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 Academic test is suitable for those wanting to study in an English-speaking environment or at a university (higher education). IELTS Academic test can also be taken for professional registration purposes.

The test measures whether you are ready to commence studying in English. It features vocabulary that is familiar within an academic setting.

You can choose whether to take IELTS Academic on paper, on a computer or online at home or other suitable location.

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 Academic Training Test:

This test will last one hour. Two tasks need to be completed by candidates. 

• In Task one, candidates are asked to describe some visual information in 150 words or more, in about 20 minutes.
• In Task two, candidates are asked to respond to a point of view or argument in 250 words or more, in about 40 minutes.

 Reading Test

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

The Reading Academic Training Test:

In this test, candidates are required to complete three sections (40 questions) in one hour. The texts in the Academic test are supposed to be more challenging than those in the General test. Texts are taken from magazines, books, and newspapers and are related to academic 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.