IELTS

INTRODUCTION

IELTS stands for The International English Language Testing System. It

measures the language proficiency of people who want to study or work
where English is used as a language of communication. IELTS uses a nine -
band scale to clearly identify levels of proficiency, from non-user (band
score 1) through to expert (band score 9) 1.
There are two types of the IELTS test: IELTS Academic and IELTS General
Training. Both IELTS Academic and General Training have the same Listening
and Speaking test, but the subject matter of the Reading and Writing
components differs depending on which test you take 2.

Listening
Listening

Academic General Training

Reading
Reading

Academic General Training

Writing Writing

Speaking Speaking

1
IELTS.org
2
Ibid.
Test Format

IELTS Academic IELTS General Training

IELTS Academic measures English IELTS General Training measures

language proficiency needed for an English language proficiency in a
academic, higher learning practical, everyday context. The
environment. The tasks and tests are tasks and tests reflect both
accessible to all test takers, workplace and social situations.
irrespective of their subject focus.

Listening* (30 minutes, plus 10 minutes Listening* (30 minutes, plus 10

extra to transfer your answer to your minutes extra to transfer your
answer sheet) answer to your answer sheet)
Four recorded monologues and Four recorded monologues and
conversations. conversations.

Reading (60 minutes) Reading (60 minutes)

 Three long reading passages  Three reading passages with
with tasks tasks
 Texts range from descriptive  Section 1 contains two or
and factual to the discursive three short factual texts
and analytical  Section 2 includes two
 Includes non-verbal material short, work-related,
such as diagrams, graphs or factual texts
illustrations  Section 3 contains one
 Texts are authentic (e.g. taken longer text on a topic of
from books, journals and general interest
newspapers)  Texts are authentic (e.g.
taken from books, journals
and newspapers)
 Writing (60 minutes)
 Writing task of at least 150
words where the test taker
must summarise, describe or
explain a table, graph, chart or
diagram
 Short essay task of at least 250
words
Writing (60 minutes)
 Letter writing task of at least
150 words
 Short essay task of at least
250 words

Speaking* (11 to 14 minutes) Speaking* (11 to 14 minutes)

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

* Listening and Speaking sections are the same for both versions of the test

(The test format can be seen on www.IELTS.org)

Listening Timing
Approximately 30 minutes (plus 10 minutes’ transfer time).

Questions
There are 40 questions. A variety of question types are used, chosen from the
following: multiple choice, matching, plan/map/diagram labelling, form
completion, note completion, table completion, flow-chart completion, summary
completion, sentence completion, short-answer questions.

Test Parts
There are 4 sections:
Section 1 is a conversation between two people set in an everyday social context
(e.g. a conversation in an accommodation agency).
Section 2 is a monologue set in an everyday social context (e.g. a speech about
local facilities or a talk about the arrangements for meals during a conference).
Section 3 is 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).
Section 4 is a monologue on an academic subject (e.g. a university lecture).
Each section is heard once only.
A variety of voices and native-speaker accents are used.

Skills assessed
A wide range of listening skills are assessed, including:
• understanding of main ideas
• understanding of specific factual information
• recognising opinions, attitudes and purpose of a speaker
• following the development of an argument.
Marking
Each correct answer receives 1 mark. Scores out of 40 are converted to the IELTS
9-band scale.
Scores are reported in whole and half bands.

Academic Reading Timing

60 minutes (no extra transfer time).

Questions
There are 40 questions. A variety of question types are used, chosen from the
following: multiple choice, identifying information (True/False/Not Given),
identifying a writer’s views/claims (Yes/No/Not Given), matching information,
matching headings, matching features, matching sentence endings, sentence
completion, summary completion, note completion, table completion, flow-chart
completion, diagram label completion, short-answer questions.3

Test Parts
There are 3 sections. The total text length is 2,150-2,750 words.
Each section contains one long text. Texts are authentic and 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. Texts are appropriate to,
and accessible to, test takers entering undergraduate or postgraduate courses or

3
True/False/Not given is the most common task type. The description of task distribution can be
found in the research by Tim Moore, Janne Morton, and Steve Price (Swinburne University) on
Construct validity in the IELTS Academic Reading test: A comparison of reading requirements in
IELTS test items and in university study.
seeking professional registration. Texts range from the descriptive and factual to
the discursive and analytical. Texts may contain non-verbal materials such as
diagrams, graphs or illustrations. If texts contain technical terms, then a simple
glossary is provided.

