Preparing for your test Test format

Make sure you are ready to demonstrate your English There are two modules to choose from –
1. Familiarise yourself with the format of the test by reading this Academic and General Training.
booklet. If you would like more information about the format
of the test and the question types used, you can find the test
specifications at www.ielts.org/testformat. IELTS Academic
IELTS Academic is for test takers wishing to study at
2. Practice using sample questions from www.ielts.org/sampletest.
undergraduate or postgraduate levels, and for those
3. Consider doing a practice test. Two volumes of Official IELTS seeking professional registration.
Practice Materials are available for purchase from test centres
or at www.ielts.org/prepare. These materials include a full IELTS General Training
practice test with answers, and sample Writing and Speaking IELTS General Training is for test takers wishing to migrate to an
performances with examiner comments. English-speaking country (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, UK),
and for those wishing to train or study at below degree level.
4. Consider enrolling in a preparation course to improve your
performance in the test. IELTS test centres and language
schools around the world offer IELTS preparation courses.
Each organisation sets its own entry requirements. In some cases
both Academic or General Training may be accepted. If you are
More information is available from: in doubt as to which to take, you should contact the organisation
www.ielts.org you are applying to in order to check their requirements.
www.britishcouncil.org/takeielts
www.ieltsessentials.com/prepare You are tested on all four language skills – listening, reading,
www.cambridgeenglish.org/ielts writing and speaking, unless you have an exemption due to
www.ielts.org/usa a disability (see section on special requirements). Everyone
takes the same Listening and Speaking tests. There are
Know the IELTS rules and regulations different Reading and Writing tests for IELTS Academic and
It’s important to familiarise yourself with the IELTS rules and General Training.
regulations. These are laid out in the Notice to Candidates
and Declaration which are included in the application form. The Listening, Reading and Writing tests must be completed
When you sign the application form declaration, or agree to on the same day. The order in which these tests are taken
the terms online, you are confirming that you have read and may vary. There are no breaks between these three tests.
understood the IELTS rules and regulations and agree to The Speaking test may be taken up to seven days before
abide by them. or after the other three tests.

Register as soon as possible

When you feel you are ready to take the test, you need to Listening
register for a test date with an IELTS centre. Contact the
centre as soon as possible, as the number of test takers
who can take the test on a particular date may be limited.
You will need to pay the test fee when you register.

Tell your centre if you have special requirements Academic Reading General Training Reading
In order to ensure that the language ability of all test takers
is assessed fairly and objectively, IELTS provides a
comprehensive service for test takers who have special
requirements, including specific learning difficulties, hearing
difficulties and visual difficulties.
Academic Writing General Training Writing
If you require a modified version of the test, for example a Large
Print or Braille version, you must give the test centre three
months’ notice. This notice period is necessary for the modified
test version to be prepared. If your circumstances require special
administrative arrangements to be made, for example if you need Speaking
extra time or you need to use access technology such as a screen
reader, you must give the test centre six weeks’ notice. Please
contact your test centre to discuss your requirements. Any special
arrangements agreed are in accordance with the Joint Council
for Qualifications (JCQ).

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The four components of the IELTS test

Listening
Timing Section 3 is a conversation between up to four people
Approximately 30 minutes (plus 10 minutes’ transfer time). set in an educational or training context (e.g. a university
tutor and a student discussing an assignment, or a group
Questions of students planning a research project).
There are 40 questions. A variety of question types are used,
chosen from the following: multiple choice, matching, plan/ Section 4 is a monologue on an academic subject
map/diagram labelling, form completion, note completion, (e.g. a university lecture).
table completion, flow-chart completion, summary completion,
sentence completion, short-answer questions. Each section is heard once only.

Test Parts A variety of voices and native-speaker accents are used.

There are 4 sections:
Skills assessed

Section 1 is a conversation between two people set A wide range of listening skills are assessed, including:
in an everyday social context (e.g. a conversation in •u  nderstanding of main ideas
an accommodation agency). •u  nderstanding of specific factual information
• r ecognising opinions, attitudes and purpose of a speaker
Section 2 is a monologue set in an everyday social context • following the development of an argument.
(e.g. a speech about local facilities or a talk about the
arrangements for meals during a conference). Marking
Each correct answer receives 1 mark. Scores out
of 40 are converted to the IELTS 9-band scale.

Scores are reported in whole and half bands.

Reading
Timing General Training Reading
60 minutes (no extra transfer time). Section 1 contains two or three short factual texts, one of which
may be composite (consisting of 6-8 short texts related by topic,
Questions e.g. hotel advertisements). Topics are relevant to everyday life
There are 40 questions. A variety of question types are in an English-speaking country.
used, chosen from the following: multiple choice, identifying
information (True/False/Not Given), identifying a writer’s Section 2 contains two short factual texts focusing on work-
views/claims (Yes/No/Not Given), matching information, related issues (e.g. applying for jobs, company policies, pay and
matching headings, matching features, matching sentence conditions, workplace facilities, staff development and training).
endings, sentence completion, summary completion,
note completion, table completion, flow-chart completion, Section 3 contains one longer, more complex text on a topic
diagram label completion, short-answer questions. of general interest.

