IELTS Academic - Pattern, Syllabus, Fees, Score

IELTS Academic - The English proficiency exam attempted for studying in English-speaking countries, is the IELTS Academic test. The IELTS Academic exam is accepted by more than 10,000+ abroad universities across 140 countries. The test measures the candidate's English proficiency level by assessing the skills in listening, reading, writing, speaking, etc. The overall test duration is 2 hours 45 min.

IELTS: Vocabulary Guide | Reading Practice Tests | Listening Practice Tests | Speaking Practice Tests | Writing Practice Tests

IELTS: Sample papers | Preparation tips | Guide

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The academic version of IELTS test is available at test centers in both computer and paper-based formats; also remotely online at home. Read the article of IELTS Academic to know more details about the test topics, syllabus, formats, eligibility, scoring, etc.

The IELTS full form is the International English Language Testing System. There are two types of IELTS tests, one is IELTS Academic for study purposes, and the other one is IELTS General which is used for work and immigration purposes. The IELTS test is jointly owned by the IDP education, the British Council, and Cambridge University Press& Assessment. For students in India, the IELTS Academic or any other IELTS test can be registered from the IELTS IDP India website.

IELTS Academic Highlights

Types of IELTS Academic Tests

The Academic version of the IELTS exam is of 2 types. The details and purposes of the different test types will be explained below.

• IELTS Academic
• IELTS UKVI Academic

The two test types are almost the same and are used for applying to abroad universities. Here, the IELTS UKVI Academic is specially for IELTS UK study visas. The only difference is that the IELTS UKVI is conducted at a few test centres which meet the UK home administrative requirements.

Recently it has been agreed and accepted to consider both IELTS Academic and IELTS UKVI (Academic), for applying to UK universities. So, Students can attempt both the test types for UK universities and study visa purposes.

Both academic tests are available in the below IELTS academic format

• IELTS at Test Centers - Computer-Based & Paper-based

• IELTS Online - At home

Students who do not have access to IELTS computer-based test centers can only opt for IELTS paper-based tests. The IELTS Online can be taken from anywhere in the world. A computer and stable internet access are sufficient for attempting the IELTS Online test.

IELTS Academic Exam Pattern

The IELTS academic exam pattern is the same for the IELTS computer-based, paper-based, or online. All three sections reading, writing, and listening are held on the exam day without any breaks. The IELTS speaking is conducted separately before or after the IELTS exam at a separate time selected by the candidate.

If the candidate fails to select the slot for the speaking test, then automatically a slot will be given to the candidate. The IELTS speaking will be held with a human interviewer online through video call at the designated IELTS test centre.

IELTS Academic Exam Pattern Overview

IELTS Academic Syllabus

The IELTS exam evaluates English proficiency in 4 skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Here, the syllabus for the IELTS listening and speaking is the same for both the IELTS Academic test and IELTS General. The IELTS syllabus for the reading and writing sections is different for IELTS Academic and IELTS General. The IELTS Academic syllabus for the four sections is explained in detail below.

1. Listening Section

The IELTS Academic Listening measures the ability to understand the ideas and facts, opinions, purposes, and attitudes from the given speeches. The listening section consists of 4 recordings of native English speakers. Based on recordings, 40 questions will be asked which are in question types like MCQs, sentence completion, summary completion, diagram labeling, etc.

2. Reading Section

The IELTS Academic Reading measures skills like detail reading, skimming, understanding logical arguments, and recognising the writer's view, purpose, opinion, and attitude., etc. for a given written data or information. The sections consist of 3 long paragraphs which are extracted from books, journals, magazines, etc.

Based on the content in the 3 paragraphs, 40 questions are asked. These questions are of different types like MCQs, matching information, sentence completion, table completion, flow-chart completion, short answer questions, etc.

3. Writing Section

The IELTS Writing Academic measures the ability to identify key information, trends in data(for graphs), topic overview presentation, and writing skills of the candidate. The IELTS writing consists of 2 tasks where IELTS writing task 1 is to describe the visual information for a given image, object, table, or diagram.

The writing task 1 academic summary should contain at least 150 words. Writing task 2 academic is essay writing. The writing task 2 IELTS academic topics can be any academic or semi-formal type. The essay in the writing task 2 academic must be at least 250 words

4. Speaking Section

The section of IELTS Academic speaking is an interview with the examiner which will be recorded. The IELTS speaking test measures the ability to speak in the correct language, pronunciation, and ideas generations for a given topic. The IELTS speaking test consists of 3 parts.

In part 1 of the speaking section of IELTS Academic the interviewer asks questions related to the personal self of the candidate like their interests, hobbies, work-life, etc., and general topics like hometown, music, games, etc. The part 2 questions of the IELTS speaking are also about a random general topic, but part 3 will be the in-detail questions related to the answer given in the part 2 section.

IELTS Academic Score

The scoring system used in the IELTS is calculated in the form of bands which are whole or half bands. The Overall band score is the average of 4 individual section scores.

Section band scores

1. IELTS Academic Listening Score

The listening section consists of 40 questions. Each question in the IELTS listening section is awarded 1 mark. These raw scores out of 40 are converted into 0 to 9 bands as listening band scores academic.

2. IELTS Academic Reading score

Similar to the IELTS listening section, the Academic reading also has 40 questions where 1 mark is given for every correct answer. These raw scores of IELTS Academic reading, out of the 40 marks are converted into 0 to 9 bands as reading academic band score.

3. IELTS Writing Academic Score

The scoring of the IELTS writing is based on the 4 criteria mentioned below.

• Task achievement & response

• Coherence and Cohesion

• Lexical Resource

• Grammatical Range and Accuracy

Each criterion weighs equally and the average of IELTS writing task 1 & 2 scores are calculated.

4. IELTS Speaking Score

The scoring of the IELTS speaking test is based on the 4 criteria mentioned below.

• Fluency and coherence

• Lexical Resource (Related to Vocabulary)

• Grammatical Range and Accuracy

• Pronunciation

Each criterion weighs equally and the average IELTS speaking scores are calculated.

Also know more about the IELTS exam

IELTS Academic Practice Test - Candidates preparing for the IELTS Academic exam can use the IELTS practice test. These IELTS Academic practice tests available online, provide a real-time exam experience for the candidate and also help in getting used to the IELTS academic format, timings, etc. During the early preparation stage, candidates can attempt the IELTS academic practice tests and sample papers to evaluate the concepts that need more practice and work on improving them.

For example, in considering the IELTS Academic practice test for Reading, all the sample passages related to the topics used in the IELTS academic are given. So the candidate can also understand the topics and question types used in the IELTS exam.

Fee for IELTS Academic

The fee for the IELTS Academic test depends on the test type. Check the details of the fee given below. The modes of payment allowed are Credit/Debit Cards, net banking, Demand Draft, Bank Deposit, etc.

IELTS Academic Fee for each test type

IELTS Academic Results Time

The IELTS Academic results time depends on the test type. For Computer-based IELTS Academic(including IELTS UKVI for Academic), the result will be released in 3 to 5 days. The IELTS academic result for the paper-based Academic test (including IELTS UKV for Academic) will be released after 13 days from the IELTS academic exam date.