Skills assessed
A wide range of reading skills are assessed, including:
• reading for gist
• reading for main ideas
• reading for detail
• understanding inferences and implied meaning
• recognising writer’s opinions, attitudes and purpose
• following the development of an argument.

Marking
Each correct answer receives 1 mark. Scores out of 40 are converted to the IELTS
9-band scale.
Scores are reported in whole and half bands.

Academic Writing Timing

60 minutes
Tasks
There are 2 tasks. The candidates are required to write at least 150 words for Task
1 and at least 250 words for Task 2.
Test Parts
There are 2 parts.
In Task 1, the candidates are presented with a graph, table, chart 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.
In Task 2, the candidates are asked to write an essay in response to a point of view,
argument or problem.
The issues raised are of general interest to, suitable for and easily understood by
test takers entering undergraduate or postgraduate studies or seeking
professional registration. Responses to Task 1 and Task 2 should be written in an
academic, semi-formal/neutral style.

Skills assessed
In both tasks, the candidates are assessed on their ability to write a response
which is appropriate in terms of:
• content
• the organisation of ideas
• the accuracy and range of vocabulary and grammar.
In Task 1, depending on the task type, the candidates are assessed on their ability
to organise, present and possibly compare data; to describe the stages of a process
or procedure; to describe an object or event or sequence of events; to explain how
something works.
In Task 2, depending on the task type, the candidates are assessed on their ability
to present a solution to a problem; to present and justify an opinion; to compare
and contrast evidence, opinions and implications; to evaluate and challenge ideas,
evidence or an argument.

Marking
The candidates are assessed on their performance on each task by certificated
IELTS examiners according to the IELTS Writing test assessment criteria (Task
Achievement/Response, Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource, Grammatical
Range and Accuracy). The public version of the assessment criteria can be found
at www.ielts.org/criteria.
Task 2 contributes twice as much as Task 1 to the Writing score. Scores are
reported in whole and half bands.

Speaking Timing
11-14 minutes

Test Parts
There are 3 parts.
Part 1 Introduction and interview (4-5 minutes)
The examiner introduces him/herself and asks the candidates to introduce
themselves and confirm their identity. The examiner asks them general questions
on familiar topics, e.g. home, family, work, studies and interests.
Part 2 Individual long turn (3-4 minutes)
The examiner gives the candidates a task card which asks them to talk about a
particular topic and which includes points they can cover in their talk. The
candidates are given 1 minute to prepare their talk, and are given a pencil and
paper to make notes. The candidates talk for 1-2 minutes on the topic. The
examiner may then ask them one or two questions on the same topic.
Part 3 Two-way discussion (4-5 minutes)
The examiner asks further questions which are connected to the topic of Part 2.
These questions give the candidates an opportunity to discuss more abstract
issues and ideas.

Skills assessed
A wide range of speaking skills are assessed, including:
• the ability to communicate opinions and information on everyday topics and
common experiences and situations by answering a range of questions
• the ability to speak at length on a given topic using appropriate language and
organising ideas coherently
• the ability to express and justify opinions and to analyse, discuss and speculate
about issues.

Marking
The candidates are assessed on their performance throughout the test by
certificated IELTS examiners according to the IELTS Speaking test assessment
criteria (Fluency and Coherence, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range and
Accuracy, Pronunciation). The public version of the assessment criteria can be
found at www.ielts.org/criteria.
Scores are reported in whole and half bands.
 CHAPTER 1
ACADEMIC WRITING
There are two tasks in Academic Writing test: Task 1 and Task 2. In Academic IELTS
Writing Task 1, all candidates are asked to describe information presented in a
graph, table, chart or diagram etc. and to present the description in their own
words. Candidates are required to write at least 150 words in task 1. Writing Task
2 requires the candidates to formulate and develop a position in relation to a given
prompt in the form of a question or statement. Ideas should be supported by
evidence, and examples may be drawn from the candidates’ own experience.
Responses must be at least 250 words in length

1.1 ACADEMIC WRITING TASK 1

In Task 1, the task types can be in the form of a line graph, bar graph, pie chart,
table, map, and process. The candidates are assessed on their ability to organise,
present and possibly compare data; to describe the stages of a process or
procedure; to describe an object or event or sequence of events; to explain how
something works.
The general format for Academic Writing Task 1 consists of Introduction, General
Overview, and Detailed Information.
1.1.1 How to Write an Introduction Part
In introduction part, the information above the chart should be paraphrased.
Example:

 The line graph shows the incidence of X disease in Someland from 1960
to 1995.

