What is IELTS Exam? Complete IELTS Information

IELTS stands for International English Language Testing System. This test evaluates one’s English based on receptive and productive skills. There are four modules under this test. The four modules are Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking. The modules that come under Receptive skills are Listening and Reading while Productive skills contain Writing and Speaking.
There are two categories of IELTS, General, and Academic. General IELTS is taken by those who are moving to English-speaking countries for PR or jobs while Academic is taken by those who wish to pursue their higher studies or any other courses in English-speaking countries.
Listening, Reading, and writing will be held on the same day at the stretch. Listening-40 minutes, Reading-60 minutes, and Writing 60 minutes. So for 2:40 Hrs, you will not have a break in between.
The speaking module can be either on the same day or seven days before or after the LRW(Listening, Reading, and Writing).

Let us talk about the IELTS format one by one.
LISTENING:
This test has four sections each of difficulty level in ascending order. The first section will be the easiest and the fourth most difficult. You will be given a total of 40(30+10) minutes for all these four sections. The extra 10 minutes are allotted to you to transfer your answer from the question booklet to the answer sheet. There is a total of 40 questions under this module. This listening is the same for Academic and General both.
READING:
This test is of 60 minutes. There are three sections with an increase in the difficulty level. This module is different for Academic and General. In General, one or two texts in each section while in Academic, one long passage for each section. You need to answer 40 questions. No extra time will be given to transfer the answer to the answer sheet. You must write straight to the answer sheet.
WRITING:
This test is of 60 minutes(20+40). It has two tasks. Task 1 and Task 2. For Task 1 you will be given 20 minutes and for Task 2 you will be allowed 40 minutes. This module is different for Academic and General. In Academic Test 1 you will be asked to summaries the text based on pie charts, graphs, pictorial data or design while in Task 2 you need to write an essay. In General Task 1 you need to write a letter and this can be formal, informal or semi-formal while in Task 2 you need to write an essay.
It should be noted that there is a minimum threshold of the word limit, for Task 1 is 150 words and Task 2 is 250 words. If you write below then you will be awarded penalty.
SPEAKING:
This is the real test of your speaking where you will be marked on the four criteria i.e fluency and coherence, lexical resources, grammatical range and accuracy, and pronunciation.
This module has three sections and the total time would be 11 to 14 minutes. In the first section, there will be a brief introduction session. In the second part, you will be given a topic and you will have to speak individually for 1-2 minutes. In the 3rd part/section, the examiner will ask you five to six questions based on the topic given to you in part 2.
Make sure you relax and speak as much as you can. Remember the sections are in the level of difficulty.

IELTS Exam Eligibility Criteria

• For taking the IELTS Exam, your minimum age should be at least 16 years & you must have a valid passport.
• The version of IELTS(either Academic or General) Exam you need to take will differ based on your purpose of travel/goal:

Keep visiting this blog for more IELTS information.