All about IELTS exam – Vikings Career Strategists

If you wish to work, study, or migrate to a country where the native language is English, then you are supposed to provide English proficiency evidence. The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is designed to assist you with the same. The IELTS reports could be used in countries such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK, and the USA. This exam is evaluated on a scale of 1 to 9. And the participants are assessed on their ability to listen, read, write, and speak in English. The British Council, IDP IELTS Australia, and Cambridge Assessment English together own the IELTS exam. Let us discover All about IELTS exam!

Why attempt IELTS?

Display of a high level of English proficiency is required to work, live, or study in an English-speaking country. This is so because English is the third most spoken language worldwide with over 379 million speakers at present. Besides, it is always beneficial to be able to speak the native language of the country you wish to study in. Also, it is essential for a job opportunity and for mixing well with the foreign country.

IELTS is popularly taken by the participants who wish to study in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the UK. 11,000 employers, Universities, schools, and immigration bodies including 3,400 institutions in the USA have recognized IELTS on a global scale.

IELTS Score Scale

Given below is a list of IELTS band scores with their respective skill levels:

#9: Expert User

#8: Very Good User

#7: Good User

#6: Competent User

#5: Modest User

#4: Limited User

#3: Extremely Limited User

#2: Intermittent User

#1: Non-user

#0: Did Not Attempt The Test

What is a perfect IELTS score?

As strange as it sounds, there is no perfect square for the IELTS exam. The higher you get the better it displays your understanding and potential to communicate in English. Specific IELTS scores are required by different immigration bodies, Universities, workplaces, or institutions. The required scores depend on what kind of program you wish to pursue from a specific country.

IELTS and students!

The statistics tell that over 3.7 million students travel abroad every year out of which the majority of them choose an English-speaking country such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK, and the USA. And by choosing an English-speaking country the students open doors to numerous opportunities such as taking a specialization in a particular field or attaining employment post-graduation. As mentioned before, IELTS is recognized worldwide by more than 11,000 education and training providers. It is not only required in English-speaking countries but also in some non-English speaking countries where the course being taught is conducted in English.

IELTS test format (All about IELTS exam)

IELTS is accepted worldwide in two formats – Academic and General Training. Every organization or test taker conducts similar listening and speaking tests but different writing and reading tests. Therefore, the participant needs to prepare for the correct format of the test.

While the listening, reading, and writing sections are conducted on the same day of the IELTS exam, the speaking section on the other hand can be conducted up to a week before or after the main date of the exam.

Syllabus for IELTS

Keep reading further to know all about IELTS exam syllabus.

IELTS listening Format (All about IELTS exam)

(this section is allotted 30 minutes in total)

In the listening section, you have to answer a series of questions after listening to four recordings of native English speakers.

Recording 1- the first recording is a conversation of two people set in the social context of every day.

Recording 2- the second recording is more of a speech about local facilities.

Recording 3- the third recording involves a conversation between three to four people in an educational/training setup.

Recording 4- the fourth recording is kind of a University lecture.

You will be evaluated on your ability to understand the basic idea and details of factual information. You should also be able to examine the attitude and opinion of the speaker. Moreover, you should know the purpose behind utterance and should be able to follow the development of ideas.

IELTS Academic Reading Format (All about IELTS exam)

(this section of IELTS is allotted 60 minutes)

The academic reading format consists of 40 questions in total which are proposed to test your reading skills on a wide scale. The objective of the academic reading format is to evaluate your ability to understand the essence of context, to read for main ideas, to read for detail, to skim, to understand the logical argument, and to recognize the writer’s opinions, attitude, and purpose.

There are three long descriptive and factual texts which are sometimes deviating and analytical. Usually, these long texts are taken from books, journals, magazines, and newspapers, etc.

IELTS General Training Reading Format (All about IELTS exam)

( deception is allotted 60 minutes similar to academic reading format)

The general training reading format also consists of 40 questions which are again proposed to test your reading skills. The texts for this section are extracted from books, magazines, newspapers, notices, advertisements, company handbooks, and guidelines which are materials that you come across daily in an English-speaking environment.

IELTS Academic Writing Format (All about IELTS exam)

( 60 minutes are allotted to this section)

The academic writing format includes texts which are suitable for participants entering undergraduate or postgraduate studies or the ones looking for professional registration. The texts are selected according to the interest of test-takers. Usually, there are two tasks:

Task 1- As for task 1 you have to describe, summarize, or explain the information provided through a graph, table, chart, or diagram; in your own words.

Task 2- You have to write an essay in a formal style for task 2 in acknowledgment of a point of view, argument, or problem.

IELTS General Training Writing Format (All about IELTS exam)

( 50 minutes are allotted to this section)

The general training writing format includes texts of general interest. It consists of two tasks:

Task 1- In this task, a situation will be presented to you. Either you have to write a letter to request information or explain the situation.

Task 2- In this task, you are supposed to write an essay in acknowledgment of a point of view, argument, or problem.

IELTS Speaking Format (All about IELTS exam)

(11 to 14 minutes are allotted to this section)

The speaking format is proposed to evaluate your use of spoken English. It is broadly divided into three parts and every test is recorded:

Part 1- you will be asked general questions about your home, family, work, studies, and interests by the examiner.

Part 2- you will be provided with a card that asks you to speak about a particular topic. You will be allotted one minute before speaking to prepare followed by two to three questions on the same topic after your speech.

Part 3- this part is an extension of part 2 where you will be asked questions on a similar topic from part 2.

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