The information above the chart can be paraphrased as follows:

 The graph enumerates the number of cases of X disease in Someland over

three decades, from 1960 to 1995.
 The diagram illustrates the data on X disease case in Someland from 1960
to 1995.
a. The table below shows the useful vocabularies commonly used in the
introduction part

Presentation Type Verb Description

the comparison of…

shows / represents / depicts the differences…
diagram / table / figure / / enumerates / illustrates / the changes...
illustration / graph / presents/ gives / provides / the number of…
chart / flow chart / delineates/ outlines/ information on…
picture/ presentation/ describes / delineates/ data on…
pie chart / bar graph/ expresses/ denotes/ the proportion of…
column graph / line compares/ shows contrast / the amount of…
graph / table data/ data indicates / figures / gives information on...
/ information / pictorial/ data on / gives information data about...
process diagram/ map/ on/ presents information comparative data...
pie chart and table/ bar about/ shows data about/ the trend of...
graph and pie chart ... demonstrates/ sketches out/ the percentages of...
summarises... the ratio of...
how the...
(The list of words in the table can be found on www.IELTS-mentor.com)
Example:
1. The diagram shows the rates of unemployment between males and
females in four European countries from 1925 to 1985.
2. The given pie charts represent the proportion of male and female
employees in 6 broad categories, dividing into manual and non-manual
occupations in Australia, between 2010 and 2015.
3. The chart gives information about consumer expenditures on six products
in four countries namely Germany, Italy, Britain and France.
4. The supplied bar graph compares the number of male and female
graduates in three developing countries while the table data presents the
overall literacy rate in these countries.
5. The bar graph enumerates the money spent on different research projects
while the column graph demonstrates the fund sources over a decade,
commencing from 1981.
b. Exercise

Paraphrase the information above the charts.

Example:

 The graph below shows US consumers' average annual expenditures on

the cell phone and residential phone services between 2001 and 2010.

(The picture can be found on www.testbig.com)

The information above the chart can be paraphrased as follows:

 The chart illustrates the amount of money spent for mobile phone and
fixed line services by US citizens in a decade, from 2001 to 2010.
 The line graph depicts the rate of expenses for mobile phone and fixed-line
services by US citizens from 2001 to 2010.
1. The graph below shows UK acid rain emissions, measured in millions of tones,
from four different sectors between 1990 and 2007.

3.5

2.5
Million tonnes

1.5

0.5

0
1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007

Transport and communication Electricity, Gas, and Water Supply

Domestic Other Industries

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2. The graph and table below give information about water use worldwide and
water consumption in two different countries from 1900 to 2000.

Global Water Use by Sector

3500
Agriculture
3000
2500
2000
km3

1500 Industrial Use

1000
500 Domestic Use
0
1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000

Water Consumption in Brazil and Congo in 2000

Water
Country Population Irrigated Land Consumption per
Person
Brazil 176 million 26,500 km2 359 m3
Democratic
Republic of 5.2 million 100 km2 8 m3
Congo
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3. The graph below gives information about car ownership in Britain from 1971
to 2007.

Households with regular use of a car, Great Britain

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
1971 1975 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007

One Car No Car Two Cars Three or More Cars

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4. The charts below show the levels of participation in education and science in
developing and industrialised countries in 1980 and 1990.

Average years of schooling Scientists and Technicians per 1000

people
12
80

10 70
60
8 50
40
6
30
4 20
10
2 0

0 1980 1990
1980 1990
Developing Countries
Developing Countries Industrialised Countries Industrialised Countries

Spending on Research and Development

400

350

300

250

200

150

100

50

1980 1990

Developing Countries
Industrialised Countries

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5. The pie chart below shows the proportion of different categories of families
living in poverty in the UK in 2002.

Proportion of People from Each Household Type Living in Poverty

9%

24% Single Aged Persons

26% Aged Couple

Single without Children

Couple without Children

Sole Parents
5% Couple with Children

All Households

7%

15%
14%

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