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 approximately 2 hours 30 minutes on computer, in one sitting. Speaking is a 11 to 14 minute talk with an examiner.
- Listening
- About 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 | Approximately 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. |
How many questions in each part
| Part | How many | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Listening | 40 questions: 4 parts of 10 | About 30 minutes |
| Reading | 40 questions in 3 sections | 60 minutes |
| Writing Task 1 | 1 task, at least 150 words | About 20 minutes |
| Writing Task 2 | 1 essay, at least 250 words | About 40 minutes |
| Speaking | 3 parts | 11 to 14 minutes |
Each Listening and Reading question is worth one mark, and your mark out of 40 becomes a band on the score chart.
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Questions people ask
What is the full form of IELTS?
International English Language Testing System.
Are IELTS on computer and Writing on Paper the same pattern?
Yes. They use the same task types, scoring and section times. With Writing on Paper, you handwrite Writing answers; Listening and Reading remain on computer. Traditional paper-based IELTS is being phased out, with availability depending on the market.
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.
How many questions are in IELTS Listening?
40: 4 parts with 10 questions each, in about 30 minutes. You hear each recording once.
How many questions are in IELTS Reading?
40, across 3 sections in 60 minutes, for Academic and General Training.
How many words do I write in IELTS Writing?
At least 150 words for Task 1 and at least 250 for Task 2, in 60 minutes. There is no upper limit, but answers under the minimum lose marks on Task Achievement or Task Response.
How many parts are in IELTS Speaking?
3: an interview, a long turn with 1 minute to prepare, and a discussion, in 11 to 14 minutes.
Is there negative marking?
Listening and Reading have no deduction for incorrect answers, so attempt every question. Writing and Speaking are assessed using band criteria.
Sources
- 1IELTS, Academic test formatChecked 6 October 2026.
- 2IELTS, General Training Writing formatChecked 6 October 2026.
- 3IELTS, scoring in detailChecked 6 October 2026.
- 4IELTS, updates to IELTS test deliveryChecked 6 October 2026.
- 5IELTS, updates to IELTS Writing test delivery modeChecked 6 October 2026.