A m b r I d g e university press

Description of the test
There are two versions of the IELTS test:
Note: All candidates must take a test for each of the four skills: listening,
reading, writing and speaking. All candidates take the same Listening and
Speaking modules but may choose between the Academic or General Training
versions of the Reading and Writing sections of the test. You should seek
advice from a teacher or a student adviser if you are in any doubt about
whether to sit for the Academic modules or the General Training modules.
The two do not carry the same weight and are not interchangeable.
Test format
Listening  4 sections, around 40 questions 30 minutes + transfer time
Academic Reading 3 sections, around 40 questions 60 minutes OR General
Training Reading 3 sections, around 40 questions 60 minutes
Academic Writing 2 tasks 60 minutes OR
General Training Writing  2 tasks 60
minutes
Speaking 10 to 15 minutes
Total test time 2 hours 45 minutes
General Training Module
for students seeking entry to a secondary
school or to vocational training courses
Academic Module
for students seeking entry to a university or
institution of higher education offering
degree and diploma courses

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3
Introdution
WHAT DOES THE TEST CONSIST OF?
The Listening Module
Question types
You will meet a variety of
question types which may
include:
· multiple choice
· short answer questions
· sentence completion
·notes/summary/flow
chart/table completion
· labelling a diagram
which has numbered parts
· matching
Requirements
You must listen to four
separate sections and answer
questions as you listen. You
will hear the tape once only.
There will be between 38 and
42 questions. The test will
take about 30 minutes. There
will be time to read the
questions during the test and
time to transfer your answers
on to the answer sheet at the
end of the test.
The level of difficulty of the
texts and tasks increases
through the paper.
Situation types
The first two sections are
based on social
situations. There will be
a conversation between
two speakers and then a
monologue.
The second two sections
are related to an
educational or training
context. There will be a
conversation with up to
four speakers and a
lecture or talk of general
academic interest.
Requirements
You must read three reading
passages with a total of 1 500
to 2 500 words.
There will be between 38 and
42 questions. You will have
60 minutes to answer all the
questions.
The level of difficulty of the
texts and tasks increases
through the paper.