Test Parts Texts are authentic and are taken from notices, advertisements,
There are 3 sections. The total text length is 2,150-2,750 words. company handbooks, official documents, books, magazines
and newspapers.
Academic Reading
Each section contains one long text. Texts are authentic and Skills assessed
are taken from books, journals, magazines and newspapers. A wide range of reading skills are assessed, including:
They have been written for a non-specialist audience and are • r eading for gist
on academic topics of general interest. Texts are appropriate • r eading for main ideas
to, and accessible to, test takers entering undergraduate or • reading for detail
postgraduate courses or seeking professional registration. •u  nderstanding inferences and implied meaning
Texts range from the descriptive and factual to the discursive • r ecognising writer’s opinions, attitudes and purpose
and analytical. Texts may contain non-verbal materials such • following the development of an argument.
as diagrams, graphs or illustrations. If texts contain technical
terms, then a simple glossary is provided. Marking
Each correct answer receives 1 mark. Scores out
of 40 are converted to the IELTS 9-band scale.

Scores are reported in whole and half bands.

For test specifications visit www.ielts.org/testformat IELTS for UK Visas and Immigration
Find out how you can use an IELTS result for this purpose
For marking information visit www.ielts.org/criteria at www.ielts.org/unitedkingdom. For more information on
going to or staying in the UK, visit www.gov.uk.
For sample questions visit www.ielts.org/sampletest
Writing
Timing Skills assessed
60 minutes In both tasks, you are assessed on your ability to
write a response which is appropriate in terms of:
Tasks • c ontent
There are 2 tasks. You are required to write at least • the organisation of ideas
150 words for Task 1 and at least 250 words for Task 2. • the accuracy and range of vocabulary and grammar.

Test Parts Academic Writing

There are 2 parts. In Task 1, depending on the task type, you are assessed on your
ability to organise, present and possibly compare data; to describe
Academic Writing the stages of a process or procedure; to describe an object or
In Task 1, you are presented with a graph, table, chart or event or sequence of events; to explain how something works.
diagram and are asked to describe, summarise or explain
the information in your own words. You may be asked to In Task 2, depending on the task type, you are assessed on
describe and explain data, describe the stages of a process, your ability to present a solution to a problem; to present and
how something works or describe an object or event. justify an opinion; to compare and contrast evidence, opinions
and implications; to evaluate and challenge ideas, evidence
In Task 2, you are asked to write an essay in response or an argument.
to a point of view, argument or problem.
General Training Writing
The issues raised are of general interest to, suitable for In Task 1, depending on the task type, you are assessed on your
and easily understood by test takers entering undergraduate ability to engage in personal correspondence in order to: elicit
or postgraduate studies or seeking professional registration. and provide general factual information; express needs, wants,
Responses to Task 1 and Task 2 should be written likes and dislikes; express opinions (views, complaints etc.).
in an academic, semi-formal/neutral style.
In Task 2, you are assessed on your ability to provide general
General Training Writing factual information; to outline a problem and present a solution;
In Task 1, you are presented with a situation and are asked to to present and possibly justify an opinion; to evaluate and
write a letter requesting information or explaining the situation. challenge ideas, evidence or an argument.
The letter may be personal or semi-formal/neutral in style.
Marking
In Task 2, you are asked to write an essay in response to a You are assessed on your performance on each task
point of view, argument or problem. The essay can be slightly by certificated IELTS examiners according to the IELTS
more personal in style than the Academic Writing Task 2 essay. Writing test assessment criteria (Task Achievement/Response,
Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource, Grammatical
Topics are of general interest. Range and Accuracy). The public version of the assessment
criteria can be found at www.ielts.org/criteria.

Task 2 contributes twice as much as Task 1 to the Writing score.

Scores are reported in whole and half bands.

