How to Prepare for the IELTS Exam | IELTS tips

The International English Language Testing System is an international standardized test of English language proficiency for non-native English language speakers.

IELTS Academic is a test taken by candidates who would want to study abroad (either at an undergraduate or a post-graduate level) or perhaps want to explore a better work opportunity.

IELTS General is taken by those candidates who would want to migrate to an English-speaking country or wish to study at a below degree level (secondary education).

Both, IELTS Academic and General tests may be attempted in the Computer-based and the Pen and Paper format.

The test-taker needs to attempt 4 Modules- Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking.

 

The Reading Test

You will have 60 minutes to attempt 40 questions in multiple formats (Multiple Choice Questions, True/False, short-answer questions, etc.).

IELTS Academic: The Academic test has 3 long texts usually taken from books, journals, magazines and newspapers.

IELTS General Training: IELTS General Training tests your English- proficiency in a social setting. You can expect four short passages with variable length and difficulty from a variety of everyday situations. The passages are usually some notices or advertisements usually taken from newspapers, official documents, etcetera.

 

The Writing Test

A minimum of 150 words are to be written for Task 1 and at least 250 for Task 2.

  • Academic task 1 includes Report writing (Bar graph, pie chart, table, map, process chart, flow chart and combination chart).

  • General Task 1 includes Letter writing ( Formal, Informal and Semi-formal).

 

Task 2 is Essay writing, which is common for both Academic and general tests.

  • The Speaking Module is usually as short as 11-14 minutes, where the test taker is judged on his performance in parameters like Grammatical Range and Accuracy, Lexical Resources and Pronunciation.

  • The Listening Module carries 30 mins of uninterrupted audio divided into 4 short audios of 6-8 minutes each, allowing the student to mark answers to 40 questions simultaneously, as the audio plays.