International English Language Testing System or IELTS is a very popular examination for candidates who are looking to purse their work or education abroad. This examination primarily tests in sections such as Speaking, reading, listening and writing. The candidate will be scored on a scale of 0-9

Here below are all the essential details a candidate needs to know before taking up this exam.

IELTS score split up

The IELTS exam is scored on a scale of 0-9. All the sections will be scored between 0-9 and all individual scores will be added to give an overall band score.

Duration and Validity

• Duration: 2 hours 45 minutes
• Validity of the score: Up to 2 years

Exam Sections

IELTS is a multi-stage examination which will focus on the major language skills such as listening, reading, writing and speaking. The listening, reading and writing section will take place on the same day while the speaking section may happen on another day. The IELTS exam will be different for academic training and general training.

Listening: The listening section will consist of 4 tasks that will require the candidate to listen to recordings of native English speakers. This section will help evaluate the ability of the candidate to understand a passage and answer to questions accordingly. This section is approximately for 30 minutes with a 10 minutes transfer time

• Recording 1: Conversation between 2 people
• Recording 2: A monologue based on everyday
• Recording 3: A conversation between 4 people in a training institute
• Recording 4: A monologue on academic subject

Reading: The reading section consists of 40 questions and is approximately for 60 minutes. There are a variety of questions which tests the candidate on his/her reading skills. The topics included are reading for gist, main ideas, detail, skimming and logical writing. The reading section is different for academic and general training sections

Writing: The writing section will vary between academic training and general training

• Academic Training: The writing section for academic training comprises of two tasks. These first task will include graph, table or chart and the candidate will be asked to summarize in their own words. The second task will ask the candidate to evaluate a point of view and write an essay.  
• General Training: For the writing section in the general training version, task 1 will ask the candidates to write a letter which requests information. The task 2 will be the similar to the one in the academic training 

Speaking: The speaking section is split into 3 parts and will be approximately for 14 minutes. The speaking section will evaluate the candidate ability to speak by a native English speaker.

• Part 1: This part will be focused on topics such as family, work, studies etc.
• Part 2: This part will focused on a particular topic. The candidate will have one minute to prepare for this part. The examiner will ask questions based on the topic
• Part 3: More questions will be asked based on part 2 in the third section.

Exam Format

Reading

• Ability to read passages and answer
• 40 questions in 60 minutes

Listening

• Ability to listen and answer questions
• 4 tasks in 30 minutes

Speaking

• Ability to talk about campus situations and academic course contents
• 2 tasks in 11-14 minutes

Writing

• Ability to write an essay after reading a passage
• 2 essays in 60 minutes

Ideal IELTS Scores

• Canadian universities: An overall score of 6.5 is considered good for admissions to Canadian universities.
• USA universities: An overall of score of 7 is essential for admissions to Ivy League schools. Any score above 6 can secure an admit to most schools
• Australian universities: Good universities in Australia require the students to score a minimum of 7 in the IELTS exam.
• UK universities: Good universities in UK require the students to score a minimum of 7 in the IELTS exam.

IELTS is mandatory for candidates who are looking to pursue their education or work abroad. This exam will help evaluate the proficiency of a candidate in various English skills such as reading, writing, speaking and listening. Get the best IELTS coaching to crack the exam with ease.