The IELTS test assesses your abilities in all four skills – listening, reading, writing and speaking in less than 2 hours 45 minutes.

IELTS is available in two test formats: Academic or General Training. There are four parts – Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking. The total test time is 2 hours and 45 minutes. All candidates take the same Listening and Speaking tests but different Reading and Writing tests. The distinction between IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training lies in the subject matter of the Reading and Writing components. Listening, Reading and Writing must be completed on the same day, with no breaks in between them. The order in which these tests are taken may vary. The Speaking test will either be after a break on the same day as the other three tests, or up to a week before or after the other tests. This will depend on your test centre.

Test format

Academic Writing (60 minutes)

The Writing component of IELTS Academic includes two tasks. Topics are of general interest to, and suitable for test takers entering undergraduate and postgraduate studies or seeking professional registration.
Task 1
You will be presented with a graph, table, chart or diagram and asked to describe, summarize 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.

Speaking( 11–14 minutes)

The Speaking component assesses your 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 it does not allow people to rehearse set responses beforehand.
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 4 and 5 minutes.
Part 2 
You will be given a card which asks you to talk about a particular topic. You will have 1 minute to prepare before speaking for up to 2 minutes. The examiner will then ask one or two questions on the same topic to finish this part of the test.
Part 3
You will be asked further questions connected to the topic in Part 2. These questions will give you the opportunity to discuss more abstract ideas and issues. This part of the test lasts between 4 and 5 minutes.

General Training Reading (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 and recognizing writers’ opinions, attitudes and purpose.
The General Training version requires test takers to read 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.

Listening (30 minutes)

You will listen to four recorded texts, monologues and conversations by a range of native speakers, and write your answers to a series of questions. These include questions that test your ability to understand main ideas and detailed factual information, ability to understand the opinions and attitudes of speakers, ability to understand the purpose of an utterance and the ability to follow the development of ideas. A variety of voices and native-speaker accents are used and each section is heard only once.

Section 1 A conversation between two people set in an everyday social context
Section 2 A monologue set in an everyday social context, e.g. a speech about local facilities.
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.
Section 4 A monologue on an academic subject, e.g. a university lecture.

Academic Reading (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 and recognizing writers’ opinions, attitudes and purpose.
The Academic version 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 appropriate for people entering university courses or seeking professional registration.

How IELTS is scored

IELTS results are reported on a 9-band scale

IELTS results are designed to be simple and easy to understand. Results are reported as band scores on a scale from 1 (the lowest) to 9 (the highest). The IELTS band scale has remained consistent and has acquired currency around the world over the past three decades.

Band score

Skill level

Description

9

Expert user

The test taker has fully operational command of the language. Their use of English is appropriate, accurate and fluent, and shows complete understanding.

8

Very good user

The test taker has fully operational command of the language with only occasional unsystematic inaccuracies and inappropriate usage. They may misunderstand some things in unfamiliar situations. They handle complex and detailed argumentation well.

7

Good user

The test taker has operational command of the language, though with occasional inaccuracies, inappropriate usage and misunderstandings in some situations. They generally handle complex language well and understand detailed reasoning.

6

Competent user

The test taker has an effective command of the language despite some inaccuracies, inappropriate usage and misunderstandings. They can use and understand fairly complex language, particularly in familiar situations

5

Modest user

The test taker has a partial command of the language and copes with overall meaning in most situations, although they are likely to make many mistakes. They should be able to handle basic communication in their own field.

4

Limited user

The test taker’s basic competence is limited to familiar situations. They frequently show problems in understanding and expression. They are not able to use complex language.

3

Extremely limited user

TThe test taker conveys and understands only general meaning in very familiar situations. There are frequent breakdowns in communication.

2

Intermittent user

The test taker has great difficulty understanding spoken and written English.

1

Non-user

The test taker has no ability to use the language except a few isolated words.

0

Did not attempt the test

The test taker did not answer the questions.

Calculating the overall band score

A score is given for each test component Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking. These individual scores are then averaged and rounded to produce an overall band score.

IELTS results validity period. While it is up to each organization to set a validity period that works for their purposes, the IELTS partners recommend a 2-year validity period for IELTS test results based upon the well-documented phenomenon of second language loss or ‘attrition.

How we develop the test

The IELTS test is developed to provide a fair, accurate and reliable assessment of English language proficiency

IELTS has rigorous test design, development and validation processes. These processes ensure that every version of the test is of a comparable level of difficulty and every test around the world provides valid, consistent results. IELTS test material is developed using the following stages: commissioning; editing; pretesting; analysis and banking of material; standards fixing; and question paper construction.
Test writers from different English-speaking countries develop IELTS content so it reflects real-life situations around the world. It is unbiased and fair to all test takers whatever their background.

Ensuring quality and fairness

As world leaders in language assessment and test delivery, we place quality and fairness at the centre of everything we do.

The IELTS approach is recognised as being fair to all test takers, whatever their nationality, cultural background, gender or special needs. The IELTS test:

  • provides a valid and accurate assessment of the four language skills: listening, reading, writing and speaking
  • assesses language skills, not specialist knowledge — topics covered in IELTS vary from test to test and are general enough so that all test takers will be able to answer questions on them
  • is focused on assessing practical communication ability
  • offers a choice of two types, to serve both academic and non-academic purposes
  • features a one-on-one, face-to-face speaking component
  • accepts all standard varieties of native-speaker English, including North American, British, Australian and New Zealand English
  • ensures test questions are extensively trialled with people from different cultures to confirm they are appropriate and fair.