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IELTS Test Basics

The IELTS exam takes 2 hours and 45 minutes to complete and consists of four sections - Listening (30 minutes), Reading (60 minutes), Writing (60 minutes), and Speaking (11-14 minutes). The Listening section involves answering questions about 4 recordings of everyday conversations and lectures. The Reading section contains 40 questions testing a wide range of reading skills and includes either 3 long academic texts or everyday extracts, depending on the exam variant. The Writing section consists of two tasks - for the Academic exam, Task 1 involves summarizing information from a graph/table and Task 2 is an essay; for the General Training exam, Task 1 is a letter and Task 2 is also an essay.

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84 views

IELTS Test Basics

The IELTS exam takes 2 hours and 45 minutes to complete and consists of four sections - Listening (30 minutes), Reading (60 minutes), Writing (60 minutes), and Speaking (11-14 minutes). The Listening section involves answering questions about 4 recordings of everyday conversations and lectures. The Reading section contains 40 questions testing a wide range of reading skills and includes either 3 long academic texts or everyday extracts, depending on the exam variant. The Writing section consists of two tasks - for the Academic exam, Task 1 involves summarizing information from a graph/table and Task 2 is an essay; for the General Training exam, Task 1 is a letter and Task 2 is also an essay.

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Devil Gamer
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IELTS (International Language Testing System) Test Pattern

Time 2 hours and 45 minutes

Test Format Listening

30 minutes

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.

Test format – Reading

60 minutes

The Reading section 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 audience but are appropriate for
people entering university courses or seeking professional registration.

Test format – Reading

60 minutes

The Reading section 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 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.

Test format – Academic Writing

60 minutes

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.

Test format – General Training Writing

60 minutes

Topics are of general interest. There are two tasks:

 Task 1 - you will be presented with a situation and asked to write a letter requesting
information, or explaining the situation. The letter may be personal, semi-formal or formal in
style.
 Task 2 - you will be asked to write an essay in response to a point of view, argument or problem.
The essay can be fairly personal in style.

Test format – Speaking

11–14 minutes

The speaking section 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.

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