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Do you need an IELTS Academic test?
The IELTS Academic test measures your English language proficiency at an academic level to check whether you are ready for undergraduate or post graduate study in an English-speaking country. You might also need to take an IELTS Academic test if you want to register with professional associations in fields such as teaching, nursing, medicine and law.
The IELTS Academic test is 2 hours and 45 minutes. You can take the test online or at one of our test centres, located in more than 130 countries worldwide.
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The IELTS test is scored on a band scale from 0 to 9 and assesses your English language ability across four skills: Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking. Each section receives a band score, and the overall band score is the average of these four. The Writing and Speaking sections are marked by certified examiners.
IELTS Academic test format
Both the IELTS Academic and General Training tests have four sections: Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking. Listening and Speaking are the same for both tests, but Reading and Writing are different.
Listening (30 minutes)
The IELTS Listening test consists of 40 questions. You’ll listen to four recordings of conversations and monologues. Parts 1 and 2 cover everyday, social situations. Parts 3 and 4 focus on educational and training situations.
Reading (60 minutes)
In the IELTS Academic Reading test, you’ll read three passages from books, journals, magazines, newspapers and online resources. All topics are of general interest to students at undergraduate and postgraduate level and are written for a non-specialist audience. You’ll answer 40 questions based on these.
Writing (60 minutes)
In the IELTS Academic Writing test, you’ll complete two tasks:
Task 1: Analyse and describe visual information (e.g. chart, graph, table, diagram or map) in your own words.
Task 2: Write a formal essay discussing a point of view, argument or problem.
Speaking (11-14 minutes)
The IELTS Speaking test involves a face-to-face interview with an examiner. It includes three parts: general questions, speaking on a given topic and a two-way discussion.