How many types of test are there?
There are two types of IELTS test - the Academic Module and General Training module. It is commonly accepted that the Academic Module is slightly more difficult.
What's the difference?
Both tests cover all four skills but there are a few important differences as shown in the table below.
| Listening | Speaking | Writing | Reading | |
| General Training | 4 sections, 40 questions, 4 recordings | 3 parts, 11 to 14 minutes in length | 2 tasks - a letter (150 words) and an essay (250 words). Both tasks must be completed within 60 minutes. | 3 sections with up to 6 different texts. Section 1 focuses on 'survival' English, Section 2 on workplace situations and Section 3 is general reading. A total of 40 questions which must be completed within 60 minutes. |
| Academic Module | [The same as the General Training] | [The same as the General Training] | 2 tasks - writing about a graph, chart, diagram or table (150 words) and an essay (250 words). Both tasks must be completed within 60 minutes. | Each of the 3 sections has a single reading text of between 700 and 100 words. A total of 40 questions which must be completed within 60 minutes. |
Which one should I take?
The Academic Module is taken by candidates
The General Training Module is taken by candidates
What is the TRF? How long is it valid for?
The TRF is the Test Report Form. It is the certificate that you receive with your test scores on. The report is valid for two years after you have taken the test.
What is the scoring system in IELTS?
You can get a result of between 0 and 9.0 for the test, rising in increments of 0.5. Each of the sub skills (writing, reading, listening and speaking) are measured on this scale, then added together and divided by 4 for the total band. Here are some examples:
| Example student 1 | Example student 2 | Example student 3 | |
| Writing | 6.0 | 5.0 | 7.5 |
| Listening | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| Reading | 6.0 | 6.5 | 6.5 |
| Speaking | 6.5 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| OVERALL BAND: | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.5 |