Internaltional English Language Testing System( IELTS)

IELTS is a standard Proficiency assessment Test designed to measure English language ability of a
person who wishes to study or work in an English speaking country.
The Test measures proficiency in all section of English: Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking.
The test is conducted in 2 versions: Academic and General Training:



LISTENING SECTION
You will be listening for a purpose and hear a variety of accents.
A variety of voices is used in the IELTS Listening test, so you might hear Australian, British, New Zealand
or North American accents.
You will be listening to a pre-recorded CD-ROM, and the passages that you hear will increase in difficulty
as you go through the test.
The content of the Listening test is the same for both IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training tests.
Purpose of the test
The IELTS Listening test is designed to assess a wide range of listening skills, including how well you
understand main ideas and specific factual information
recognize the opinions, attitudes and purpose of a speaker
follow the development of an argument
Timing
The IELTS Listening test takes approximately 30 minutes, and you are allowed an extra 10 minutes to
transfer your answers from your question booklet to your answer sheet.
Four sections
The IELTS Listening test is broken down into four sections:
Section Description
1
You listen to a conversation between two people set in
an everyday social situation, e.g. a conversation in an
accommodation agency, and answer questions on your
comprehension.
2
You listen to a monologue set in an everyday social
situation, e.g. a speech about local facilities or a talk
about the arrangements for meals during a conference.
3
You listen to 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, or a group
of students planning a research project.
4
You listen to a monologue on an academic subject, e.g. a
university lecture.
You will begin by listening to a recording of instructions and a sample question for section 1. Then you will
read the questions for section 1, listen to section 1, and answer the questions.
This procedure is repeated for sections 2, 3 and 4.
In the final 10 minutes, you will transfer your answers onto the answer sheet.
Each section is heard once only.
Questions
There are 40 questions.
A variety of question types is used, and you may be asked to
answer multiple choice questions
label a plan, map or diagram
fill in a form
complete a table
complete a flow-chart
give short answers
Marking
Each correct answer receives one mark.
Scores out of 40 are converted to the IELTS 9-band scale. Scores are reported in whole and half bands.

Reading Section
You will be asked to read three different passages and respond to related questions in your IELTS
Reading test.
The content of the Reading test is different for IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training tests. Details
of each version are given below.
Purpose of the test
The IELTS Reading test is designed to assess a wide range of reading skills, including how well you
read for the general sense of a passage
read for the main ideas
read for detail
understand inferences and implied meaning
recognise a writers opinions, attitudes and purpose
follow the development of an argument
This is the case for whichever version of the IELTS test you are taking.
Timing
The IELTS Reading test takes 60 minutes.
You are not allowed any extra time to transfer your answers, so write them directly on to your answer
sheet.
You will need to manage your time during the test because you will not be told when to start or finish each
section.
Three sections
You will be given three different passages to read, each with accompanying questions. You can expect to
read 2,150 - 2,750 words in total during your test.
IELTS Academic Reading test
There are three sections to the IELTS Academic Reading test, and each contains one long text.
These are taken from books, journals, magazines and newspapers. They have been written for a non-
specialist audience and are on academic topics of general interest.
They range from the descriptive and factual to the discursive and analytical.
Each text might be accompanied by diagrams, graphs or illustrations, and you will be expected to show
that you understand these too.
A simple glossary is provided if the material contains technical terms.
IELTS General Training Reading test
There are three sections to the IELTS General Training Reading test.
The texts used in each section are taken from notices, advertisements, company handbooks, official
documents, books, magazines and newspapers.
Section 1 contains two or three short factual texts, one of which may be made up of 6 - 8 short texts
related by topic, e.g. hotel advertisements. The topics are relevant to everyday life in an English-speaking
country.
Section 2 contains two short factual texts focusing on work-related issues, e.g. applying for a job,
company policies, pay and conditions, workplace facilities, staff development and training.
Section 3 contains one longer, more complex text on a topic of general interest.
Questions
There are 40 questions.
A variety of question types is used. You may be asked to
fill gaps in a passage of written text or in a table
match headings to written text to diagrams or charts
complete sentences
give short answers to open questions
answer multiple choice questions
Sometimes you will need to give one word as your answer, sometimes a short phrase, and sometimes
simply a letter, number or symbol.

