The Educating Testing Service and the British Council are the two bodies that are responsible for setting the IELTS exam format. This exam tests the English language proficiency of the students.

To secure a better score for the IELTS exam, students need to know about the test format before they attempt the exam. This exam has two versions, one is the IELTS Academic and the other is the IELTS General Training. The IELTS Academic is for students looking to pursue their higher education in English-speaking countries, and IELTS General Training is for those who wish to migrate to abroad countries in search of employment.

Both these versions have 4 sections, which are Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking. The Listening and Speaking sections of both the versions are the same, but the Reading and Writing sections differ in each of them.

Let’s take a look at the details of the IELTS test format:

Listening section

Students are given 30 minutes to complete this section. There are 4 pre-recorded audios which are played once. These audios could include conversations between natives, monologues and group conversations. The students will have to listen to these and answer questions based on what was spoken.

Speaking section

This section lasts approximately 11 to 14 minutes. The speaking test is conducted in an interview format. This test has 3 parts, each lasting for 4 to 5 minutes. In the first part, students are asked about themselves and their personal life, their hobbies, etc. This is followed by a section where the student needs to pick a card and speak on a random topic. They are given a couple of minutes to prepare, and the examiner may ask a few additional questions on the same topic. This gives the students an opportunity to demonstrate their command over the English language by expressing themselves.

Reading section

Students are given an hour to complete the Reading section. The General Training Reading test will comprise of many questions that will evaluate the reader’s ability to understand the passage given in front of them. The reader may have to pick out details or skim through main ideas. The Academic Reading Test is more specific. It consists of three tests that are handpicked from publications such as magazines to check the students’ abilities to understand them.

Writing section

Students are given an hour to complete the Writing section. The General Training Writing test has 2 tasks – the first one is where students are presented with a graph, table, diagram or chart where they have to explain the information provided which they need to interpret in their own words. For the next task, students are asked to write an essay in response to an argument placed before them. They are expected to keep the language formal for both these tasks. The first task of the Academic Writing test requires the students to write a letter with regards to a certain situation. This letter could be anything from personal to formal in tone. The second task also requires students to write an essay, but this one can be slightly more personal.

Now that you are familiar with the pattern of the exam, you can start your preparations. If you are thinking about the finances for your education, Avanse can take care of the same by providing you with an education loan which suits your requirement.

We hope this article has been useful, all the best!