How much do you know about the IELTS exam?
Read more about how the IELTS exam is organised and try IELTS practice tests.
Information adapted from https://www.ielts.org/
All downloads and recordings are taken from the Take IELTS with British Council site and Understanding IELTS free course.
IELTS Test Overview
- The IELTS test assesses your abilities in listening, reading, writing and speaking – in less than three hours.
- There are two types of the IELTS test: IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training.
- Listening and Speaking are the same for both tests, but the Reading and Writing tests are different.
- The Listening, Reading and Writing parts of all IELTS tests are completed on the same day, with no breaks in between them.
- The Speaking test can be completed up to a week before or after the other tests. Your test centre will give you this information.
- The total test time is 2 hours and 45 minutes.
Test format – Listening
30 minutes
You will listen to four recordings of native English speakers and then write your answers to a series of questions.
- Recording 1 – a conversation between two people set in an everyday social context.
- Recording 2 – a monologue set in an everyday social context, e.g. a speech about local facilities.
- Recording 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.
- Recording 4 – a monologue on an academic subject, e.g. a university lecture.
Test format – Reading
60 minutes
The Reading part consists of 40 questions, designed to test a wide range of reading skills.
IELTS Academic test:
- Texts are taken from books, journals, magazines and newspapers.
- They are non-specialist texts appropriate for people entering university courses or seeking professional registration.
IELTS General Training test:
- Extracts from books, magazines, newspapers, notices, advertisements, company handbooks and guidelines.
- They are materials you can read on a daily basis in an English-speaking environment.
Test format – Writing
60 minutes
IELTS Academic test:
- Topics are of general interest to, and suitable for, test takers entering undergraduate and postgraduate studies or seeking professional registration.
- There are two tasks:
- Task 1 – describe and summarise information on a graph, table, chart or diagram. Or describe the stages of a process, how something works or describe an object or event.
- Task 2 – write an essay in response to a point of view, argument or problem.
IELTS General Training:
- Topics are of general interest. There are two tasks:
- Task 1 – write a letter requesting information, or explaining the situation.
- Task 2 – write an essay in response to a point of view, argument or problem.
Test format – Speaking
11–14 minutes
The speaking component assesses your use of spoken English. Every test is recorded.
- Part 1 – the examiner will ask you general questions about yourself and familiar topics, such as home, family, work, studies and interests. 4 – 5 minutes.
- Part 2 – you will talk about a particular topic on a card. 1 minute to prepare and 2 minutes to speak. The examiner will then ask one or two questions on the same topic.
- Part 3 – you will answer more questions about the topic in Part 2 and discuss more abstract ideas and issues. 4 – 5 minutes.
