Types Of IELTS Test

Types Of IELTS Test – IELTS stands for International English Language Testing System. The major bodies which regulate the test are the British Council, Cambridge Assessment English, and IDP: IELTS Australia. In order to explore the opportunities in foreign counties, you will need to be proficient enough to survive there. There will be two major types of IELTS test from which you can select one. IELTS test format will assess you on 4 major bases i.e., writing, reading, speaking, and listening.

IELTS is helping a number of aspirants to achieve their dreams in the most convenient way. This standardized English language assessment test offers the best way to study or work in the country of your choice. But some of you must be in perplexity that which IELTS test is right for you. Among two types of IELTS test i.e., Academic and General, you can pick the one as per the purpose you need to go abroad.

The test is taken mostly by non-native English speakers. In addition, the test globally accepted. Around 1,200 test centers are running in 140 countries at present. Among the two modules of IELTS exam, make sure you are picking the right one. Below down here, you will get a clear picture of what is the difference between two types of IELTS test. 

IELTS Test Format

First of all, let us know about some very common information on what is the IELTS exam pattern. You all must be familiar that this test will assess your English language proficiency in 4 areas i.e. reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Speaking will be the crucial component to help you score good bands in the IELTS exam.

The whole time it will take to complete is 2 hours 45 minutes. The test does not assess your English proficiency only but also the time management and analytical thinking skills too. As there are penalties at every mistake like exceeding the time limit or word limit in writing. The time distribution and tasks in the 4 assessment areas of IELTS exam will be as follows.

• You have to cover solve 3 tasks in the IELTS reading exam within 60 minutes.
• For the IELTS writing test, you will be provided with 60 minutes to complete 2 tasks.
• While for IELTS listening test, 30 minutes will be provided for listening to the 4 recordings and then 10 minutes will be given to putting your answers on the answer sheet.
• And IELTS speaking will be of 12-15 minutes. There will be an interviewer who will be assessing your English speaking skills. The section of the IELTS test will be on a different day to the 3 aforementioned tests.

Types of IELTS Tests

IELTS depicts your eligibility whether you can survive or sustain in other countries where the native language is English. Although the test sections compose of 4 similar test components, the difference lies in the type of IELTS exam you are taking. There are two main test modules of IELTS i.e., 

• IELTS Academic.
• IELTS General.

The ones who are looking for tertiary education or professional registrations, IELTS academic is what you can opt for. The IELTS academic test takers must be applying for undergraduate or postgraduate courses abroad. So the test sections will be designed accordingly.

IELTS General is for those who are interested in working or migrating to foreign countries. The test will be assessing you on very general life situation communication skills. This can also be a better option for the ones who want to continue their secondary studies out there.

What is the Difference Between IELTS Academic vs IELTS General?

It is a bit difficult to decide which one to choose among IELTS General and IELTS Academic. As we discussed earlier, IELTS academic is for those who want to discover the academic opportunities in the abroad universities or for professional registration. And for migration purposes with the aim of work, training programs, or any kind of work experience, IELTS General will be the best option for you.

The overall IELTS Academic and General scores comparison and assessment areas will be the same, but the only thing that will differ is the content, purpose, and context of the test. Both of these types of IELTS exam will differ in case of reading and writing only. Rest the listening and speaking section will be exactly the same. Let us acknowledge you with detailed information on IELTS Academic and IELTS General difference, scroll down here.

IELTS Academic Writing

There will be two sections which you need to cover in the IELTS Academic test. The time given will be 60 minutes.

• For IELTS Academic test takers, task 1 of the writing test will include graph, diagram, chart, or table. You have to interpret the information on the answer sheet in 150 words within 20 minutes. The word limit need not exceed. Otherwise, the penalty will be there.
• In  task 2, you will be provided with an argument, problem, or any other discussion topic. You have to write your answer within 40 minutes in 250 words. Here the penalty will not be there for exceeding the word limit. Here you are required to give the answer, justification, and your opinion about the problem.

IELTS General Writing

IELTS General will again be comprising 2 tasks which you need to complete in 60 minutes.

• In this case, in task 1 you will comprise of letter writing. You will be provided with a general everyday situation, in which you have to write a letter within the word limit of 150 words in 20 minutes.
• Next task will somewhat be the same as the academic one but the difference lies in the content and context. The topic of very common interest will be there and you are subjected to complete the second task in 250 words within 40 minutes.

IELTS Academic Reading

Next area of difference is IELTS reading pattern. The section will include 3 passages which are either taken from magazines, study books, newspapers, or other online media. The content will be as per the non-specialist viewers.

The passages will be containing 2,500-2,700 words approximately. And there will be 40 questions which you need to answer within the time limit of 60 minutes. The test section will contain questions in the following forms.

• MCQ’s.
• Data or information identification.
• Writer’s idea identification.
• Information matching.
• Matching heading and features.
• Sentence completion.

IELTS General Reading

In the case of IELTS General reading, the difference will be much visible in both the tests. Here the material is most probably be taken from all sort of sources like newspapers, magazines, company handbooks, common guidelines, company profiles, notices, advertisements, and several other professionals and non-professional sources.

The answer expected can either be in the form of data identification, matching information, sentence completion, note, table, pie chart, flow chart, diagram, or short answer questions. The timing and questions number will again be the same as the IELTS Academic reading test i.e., 60 minutes and three sections. Let’s get through them.

1. Task 1 will comprise of the 2, 3, or many shorter texts. In order to check your English reading proficiency with the most common everyday topics, here you will read about notices, timetables, and other everyday readable.
2. Next task will consist of work-related topics which contain job descriptions, guidelines, employee rights and responsibilities, contracts etc. This will be formulated in two shorter texts.
3. Task 3 will consist of a longer text or passage being more descriptive and complex in comparison to task 1 and 2. The source can be again newspapers, magazines, and any other resource. The topic will be of more of general interest.

IELTS Listening Test

So difference areas are only these two i.e., reading and writing among the types of IELTS examination. Now we are about to discuss the listening section which is common in both the IELTS modules. The time given will be 40 minutes. Out of which 30 minutes are for listening to the recording and 10 minutes to interpret the answers on the answer sheet.

You will be provided with 4 recording for which two will be from very common and daily life situations and the other two will be related to the education, training, and factual information. Following are the main points you need to know about IELTS listening test, have a look.

• First recording will include two people having a very common conversation to any context.
• In second recording will be the monologue one and one person will be talking about some common social topic.
• 3 recording will be a discussion among more than 2 people in any educational topic context.
• The last recording will be again a monologue but this time on an academic context.

IELTS Speaking Test

Last but not least in any way is the IELTS speaking test. Yet the time span is shorter for this section but this holds immense importance for your higher bands. This section of the IELTS test will be conducted either before or after 7 days of these three tests. It will take around 10-15 minutes for that personal interaction with the interviewer. 

Conclusion

So this is all that we can guide you for. Now you must be much clear about the types of IELTS test and which one to choose also. One of the major consideration you need to give much importance is grammar and spellings. Because penalties can be there on each mistake you make. So you must do the IELTS exam preparation and registration only after deciding which module to go for. For that, you can check IELTS Academic and General test format and follow your dreams.