The International English Language Testing System,or IELTS is an international standardized of English language proficiency for non-native English language speakers. It is jointly managed by the British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia and Cambridge Assessment English and was established in 1989. IELTS is one of the major English-language tests in the world, others being the TOEFL, TOEIC, PTE: A, and OPI/OPIc.

IELTS is accepted by most Australian, British, Canadian and New Zealand academic institutions, by over 3,000 academic institutions in the United States, and by various professional organisations across the world.

No minimum score is required to pass the test. An IELTS result or Test Report Form is issued to all test takers with a score from “band 1” (“non-user”) to “band 9” (“expert user”) and each institution sets a different threshold. There is also a “band 0” score for those who did not attempt the test. Institutions are advised not to consider a report older than two years to be valid, unless the user proves that they have worked to maintain their level.

There are two versions of the IELTS: The Academic Version and the General Version.

The Academic Version is intended for those who want to enroll in universities and other institutions of higher education and for professionals such as medical professionals and nurses who want to study or practice.

The General Training Version is intended for those planning to undertake non-academic training or employment, for immigration purposes.

The four parts of the IELTS test

• Listening: 30 minutes (plus 10 minutes’ transfer time
• Reading: 60 minutes
• Writing: 60 minutes
• Speaking: 11–14 minutes

The test total time is: 2 hours and 45 minutes.

Listening, Reading and Writing are completed in one sitting. The Speaking test may be taken on the same day or up to seven days before or after the other tests.

All test takers take the same Listening and speaking tests, while the Reading and Writing tests differ depending on whether the test taker is taking the Academic or General Training versions of the test.

Listening

The module comprises four sections, with ten questions in each section. It takes 40 minutes: 30 – for testing, plus 10 for transferring the answers to an answer sheet.

Sections 1 and 2 are about everyday social situations.

• Section 1 has a conversation between two speakers (for example, a conversation about travel arrangements)
• Section 2 has one person speaking (for example, a speech about local facilities).

Sections 3 and 4 are about educational and training situations

• Section 3 is a conversation between two main speakers (for example, a discussion between two university students, perhaps guided by a tutor)
• Section 4 has one person speaking about an academic subject.

Each section begins with a short introduction telling the test taker about the situation and the speakers. Then they have some time to look through the questions. The questions are in the same order as the information in the recording, so the answer to the first question will be before the answer to the second question, and so on. The first three sections have a break in the middle allowing test takers to look at the remaining questions. Each section is heard only once.

At the end of the test students are given 10 minutes to transfer their answers to an answer sheet. Test takers will lose marks for incorrect spelling and grammar.

Reading

The Reading paper has three sections and texts totaling 2,150-2,750 words. There will be a variety of question types, such as multiple choice, short-answer questions, identifying information, identifying writer’s views, labeling diagrams, completing a summary using words taken from the text and matching information/headings/features in the text/sentence endings. Test takers should be careful when writing down their answers as they will lose marks for incorrect spelling and grammar.

Texts in IELTS Academic

• Three reading texts, which come from books, journals, magazines, newspapers and online resources written for non-specialist audiences. All the topics are of general interest to students at undergraduate or postgraduate level.

Texts in IELTS General Training

• Section 1 contains two or three short texts or several shorter texts, which deal with everyday topics. For example, timetables or notices – things a person would need to understand when living in an English-speaking country.
• Section 2 contains two texts, which deal with work. For example, job descriptions, contracts, training materials.
• Section 3 contains one long text about a topic of general interest. The text is generally descriptive, longer and more complex than the texts in Sections 1 and 2. The text will be taken from a newspaper, magazine, book or online resource.

Writing

The Writing paper has two tasks which must both be completed. In task 1 test takers write at least 150 words in about 20 minutes. In task 2 test takers write at least 250 words in about 40 minutes. Test takers will be penalized if their answer is too short or does not relate to the topic. Answers should be written in full sentences (test takers must not use notes or bullet points).

IELTS Academic

• Task 1: test takers describe a graph, table, chart or diagram in their own words.
• Task 2: test takers discuss a point of view, argument or problem. Depending on the task, test takers may be required to present a solution to a problem, present and justify an opinion, compare and contrast evidence, opinions and implications, and evaluate and challenge ideas, evidence or an argument.

IELTS General Training

• Task 1: test takers write a letter in response to a given everyday situation. For example, writing to an accommodation officer about problems with your accommodation, writing to a new employer about problems managing your time, writing to a local newspaper about a plan to develop a local airport.
• Task 2: test takers write an essay about a topic of general interests. For example, whether smoking should be banned in public places, whether children’s leisure activities should be educational, how environmental problems can be solved.

