IELTS stands for International English Language Testing System and is an international standard test of English proficiency for people whose mother tongue is not English.

IELTS test has 2 different modules:

• Academic module: used by people who want to apply for a university admission

• General training module: used by people who want to immigrate to Canada, Australia, or New Zealand

In an IELTS test, your following English language skills are tested:

• Listening

• Reading

• Writing

• Speaking

IELTS Exam Format:

This test can be either computer-based or paper-based, but the former one is more expensive than the latter one.

IELTS Exam Duration:

The first three skills mentioned above can be tested in one day when you sit for an IELTS test and the whole test take around 3 hours and 30 minutes excluding the speaking test. The speaking test will take about 11 – 15 minutes for each applicant and it can be done before the IELTS test due date, or on the same day that the IELTS test is taken or even after the IELTS test. Each applicant can have a different speaking test date.

Content of the IELTS Test:

Listening Skill: This part of the IELTS test is made of 4 sections and each section is heard ONCE only. During the test, you are given time to read the questions and write down and check your answers. The duration of this part is 30 minutes, but you are given an extra 10 minutes at the end of the test to copy your answers from the questions’ booklet onto the answer sheet. This part of the test has 40 questions. There is no difference between IELTS Academic module and IELTS General Training module in this part.

Reading Skill: There are three passages in this part of the test, but, in this part, there are differences between IELTS Academic module and IELTS General Training module. A total of 2,000 to 2,750 words are used in each of the IELTS Academic reading passages whereas a total of 2,000 to 2,500 words are used in each of the IELTS General Training reading passages. The duration of this part is 40 minutes and all the answers must be entered on an answer sheet during the test because no extra time is allowed to transfer answers at the end of the test.

Writing Skill: There are two tasks in this part of the test. In task 1, you must write at least 150 words, and you are allowed 20 minutes to finish this task. In task 2, you must write at least 250 words, and you are allowed 40 minutes to finish this task. Therefore, the total duration of this part is 60 minutes; however, there are differences between IELTS Academic module and IELTS General Training module in this part.

Speaking Skill: There are three parts in IELTS speaking. Part one is an interview between the examiner and the applicant and is between 4 – 5 minutes. Part two is a two-minute lecture given by the applicant in addition to one-minute preparation time and takes around 3 – 4 minutes. Part three, is a two-way discussion between the examiner and the applicant and will be between 4 – 5 minutes.