IELTS Test for Study Overseas
Types of IELTS – IELTS is an international English language test system. The main bodies that regulate the exam are the British Council, Cambridge Assessment English and IDP: IELTS Australia. To explore opportunities in foreign cities, you need to have enough skills to live there. Here in this article you know all about types of IELTS test for study overseas.
There are two main types of IELTS exams that you can choose from. The IELTS test format assesses you in 4 basic areas: writing, reading, speaking and listening.
How IELTS will help you in Study Overseas?
IELTS helps a number of applicants to achieve their dreams in a convenient way. This standardized English language proficiency test offers the best way to study or work in the country of your choice. But some of you may be wondering if the IELTS exam is right for you. From the two types of IELTS exams, i.e. academic and general, you can choose one according to the purpose you need to go abroad.
Select the Correct Module for IELTS Test
The exam is mainly taken by those who do not speak English. In addition, the test has been adopted worldwide. There are now about 1,200 testing centers in 140 countries. Between the two IELTS test modules, make sure you have selected the correct module. Below here you will get a clear idea of what is the difference between the two types of IELTS exams.
IELTS Exam Format
First of all, give us some information about the popular IELTS test. All you need to know is that this test assesses your level of English proficiency in 4 areas: reading, writing, listening and speaking. Speaking is an important part of getting a good grade on the IELTS test.
The total time to complete it is 2 hours and 45 minutes. The test assesses not only your English language skills, but also your time management skills and analytical thinking. Because there are penalties for every mistake, such as passing a deadline or word restriction in writing. The distribution of time and tasks in the 4 areas of IELTS assessment will be as follows.
- You must complete 3 tasks in 60 minutes on the IELTS reading test.
- For the IELTS written test you will be given 60 minutes to complete 2 tasks.
- When taking the IELTS test, you are given 30 minutes to listen to 4 recordings and then 10 minutes to put your answers on the answer sheet.
- And the IELTS speech will be 12-15 minutes. There will be an interview that will assess your English speaking skills. The IELTS exam section will be the next day of the 3 exams mentioned above.
Types of IELTS exams
IELTS shows your eligibility to see if you can survive or stay in other countries where your native language is English. Although the test sections consist of 4 identical test items, the difference depends on the type of IELTS test you take. There are two main IELTS test modules, namely,
- Academic IELTS.
- General IELTS.
For those looking for a higher education or professional registration, Academic IELTS is what you can choose from. The IELTS academic exam is required to apply for professional or postgraduate courses abroad. Thus, the test parts are designed accordingly.
IELTS General for those who want to work or migrate to foreign countries. The test will assess you on your life situation communication skills. This can also be a better option for those who want to continue their secondary education there.
What is the difference between IELTS Academic and IELTS General?
Deciding which IELTS General and IELTS Academic to choose is a little difficult. As we discussed earlier, an IELTS academic is for those who want to explore academic opportunities at a foreign university or to register professionally. And for immigration purposes such as work, study programs or any work experience, IELTS General will be the best option for you.
The areas of comparison and overall assessment of Academic Scores IELTS will be the same, but the only thing that differs is the content, purpose and context of the exam. Both types of IELTS differ only in reading and writing. The rest of the listening and talking section will be exactly the same. Let us recognize you with details on the general difference between Academic IELTS and IELTS, scroll down here.
IELTS Academic Writing
There are two sections that you must complete in the IELTS Academic exam. The allotted time will be 60 minutes.
- For IELTS Academic test takers, Task 1 of the written exam includes a graph, chart, chart, or table. You should explain the information on the answer sheet in 150 words in 20 minutes. The word limit should not be too high. Otherwise, the punishment will be there.
- In Task 2 you will be given a fact, a problem or any other topic of discussion. You should write your answer in 250 words for 40 minutes. There is no penalty for increasing the word limit here. Here you will be asked to provide your answer, rationale and opinion on the problem.
IELTS General Writing
IELTS General will consist of 2 more tasks that you must complete within 60 minutes.
- In this case, in task 1 you will be writing a letter. You will be provided with a general daily situation in which you must write a letter within 20 minutes within a maximum of 150 words.
- The next task will be somewhat similar to the academic task, but the difference is in the content and context. There will be a very popular topic of interest and you will have to complete the second task in 250 words in 40 minutes.
IELTS Academic Reading
The next area of difference is the IELTS reading pattern. This section will consist of 3 pieces taken from magazines, study books, newspapers or other online media. The content will be relevant to non-professional viewers.
The passages contain approximately 2,500-2,700 words. And there will be 40 questions that you have to answer within 60 minutes. In the test section, the questions are in the following forms.
MCQ.
- Identify data or information.
- Identify the writer’s idea.
- Information compatibility.
- Appropriate title and features.
- The end of the sentence.
IELTS General Reading
In the case of a general IELTS reading, the difference in both tests will be very noticeable. The material here is likely taken from any source, such as newspapers, magazines, company manuals, general guides, company profiles, alerts, advertisements and a number of other professionals and non-professional sources.
The waiting answer can be either in the form of data identification, relevant information, and completion of a sentence, note, table, pie chart, flow chart, chart, or short answer questions. The time and number of questions will again be with the Academic IELTS reading test, i.e. 60 minutes and three sections. Let’s go through them.
- Task 1 consists of 2, 3 or many shorter texts. To test your English reading skills with the most popular topics of the day, here you can read about alerts, schedules and other daily reading.
- The next task will consist of work-related topics, including job descriptions, guidelines, rights and responsibilities of employees, contracts, and more. This is compiled in two shorter texts.
- Task 3 will consist of a longer text or piece that is more descriptive and complex than Tasks 1 and 2. The source can again be newspapers, magazines and any other source. The topic will be of more general interest.
IELTS Listening Test
Thus, the only areas of difference are these two, i.e., reading and writing between IELTS test types. We are now discussing the listening section, which is common in both IELTS modules. The allotted time will be 40 minutes. It takes 30 minutes to listen to the recording and 10 minutes to comment on the answer sheet.
You will be offered 4 recordings, two of which are from very common and everyday situations and the other two will be related to data, training and factual information. These are the main points you need to know about the IELTS listening test.
- The first recording involves two people having a very common conversation in any context.
- In the second recording the monologue will be one person and one person will talk about some common social topic.
- 3 entries will be discussed among more than 2 people in any context of the educational topic.
- The last recording will be another monologue, but this time on an educational basis.
IELTS Speaking Exam
The last, but not least, is the IELTS speaking test. However, the time frame for this section is shorter, but it is of great importance for your upper groups. This part of the IELTS test is taken either 7 days before or after these three tests. It takes about 10-15 minutes for this personal interview to take place.
Conclusion
So that’s all we can do to guide you. Now you have to choose about the types of IELTS exams and which ones to take as well. One of the main considerations you should pay close attention to is grammar and spelling. Because every mistake you make can be punished. Therefore, you should prepare for and register for the IELTS exam only after deciding which module to go to and start your IELTS preparation in India now. To do this, you can check the IELTS Academic and General exam format and make your dreams come true with the help of best IELTS coaching in Noida.
