IELTS Academic case studies
IELTS Academic · Put your knowledge to work in context.
IELTS Academic is an English proficiency test intended for people who want to study at undergraduate or postgraduate level, or who need it for professional registration such as doctors and nurses. It is one of the test types offered under the IELTS name, alongside IELTS General Training and IELTS for UKVI. The full test runs 2 hours and 45 minutes, and the format is the same wherever it is taken: at a test centre or remotely online. It has four sections - Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking. The IELTS Academic case studies are 5 cases and about 4,140 words.
1Section 4 note completion: self-correction, word limit and the brochure distractor
Candidate A is working on a Section 4 lecture about seed conservation. On the capacity line they write "five million".
746 words, about 4 min2TRUE/FALSE/NOT GIVEN with quantifiers, plus a timing crisis in Passage 2
An independent review found that 60 per cent of farmers surveyed within the trial area reported damage to drainage ditches; the remainder reported no financial impact. All farmers surveyed in the trial area reported damage to drainage ditches.
801 words, about 4 min3Task 2: an agree/disagree essay written for a discuss-both-views prompt
Others believe that subjects such as history and philosophy are equally valuable. Candidate C submits 262 words.
901 words, about 5 min4Task 1: two charts, no overview, and an unexplained cause
A Task 1 prompt gives a bar chart and a pie chart. The bar chart shows the percentage of household waste recycled in four countries in 2005 and 2020: Astoria 18% → 46%; Bravia 34% → 35%; Caldia 52% → 49%; Doria 9% → 28%.
811 words, about 4 min5Speaking Part 2: a memorised opener, an unfinished long turn, and one-line Part 3 answers
Candidate E takes Speaking Part 2. Let me think about it.
881 words, about 4 min