IELTS Academic and General Training
IELTS exam pattern
IELTS stands for International English Language Testing System. It has four parts: Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking.
The first three take 2 hours 30 minutes in one sitting. Speaking is a 11 to 14 minute talk with an examiner.
- Listening
- 30 min
- 40 questions
- Reading
- 60 min
- 40 questions
- Writing
- 60 min
- 2 tasks
- Speaking
- 11–14 min
- 3 parts
Section by section
| Part | Time | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Listening | 30 minutes | 4 recordings, 40 questions. |
| Reading | 60 minutes | 3 sections, 40 questions. |
| Writing Task 1 | About 20 minutes | Academic: describe a graph, table, chart or diagram. General Training: write a letter. At least 150 words. |
| Writing Task 2 | About 40 minutes | An essay of at least 250 words. It counts twice as much as Task 1. |
| Speaking | 11 to 14 minutes | 3 parts with an examiner, including a talk you plan for 1 minute. |
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Questions people ask
What is the full form of IELTS?
International English Language Testing System.
Is the pattern the same on computer and on paper?
Yes. The questions and scoring are the same; only how you answer changes.
Which parts differ between Academic and General Training?
Reading and Writing Task 1. Listening, Speaking and the Writing Task 2 essay follow the same pattern.
How is IELTS scored?
Each part gets a band from 0 to 9 in half bands. The overall band is the average of the four, rounded to the nearest half band.
Is there negative marking?
No. A wrong answer scores nothing and loses nothing, so answer every question.
Sources
- 1IELTS, Academic test formatChecked 6 October 2026.
- 2IELTS, General Training Writing formatChecked 6 October 2026.
- 3IELTS, scoring in detailChecked 6 October 2026.