IELTS stands for International English Language Testing System. It is managed by the British Council, IDP IELTS Australia and University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations (Cambridge ESOL). IELTS measures English language proficiency of people who want to study or work in an English speaking country. IELTS uses a 9-band scale to identify levels of proficiency, from non-user (band score 1) to expert user (band score 9), with scores reported in whole bands (1,2,3…) and half bands (7.5, 8.5, 9). Each band implies a prescribed level of competence in English that is uniformly interpreted across the world. There is no pass or fail in IELTS but scoring 6 or above is mandatory for entry into English speaking countries. Test scores remain valid for 2 years. Test scores are normally posted out 2 weeks after taking the IELTS test, in a single copy. IELTS is widely required for admission to colleges and universities and is accepted by immigration agencies as proof of Language proficiency. You should be minimum 16 years old with a valid passport to write IELTS.

Which IELTS: Academic or General Training?

IELTS is taken in 2 formats: Academic – applying for higher education and professional registration for studying or training, and General Training for those migrating for work. Both formats provide an accurate assessment of 4 essential language skills: listening, reading, writing & speaking.

IELTS Structure

IELTS total test time is 2 hours and 45 minutes.

There are two types of  IELTS:  Academic and General Training. Listening and Speaking are same for both formats, but Reading and Writing section depends on which format of IELTS you take. You can choose to complete the Speaking section in advance (up to a week) or later, but Listening, Reading and Writing sections of both IELTS formats is to be completed in one go, on the same day, with no breaks.

Listening Section (30 minutes)

4 recordings of English speakers with different accents will be played to you, only once, from different settings – a conversation between two people in a social context, a monologue in social context, conversation between four people in educational context, a monologue in academic context. Students are assessed on their ability to comprehend important ideas, facts, opinions and attitudes. Each question can take various forms like MCQs, matching, sentence completion, form, flow chart, table, etc and carries one mark.

Listening Scoring

It is marked by certificated assessors, who are routinely monitored to ensure reliability. All answer sheets are further verified by Cambridge Assessment English.

Band score conversion

A Band Score conversion table is made available for each Listening test. Scores out of 40 are translated into IELTS 9-band Scale, reported in whole bands and half bands. Poor spelling and grammar are penalised.

IELTS Academic Reading – how it’s marked

The Academic Reading test is marked by certificated markers, who are regularly monitored to ensure reliability. All answer sheets, after being marked, are further analysed by Cambridge Assessment English.

Band score conversion

A Band Score conversion table is produced for each version of the Academic Reading test, which translates scores out of 40 into the IELTS 9-band scale. Scores are reported in whole bands and half bands.

Reading Section (60 minutes)

This section assesses students on a range of reading skills like understanding of dominant idea, detail, logic, argument construction, and author’s purpose through 40 questions in 60 minutes

IELTS General Training test

Magazines, newspapers, advertisements, handbooks etc. Answers are submitted in an answer sheet which must be filled within the allotted one hour. Poor spelling and grammar are penalised. So be careful.

IELTS General Training Reading

IELTS General Training Reading Scoring

The GT Reading test is marked by certificated markers, who are regularly monitored to ensure reliability. All answer sheets, after being marked, are further analysed by Cambridge Assessment English.

Band score conversion

A Band Score conversion table is produced for each version of the Academic Reading test, which translates scores out of 40 into the IELTS 9-band scale. Scores are reported in whole bands and half bands.

Academic Writing (60 minutes)

Testing is targeted at assessing skills for undergraduate and postgraduate studies or seeking professional registration. It involves 2 tasks to be answered in a formal style:

• Task 1: Describe, summarise or interpret data, process, object or event as represented through a graph, table, chart or diagram in your own words.

• Task 2: Essay writing to argue for or against an opinion, point of view, argument or issue.

IELTS Academic Writing description

IELTS Academic Writing – Scoring

Both Task 1 and Task 2 are marked independently with Task 2 carrying more weightage. Scores are reported in whole and half bands, that correspond to nine IELTS bands. Task 1 and 2 answers are assessed on: Task achievement, Coherence, cohesion, Lexical knowledge, Grammatical usage and validity.

IELTS General Training Writing (60 minutes)

This section assesses students on text based on general interest topics. It involves 2 tasks:

• Task 1: write a formal, informal, or semi-formal letter requesting data, info, or explaining your position.

• Task 2: write an essay, personal and forceful in style, to postulate your response to an opinion, argument or issue.

