IELTS stand for International English Language Testing System. IELTS Test assesses the English proficiency of candidates seeking international education, training or work in English speaking countries. It uses a nine-band scoring scale (one to nine) for marking the candidate. Band nine indicates the highest marks in the test.

IELTS is a globally accepted test. IELTS is viewed as a compulsory criterion for admission into most academic institutions in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand. Apart from academic purposes, the IELTS is also required for immigration to some countries for work.

IELTS Test is conducted by the British Council, University of Cambridge ESOL examinations & the IDP: ISLETS Australia.

Test Description

IELTS test has two versions:

Academic Test (for students seeking education in international institutions)
General Training Test (for people seeking employment or work in international setups)

IELTS test is divided into the following four parts:

1. Reading module    (3 sections. Time: 60 minutes)
2. Writing module     (2 tasks. Time: 60 minutes
3. Listening module  (4 recordings. Time: 30 minutes)
4. Speaking module  (2 tasks. Time: 11 – 14 minutes)

The reading test, writing test, and listening tests are conducted on the same day. The speaking test is conducted on a different day in the same week.

The reading, writing, and listening tests is to be attempted in the answer-book provided to the candidates. On the other hand, in the speaking test, the candidate is interviewed by an interviewer.

The formats of both the IELTS Academic and IELTS General training test are similar but the subject matter (content or nature) of questions in the reading and writing part are different in both tests.

The format of each part along with guidelines for preparation are discussed in detail on this website.