International English Language Testing System

IELTS | Test Takers - Academic or General Training?

There are two versions of IELTS to choose from:
IELTS Academic
IELTS General Training
The following definitions are to be used as a general guide only. Check with
the organisations you wish to apply to before you book your test.
IELTS Academic Institutions of Higher and Further Education
The Academic format is, broadly speaking, for those who want to study or
train in an English-speaking university or Institutions of Higher and Further
Education. Admission to undergraduate and postgraduate courses is based
on the results of the Academic test. IELTS Academic may also be a
requirement to join a professional organisation in an English-speaking
country.
General Training for school, work or migration
The General Training format focuses on general survival skills in broad
social and workplace contexts. It is typically for those who are going to
English-speaking countries to do secondary education, work experience or
training programs. People migrating to Australia, Canada and New Zealand
must sit the General Training test.

You have a choice of two versions of IELTS: Academic or General

Training.
Everybody takes the same Listening and Speaking components. It is the
Reading and Writing components that differ.
You will take the Listening, Reading and Writing tests all on the same day
one after the other, with no breaks in between them.

Your Speaking test will either be after a break on the same day as the
other three tests, or up to seven days before or after that. This will depend
on your test centre.
Understanding the format of each section
Listening
Reading
Writing
Speaking
Listening
30 minutes
You will listen to four recorded texts, monologues and conversations by a
range of native speakers, and write your answers to a series of questions.
These include questions which test your ability to understand main ideas
and detailed factual information, ability to understand the opinions and
attitudes of speakers, ability to understand the purpose of an utterance and
the ability to follow the development of ideas.
A variety of voices and native-speaker accents are used and each section
is heard only once.
Section 1
A conversation between two people set in an everyday social context.
Section 2
A monologue set in an everyday social context e.g. a speech about local
facilities.
Section 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.
Section 4

A monologue on an academic subject e.g. a university lecture.

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Reading
60 minutes
The Reading component consists of 40 questions. A variety of question
types is used in order to test a wide range of reading skills. These including
reading for gist, reading for main ideas, reading for detail, skimming,
understanding logical argument, recognising writers' opinions, attitudes and
purpose.
IELTS Academic
The Academic version includes three long texts which range from the
descriptive and factual to the discursive and analytical. The texts are
authentic and are taken from books, journals, magazines and newspapers.
These have been selected for a non-specialist audience but are
appropriate for candidates entering university courses or seeking
professional registration.
IELTS General Training
The General Training version requires candidates to read 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.
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Writing
60 minutes
IELTS Academic
The Writing component of IELTS Academic includes two tasks. Topics are
of general interest to, and suitable for candidates entering undergraduate
and postgraduate studies or seeking professional registration.
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.
IELTS General Training
The Writing component of IELTS General Training includes two tasks which
are based on topics of general interest.
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, semiformal 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 slightly more personal in style
than the Academic Writing Task 2 essay.
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Speaking
11 to 14 minutes
The Speaking component assesses your use of spoken English, and takes
between 11 and 14 minutes to complete. Every test is recorded. The
Speaking component is delivered in such a way that it does not allow
candidates to rehearse set responses beforehand.
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 to finish this
part of the test.
Part 3
You will be asked further questions connected to the topic in Part 2. These
questions will give you the opportunity to discuss more abstract ideas and
issue. The part of the test lasts between four and five minutes.

These are then added together to give you an overall band score.
You can be given a half band score as well, so scores are rounded up to whole or half bands.
Scores ending in 0.25 will be rounded up to the nearest half band, and scores of 0.75 will be
rounded up the the nearest whole band. Here are some examples:

Listening Reading Writing Speaking

6.5

6.0

5.5

7.0

Listening Reading Writing Speaking

5.0

6.0

5.5

6.0

Overall
Band
6.5

Overall
Band
5.5

Band Descriptors
The IELTS scores you are given provide an assessment of your level of English.
This can then be used by the institution you are applying to decide if you have the ability to
successfully complete their course of study, or successfully live and work in the country if you are
applying for work or citizenship.
The overall IELTS scores and descriptors are illustrated below:

Ban
d

Descriptor

Expert user
Has fully operational command of the language:
appropriate, accurate and fluent with complete
understanding.

Very good user

Has fully operational command of the language with
only occasional unsystematic inaccuracies.
Misunderstandings occur in unfamiliar situations.
Handles complex detailed argumentation as well.

Good user
Has operational command of the language, though
with occasional inaccuracies, inappropriacies and
misunderstandings in some situations. Generally
handles complex language well and understands
detailed reasoning.

Competent user
Has generally effective command of the language
despite some inaccuracies, inappropriacies and
misunderstandings. Can use and understand fairly
complex language, particularly in familiar situations.

Modest user
Has partial command of the language, coping with
overall meaning in most situations, though is likely to
make many mistakes. Should be able to handle basic
communication in own field.

Limited user
Basic competence is limited to familiar situations.
Has frequent problems in understanding and
expression. Is not able to use complex language.

Extremely limited user

Conveys and understands only general meaning in
very familiar situations. Frequent breakdowns in
communication occur.

Intermittent user
No real communication is possible except for the
most basic information using isolated words or short
formulae in familiar situations and to meet immediate
needs. Has great difficulty in understanding spoken
and written English.

Non user
Essentially has no ability to use the language beyond
possibly a few isolated words.

Did not attempt the test

No assessable information provided.

Raw Score Conversion Tables

In the listening and reading test, you are given a score out of 40. This'raw score' is then converted
into a band score.
You can use the following tables to calculate what IELTS score your raw score will be.
It is important to note that the tests may differ in difficulty because it is obviously impossible to make
each test at exactly the same level.
Therefore, these band score boundaries may vary slightly according to each test.

Listening Test - Raw Score Conversion

Raw Score Band Score Raw Score Band Score
39-40

18-22

5.5

37-38

8.5

16-17

35-36

13-15

4.5

32-34

7.5

11-12

30-31

8-10

3.5

26-29

6.5

6-7

23-25

4-5

2.5

Academic Reading Test - Raw Score Conversion

Raw Score Band Score Raw Score Band Score
39-40

19-22

5.5

37-38

8.5

15-18

35-36

13-14

4.5

33-34

7.5

10-12

30-32

8-9

3.5

27-29

6.5

6-7

23-26

4-5

2.5

General Reading Test - Raw Score Conversion

Raw Score Band Score Raw Score Band Score
40

27-29

5.5

39

8.5

23-26

37-38

19-22

4.5

36

7.5

15-18

34-35

12-14

3.5

32-33

6.5

9-11

30-31

6-8

2.5

The IELTS Band Scores

Multi-level
IELTS is a multi-level exam. You get a score between 1 and 9 for each section. Half scores such as 6.5 are possible.
Universities often demand an IELTS score of 6 or 7. They may also demand a minimum score in each of the 4 sections.
You can use the IELTS Band Score Calculator on this site to convert your reading and listening raw scores.

IELTS Listening marking schemes

For the listening test, which contains 40 questions, the approximate band scores can be calculated using this table.
Band Score

8.5

7.5

6.5

5.5

4.5

3.5

2.5

Score / 40

39-40

37-38

35-36

32-34

30-31

26-29

23-25

18-22

16-17

13-15

10-12

8-10 6-7 4-5