What is IELTS?

IELTS is the International English Language Testing System. IELTS tests knowledge of listening, reading, writing, and speaking in English. IELTS is accepted widely among the world’s universities as proof of English proficiency, and it continues to be adopted by more institutions every year. Computer-based and handwritten versions are available.

Test Overview

IELTS has four components, which are reading, listening, writing, and speaking.

• The listening section involves listening to a recording of native English speakers and answering questions based on what they say. As the IELTS is a British test, the majority of the speakers will speak with various types of British accents, although other accents may also appear.
• In the reading section, test takers are tasked with reading several passages and answering questions on those passages.
• The writing section presents the test taker with two questions, and each question is to be answered by writing an essay.
• In the speaking section, the test taker will be asked questions by a native English speaker in person or in a video call. The test taker must respond to the questions in a certain amount of time, and some questions may allow the test taker a short time to prepare prior to answering.

Types of IELTS test

There are two types of IELTS test: Academic and General Training. The reading and writing sections will focus on either academic subjects or general use, accordingly. The speaking and listening sections do not change. Many universities do not accept the General Training version as proof of proficiency, so be sure to take the Academic version for your application.

Scoring

The IELTS is scored with a system of half-band increments, with 0 being the lowest and 9.0 being the highest. The test taker will receive a band score for each individual section as well as an overall band score.