IELTS General Training Writing Scoring

Marking and assessment

The General Training Writing test is marked by certificated markers, who are regularly monitored to ensure reliability. All answer sheets, after being marked, are further analysed by Cambridge Assessment English.

Both Task 1 and Task 2 are marked independently with Task 2 carrying more weightage. Scores are reported in whole and half bands, that correspond to nine IELTS bands. Task 1 and 2 answers are assessed on: Task achievement, Coherence, cohesion, Lexical knowledge, Grammatical usage and validity.

Band score conversion

A Band Score conversion table is produced for each version of the Academic Reading test, which translates scores out of 40 into the IELTS 9-band scale. Scores are reported in whole bands and half bands.

IELTS Speaking (11–14 minutes)

Speaking section is designed to assess the competence of spoken English. Every test is recorded. It is structured into three parts:

• Part 1 (4-5 minutes): It is like an introduction session where students are asked questions related to their home, life, family, work, studies, hobbies, and their interests.

• Part 2: Examiner asks you to speak on a given topic. You are given 1 minute preparation time, and then asked to speak for up to 2 minutes, followed by 1-2 questions.

• Part 3 (4-5 minutes): More questions follow on Part 2. You can expand the idea and discuss abstractions and constructs in more detail in this part.

IELTS Speaking Scoring

Marking and assessment

The Speaking test is marked by certificated IELTS markers, who are regularly trained and monitored to ensure reliability. All examiners are certified by Cambridge Assessment English or IDP: IELTS Australia.

Scores are reported in whole and half bands, that correspond to nine IELTS bands. Students are assessed on: Fluency, Coherence, Lexical resource, Grammatical usage and accuracy, and Pronunciation.

The IELTS 9-band scale

IELTS scores are reported as band scores on a scale from 1 (the lowest) to 9 (the highest). Each student gets a band score for all 4 sections of the test – Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking. The average of all 4 individual sections is used to calculate your overall band score. A broad interpretation of the 9 bands is given below.

For more details click here.

Dates for IELTS examination, location, venue, fees, cancellation and rescheduling charges, registration formalities, documents required, syllabus and format etc may change from one year to another. We at Career Guru ensure that our experts are always abreast with the latest information so that they can ensure perfect guidance, Always! You can access updated information here.

IELTS Maxima

Career Guru offers the IELTS Maxima program to help you ace the IELTS. Career Guru employs only the very best instructors and certified trainers. All our trainers have years of experience guiding students in IELTS (both tracks) and are certified for proficiency. As an organisation run by academics from world class educational institutions, we take our academics very seriously. We understand that our success lies directly in your success, and the only way we will succeed is if you succeed. Our expert instructors and trainers will guide you through the widest range of text, content, offline and online material, books, practice drills and mock tests to ensure you get the highest IELTS score to achieve your dream university or job offer. We will provide you resources to develop skills across all sections so that not only you ace the IELTS Exam, but also become proficient for leading a meaningful and productive professional life abroad.

Our instructors can also help you prepare for TOEFL. Test of English as a Foreign Language is an alternate test to IELTS. TOEFL takes a total of 3.5 hours, includes four sections, with a ten-minute break between Listening and Speaking sections. For each section, students will receive a score of 0-30. These sub-scores are then added together, meaning that total TOEFL score is between 0-120.

TOEFL Structure

TOEFL is also widely accepted for entrance to higher education and immigration purposes. TOEFL effectively demonstrates competence in both written and spoken English and is accepted worldwide. To be honest, students can choose to take any one – it will serve the purpose. Many students have a natural preference for one over the other. We suggest that you drop in at Career Guru and have a go at both the tests in a practice drill session, and choose what works best for you. We will facilitate you in making the decision. Thats what we do!

Let us briefly assess differences and similarities between IELTS and TOEFL. One factor that can play an important role in choosing is Availability of venue, location, guidance, choice of your dates, and test delivery. If both are available, then you can choose any one. Both are standardised, computerised tests of four required English language skills – Reading, Writing, Listening, and Speaking, with scores accepted worldwide for both purposes – study and work. However, there are some differences as well. Let’s discuss them now.

Broad differences between IELTS and TOEFL

Section wise differences between IELTS and TOEFL

The most perceptible difference between the two tests is in Speaking section – in IELTS you speak with a real person and in TOEFL you speak to a computer!

Come speak to our experts at Career Guru and we will help you decide what works best for you – IELTS or TOEFL.