The Academic Reading test is 60 minutes long.

Texts for the Academic Reading test are taken from books, journals, magazines and newspapers.

A variety of questions is used, chosen from the following types: multiple choice, identifying information, identifying writer’s views/claims, matching information, matching headings, matching features, matching sentence endings, sentence completion, summary completion, note completion, table completion, flow-chart completion, diagram label completion, short-answer questions.

The Academic Writing test is 60 minutes long.

It has two writing tasks of 150 words and 250 words.

In Task 1 candidates are asked to describe some visual information (graph/table/chart/diagram), and to present the description in their own words. They need to write 150 words in about 20 minutes. In Task 2 candidates are presented with a point of view or argument or problem. They need to write 250 words in about 40 minutes.

Below are samples of Task 1 and Task 2. (Note that candidates for the Academic module do a different Writing test to the General Training module).

The General Training Reading test is 60 minutes long.

A variety of questions are used, chosen from the following types; multiple choice, identifying information, identifying writer’s views/claims, matching information, matching headings, matching features, matching sentence endings, sentence completion, summary completion, note completion, table completion, flow-chart completion, diagram label completion, short-answer questions.

The General Training Writing test is 60 minutes long.

It has two writing tasks of 150 words and 250 words.

In Task 1, candidates are asked to respond to a situation, by writing a letter for example, requesting information or explaining a situation.

In Task 2, candidates write an essay in response to a point of view, argument or problem.

Below are samples of Task 1 and Task 2. (Note that candidates for the General Training module do a different Writing test to the Academic module).

In the Speaking test, you have a discussion with a certified Examiner. It is interactive and as close to a real-life situation as a test can get.

The test is 11 to 14 minutes long with three parts. In Part 1, you answer questions about yourself and your family. In Part 2, you speak about a topic. In Part 3, you have a longer discussion on the topic.

There are three parts to the test and each part fulfils a specific function in terms of interaction pattern, task input and candidate output.

The Speaking test is the same for both Academic and General Training tests.

The Listening test is 30 minutes long and is four recorded monologues and conversations.

The Listening test is the same for both Academic and General Training tests.

The following IELTS Listening Sample Tasks are to be used with the Answer Sheet and MP3 audio files/transcripts. Each answer sheet indicates which Recording to listen to, or if a transcript is provided.