Marking
Each correct answer receives one mark.
Scores out of 40 are converted to the IELTS 9-band scale. Scores are reported in whole and half bands.
Writing Section
Purpose of the test
The IELTS Writing test is designed to assess a wide range of writing skills, including how well you
write a response appropriately
organise ideas
use a range of vocabulary and grammar accurately
This is the case for whichever version of the IELTS test you are taking.
Timing
The IELTS Writing test takes 60 minutes. Spend 20 minutes on Task 1, and 40 minutes on Task 2.
You will need to manage your own time, so make sure you move on to Task 2 after 20 minutes.
Two tasks
There are two tasks in the IELTS Writing test. You will be asked to write at least 150 words for Task 1 and
at least 250 words for Task 2.
IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training Writing tests
The content of the Writing test is different for IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training tests.
Academic Writing
Write in a formal style in the IELTS Academic Writing test.
In Task 1 you will be presented with a graph, table, chart or diagram. You will be asked to describe,
summarise or explain the information in your own words. This might involve describing and explaining
data, describing the stages of a process or how something works, or describing an object or event.
In Task 2 you will be asked to write an essay in response to a point of view, argument or problem. You
should find the issues interesting and easy to understand.
General Training Writing
The topics used in the IELTS General Training Writing test are of general interest.
In Task 1 you will be presented with a situation and asked to write a letter requesting information or
explaining the situation. You can write the letter in a personal, semi-formal or formal style.
In Task 2 you will be asked to write an essay in response to a point of view, argument or problem. You
can use a fairly personal style.

Marking
Your Writing test will be marked by a certificated IELTS examiner.
Task 2 is worth twice as much as Task 1 in the IELTS Writing test.
Scores are reported in whole and half bands.
SPEAKING SECTION
You will talk to a certified examiner in the IELTS Speaking test. The test is interactive and as close to a
real-life situation as a test can get. A variety of accents may be used, and the test will be recorded.
The content of the IELTS Speaking test is the same for both the IELTS Academic and IELTS General
Training tests.
Purpose of the test
The IELTS Speaking test is designed to assess a wide range of skills.
communicate opinions and information on everyday topics and common experiences; to do this you will
need to answer a range of questions
speak at length on a given topic using appropriate language
organise your ideas coherently
express and justify your opinions
analyse, discuss and speculate about issues
Make sure that you relax and talk fluently. You will need to speak naturally.
Timing
The IELTS Speaking test takes 11-14 minutes.
Three sections
The Speaking test is made up of three sections:
Section Duration Information
Part 1
Introduction
and
interview
4-5
minutes
The examiner will introduce
him or herself and ask you to
introduce yourself and
confirm your identity. The
examiner will ask you general
questions on familiar topics,
e.g. home, family, work,
studies and interests. This
section should help you relax
and talk naturally.
Part 2
Individual
long turn
3-4
minutes
The examiner will give you a
task card which asks you to
talk about a particular topic,
including points to include in
Section Duration Information
your talk. You will be given
one minute to prepare and
make notes. You will then be
asked to talk for 1-2 minutes
on the topic. You will not be
interrupted during this time, so
it is important to keep talking.
The examiner will then ask
you one or two questions on
the same topic.
Part 3 Two-
way
discussion
4-5
minutes
The examiner will ask you further
questions which are connected to
the topic of Part 2. These
questions are designed to give
you an opportunity to discuss
more abstract issues and ideas.
Marking
You will be assessed on your performance throughout the test by certificated IELTS examiners.
You will be marked on the four criteria of the IELTS Speaking Test Band Descriptors:
fluency and coherence
lexical resource
grammatical range and accuracy
pronunciation
Scores are reported in whole and half bands.