IELTS stands for International English Language Test System. It is a test conducted by professional bodies who are responsible for affirming whether a person is capable of reading, writing, speaking and understanding English language or not.
IELTS works best for students and people who are not native English speakers but wish to study for higher education or for employment purposes in a country which has English as their national language.
IELTS is approved and trusted by a number of countries which include, Canada, The United States, Australia, United Kingdom, and New Zealand.
The test ensures that a person is capable of communicating in an English speaking country as well as surviving without any trouble once he immigrates to a foreign land.
IELTS Test Format
The International English Language Test System is based on four modules. Each module holds four criteria. The four modules are, reading, writing, listening and speaking.
According to the most recent band requirement set by the government of several countries that approve of IELTS, the ideal band score a person must have as their final band score must be a 7.
The scoring goes somewhat like each band marked per module. Then at the very least, the average band of all the four modules is your final score to go with.
However, what band must you accomplish also depends on your educational institute’s requirements or as stated by your visa? The band ranges from 1 to 9 where band 4 is considered the weakest to 9 being the expert. Each module has up to 40 questions and each question carries one mark.
IELTS tests your grammar, spellings, sentence building and a lot of other things related to the English language, mainly the basics, in order to determine if a person is fit for survival in a native English speaking country.
Further on, the IELTS test is divided into two major types. One is called IELTS Academic while the other is called IELTS General Training.
The two modules namely writing and reading are the only ones that have a difference between the two major types whereas the other two modules, speaking, and listening remain the same.
IELTS academic as well as IELTS general training, serve a different purpose. If you want to go to an English-speaking country for higher education, consider giving IELTS Academics but if you want to go abroad for employment purposes as well as permanent residence, you must take IELTS general training test.
International English Language Test System Academic
Following are the four modules of the IELTS Academic test briefly explained in order for you to understand what is the difference between the two main types.
If you are pursuing your studies for higher education in an English speaking country, you must take the IELTS Academic test.
IELTS Academic — Listening Test
Since the listening test remains the same for both types, there is no difference. In IELTS listening test, 4 different recordings will be played through a CD-ROM.
Ten questions attached to each recording. English native speakers are heard speaking in the recordings and the accents can differ.
Mainly British and Australian accents are heard the most but they speakers in the recordings can also be Canadian or American. The content of the recordings is the same for both; IELTS academic as well as IELTS general training.
The time provided to complete the listening module for the test is approximately thirty minutes.
Ten extra minutes are given to the candidate to shift their answers on an answer sheet after half an hour.
IELTS Academic — Speaking Test
Speaking module is also the same for both, IELTS academic and IELTS general training as well.
The speaking module is basically an interview taken by a professional native English speaker who will ask the candidate several questions related to their test as well as their daily life. This module is sometimes scheduled after the first three modules are taken.
This module is divided into three parts. The maximum time consumed by the speaking module is up to 15 minutes.
There will be questions about work, home, family, interests, and education. In the next part, the interviewer can ask you to deliver a small speech over the subject mentioned in the given cards and lastly, the interviewer will ask you questions about the information you provided in the rest of the three modules during your test.
IELTS Academic — Reading Test
IELTS academic reading test is different from the other main type.
This module is designed to test the reading skills including your ability to understand complex academic content and recognizing the purpose and main ideas of the content provided.
The maximum time given to solve this module is sixty minutes, containing 40 questions in total with each question worth 1 mark. The content provided in the IELTS Academic reading test is divided into three long texts taken from newspapers, magazines, course books and journals.
Each long test will have a question for you to answer the given text however the questions will be in the form of eleven different task types. Such as, multiple choice question, information identification, writer’s claim identification, matching information, features, headings, sentence endings.
Other than these task types, summary completion, sentence completion, table and note completion, flowchart completion, short question answers and diagram label completion are also included.
IELTS Academic — Writing Test
IELTS Academic writing test is divided into two tasks i.e. Task and Task. About 60 minutes are given to complete this module.
