IELTS General: Types, How to Book, Dates, Syllabus, Pattern, Preparation, Score

IELTS General - It is an English language proficiency exam attempted to study, work and migrate to English-speaking countries. The IELTS General exam is accepted by more than 12,000+ organisations across 140 countries. The IELTS General measures the language proficiency level by assessing the skills of the candidate in listening, reading, writing, and speaking, etc. The overall test duration is 2 hours 45 min. 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.

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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This Story also Contains

1. What is IELTS?
2. IELTS General Highlights
3. Types of IELTS General tests
4. How to book IELTS General exam?
5. IELTS General dates
6. IELTS General Exam Fees
7. IELTS General Syllabus
8. IELTS General Exam Pattern
9. IELTS General Preparation Tips
10. IELTS General Practice Tests
11. IELTS General Score
12. IELTS General Results

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 one is IELTS General, which serves various purposes like study(below degree level), employment opportunities and migrating to other countries etc.

The IELTS General test is attempted for migration purposes in the countries like UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The IELTS General is a bit easier when compared with 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.

IELTS General Highlights

Types of IELTS General tests

The general version of the IELTS exam is of two types.

• IELTS General (Computer-Based / Paper-based)

• IELTS UKVI General (Computer-Based / Paper-based)

The IELTS UKVI General Training test is for candidates who travell to the UK country for study, 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-authorized test centres to ensure the authenticity of the test takers. Both the IELTS General exam and IELTS UKVI are available at Test Centers 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.

How to book IELTS General exam?

There are three possible ways to register for the IELTS general test. They are online, or in person at the IDP branch or through courier. For IELTS registration online, the Candidates can visit the 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 centre, 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 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

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

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

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IELTS General Results

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.