IELTS Academic

Say Yes to Your Higher Studies in Europe

The IELTS (International English Language Testing System) Academic test assesses a candidate's proficiency in English to ensure they are capable of studying or training in an English-speaking environment. The test is divided into four main sections: Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking.

1. Listening

• Duration: 30 minutes + 10 minutes transfer time
• Format: Four recorded monologues and conversations
  • Part 1: A conversation between two people in an everyday social context
  • Part 2: A monologue set in an everyday social context (e.g., a speech about local facilities)
  • Part 3: A conversation between up to four people set in an educational or training context (e.g., a university tutor and student discussing an assignment)
  • Part 4: A monologue on an academic subject (e.g., a university lecture)

2. Reading

• Duration: 60 minutes
• Format: Three long texts
  • Texts are taken from books, journals, magazines, and newspapers, and are written for a non-specialist audience. They range from the descriptive and factual to the discursive and analytical.
  • Includes tasks such as multiple choice, identifying information, identifying writer’s views/claims, 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. Writing

• Duration: 60 minutes
• Format: Two tasks
  • Task 1: Candidates are presented with a graph, table, chart, or diagram and are asked to describe, summarize, or explain the information in their own words. They may be asked to explain how something works or describe an object or event.
  • Task 2: Candidates are asked to write an essay in response to a point of view, argument, or problem. Responses to Task 2 should be written in a formal style.

4. Speaking

• Duration: 11-14 minutes
• Format: Face-to-face interview
  • Part 1: Introduction and interview (4-5 minutes). The examiner introduces themselves and asks the candidate to introduce themselves and confirm their identity. The examiner then asks the candidate general questions on familiar topics such as home, family, work, studies, and interests.
  • Part 2: Long turn (3-4 minutes). The candidate is given a task card with a topic and is asked to talk about it for 1-2 minutes. They have 1 minute to prepare before speaking.
  • Part 3: Discussion (4-5 minutes). The examiner and the candidate discuss issues related to the topic in Part 2 in more depth.

Preparation Tips

• Listening: Practice listening to various English accents, take notes, and answer sample questions.
• Reading: Improve reading speed and comprehension, familiarize yourself with different types of questions, and practice skimming and scanning techniques.
• Writing: Practice organizing your thoughts quickly, writing clear and concise responses, and improving your grammar and vocabulary.
• Speaking: Practice speaking on a variety of topics, work on fluency and coherence, pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary.

Scoring

• Band Scores: Each section is scored on a band scale of 1 to 9. The overall band score is the average of the four section scores, rounded to the nearest whole or half band.

Resources

• Official IELTS Website: Offers practice tests, preparation tips, and other resources.
• IELTS Prep Books: Books like “The Official Cambridge Guide to IELTS” provide comprehensive preparation material.
• Online Courses and Practice Tests: Websites like British Council, IDP, and other educational platforms offer online courses and practice tests.