Task 1:
A diagram will be provided for you to understand it and then describe or summarize the information as you can.
You must explain the data, stage of the process, and everything asked about the event mentioned.
Task 1 determines four criteria namely, task achievement, coherence and cohesion, lexical resource and grammatical range and accuracy.
Task 2:
In this task, you will be asked to write an essay in formal style over the given subject.
You must provide authentic and relevant information in approximately 150 words with proper sentences and grammar.
Task 2 determines another four criteria, such as task response, coherence, and cohesion, lexical resource, grammatical range, and accuracy.
International English Language Test System General Training
Following are the four modules briefly explain for IELTS general training test.
You must take IELTS general training and score a fitting band if you are going abroad for employment purposes or if you are looking for permanent residence in an English-speaking country.
IELTS General Training — Listening Test
This module is the same as the one in IELTS Academic.
You will get to hear four recordings of different native English accents speaking. Each recording will have ten questions, making it forty questions in total. Each question is worth one mark.
The time given to pass this module is 40 minutes in total.
Your ability to understand the accents and different types of speech will be tested through this module in order to determine whether you can survive and communicate in a foreign English-speaking country or not.
IELTS General Training — Speaking Test
Similar to the interview taken by certified professional bodies for IELTS Academic, people who give IELTS General
Training test also have to go through this module in the same way. There are three parts to the whole module.
Questions related to the test theory as well as your personal life and interest are asked. Total time this module takes in about 15 to 16 minutes.
IELTS General Training — Reading Test
This module is different from the one in IELTS Academic. The task types remain the same however, the content you will be tested upon will be much easier to understand and solve.
This module will contain texts and paragraphs from magazines, newspapers, advertisements, company handbooks, notices and guidelines, things you will usually encounter in your daily life.
This module has three sections called social survival, workplace survival, general reading. Section one will have three short text paragraphs.
Section two will have two text paras. Section three comprises one long paragraph. The time provided is the same as IELTS academic which is one hour to be exact.
Poor grammar and spelling mistakes can also lose you marks if you have repeated the same mistakes over and over again. 40 questions in total and each carries 1 mark.
IELTS General Training — Writing Test
IELTS general training writing test is also divided into two main tasks, namely Task 1 and Task 2. You will be given approximately an hour to complete this module just like IELTS academic writing test.
Task 1:
It comprises of one question in which the candidate is asked to write a letter, either requesting something or explaining an issue.
The letter can be formal, semi-formal or personal in style. There are no such restrictions or rules over the writing style you choose to go within IELTS general training writing test.
Task 2:
In this task, you will be asked to write an essay of about 150 words over the given subject which will be relatively easier as compared to IELTS academic writing test however, there are no rules or restrictions over the writing style of the essay as well.
It can be personal in style as you like.
The Difference Between IELTS Academic & IELTS General Training Test
Now that both the types are briefly explained, it is very easy to spot the difference between both the types.
Difference no. 1:
The first difference between both the types is of the test content.
In the IELTS Academic test, the content information test takers must answer are difficult and suitable for students who want to study in an institute or university in an English-speaking country whereas the test content for IELTS General Training test takers is much easier and is based in regular everyday stuff taken from magazines, newspapers, and advertisements.
Difference no. 2:
The second difference between both the types is of the purpose they are designed for.
It is by now, very much understandable that IELTS Academic is for students who want to pursue higher education, whether they are postgraduates, undergraduates or are regular university or college students, they must take IELTS Academic before continuing their education in an English-speaking environment.
Whereas the IELTS General Training test is for people who are recruited for employment purposes overseas or wish to continue residing in an English-speaking country for the rest of their life span.
Difference no. 3:
The third and the last difference in both the types is the writing style. In IELTS Academic, you must use formal writing style but in IELTS General Training, you can write formally, semi-formally or in personal style as you find best.
There is not much difference in the test format of both types except two of the four modules which are reading and writing.
It is very important for you to thoroughly research and decide which type do you need to go for based on your visa requirement or the requirements of your designated institute or company for higher education and job purposes.
