IELTS General Training Test is an English language proficiency exam for professionals seeking work and migrating to English-speaking countries. The IELTS General exam is accepted by more than 12,500+ organisations across 140 countries. The IELTS General measures the language proficiency level by 4 main components: listening, reading, writing, and speaking. The overall test duration is 2 hours 45 minutes. The general version of the IELTS test is available at test centres in both computer and paper-based formats. Read the article on the IELTS general exam to know more details about the test pattern, syllabus, scoring, etc.
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What is IELTS?
IELTS General Highlights
Types of IELTS General tests
How to book IELTS General exam?
IELTS General Dates
IELTS General Exam Fees
IELTS General Syllabus
IELTS General Exam Pattern
IELTS General Preparation Tips
IELTS General Practice Tests
IELTS General Score
IELTS General Results
IELTS General
What is IELTS?
The IELTS full form is the International English Language Testing System. The IELTS test consists of two modules: one is IELTS Academic, which is extensively used for study purposes, and the other is IELTS General, which serves various purposes like study (below degree level), employment opportunities, migrating to other countries, etc.
The IELTS General test is attempted for migration purposes in countries like the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The IELTS General is a bit easier when compared with the IELTS Academic. International students can register for IELTS through the British Council official website and the IDP IELTS website. Whereas for Indian students, the IELTS general exam can be registered on the IELTS IDP India website.
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The general version of the IELTS exam is of two types.
IELTS General (Computer-Based / Paper-based)
IELTS UKVI General (Computer-Based / Paper-based)
IELTS 2025 Writing Task 1 & 2 - Study Materials
Aspirants who are appearing for IELTS exam can download this eBook which have complete study material for academic writing task 1 (Data Interpretation) and academic writing task 2 (Essays) sections.
The IELTS UKVI General Training test is for candidates who travel to the UK for work or immigration purposes. There is no difference between the IELTS General and IELTS UKVI in terms of the test format, duration, syllabus, scores, etc. The only differentiating factor is the IELTS UKVI is conducted at a few UK visa-authorised test centres to ensure the authenticity of the test takers. Both the IELTS General exam and IELTS UKVI are available at Test Centres, both in computer- and paper-based formats. Students can attempt the IELTS General paper-based version only when they do not have access to IELTS computer-based test centres in their surroundings.
There are three possible ways to register for the IELTS general test. They are online, in person at the IDP branch, or through courier. For IELTS registration online, the candidates can visit ieltsidpindia.com. For the registration process, the candidates need to fill out the IELTS application form and select the test date and IELTS test centre. Once the registration is completed, the registration confirmation is received through an email address.
IELTS General Dates
The IELTS General exam is available many times throughout the year. For the IELTS computer, the exam is available 3 times a day and 7 days a week. Candidates can choose a suitable IELTS exam date, test center and proceed for the IELTS exam online registration at least 2 months before the expected IELTS exam date.
IELTS General Exam Fees
The details of the fee for the IELTS are given below. The modes of payment available are Credit/Debit Cards, net banking, Bank Deposit, Demand Draft, etc.
Details Fee for IELTS General
IELTS Test Type
IELTS Test Fee 2025 (INR)
IELTS on Computer for UKVI
INR 18,250
IELTS on Computer
INR 18,000
IELTS Life Skills (A1 and B1)
INR 17,000
IELTS for UK Visas and Immigration
INR 18,250
IELTS on Paper
INR 18,000
One Skill Retake
INR 12,000
IELTS General Syllabus
The IELTS syllabus exam consists of four sections: listening, speaking, reading and writing. The listening and speaking sections are the same in the Academic and General IELTS tests, while the reading and writing sections are different.
IELTS Listening Section
The IELTS General Listening consists of 4 recordings with 10 questions each. The questions are in the form of MCQs, short answers, sentence completion, etc., and a few more types. The recordings 1 & 2 are related to everyday life and social situations. Recordings 3 and 4 of the IELTS listening are related to education and training situations. There can be 1 or 2 speakers in the recordings who use different accents of American, British, Australian and New Zealand.
IELTS General Reading Section
The IELTS General Reading consists of 3 sections. Each section consists of two to three short texts or 1 long text based on which questions like MCQs, True or False, Yes or No, matching, etc., and a few more are asked.
Section 1 - Reading Passages of every day topics that are used to make a living in English-speaking countries are given
Section 2 - Work-related topics like job postings and descriptions, training materials, contract documents, and staff development are given.
Section 3 - Descriptive and instructive topics extracted from newspapers, books, online websites, magazines, etc.
The IELTS reading test in the general version holds negative marks for incorrect spelling and grammar mistakes.
IELTS General Writing Section
The IELTS General Writing consists of 2 tasks one is letter writing and the other is essay writing.
Writing Task 1 - Based on the given situation the candidate needs to write a letter of 150 words in a formal/neutral/personal style as instructed. The points or content that are to be included in the letter are also instructed in question
Writing Task 2 - Essay writing based on the given situation has to be written. The candidate has to express their opinion and argument. Candidate can use relevant information by explaining with examples from their own experience(if any/relevant).
The writing section of IELTS General has a penalty when the content of the essay is irrelevant.
IELTS General Speaking Section
The section of IELTS General Speaking is a face-to-face interview with the examiner through video call. The speaking test for IELTS General consists of 3 parts.
Part 1 - Questions are related to regular and familiar topics like home, job, family, interests or hobbies, etc.
Part 2 - A particular topic is given along with a card. The card contains a few points that are to be covered while speaking. The candidate will be given one minute for preparation before answering.
Part 3 - The topic of part 2 is discussed in detail with the interviewer.