Speaking

The speaking test is a face-to-face interview between the test taker and an examiner.

The speaking test contains three sections.

• Section 1: introduction and interview (4–5 minutes). Test takers may be asked about their home, family, work, studies, hobbies, and interests, reasons for taking IELTS exam as well as other general topics such as clothing, free time, computers and the internet.
• Section 2: long turn (3–4 minutes). Test takers are given a task card about a particular topic. Test takers have one minute to prepare to talk about this topic. The task card states the points that should be included in the talk and one aspect of the topic which must be explained during the talk. Test takers are then expected to talk about the topic for 2 minutes, after which the examiner may ask one or two questions.
• Section 3: discussions (4–5 minutes). The third section involves a discussion between the examiner and the test taker, generally on questions relating to the theme which they have already spoken about in Section 2.

BAND SCALE

There is no pass or fail.IELTS is scored on a nine-band scale, with each band corresponding to a specified competence in English. Overall Band Scores are reported to the nearest half band.

The following rounding convention applies: if the average across the four skills ends in .25, it is rounded up to the next half band, and if it ends in 5.75, it is rounded up to the next whole band.

The nine bands are described as follows:

9	Expert User	Has full operational command of the language: appropriate, accurate and fluent with complete understanding.
8	Very Good User	Has fully operational command of the language with only occasional unsystematic inaccuracies and inappropriacies. Misunderstandings may occur in unfamiliar situations. Handles complex detailed argumentation well.
7	Good User	Has operational command of the language, though with occasional inaccuracies, inappropriateness and misunderstandings in some situations. Generally handles complex language well and understands detailed reasoning.
6	Competent User	Has generally effective command of the language despite some inaccuracies, inappropriacies and misunderstandings. Can use and understand fairly complex language, particularly in familiar situations.
5	Modest user	Has partial command of the language, coping with overall meaning in most situations, though is likely to make many mistakes. Should be able to handle basic communication in own field.
4	Limited User	Basic competence is limited to familiar situations. Has frequent problems in understanding and expression. Is not able to use complex language.
3	Extremely Limited User	Conveys and understands only general meaning in very familiar situations. Frequent breakdowns in communication occur.
2	Intermittent User	No real communication is possible except for the most basic information using isolated words or short formulae in familiar situations and to meet immediate needs. Has great difficulty understanding spoken and written English.
1	Non User	Essentially has no ability to use the language beyond possibly a few isolated words.
0	Did not attempt the test	No assessable information provided at all.

Conversion table

This table can be used to convert raw scores (out of 40) to band scores (out of 9). This helps test takers understand how many correct answers they need to achieve a particular band score. This chart is a guide only because sometimes the scores adjust slightly depending on how difficult the test is.

Band Score

9.0

8.5

8.0

7.5

7.0

6.5

6.0

5.5

5.0

4.5

4.0

3.5

3.0

2.5

Listening raw score (Academic and General Training)

39–40

37–38

35–36

32–34

30–31

26–29

23–25

18–22

16–17

13–15

10–12

8–9

6–7

4–5

Reading raw score (Academic)

39–40

37–38

35–36

33–34

30–32

27–29

23–26

19–22

15–18

13–14

10–12

8–9

6–7

4–5

Reading raw score (General Training)

40

39

37–38

36

34–35

32–33

30–31

27–29

23–26

19–22

15–18

12–14

9–11

6–8

RESULTS

A Test Report Form is posted to test takers 13 days after their test. It shows:

• An Overall Band Score (from 1-9)
• A band score (from 1-9) for each section of the test (Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking)
• Whether IELTS Academic or General Training was completed
• The test taker’s photo, nationality, first language and date of birth.

Test takers receive one copy of their Test Report Form, Test Report Forms are valid for two years.

Students can register for IELTS at our office.

Important Study Directory

• IELTS Test Centers in Nepal
• IELTS Test Samples (Official)
• IELTS Tips – Reading
• IELTS Tips – Listening
• IELTS Tips – Writing
• IELTS Tips – Speaking
• IELTS Reading Band Score 8.0
• IELTS Listening Band Score 8.0
• IELTS Speaking Band Score 8.0
• IELTS Writing Band Score 8.0
• IELTS Practice Tests
• IELTS Practice Tests
• IELTS Practice Tests

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