About IELTS

1. What Is IELTS?

IELTS stands for International English Langauge Testing System and is widely used globally as a standard English proficiency test. IELTS is accepted by more than 11,000 educational and government institutions and the test is administered by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge Assessment of English.

If you’re looking up what the IELTS is, you’re probably looking to either study abroad, secure a job, apply for an educational or vocational program, or even live abroad. If you’re prepared to take the IELTS, head over to ielts.org to register for your test!

To learn more about the test structure and practice strategies you’ve come to the right place. Let’s get started.

2. IELTS Test Types

There are two different IELTS test types in terms of content: IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training. If you’re asking, “Which IELTS test should I take?” always refer to the college, program, or institution you’re intending to apply to. Their administrative website should show you whether they need an IELTS Academic or IELTS General Training test band score for their application.

As the names suggest, IELTS Academic is known as the more difficult test of the two test types. It covers academic subjects and situations, testing your English capabilities in an academic setting. On the other hand, the IELTS General Training test covers more casual subjects that test your English skills in a working or social environment.

Here’s the breakdown of the two tests’ differences:

*Although the IELTS Online test is an online alternative to the traditional IELTS test, it is not a complete substitute for the traditional IELTS and may not be acknowledged by immigration authorities and specific institutions.

While the total time limit (2 hours 45 minutes) and many of the question types are very similar between IELTS Academic and IELTS General, many institutions will often only accept a specific type of IELTS test. Please note that only certain testing locations offer computer-based tests. Before you start studying for the IELTS, check out “Book a Test” to see if testing locations are available near you. There’s only one official IELTS registration form online, so make sure you choose the correct test!

Now that you know what the IELTS is, let’s go over section tips for the IELTS Academic test.

3. IELTS Academic Section Tips

You’ll be facing 4 sections throughout the IELTS Academic exam. Keep the following section study tips in mind as you tackle each section.

IELTS Listening Section Tips

In the Listening section, you’ll be given 40 questions to answer across 4 audio recordings in 30 minutes. There are 10 different types of questions. Let’s break down what each audio set covers:

In the first audio recording question set (Audio #1), you’ll hear a casual conversation between 2 people.

• Example: calling to apply for a learning program

Audio #2: You’ll hear 1 person speaking or explaining something casually.

• Example: introducing a program or an organization

Audio #3: You’ll hear a conversation between multiple people (up to 4) about either an educational or learning process.

• Example: students talking about a project

Audio #4: You’ll hear 1 person speaking about an academic subject.

• Example: lecture

Be prepared for the change of topic in each audio set. You’ll be given some time to read the questions before the audio plays. The questions are in the same order as the information given in the audio, so make sure to pay attention and follow along when you hear the same words used in the audio and question. Although the audio only plays once, you can go back to any of the questions after each audio clip and at the end of the test to review your answers. You have 45 seconds to answer each question.

Read through the different types of IELTS Listening questions before you practice.

IELTS Academic Reading Section Tip

In the Academic Reading section, you have 60 minutes to answer 40 questions across 3 reading passages. That’s just 1 minute and 30 seconds to solve each question. The official IELTS Reading timing guide recommends you spend no longer than 20 minutes per passage set. No worries, the easiest way to save time is to read the questions first. Often, the questions are in the same order as the information in the reading passage.

In many cases, you won’t have to read the whole passage but just the parts you need to answer the question. This will save you time. Here are the steps we recommend for answering IELTS Reading section questions:

1. Skim the passage.
2. Read the first question and skim the answer choices (underlining important details is recommended but not necessary).
3. Scan (look over the text) to find the details you need in the passage and read just the related section carefully to find the correct answer.
4. If you can’t identify the correct answer immediately, eliminate answer choices that you are confident are wrong.
5. Check that your answer is correct.
6. Repeat for each question.

