Blog · 14 October 2026 · 2 min read

Academic or General Training: which IELTS do you need?

The two versions share half the test. Here's what differs, who asks for which, and how to be sure before you book.

IELTS comes in two versions: Academic and General Training. Booking the wrong one is an expensive mistake, because a result from one can’t be swapped for the other.

What’s the same

Listening and Speaking are identical. Everyone hears the same recordings and has the same kind of conversation with an examiner, marked the same way. The overall band is worked out the same way too.

What’s different

Reading. Academic Reading has three long passages from books, journals, magazines and newspapers, written for a general audience. General Training Reading starts with short, practical texts - notices, advertisements, workplace documents - and builds to one longer text. General Training needs more correct answers for the same band, so neither is the “easy” version.

Writing Task 1. In Academic, you describe visual information: a graph, table, chart, map or process. In General Training, you write a letter, formal or informal depending on who it’s to.

Writing Task 2 is an essay in both. The General Training topics tend to be a little more everyday.

Who asks for which

As a rule of thumb:

• Academic - university study at undergraduate or postgraduate level, and many professional registrations, such as medicine and nursing.
• General Training - migration (Australia, Canada and New Zealand, among others), work experience and training, and study below degree level.

But that’s only a rule of thumb. The organisation you’re applying to sets the requirement, and some accept either. Some visa routes also ask for a specific kind of IELTS test sitting.

How to be sure

1. Find the English language requirements page of your university, professional body or visa route.
2. Look for the exact test name, and the minimum band overall and in each section.
3. If it isn’t clear, email them and ask. Keep the reply.

Practising for the right one

Since Listening and Speaking are shared, most of your practice carries over. Focus your Reading and Writing practice on the version you’re taking. On our Practice page you can switch between Academic and General Training, and the Reading and Writing tests follow your choice.