IELTS

IELTS test has two test types-

•  IELTS Academic Test 
• IELTS General Test

Academic Test:
This test is applicable for students seeking education in international institutions.

General Training Test: This test is chosen by people seeking employment or work in international institutions.

Exam Pattern:

Exam Model :Modules of the IELTS Test in details

Listening
The module comprises four sections, with ten questions in each section. The total time allotted for this section is 40 minutes: 30min for testing, plus 10mins for transferring the answers to an answer sheet.

Sections 1 and 2 are about everyday, social situations.

• Section 1 has a conversation between two speakers (for example, a conversation about travel arrangements)
• Section 2 has one person speaking (for example, a speech about local facilities).

Sections 3 and 4 are about educational and training situations

• Section 3 is a conversation between two main speakers (for example, a discussion between two university students, perhaps guided by a tutor)
• Section 4 has one person speaking about an academic subject.

Each section begins with a short introduction telling the test taker about the situation and the speakers. Then they have some time to look through the questions. All recordings will be played once only. At the end of the test students are given 10 minutes to transfer their answers to an answer sheet. Test takers will lose marks for incorrect spelling and grammar.

Reading
The Reading test of IELTS is different in Academic and General Training. It has three sections. There will be a variety of question types, such as multiple choice, short-answer questions, identifying information, identifying writer’s views, labeling diagrams, completing a summary using words taken from the text and matching information/headings/features in the text/sentence endings. Test takers should be careful when writing down their answers as they will lose marks for incorrect spelling and grammar.

Texts in IELTS Academic

• Three reading texts, which come from books, journals, magazines, newspapers and online resources written for non-specialist audiences. All the topics are of general interest to students at undergraduate or postgraduate level.

In both, the modules of IELTS reading a total of 40 questions are to be answered.

Writing: As in the Reading test, the writing test of IELTS is also different in Academic and General Training. The Writing paper has two tasks which must both be completed. In task 1 test takers write at least 150 words in about 20 minutes. In task 2 test takers write at least 250 words in about 40 minutes. Test takers will be penalized if their answer is too short or does not relate to the topic.

IELTS Academic

• Task 1: test takers describe a graph, table, chart or diagram in their own words.

Speaking
The speaking test is a face-to-face interview between the test taker and an examiner. It has three sections.

Section 1: introduction and interview (4–5 minutes).

• Test takers may be asked about their home, family, work, studies, hobbies, interests, reasons for taking IELTS exam as well as other general topics such as clothing, free time, computers and the internet.

Section 2: long turn (3–4 minutes).

• Test takers are given a task card about a particular topic. Test takers have one minute to prepare to talk about this topic. The task card states the points that should be included in the talk and one aspect of the topic which must be explained during the talk. Test takers are then expected to talk about the topic for 2 minutes, after which the examiner may ask one or two questions.

Section 3: discussions (4–5 minutes).

• The third section involves a discussion between the examiner and the test taker, generally on questions relating to the theme which they have already spoken about in Section 2.