IELTS Guide for teachers

An overview of the test

Test takers can choose between IELTS Academic and Task 2

IELTS General Training, depending on their academic Test takers are asked to write an essay in response to a point
or professional aspirations, or visa requirements. of view, argument or problem. The essay can be slightly more
personal in style than the Academic Writing Task 2 essay.
The difference between the two tests is that the Reading
and Writing sections of IELTS Academic have subject Speaking 11–14 minutes
matter and tasks suitable for the test takers entering The Speaking test is carried out face-to-face with a
undergraduate or postgraduate studies. The Listening trained IELTS examiner, as we believe this is the most
and Speaking sections are the same. effective way of assessing a test taker’s speaking
skills. This section takes between 11 and 14 minutes
Listening 30 minutes to complete. Every test is digitally recorded and consists
Test takers listen to four recorded texts, monologues of three parts:
and conversations by a range of native speakers,
and write their answers to a series of questions. Part 1
Test takers answer general questions about themselves
Reading 60 minutes and a range of familiar topics, such as their home, family,
The Academic test includes three long texts which work, studies and interests. This part lasts between four
range from the descriptive and factual to the discursive and five minutes.
and analytical. The texts are authentic and are taken from
books, journals, magazines and newspapers and are on Part 2
academic topics of general interest. All have been selected Test takers are given a booklet which asks them to talk about
for a non-specialist audience. a particular topic. They have one minute to prepare before
speaking for up to two minutes. The examiner may ask
The General Training test requires test takers to read one or two questions on the same topic to finish this part
extracts from newspapers, advertisements, instruction of the test.
manuals and books. These are materials test takers could
encounter on a daily basis in an English speaking country. Part 3
Test takers are asked further questions which are
Writing 60 minutes connected to the topic in Part 2. These questions give the
The Academic test includes two tasks. Topics are test taker an opportunity to discuss more abstract issues
selected to be of general interest and suitable for test and ideas. This part lasts between four and five minutes.
takers entering undergraduate or postgraduate studies
or seeking professional registration. The format of the Speaking test is common across both
the Academic and General Training tests. It is structured in
Task 1 such a way that does not allow test takers to rehearse set
Test takers are presented with a graph, table, chart responses beforehand.
or diagram and are asked to describe, summarise or
explain the information in their own words. They 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
Test takers are asked to write an essay in response
to a point of view, argument or problem.

Responses to both tasks must be written in an

academic or semi-formal neutral style.

The General Training test also includes two tasks, Read more
and is based on topics of general interest. Additional information
for institutions that accept
Task 1 IELTS scores can be found
Test takers are presented with a situation and are asked in the IELTS Guide for
to write a letter requesting information or explaining the Institutions, available at:
situation. The letter may be personal, semi-formal or ielts.org/institutions
formal in style.

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 2 IELTS test format

IELTS Academic IELTS General Training

IELTS Academic measures English language IELTS General Training measures English language
proficiency needed for an academic, higher education proficiency in a practical, everyday context. The tasks
environment. The tasks and texts are accessible to and texts reflect both workplace and social situations.
all test takers, irrespective of their subject focus.

Listening* (30 minutes)

• Four recorded monologues and conversations

Reading (60 minutes) Reading (60 minutes)

• Three long reading passages with tasks • Three reading passages with tasks
• Texts range from the descriptive and • Section 1 contains two or three short factual texts
factual to the discursive and analytical • Section 2 contains two short,
• Includes non-verbal materials such work‑related, factual texts
as diagrams, graphs or illustrations • Section 3 contains one longer
• Texts are authentic (e.g. taken from text on a topic of general interest
books, journals and newspapers) • Texts are authentic (e.g. taken from
company handbooks, official documents,
books and newspapers)

Writing (60 minutes)

• Writing task of at least 150 words where
the test taker must summarise, describe Writing (60 minutes)
or explain a table, graph, chart or diagram • Letter writing task of at least 150 words
• Short essay task of at least 250 words • Short essay task of at least 250 words

Speaking (11 to 14 minutes)

• Face-to-face interview
• Includes short questions, speaking
at length about a familiar topic
and a structured discussion

