IELTS Academic
For university study and professional registration. Its Reading uses longer texts from books, journals and newspapers, and Writing Task 1 asks you to describe a graph, table, chart, map or process.
Who takes it
- Undergraduate and postgraduate study in an English-speaking country
- Professional registration, where the body asks for Academic (many medical and nursing boards do)
- Some student and skilled-worker visa routes - check what yours asks for
How it differs from IELTS General Training: Reading passages are longer and more academic in style, and Writing Task 1 is a report on visual information. Compare with General Training.
The test in brief
- Listening
- About 30 min
- Reading
- 60 min
- Writing
- 60 min
- Speaking
- 11-14 min
Listening, Reading and Writing are taken in one sitting. Speaking may be the same day or up to a week either side.
The four sections
Listening Same for both
Four recordings, forty questions, about thirty minutes. You hear each recording once.
Academic Listening →Reading
Three long passages, forty questions, sixty minutes - texts from books, journals, magazines and newspapers.
Academic Reading →Writing
Two tasks in sixty minutes: a report on visual information, and an essay.
Academic Writing →Speaking Same for both
A conversation in three parts, 11 to 14 minutes, from familiar topics to more abstract discussion.
Academic Speaking →Practise IELTS Academic free
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