Test format – Listening
30 minutes
You will listen to four recordings of native English speakers and then write your
answers to a series of questions.
- Recording 1 – a conversation between two people
set in an everyday social context.
- Recording 2 - a monologue set in an everyday
social context, e.g. a speech about local facilities.
- Recording 3 – a conversation between up to four
people set in an educational or training context, e.g. a university tutor and a
student discussing an assignment.
- Recording 4 - a monologue on an academic subject,
e.g. a university lecture.
Assessors will be looking for evidence of your ability to understand the main ideas
and detailed factual information, the opinions and attitudes of speakers, the purpose
of an utterance and evidence of your ability to follow the development of ideas.
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Test format – Reading
60 minutes
The Reading component consists of 40 questions, designed to test a wide range of
reading skills. These include reading for gist, reading for main ideas, reading
for detail, skimming, understanding logical argument and recognising writers' opinions,
attitudes and purpose.
- IELTS Academic test - this includes three
long texts which range from the descriptive and factual to the discursive and analytical.
These are taken from books, journals, magazines and newspapers. They have been selected
for a non-specialist audience but are appropriate for people entering university
courses or seeking professional registration.
- IELTS General Training test - this includes
extracts from books, magazines, newspapers, notices, advertisements, company handbooks
and guidelines. These are materials you are likely to encounter on a daily basis
in an English-speaking environment.
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Test format – Academic Writing
60 minutes
IELTS Academic test
Topics are of general interest to, and suitable for, test takers entering undergraduate
and postgraduate studies or seeking professional registration. There are two tasks:
- Task 1 - you will be presented with a graph,
table, chart or diagram and asked to describe, summarise or explain the information
in your own words. You may be asked to describe and explain data, describe the stages
of a process, how something works or describe an object or event.
- Task 2 - you will be asked to write an essay
in response to a point of view, argument or problem. Responses to both tasks must
be in a formal style.
IELTS General Training
Topics are of general interest. There are two tasks:
- Task 1 - you will be presented with a situation
and asked to write a letter requesting information, or explaining the situation.
The letter may be personal, semi-formal or formal in style.
- Task 2 - you will be asked to write an essay
in response to a point of view, argument or problem. The essay can be fairly personal
in style.
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Test format – Speaking
11-14 minutes
The speaking component assesses your use of spoken English. Every test is recorded.
- Part 1 - the examiner will ask you general questions
about yourself and a range of familiar topics, such as home, family, work, studies
and interests. This part lasts between four and five minutes.
- Part 2 - you will be given a card which asks
you to talk about a particular topic. You will have one minute to prepare before
speaking for up to two minutes. The examiner will then ask one or two questions
on the same topic.
- Part 3 - you will be asked further questions
about the topic in Part 2. These will give you the opportunity to discuss more abstract
ideas and issues. This part of the test lasts between four and five minutes.
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