The IELTS (International English Language Testing System) offers two main test types, each designed for different purposes:
1. IELTS Academic
Purpose: This test type is intended for those who wish to pursue higher education (such as a university degree) or professional registration in an English-speaking country.
Reading: Includes texts from books, journals, magazines, and newspapers, often with academic or professional relevance.
Writing: Requires writing a description of visual information (such as graphs or charts) and an essay.
Listening: Includes a variety of recordings, such as conversations and lectures.
Speaking: A face-to-face interview with an examiner, involving general conversation and specific topics.
2. IELTS General Training
Purpose: This version is geared toward those who plan to migrate to an English-speaking country, or who need to demonstrate their English proficiency for work or training programs.
Reading: Involves materials like advertisements, official documents, and work-related texts.
Writing: Includes a letter-writing task (formal or informal) and an essay.
Listening: Similar to the Academic test, with a variety of recordings.
Speaking: The format is the same as in the Academic test, with a conversation and discussion.
Key Differences:
– Reading and Writing sections differ in content between the Academic and General Training tests, with the Academic version focusing more on advanced, professional, or academic language.
– Both Listening and Speaking sections have similar sections.
Scoring:
Both tests are scored on a scale from 1 to 9, with 9 being the highest. The overall band score is an average of the four individual section scores.
These tests are available in two formats:
- Paper-based IELTS: Traditional format with paper and pen.
2. Computer-based IELTS: Taken on a computer with the same content and structure as the paper-based version.
