For academic purposes − thousands of the world’s most reputable universities and colleges will accept your IELTS results as evidence of your English language proficiency.

For working professionals − professional registration bodies in many fields will accept an IELTS result, including accounting, engineering, law, medicine, nursing, pharmacy and teaching bodies in many countries. This means that after completing your studies, you may need to take the test in order to gain professional registration in an English-speaking country.

For migration and PR purposes – IELTS scores are required by governments in more countries than any other English language test as a requirement for permanent residency. Unlike other test providers, the IELTS General Training test is the only non-academic test available for migration to Australia, New Zealand, Canada, The United Kingdom and The USA.

It’s the test that’s fairer to you – IELTS assesses you on your practical communication abilities and provides with an accurate assessment of the four skills being tested. It lays emphasis on on testing the language abilities rather than specialist knowledge of the candidate and offer two versions – Academic and General Training. Plus, it allows for a one-on-one Speaking test one with an examiner in a private room with no distractions.

The test content for IELTS is developed by an international team of experts and undergoes extensive research to ensure the test remains fair and unbiased for any candidate regardless of nationality, background, gender, lifestyle or location.

IELTS Life Skills is a test for those who need to prove their English speaking and listening skills to acquire a UK VISA, and is available at Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) levels A1 and B1. It is designed to meet the requirements of UKVI for certain visa categories and other immigration purposes.

-- IELTS Life Skills A1: If you are applying for a ‘family of a settled person’ visa

-- IELTS Life Skills B1: If you are applying for a ‘indefinite leave to remain or citizenship' visa

In order to opt for computer-delivered IELTS, you take the Listening, Reading and Writing components using a desktop computer. All other things related to the test remains the same as paper-based IELTS test, including, Content, Question types, Timings and Marking. The timings when you take IELTS on computer are slightly different from the paper-based test, before attempting any part of the Listening test, you’ll have some time to read the questions and before finishing the Listening test, you’ll be given two minutes to review your answers. Duration of the Listening test is approx. 30 – 36 minutes.

The four parts of the IELTS test

-- Listening: 30 minutes (plus 10 minutes' transfer time)

-- Reading: 60 minutes

-- Writing: 60 minutes

-- Speaking: 11–14 minutes

The test total time is: 2 hours and 45 minutes. Listening, Reading and Writing are completed in one sitting. The Speaking test may be taken on the same day or up to seven days before or after the other tests. All test takers take the same Listening and Speaking tests, while the Reading and Writing tests differ depending on whether the test taker is taking the Academic or General Training versions of the test.

• Listening:

The module comprises four sections, with ten questions in each section. It takes 40 minutes: 30 - for testing, plus 10 for transferring the answers to an answer sheet.

Sections 1 and 2 are about everyday, social situations.

• Section 1 has a conversation between two speakers (for example, a conversation about travel arrangements)
• Section 2 has one person speaking (for example, a speech about local facilities).

Sections 3 and 4 are about educational and training situations

• Section 3 is a conversation between two main speakers (for example, a discussion between two university students, perhaps guided by a tutor)
• Section 4 has one person speaking about an academic subject.

Each section begins with a short introduction telling the test taker about the situation and the speakers. Then they have some time to look through the questions. The questions are in the same order as the information in the recording, so the answer to the first question will be before the answer to the second question, and so on. The first three sections have a break in the middle allowing test takers to look at the remaining questions. Each section is heard only once.

At the end of the test students are given 10 minutes to transfer their answers to an answer sheet. Test takers will lose marks for incorrect spelling and grammar.

• Reading:

The Reading paper has three sections and texts totaling 2,150-2,750 words. There will be a variety of question types, such as multiple choice, short-answer questions, identifying information, identifying writer's views, labeling diagrams, completing a summary using words taken from the text and matching information/headings/features in the text/sentence endings. Test takers should be careful when writing down their answers as they will lose marks for incorrect spelling and grammar.

Texts in IELTS Academic

• Three reading texts, which come from books, journals, magazines, newspapers and online resources written for non-specialist audiences. All the topics are of general interest to students at undergraduate or postgraduate level.[20]

Texts in IELTS General Training

• Section 1 contains two or three short texts or several shorter texts, which deal with everyday topics. For example, timetables or notices – things a person would need to understand when living in an English-speaking country.
• Section 2 contains two texts, which deal with work. For example, job descriptions, contracts, training materials.
• Section 3 contains one long text about a topic of general interest. The text is generally descriptive, longer and more complex than the texts in Sections 1 and 2. The text will be taken from a newspaper, magazine, book or online resource.

• Writing:

The Writing paper has two tasks which must both be completed. In task 1 test takers write at least 150 words in about 20 minutes. In task 2 test takers write at least 250 words in about 40 minutes. Test takers will be penalised if their answer is too short or does not relate to the topic. Answers should be written in full sentences (test takers must not use notes or bullet points).

IELTS Academic

• Task 1: test takers describe a graph, table, chart or diagram in their own words.
• Task 2: test takers discuss a point of view, argument or problem. Depending on the task, test takers may be required to present a solution to a problem, present and justify an opinion, compare and contrast evidence, opinions and implications, and evaluate and challenge ideas, evidence or an argument.

IELTS General Training

• Task 1: test takers write a letter in response to a given everyday situation. For example, writing to an accommodation officer about problems with your accommodation, writing to a new employer about problems managing your time, writing to a local newspaper about a plan to develop a local airport.
• Task 2: test takers write an essay about a topic of general interests. For example, whether smoking should be banned in public places, whether children's leisure activities should be educational, how environmental problems can be solved.

• Speaking:

The speaking test is a face-to-face interview between the test taker and an examiner.

The speaking test contains three sections.

• Section 1: introduction and interview (4–5 minutes). Test takers may be asked about their home, family, work, studies, hobbies, interests, reasons for taking IELTS exam as well as other general topics such as clothing, free time, computers and the Internet.
• Section 2: long turn (3–4 minutes). Test takers are given a task card about a particular topic. Test takers have one minute to prepare to talk about this topic. The task card states the points that should be included in the talk and one aspect of the topic which must be explained during the talk. Test takers are then expected to talk about the topic for 2 minutes, after which the examiner may ask one or two questions.
• Section 3: discussions (4–5 minutes). The third section involves a discussion between the examiner and the test taker, generally on questions relating to the theme which they have already spoken about in Section 2.