IELTS has two types of tests: IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training, and both tests evaluate your English language skills in listening, reading, writing, and speaking.

The IELTS General Training test is for those candidates who are applying to study below a degree level. This means admission to an English-speaking school or college. It could also be taken for work experience or other employment-related training.

IELTS General Training is also obligatory for migration to Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the UK. The test features everyday English language skills that you will need in social and workplace environments.​

There are four parts to the IELTS test: reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Candidates appearing for both Academic and General Training tests take the same Speaking and Listening tests, but different Reading and Writing tests.

The listening, reading, and writing sections of IELTS tests are completed on the same day, while the speaking section can be completed up to a week before or after the other sections.

Speaking Test

The Speaking test of IELTS is the same for both Academic and General Training. However, the timing of the test may vary from 11–14 minutes as it requires a face-to-face discussion on a familiar topic. In this test, an applicant is interviewed by a certified examiner.

Writing Test

The IELTS writing test is different for both IELTS General Training and IELTS Academic candidates.

 The Writing General Training Test:

The duration of this test is one hour. 

In Task one, candidates are presented with a situation and asked to write a letter requesting information or explaining the situation. The letter could be personal, semi-formal, or formal in style.

In Task two, candidates will be asked to write an essay in response to a point of view, argument, or problem. The essay can be fairly personal in style.

 Reading Test

The reading test is different for both the IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training tests.

The Reading General Training Test:

The duration of the test is 1 hour, in which candidates need to complete 3 sections, each consisting of 40 questions.

• Section one consists of two to three factual topics that are most commonly spoken in English-speaking countries.
• Section two consists of two factual tests that are related to work (for instance, workplace amenities and corporate guidelines).
• Section three is a large section that comprises complex texts related to general-interest topics.

 Listening Test

The Listening test is the same for both the IELTS Academic and General tests. The duration of the Listening test is approximately half an hour, and ten minutes are provided extra for transferring your answer sheets. This section comprises 4 subsections; each section includes 10 questions related to social, educational, and training contexts.  In this section, you need to choose one of the sections given in the test. Then you can play the audio and answer the questions accordingly. After completing the test, you can check your answers.