The reading passages simulate material students would often encounter in academic environments. The majority of the passages will cover an educational subject, often using scientific vocabulary to introduce new concepts. It’s always a good idea to highlight the difficult words and phrases, then practice familiarizing yourself with those terms you see often throughout your practice sessions. Reading several passages and trying to identify the main point in the function of each paragraph may reveal patterns in organization. In some passages, you’ll have to understand the meaning through inferences (hints) rather than stated facts.

For example, argumentative passages contain a message that the writer tries to get across with implications (meaning, the message is indicated by inference, association, or necessary consequence rather than by direct statement). You will have to make a guess about what the writer’s overall argument is. For argumentative passages, I highly recommend analyzing the overall message rather than depending on the descriptions or literal phrases as written in the passage.

Read through the different types of IELTS Reading questions before you practice.

IELTS Academic Writing Section Tips

In the Academic Writing section, you have 60 minutes to write 2 essay responses. These 2 essays are very different! Make sure to practice them separately and stay on topic. Here’s a rundown on how these 2 Writing Tasks are graded (select “Academic Writing”).

3 Tips for IELTS Writing Tasks:

1. You must write in full sentences. Do NOT use bullet points, notes, or abbreviations in your answer.
2. There is no timer to split up the tasks — you must divide your time carefully on your own. Spending too long writing your Task 1 response will risk a shorter writing time for Task 2. We highly recommend that you write your Task 2 essay first.
3. You will be penalized for submitting an answer shorter than the minimum required word count. Aim for 200 words for Task 1 and 300 words for Task 2.

IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 Study Tips

In the first essay task, you’ll see any of the following in the given question:

• Graph
• Table
• Chart
• Diagram
• Map

Task 1 will ask you to summarize the information in a detailed description or an explanation of the diagram’s functionalities. For an official guide of things you need to include in your Task 1 answer, look no further than the IELTS Task 1 Writing rubric. It explains everything the graders look for in a high-scoring Task 1 answer. In Task 1, start your essay by making a general observation. Write about the main trend or pattern in the chart/diagram/table etc.

For example, if the chart shows a yearly change among many different countries, make an observation about how most countries showed an increase or decrease over the given period. Or, if you see a map, you can include which areas on the map stayed the same and which parts underwent changes during the given time period. While the IELTS suggests writing 150 words in 20 minutes for Task 1, practice aiming for a longer answer of around 200 words. This will help you build stronger body paragraphs and a clear organization strategy.

IELTS Academic Writing Task 2 Study Tips

In Task 2, you’ll have to make a claim about a given topic. The topic is often related to an academic, social, or professional area of interest. Here’s the official rubric of all things IELTS graders look for in a high-scoring Task 2 answer.

IELTS recommends that you spend 40 minutes writing your response for this task with a minimum word count of 250. However, I recommend you write at least 300 words to score 7 or above. Since you’ll have to make strong claims with supporting evidence to build a high-scoring essay for Task 2, it’s better to practice writing past the minimum word count requirement and then edit for a clear, organized structure at the end. Make sure you stay on topic and that all the details support your argument. Start your essay with a general statement explaining the given topic, then dive into building 2 strong paragraphs about the position/argument you’ve chosen.

If the prompt asks you to explain 2 sides, such as advantages and disadvantages, make sure you cover both sides equally.

IELTS Speaking Section Tips

Depending on the testing location you’ve chosen for the Speaking section of your IELTS exam, you’ll be sitting in a room with an examiner in a traditional testing center environment OR you’ll be speaking to an examiner via a video call.

The examiner will ask you a series of questions for 11~14 minutes. The questions are grouped into 3 different parts:

You’ll need to prepare answers for the basic questions such as the self-introduction questions in part 1. Information about your studies or job, a basic description of where you live, and distinct interests or hobbies are good places to start.

Then for part 2, practice speaking about any topic for up to 2 minutes. It may seem like a short time but your answer must be concise and well-structured. This is not the time to pause and think! Push through the 2 minutes by practicing with a topic you’re interested in.