Speaking
Timing Part 3 Two-way discussion (4-5 minutes)
11-14 minutes The examiner asks further questions which are connected
to the topic of Part 2. These questions give you an opportunity
Test Parts to discuss more abstract issues and ideas.
There are 3 parts.
Skills assessed
Part 1 Introduction and interview (4-5 minutes) A wide range of speaking skills are assessed, including:
The examiner introduces him/herself and asks you to introduce • t he ability to communicate opinions and information
yourself and confirm your identity. The examiner asks you on everyday topics and common experiences and
general questions on familiar topics, e.g. home, family, work, situations by answering a range of questions
studies and interests. • t he ability to speak at length on a given topic using
appropriate language and organising ideas coherently
Part 2 Individual long turn (3-4 minutes) • the ability to express and justify opinions and to analyse,
The examiner gives you a task card which asks you to talk about discuss and speculate about issues.
a particular topic and which includes points you can cover in your
talk. You are given 1 minute to prepare your talk, and are given Marking
a pencil and paper to make notes. You talk for 1-2 minutes on You are assessed on your performance throughout the
the topic. The examiner may then ask you one or two questions test by certificated IELTS examiners according to the IELTS
on the same topic. Speaking test assessment criteria (Fluency and Coherence,
Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range and Accuracy,
Pronunciation). The public version of the assessment criteria
can be found at www.ielts.org/criteria.

Scores are reported in whole and half bands.

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Test tips
Listening Reading
• Each recording in the Listening test is heard once only. • You may write your answers directly on the answer sheet
• You will be given time to read through the questions before or you may write them on the question paper and transfer
you listen. them to the answer sheet before the end of the test. You will
• As you listen, write your answers on the question paper. not be given extra time to transfer answers at the end of the
At the end of the test, you will have 10 minutes to transfer test. Nothing you write on the question paper will be marked.
your answers to the answer sheet. It is essential that you • You must write your answers in pencil.
transfer your answers to the answer sheet as nothing you • An example of a completed Reading answer sheet is given
write on the question paper will be marked. on the next page.
• You must write your answers in pencil. • ‘Completion’ question types (e.g. note completion):
• An example of a completed Listening answer sheet – The same rules apply to ‘completion’ question types
is given on the next page. as in Listening (see above).
• ‘Completion’ question types (e.g. note completion): –The word(s) you use must be taken from the Reading text.
– Pay attention to the word limit. For example, if you are You will not need to change the form of the word(s) in the text.
asked to complete a sentence using NO MORE THAN
TWO WORDS, and the correct answer is ‘leather coat’, Writing
the answer ‘coat made of leather’ would be incorrect. • You may write your answers in pencil or pen.
– Transfer only the missing word(s) to the answer sheet. • Pay attention to the number of words required for each
For example, if you have to complete the note ‘in the … ’, task. You will lose marks if you do not write at least
and the correct answer is ‘morning’, the answer ‘in the morning’ 150 words for Task 1 and at least 250 words for Task 2.
would be incorrect. • You should spend approximately 20 minutes on Task 1
– You will hear the word(s) you need to use in the recording. and approximately 40 minutes on Task 2.
You will not need to change the form of the word(s) you hear. • You must write your answers in full; answers written
– Pay attention to spelling and grammar: you will lose in note form or in bullet points will lose marks.
marks for mistakes. • Pay attention to spelling, grammar and punctuation;
– You may write your answers in lower case or in capitals. you will lose marks for mistakes.
• You may write your answers entirely in capitals if you wish.
• You may make notes on the question paper but nothing you
write on the question paper will be marked.

Test results
The Test Report Form Preview your results online
You will receive a Test Report Form which reports a score for You can preview your results online 13 days after the test.
each of the four skills (listening, reading, writing and speaking), Results remain online for 28 days. Please note that the online
as well as an overall band score. Half band scores may be preview of results should not be used as an official confirmation
awarded to indicate a strong performance within a particular of your performance.
band. You can find more information on score processing
and score interpretation at www.ielts.org/criteria. Results validity period
Organisations will not usually accept a Test Report Form that
Results will be available 13 days after the test. At some test is more than two years old unless you provide evidence that
centres test takers can collect their results on the 13th day. At you have actively maintained or tried to improve your English
other test centres results are mailed to test takers on the 13th day. since taking the test. The IELTS Test Partners cannot confirm
Test centres are not permitted to give results out over the phone the validity of test results that are more than two years old.
or by scan or email.

You will receive Re-taking IELTS

only one copy of the
Test Report Form. There are no restrictions on re-taking IELTS. You can register
It’s important that for a test as soon as you feel you are ready to do so. Please
you keep it safe note that your score is unlikely to increase unless you make
as replacement a significant effort to improve your English before re-taking the
Test Report Forms test. More information is available from www.ielts.org/resitting.
cannot be issued.
Test centres will send
copies of your Test Enquiries on results
Report Form to up to
five organisations free If you are unhappy with your test result, you can apply for a
of charge. re-mark (Enquiry on Results) at the centre where you took
the test. You must make the application no later than six weeks
after the test date. You can choose which test components
are re-marked. There is a fee for this service which will be
refunded if your score on any component is increased.
Enquiries on Results take six to eight weeks to complete.

IELTS for UK Visas and Immigration

Find out how you can use an IELTS result for this purpose
at www.ielts.org/unitedkingdom. For more information on
going to or staying in the UK, visit www.gov.uk.
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