The IELTS Test: General Information
Taking IELTS opens doors – it can help you live, study and work around the world. IELTS is designed to assess the language ability of people who want to study or work where English is the language of communication. More than 11,000 organisations worldwide accept IELTS, including government, academic and employment institutions.
Take the time to understand the IELTS test format. There are two versions of the test: IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training. Both are graded in exactly the same way.
You will take the first three parts of the test all on one day in the following order: Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking. There are no breaks between the first three tests.
You will take the Speaking test either on the same day, or 7 days before or after that, depending on local arrangements.
A range of native-speaker accents (North American, Australian, New Zealand and British) is used in the Listening test, and all standard varieties of English are accepted in responses in all parts of the test.
For more details on the differences between the Academic and General Training tests, as well as information on how to book a test, visit this site.
Advice and Tips
Have your enrolled or are thinking of enrolling in a British Council IELTS course? Read our Advice and Tips for Students to make your British Council IELTS course experience the most effective it can be.
