What is IELTS?

IELTS, the International English Language Testing System, is designed to assess the language ability of candidates who need to study or work where English is used as the language of communication. IELTS is required for entry to university in the UK and other countries.

Who should take IELTS?

IELTS is approved by universities, professional bodies, immigration authorities and other government agencies in the UK.

What is IELTS like?

There are two versions, the Academic or General Training. All candidates do the same Listening and Speaking sections.
The test has four sections: 

  1. Listening – 4 sections, 40 questions, 30 minutes 
  2. Speaking – interview, 15 minutes
  3. Reading – different for Academic or General Training – 3 sections, 40 questions, 60 minutes
  4. Writing – different for Academic or General Training – 2 pieces of writing, 60 minutes

Level and scores

You get a score between 1 and 9.

IELTS Listening marking schemes

For the listening test, which contains 40 questions, the approximate band scores can be calculated using this table. 

Band Score

9

8.5

8

7.5

7

6.5

6

5.5

5

4.5

4

3.5

3

2.5

Score / 40

39-40

37-38

35-36

32-34

30-31

26-29

23-25

18-22

16-17

13-15

10-12

8-10

6-7

4-5

IELTS General Reading marking schemes

For the general reading test, which contains 40 questions, the approximate band scores can be calculated using this table. 

Band Score

9

8.5

8

7.5

7

6.5

6

5.5

5

4.5

4

3.5

3

2.5

Score / 40

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

IELTS Academic Reading marking schemes

For the academic reading test, which also contains 40 questions, but is more difficult, the approximate band scores can be calculated using this table. 

Band Score

9

8.5

8

7.5

7

6.5

6

5.5

5

4.5

4

3.5

3

2.5

Score / 40

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

IELTS Writing marking schemes

The two writing questions are marked out of 9 according to the following criteria:

https://takeielts.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/ielts_task_2_writing_band_descriptors.pdf

  • Task Achievement
  • Coherence and Cohesion 
  • Lexical Resource 
  • Grammatical Range and Accuracy 

IELTS Speaking marking schemes

The speaking test is marked out of 9 according to the following criteria: 

https://takeielts.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/speaking_band_descriptors_0.pdf

  • Fluency and coherence
  • Lexical resource
  • Grammatical range and accuracy
  • Pronunciation

Take IELTS in the UK

With over 50 test locations and up to three test dates per month, booking your IELTS test in the UK has never been easier. Whether it’s for your student visa, emigration, professional development, UK visa or TfL licence, take IELTS – the world’s leading secure English language test.

https://takeielts.britishcouncil.org/united-kingdom

How can I help you?

I can help you with the Reading and Writing parts of the test. Please contact me to discuss the details.