This IELTS speaking section tests the candidate in discussing their opinions, speaking length, appropriate language usage, etc.
IELTS General Exam Pattern
For both the computer-based and paper-based format the IELTS exam pattern is the almost same but the IELTS General speaking section is held separately for the paper-based format. The candidate needs to book a separate slot for the IELTS General speaking test between 7 days before or after the IELTS exam date. This can be done at the time of registration for the IELTS General test. If the candidate fails to select the slot, then automatically some random slot will be provided to them.
IELTS General Pattern Overview
Sections
Details
No. of Questions
Raw Score
Band Score
Duration
Listening
Questions are based on 4 recorded conversations of various accents
40
40
9
30 min
Reading
3 Sections consisting of 5 or 6 long texts
40
40
9
60 min
Writing
Task 1: Letter Writing
Task 2: Semi Formal/ neutral Essay Writing
2
-
9
60 min
Speaking
Face-to-face interview of three tasks
3 (conversations)
-
9
11-14 min
Total
85 questions
-
0 to 9
2 hrs 45 min
IELTS General Preparation Tips
Candidates can start the IELTS General test preparation by understanding the test syllabus and pattern. Here are a few IELTS preparation tips for the general version exam which help the candidates during the preparation phase.
Choose the best IELTS exam books that suit the candidate's specific requirements like only test materials, practice tests, vocabulary-building books or an overall IELTS guide that meets the candidate's requirements.
For the IELTS general, candidates can refer to the daily newspapers and magazines to improve their reading skills.
Watch videos online of different English accents like American, British, etc with/without subtitles to get familiarised with the listening test format.
For the writing section tasks, the candidate needs to focus on writing letters or reports both in formal and informal tone.
Candidates can learn vocabulary so that they understand the questions well in the exam.
After every periodical attempt at the IELTS General reading practice test, focus on the sections with low scores and try to improvise them.
IELTS General Practice Tests
The practice tests and sample papers of IELTS are the best way to prepare and analyse for the exam. The “IELTS practice test general” helps the candidate by providing the sample questions and also familiarizes them with the exam conducting format. The IELTS General Listening Practice Test introduces the candidate to recordings and helps in improving the listening skills towards English speaking accents whereas the IELTS General Reading Practice test specifies the candidates, how the long and short passages are asked in the examination. These IELTS mock tests for the General module are available online at the IELTS official website.
IELTS General Score
Each section in the IELTS General is calculated in the form of whole bands or half bands from 0 to 9. These individual band scores are average is the overall General IELTS score. Candidates can also check how the IELTS score is calculated.
Section-wise Details of band scores
IELTS General Listening Score
There are 40 questions in the listening section. Each question carries 1 mark. These raw scores are converted into 0 to 9 band scale IELTS listening score general.
IELTS General Reading score
The scoring for the reading section is similar to the IELTS listening. The reading section consists of 40 questions of 1 mark each. These raw scores are converted into a 0 to 9 band scale of general reading score.
IELTS General Writing Score
The scoring criteria for the writing section are mentioned below.
Task achievement & response: Accuracy and relevance in content are assessed.
Coherence and Cohesion: Fluency in writing and the organising manner of the information with appropriate pronouns, conjunctions, and linking words usage are assessed.
Lexical Resource: Vocabulary usage
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Assess the grammar usage
All four criteria are weighed equally in the bands 0 to 9 and the average is calculated. Task 2 which is a bigger task of 250 word count so it contributes a higher score than task 1.
IELTS General Speaking Score
The scoring criteria for the speaking section are mentioned below.
Fluency and coherence: Speaking speed without hesitation, and ability to put ideas and sentences in an order using cohesive devices is assessed.
Lexical Resource: Vocabulary usage
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Assess the grammar usage
Pronunciation: The ability to speak is an understanding manner is assessed.
The IELTS result for the General version depends on the type of test attempted by the candidate. The paper-based IELTS General test results are released after 13 days from the exam date. The computer-based IELTS test results are received quickly within 3 to 5 days after the test date.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q: Is the IELTS General exam hard?
A:
The IELTS General is for migration purposes. So, when compared to IELTS Academic the IELTS General exam is a bit easy.
Q: Is getting 8 bands in IELTS difficult?
A:
Less percentage of students achieve 8 bands in IELTS. This means among 4 sections two sections must be scoring full marks.
Q: Can I clear IELTS in 10 days?
A:
People who speak English proficiently maintaining the accents can clear the exam. Mostly these people will be native speakers for which the exam is not required. So for most of non-native speakers, it's like a miracle to pass the exam in 10 days.
Q: Is 6.5 band score good in IELTS General?
A:
It is a better score but always scoring higher makes the candidate to get eligible for various cut off of schools, visas or employment purposes.
Yes, admission to a German private university with 52% in bachelors, 6.0 IELTS band, and a 1-year gap is possible, but options are limited.
Private universities in Germany are more flexible than public ones. You can apply for courses in management, business, or IT fields. However, you must justify the gap year and ensure a strong Statement of Purpose (SOP).
It’s better to contact universities directly, as some may ask for additional documents or foundation courses before admission.
You are running short of time usually the ideal time would be 2–3 months prior,i advice that you start with your applications that you can quicky begin with your study abroad procedure.
It depends on the university you are applying to.
Most German universities do not require
GATE
for admission to a Master's in Biotechnology. However, some universities may ask for the
GRE
, especially if you are applying to a highly competitive program.
You should check the specific admission requirements of the universities you are interested in. Generally, having
IELTS (or TOEFL)
and a
German language proficiency certificate
(if the course is in German) is enough.
