IELTS Academic and IELTS General.

The test consists of Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking sections.

Format

British Council, IDP Australia and the University of Cambridge ESOL are the bodies responsible for conducting the exam on designated centers. The test is offered four times in a month in 38 cities across in India.

According to the IELTS Syllabus 2019, the Listening and Speaking sections would be the same for all the test-takers, however, there might be some differences in the reading and writing modules for Academic and General Training test modules.

 Academic format

i.It is for Institutions of Higher and Further Education.

ii.The Academic format is related to admissions to undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

General format

i.It is basically for school, work or migration.

ii.The General Training format focuses on basic day today skills in social and workplace areas. It is typically for those who are going to English-speaking countries to do secondary education, work experience or training programs.

A) READING

i.It is different in academic and general test module.

ii.It includes three sections, 40 items

iii.Text passages are given to answer questions in multiple-choice, sentence completion, summary writing, matching information, short-answers. The reading passages and questions are different in Academic and general modules.

iv.Each passage consists of 13-14 questions.

v.The reading module has in total 40 questions.

1) Academic Training Reading:

i.The syllabus includes three long texts.

ii.Subject matter range from the descriptive and factual to the discursive and analytical.

iii.The texts are authentic and are taken from books, journals, magazines, and newspapers.

iv.These tests are appropriate for candidates entering university courses or seeking professional registration abroad.

2)General Training Reading:

i.Requires candidates to read extracts from books, magazines, newspapers, notices, advertisements, company handbooks, and guidelines.

ii.These are materials one is likely to encounter on a daily basis in an English speaking environment.

B) LISTENING

Listening is same for both the modules.

i.It consists of four sections,40 items.

ii.The first section is a conversation between two individuals.

iii.The second is a monologue/speech.

iv.The third section is a conversation among a maximum of four people set in an academic setting.

v.The final one is a monologue on an academic subject Each section is heard only once.

C) WRITING

The writing test module is different for academic and general test.

i.Topics are of general interest and suitable for candidates planning undergraduate and postgraduate studies abroad or seeking professional registration.

ii.It includes two tasks:

iii.In Task I, you will be presented with a graph, table, chart or diagram and asked to describe, summarize or explain the information in your own words.

iv.In Task 2, you will be asked to write an essay in response to a point of view, argument or problem.

D) SPEAKING

It is same for academic and general test module.

i.The tests are recorded for evaluation purpose and consists of three parts that simulate a face-to-face oral interview with an examiner.

ii.The Speaking component assesses the candidate’s use of spoken English which takes between 11 to 14 minutes to complete.

iii.It comprises of a 3 part one-on-one conversation test.

a) In Part 1, questions are asked about oneself and a range of familiar topics, such as home, family, work, studies and interests. It is 4-5 minutes long.

b) In Part 2, a card is given asking the applicant to talk about a particular topic. 1 minute is given before speaking to prepare.

c) In Part 3, questions are asked related to part 3.

The total duration of the exam is 2 hours 45 minutes. The Listening, Reading and Writing tests are done in one sitting. The Speaking test may be on the same day or up to seven days before or after the other tests.

The IELTS scores are valid for 2 years.