The IELTS (International English Language Testing System) assesses the language ability of people who need to study or work where English is the language of communication. It is an internationally recognized qualification and entry requirement for universities in the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. It is also widely used by governments as a language proficiency guide when issuing work visas and is accepted by various professional organizations.
About the IELTS
Introduction
Modules
It consists of four modules: Listening ,Reading ,Writing and Speaking. It is available in two test formats which are the Academic IELTS and General Training IELTS. All candidates take the same Listening and Speaking modules but the Reading and Writing modules are different in the Academic and GT IELTS.
Score Scale
IELTS is scored on a nine-band scale, with each band corresponding to a specified competence in English. Overall Band Scores are reported to the nearest half band. The following rounding convention applies: if the average across the four skills ends in .25, it is rounded up to the next half band, and if it ends in .75, it is rounded up to the next whole band.
IELTS Test Format
Listening 30 mins
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. |
Speaking 11–14 mins
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 a range of familiar topics, such as home, family, work, studies and interests. This part lasts between four and five minutes. |
| Part 2 | You will be given a card which asks you to talk about a particular topic. You will have one minute to prepare before speaking for up to two minutes. The examiner will then ask one or two questions on the same topic. |
| Part 3 | You will be asked further questions about the topic in Part 2. These will give you the opportunity to discuss more abstract ideas and issues. This part of the test lasts between four and five minutes. |
Reading 60 mins
The Reading component consists of 40 questions, designed to test a wide range of reading skills. These include reading for gist, reading for main ideas, reading for detail, skimming, understanding logical argument and recognising writers’ opinions, attitudes and purpose.
| IELTS Academic test | This includes three long texts which range from the descriptive and factual to the discursive and analytical. These are taken from books, journals, magazines and newspapers. They have been selected for a non-specialist audiencebut are appropriate for people entering university courses or seeking professional registration. |
| IELTS General Training test | This includes extracts from books, magazines, newspapers, notices, advertisements, company handbooks and guidelines. These are materials you are likely to encounter on a daily basis in an English-speaking environment. |
Academic Writing 60 mins
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 | You will be presented with a graph, table, chart or diagram and asked to describe, summarise or explain the information in your own words. You may be asked to describe and explain data, describe the stages of a process, how something works or describe an object or event. |
| Task 2 | you will be asked to write an essay in response to a point of view, argument or problem. Responses to both tasks must be in a formal style. |
IELTS Test Duration
| Listening | 30 minutes
20 minutes for which a recording is played centrally and additional 10 minutes for transferring answers onto the answer sheet. |
| Reading |
60 Minutes |
| Writing |
60 Minutes |
| Speaking |
11 – 14 Minutes |