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If you plan to study in higher education or seek professional registration in an English-speaking country, you might need to take an IELTS Academic.
IELTS Academic assesses your English-language proficiency at an academic level to determine whether you are ready to study at an undergraduate or post graduate level, or work in a professional setting, such as doctor, nurse, teacher or lawyer.
The Academic test looks at your English-language proficiency across the four skillsets, listening, reading, writing and speaking. The Listening and Speaking parts of the test are the same for both Academic and General Training, while the Reading and Writing parts are different.
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If you plan to migrate to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the UK or the USA, taking an IELTS General Training test makes sense. Or if you plan on studying in secondary education, or enrolling in vocational training, this might still be the right choice.
But if you plan to study in higher education or want professional registration in an English-speaking country, you might need to take an IELTS Academic test.
As IELTS is an international test, a variety of voices and native-speaker accents are used in both the General Training and Academic tests.
Of course! Every test question that appears on the IELTS test is designed, screened and tested by Cambridge Assessment English (CAE) to ensure it meets standard requirements before being released as test material. This can take up to two years to ensure every question complies with our high standards for all test takers.
Our research ensures IELTS remains fair and unbiased for anyone who sits the test, regardless of nationality, background, gender or lifestyle. Our highly trusted team ensures every version of the test is of comparable difficulty.
The Listening, Reading, and Writing parts of the test are completed immediately after each other on the same day. In some test centres, you will sit the Speaking test on the same day, or up to 7 days before or after your test date.
If you take IELTS on computer, the Speaking test will be taken on the same day, either before, or after the other three parts of the test.
IELTS Academic and General Training are two wholly separate types of test, for two different purposes. While some individual organisations may accept an Academic result in the place of General Training, this decision is up to them. You will need to contact your specific organisation to learn more.
You can book the IELTS test on our online booking system in a location that is convenient for you.
IELTS Academic or General Training: Which do you need?
Find out the differences between IELTS Academic and General Training so you can choose which one is best for you.
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