IELTS Exam formats |Skills Tested

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IELTS Listening Test Format

IELTS candidates listening skills will be tested, logically, as candidate demonstrate their ability to understand the speech of native English speakers in this 40-minute exam.

Each recording represents a different kind of speech: everyday conversation, monologues that occur in an everyday context (e.g. information), conversations in training/classroom settings, and formal monologues, like course lectures.

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Exam content for IELTS listening test

Each recording has corresponding questions, 40 in total. They may be:

  • multiple choice
  • sentence completion
  • matching
  • plan/map/diagram labelling
  • form/note/table/flow-chart/summary completion

Skills Tested

IELTS tests you on what when it comes to listening? IELTS Listening is exactly the same in Academic and in General Training. So it makes sense that this section tests a mixture of academic and “life skills” listening.

Candidate will be expected to understand conversations and monologues related to business, school, and personal life. 

IELTS Reading Test Format

The reading section also requires Candidates to correctly answer 40 questions, but this time, Candidate will have to demonstrate reading comprehension.

Exam content for IELTS reading test?

The text types and passage lengths differ for the two versions of the test, but both have the same possible question formats, including:

  • multiple choice
  • matching
  • sentence completion
  • summary/note/table/flow-chart completion
  • diagram label completion
  • short-answer questions

IELTS test content like for Academic and General Training Reading?

IELTS Academic Reading cover includes? If candidate is taking the academic version, Candidate will read three passages. Each passage will be followed by questions of varied formats.

IELTS General Training Reading like what? The General Training version of the reading test has three sections. The first includes multiple short texts, the second includes two slightly longer texts, and the third has a single long text. Question types, of course, will vary.

Skills Tested

Now, In IELTS Academic, Candidates are largely being tested on your ability to comprehend academic and educational passages. General Training has more of a mix of skills.

Academic reading ability is also assessed in IELTS General Training. But GT Reading also tests “life reading,” the ability to read bulletins about things like shopping and travel, and the ability to read work documents

IELTS Academic and General Training |Differences/ similarities

IELTS Writing Test Format

What is IELTS exam formatting like for the writing test? The writing portion also varies depending on which version of the test Candidates are taking.

In either case, Candidate will have 60 minutes to complete two writing tasks.

IELTS test content like for Academic and General Training Writing?

IELTS test writing like in Academic involes what? In this version, candidate will be required to show that they can provide a written description of some visual information (not less than 150 words in 20 minutes) and that candidate can develop their ideas in an essay about a specified topic (no less than 250 words in 40 minutes).

Both should demonstrate Candidate ability to use English in an academic or semi-formal tone.

Also, what is IELTS test writing like for General Training? The first writing task involves a familiar task, like letter writing, in response to a scenario.

Candidate will be given 20 minutes to write about 150 words. The second task is an essay and should be no less than 250 words.

You(Candidate) will be given specific instructions on what to discuss and you will have 40 minutes to do so.

Skills Tested

The focus of IELTS Academic Writing is purely, well, academic. IELTS Academic Writing tests your ability to write a short source-based academic essay (the source is the graph or table).

IELTS Academic also tests Candidate ability to write an academic-style opinion essay. This opinion essay writing ability is also found on the IELTS GT. But in addition, the GT tests writing as a life skill by asking candidate to write a letter to a friend or colleague

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IELTS Speaking Test Format

The Speaking test lasts only 11-15 minutes and is broken down into three sections:

  • Stage 1. involves a general introduction during which candidate are verbally asked questions that invite you to share a little bit about your life.
  • Stage 2. requires that candidate speak on a topic in what is called “the long turn.” What is IELTS test Speaking long turn like, in terms of topics and structure? The topic is given to candidate in written form. Candidate will be allowed to make and use notes so that their thoughts are organised before they speak.
  • Stage 3. involves a discussion in which the examiner will ask several questions to allow Candidate to explore the same topic in a bit deeper or more broadly together.

Skills Tested

IELTS Speaking is focused on life skills. The interview focuses on light personal conversation. This is the kind of talk Candidates will have with many different people when they work or study in the English speaking world.

However, there is also an academic component here. The “long turn” in Stage 2 is similar to the kind of short speech you might give in a university communications course.