The IELTS exam is an internationally recognized standardized test of English proficiency. There are two streams or versions of the exam: the Academic Version and the General Training Version:
- The Academic Version is intended for those who want to enroll in university and for professionals such as medical doctors and nurses who want to study or practice in an English-speaking country.
- The General Training Version is intended for those planning to undertake non-academic training or to gain work experience, or for immigration purposes.
The reading and writing tests for the Academic Version are generally considered more difficult than those for the General Training Version. This is due to the differences in the level of intellectual and academic requirements between the two versions. The IELTS is accepted by most Australian, British, Canadian, Irish, New Zealand and South African academic institutions, over 2,000 academic institutions in the United States, and various professional organizations. For those wanting to immigrate to Australia and Canada, it is one of the exams most commonly taken.
The IELTS exam is broken up as follows:
Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking
All candidates take the same Listening and Speaking Modules, while the Reading and Writing sections differ depending on whether the Academic or General Training Versions of the Test is being taken. The test takes approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes to complete. The time is allocated as follows:
- Listening: 40 minutes
- Reading: 60 minutes.
- Writing: 60 minutes.
Scoring - Band scale
IELTS is scored on a nine-band scale, with each band corresponding to a specified competence in English. Overall Band Scores are reported to the nearest half band. The nine bands are described as follows:
| 9 Expert User |
Has fully operational command of the language: appropriate, accurate and fluent with complete understanding. |
| 8 Very Good User |
Has fully operational command of the language with only occasional unsystematic inaccuracies and inappropriacies. Misunderstandings may occur in unfamiliar situations. Handles complex detailed argumentation well. |
| 7 Good User |
Has operational command of the language, though with occasional inaccuracies, inappropriacies and misunderstandings in some situations. Generally handles complex language well and understands detailed reasoning. |
| 6 Competent User |
Has generally effective command of the language despite some inaccuracies, inappropriacies and misunderstandings. Can use and understand fairly complex language, particularly in familiar situations. |
| 5 Modest user |
Has partial command of the language, coping with overall meaning in most situations, though is likely to make many mistakes. Should be able to handle basic communication in own field. |
| 4 Limited User |
Basic competence is limited to familiar situations. Has frequent problems in using complex language. |
| 3 Extremely Limited User |
Conveys and understands only general meaning in very familiar situations. |
| 2 Intermittent User |
No real communication is possible except for the most basic information using isolated words or short formulae in familiar situations and to meet immediate needs. |
| 1 Non User |
Essentially has no ability to use the language beyond possibly a few isolated words. |
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