For part 3, be prepared to answer more questions about the topic you’ve just spoken about. Questions in part 3 will cover more general issues and require you to include either further explanations or examples. Try to answer these questions from a societal point of view instead of a personal one. Also, don’t forget that a well-developed answer is key in this part.

Remember, the test examiner will be looking for these qualifying skills from your responses. Relax and remind yourself this on your test day: you do NOT need to come up with an impressive topic. Stay calm and answer the questions comfortably!

4. IELTS Mistakes to Avoid

1.) Leaving Some Answers Blank

Remember that wrong answers do not get negative points in IELTS. This means that a blank answer is the same as a wrong answer. So if you are not sure of the answer to a Reading or Listening question, just make a guess.

2.) Confusing Question Types

Remembering all IELTS question types can be tricky. After all, the IELTS Listening section alone has 10 different question types and the reading section has 14 — some of them look very similar to others.

It can get confusing remembering how many words you’re supposed to write in each set of fill-in-the-blank questions you see. The good news is you don’t have to remember them all. Just read the instructions given with each question set.

These are examples of key instructions to make sure you get your mark for each question:

• Write no more than two words for each answer.
• Write no more than two words for each answer.
• Write no more than two words for each answer.
• Write no more than two words for each answer.

Remind yourself of key phrases like “only,” “no more than,” and “or a number.” Numbers can be written as figures or words (3 and three are both okay). Each mark counts, so make sure to check the instructions.

3.) Going Off-Topic

For IELTS Speaking and Writing, it’s important to stay on topic! The mission is simple: you have to answer the given question. Since each Speaking answer is around 20 seconds to 2 minutes, there’s little room to stray from the given topic. In the Writing essay, however, you have to make sure your body paragraphs all answer the given task and do not stray from the argument you’re trying to make.

For example, if Writing Task 2 asks you to make an argument and you’ve chosen to explain that option 1 is better than option 2, make sure all your supporting details show why option 1 is better. Do NOT waste your time discussing the benefits of option 2 — this will only work against the clarity of your argument.

4.) Relying on Your English Skills

Some people may walk into their IELTS exam solely dependent on their conversational English skills. If you’re looking to score 7 or above, prepare to be shocked by the low results you can get just by relying on conversation skills alone — especially for the writing tasks!

The IELTS is a meticulously structured exam with very specific standards and question types. Heading into an exam without prior knowledge of the test structure can be dangerous. Since IELTS is not the most budget-friendly English proficiency test, our team at TestGlider (and every IELTS test-taker out there) highly recommends taking a practice test before your test day.

Knowing the test structure is half the battle. This advice applies to all English proficiency exams out there. Make sure to run through the entire exam multiple times and familiarize yourself with the sections, timing, content, question types, and model answers before you dive head-first into the IELTS exam.

5. IELTS Practice Test (with Feedback)

There are plenty of IELTS test examples like the free practice test sets on the official IELTS website. However, it can be hard trying to keep up with the answer sheets and calculating how well you’ll do in each section. Especially for the IELTS Speaking and Writing sections, one of the most common obstacles IELTS test-takers struggle with is the lack of immediate feedback.

To improve your band score, you need someone to actually read and listen to your practice responses to tell you which parts to fix. This can be frustrating if you’re trying to study for the IELTS alone.

That’s why we made TestGlider’s fast grading system.

We realized that hiring tutors or joining classes for IELTS is often very expensive and it depends completely on the tutor getting back to you with personalized feedback. TestGlider reads, analyzes, and grades your IELTS Speaking and Writing answers in 2 minutes thanks to our AI-based grading system.

Since 2019, the TestGlider grader has read, heard, and analyzed more than 1.7 million Speaking and Writing practice responses. With each answer response, our AI grader learns how to accurately predict IELTS band scores based on the same grading rubric and standards used by IELTS.

Plus, every question has an in-depth answer explanation to tell you exactly why you’ve gotten a question wrong. So you can see exactly how to improve your band score and get quality feedback based on your responses.

Try out the IELTS Mock Tests and see your IELTS band score today!