IELTS Exam Mastery: Your Ultimate Guide to Success

IELTS Exam Guide: Types, Exam Pattern, and Tips for Success

IELTS Exam Guide: Types, Exam Pattern, and Tips for Success

IELTS: Your Global Gateway to English Proficiency

The International English Language Testing System, or IELTS Exam, is a globally recognized English language test. This test is carried out in over 140 countries across the world. IELTS, British Council, Cambridge Assessment English is responsible for managing IELTS in collaboration with Gateway International. Students all around the world give IELTS to give proof of their English proficiency for admission, job, or any other thing. In order to get admission to training or academic program in countries like Study in Australia, New Zealand, UK, and Canada giving IELTS is essential. Moreover, more than 3000 Universities across the US and other institutes globally accept IELTS.

Types of IELTS Exam

There are two types of exams: International English Language Testing System General and International English Language Testing System Academic. However, there isn’t much difference between both of the tests. Both of them have a focused group which the candidate wants to target. It can be of studying abroad or migrating abroad. Let’s understand both the International English Language Testing System briefly.

General IELTS

General International English Language Testing System exam is primarily for people who want to get a visa from an English-speaking country. It can be for employment, migration, training, or secondary education. This exam contains general reading and general writing sections.

Academic IELTS

Students who wish to go to a top country for students to study gives an academic IELTS exam. It helps the students to get an educational visa for the country. The exam contains academic reading and academic writing parts, which distinguish it from the general IELTS. With good academic IELTS, there can be an opportunity for a scholarship for abroad study for Indian students.

Exam Pattern

International English Language Testing System exam is divided into four sections: Speaking, Reading, Writing, and Listening. The score band is between 0-9, and the final score is evaluated after considering all four sections.

1. Speaking:

The primary focus of this section is to evaluate your English-speaking proficiency. There are three parts in the speaking section, each of 5 minutes duration, making the overall section 15 minutes in duration. You will have to express your opinions and thoughts about the given topic by speaking English for each part. One minute will be given before each question to the candidate to prepare.

Part 1

Questions for an informal interview about yourself, your family, your job, studies, or your interests.

Part 2

A subject card with three things to discuss will be handed to you. You will have one minute to prepare speaking points and two to three minutes to talk constantly, covering all aspects of the assignment.

Part 3

You have a more in-depth conversation about the subject. In Part 2, the examiner will ask you more questions on the topic.

2. Reading:

The reading section in International English Language Testing System Exam contains 40 questions that are divided into three different sections. Each section includes a passage for the reading based on which questions are asked. The time allotment for each section is 20 minutes, making the overall reading section 1 hour in duration. Candidates giving academic and general IELTS get different types of passage relevant to their test type.

3. Writing:

There are two parts to the writing section of IELTS. Writing task 1 is based on the pictorial and graphical information where you have to evaluate the given graph, chart table, diagram, etc., and write a report about it within 150 words. In order to complete task 1, 20 minutes is given to the students. The second part or task 2 of the IELTS Exam is lengthier and more challenging, and that’s why 40 minutes is given to the students. In the second part, you are required to write an argument within 250 words, strongly presenting your views and opinion on the given topic. Your answer should be well organized, and you should be able to support your answers with the help of examples and reasoning.

3. Listening:

Listening section evaluates your understanding of the English language in a more conversational way. This section is of 30 minutes, and students are required to listen to pre-recorded conversations and later will be asked to answer the questions based on the conversation. There is a total of 40 questions in this section divided into four parts.