, 7 or you can score half a band 5.5 or 6.5. Most universities require 6, 6.5 or higher band, find out which university or which score you need. So each sections of IELTS test have 9 bands in total we 24 bands an expert user can score that, depending on how well you do.