Key similarities Differences

• The Listening and Speaking sections are the same The Reading section of the Academic and General
for both tests. The distinction between ‘academic’ and Training tests is differentiated in terms of:
‘general’ literacy has traditionally been seen as most • The choice of texts (topic, genre, length, number, etc)
marked in relation to Reading and Writing skills. The • The level of difficulty of the 40 test items. The Academic
more socially-oriented language skills of Listening and Reading section has more items pitched at bands 5–8,
Speaking are equally important in an academic study whereas the General Training has more items pitched
or professional context at bands 3–6. This is a reflection of the different demands
• The same amount of time is allocated to complete the of Academic and General Training
Listening and Speaking sections in both the General
Training and Academic tests For Writing, the Academic and General Training tests
• The Reading and Writing sections are the same are differentiated in terms of:
length in both tests • The content and nature of the two writing tasks
• Both tests have the same minimum word requirement • The contextual parameters of the tasks
• The same assessment criteria and 9-band scale is
used to grade both tests However, given the level of differentiation described
above, this does not mean that the scores across
A detailed breakdown of the test format can be found Academic and General Training Reading or Writing
in the Guide for educational institutions, governments, sections are interchangeable.
professional bodies and commercial organisations
and the Information for Candidates booklets, both
available at ielts.org

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IELTS Guide for teachers

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 3 IELTS scores and interpretation

Setting IELTS band score requirements The IELTS Scores Guide provides detailed descriptions of
for recognising organisations the test sections and sample test materials. This resource
IELTS test scores are just one element of the assessment of contains real examples of test takers’ writing and speaking
a test taker’s suitability to enrol at an institution or to join an performances at different band score levels. A copy can be
organisation. The level of English needed for a test taker to requested from your local stakeholder relations teams.
perform effectively in study, work or training varies from one
situation to another. That is why each individual organisation IELTS Online Tutorial also provides an overview of
sets its own minimum IELTS score for applicants, depending test development, assessment and score processing
on specific requirements. Admissions professionals may ielts.org/online-tutorial
also wish to take into account whether their organisation
provides ongoing language support to students or
employees to improve their English.

Listening Writing

The IELTS Listening test contains 40 questions. Examiners use detailed performance descriptors to
Each correct item is awarded one mark. Band scores, award a band score for each of four assessment criteria:
ranging from Band 1 to Band 9, are awarded to test
takers on the basis of their raw scores. Criterion Weighting

Band score Raw score out of 40 Task achievement (Task 1)/ 25%
Task response (Task 2)
8 35
Coherence and cohesion 25%
7 30
Lexical resource 25%
6 23
Grammatical range and accuracy 25%
5 16

Reading Speaking

The IELTS Reading test contains 40 questions. Examiners use detailed performance descriptors to
Each correct item is awarded one mark. Band scores, award a band score for each of four assessment criteria:
ranging from Band 1 to Band 9, are awarded to test
takers on the basis of their raw scores. Criterion Weighting

Band score Raw score out of 40 Fluency and coherence 25%

8 35 Lexical resource 25%

7 30 Grammatical range and accuracy 25%

6 23 Pronunciation 25%

5 15

Band score boundaries

Although all IELTS test materials are pretested and standards fixed before being released as live tests, there are
inevitably minor differences in the difficulty level across tests. To equate different tests, the band score boundaries
are set so that all test takers’ results relate to the same scale of achievement. This means, for example, that the
Band 6 boundary may be set at a slightly different raw score across individual tests.

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IELTS Guide for teachers

Tips from teachers

1 Listening 3 Writing
Make sure your students: Make sure your students:
• Think about the context before they listen • Analyse the question carefully and plan
and identify the type of information they their answer before starting to write
will need to listen for • Keep in mind the reader and the purpose
• Read the questions before they hear the text when writing
and use the time between each section to • Structure their writing logically and clearly
prepare for the following section • Decide on a position and use examples
and evidence to support points they make
2 Reading in task 2
Make sure your students:
• Use reading skills such as skimming and 4 Speaking
scanning – they will need to use these Make sure your students:
skills to answer all the questions in 1 hour • Feel confident and remind them to relax and
• Know how best to approach each type enjoy the conversation with the examiner
of reading task • Listen carefully to the questions
• Answer the questions and transfer their answers • Use fillers and hesitation devices if they
to the answer sheet within the time allowed need ‘thinking time’ before answering
• Realise it is their language level not their
opinions which are being evaluated

5 General
Make sure your students:
• Are familiar with the format and types of tasks
in the different sections of the IELTS test
• Know what is expected of them and how
best to approach each section
• Are aware of the time allowed for each
section and include timed practice in class
• Read the instructions carefully and follow them
• Are familiar with the assessment criteria

These tips are relevant to both paper-based and

computer-delivered test takers.

“Test takers receive an

objective assessment of
their English proficiency
and have a clearer idea of
where they need to make
most improvements.”
Lyndell King, teacher

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