IELTS Academic study guide
IELTS Academic · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
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 study guide has 4 sections and about 1,556 words.
01IELTS Academic Listening: Format, Rules and Mark-Saving Habits
The Listening domain tests your ability to follow spoken English in everyday and academic contexts: main ideas, specific detail, opinions, attitudes and the purpose of a speaker. You hear a range of accents, and the recording is played once only.
392 words, about 2 min02IELTS Academic Reading: Question Logic and Evidence Matching
The Reading domain tests comprehension of long academic texts: gist, main ideas, detail, inference, the writer’s opinion and the structure of an argument. You have 60 minutes for three passages and 40 questions, with no extra transfer time, so the clock is part of the test.
386 words, about 2 min03IELTS Academic Writing: Task 1 Overviews and Task 2 Argument
The Writing domain has two tasks in 60 minutes. Task 1 asks you to describe visual information in at least 150 words; Task 2 asks for a discursive essay of at least 250 words.
397 words, about 2 min04IELTS Academic Speaking: Three Parts and Four Criteria
The Speaking domain is a face-to-face interview of 11–14 minutes, often conducted by video. It tests your ability to communicate opinions and information on everyday and abstract topics.
381 words, about 2 min