IELTS test format explained: the four sections, timing and question types

Most people who sit IELTS for the first time lose marks to surprises rather than to weak English: running out of time in Reading, not knowing that Task 2 is worth more than Task 1, or freezing when the examiner moves to Part 3. Knowing the format removes most of those surprises.

The four sections at a glance

Listening, Reading and Writing are always taken in that order with no break between them. Speaking is separate.

Listening: 4 parts, 40 questions

You hear four recordings and answer ten questions on each. They get harder as you go.

• Part 1 is a conversation about an everyday situation, such as booking a tour or reporting a lost item. Expect names, numbers, dates and addresses.
• Part 2 is one person speaking about a local topic: a talk about a community centre, a museum tour, a recorded message.
• Part 3 is a conversation between two to four people in an education setting, often students discussing an assignment with a tutor.
• Part 4 is a short academic lecture. There is no break in the middle, and it is usually where the most marks are lost.

Question types include multiple choice, form and note completion, matching, map or plan labelling and sentence completion. On the computer test you type answers straight into the boxes and get two minutes at the end to check them. On paper you get ten minutes to transfer answers to the answer sheet.

Reading: 60 minutes, 40 questions

There is no extra time for transferring answers, so the 60 minutes is all you get.

Academic Reading has three long passages of roughly 700–950 words each, taken from books, journals, magazines and newspapers. They are written for a general reader, not specialists, but the vocabulary is demanding.

General Training Reading has three sections. Section 1 uses short everyday texts such as notices and advertisements. Section 2 is about work: job descriptions, contracts, staff training material. Section 3 is one longer general-interest text.

The question types are the same in both: True/False/Not Given, Yes/No/Not Given, matching headings, matching information, sentence and summary completion, multiple choice and short answers.

Writing: two tasks in 60 minutes

Task 2 counts for twice as much as Task 1. If you only remember one thing about Writing, remember that: never let Task 1 eat into your Task 2 time.

Both tasks are marked on four criteria: Task Achievement (or Task Response), Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource, and Grammatical Range and Accuracy.

Speaking: three parts, 11–14 minutes

The Speaking test is a recorded conversation with a certified examiner.

1. Part 1 (4–5 minutes): questions about familiar topics such as your home, work, study, hobbies.
2. Part 2 (3–4 minutes): you get a task card and one minute to prepare, then speak for up to two minutes. The examiner may ask one or two follow-up questions.
3. Part 3 (4–5 minutes): a discussion of more abstract questions linked to the Part 2 topic.

You are marked on Fluency and Coherence, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range and Accuracy, and Pronunciation.

Academic or General Training?

Listening and Speaking are identical. Reading and Writing differ. Academic is for university study and professional registration; General Training is mostly for migration and work. Our guide on Academic vs General Training explains which one you need for each Australian visa and pathway.

How the scores come together

Each section gets a band from 0 to 9, in half bands. Your overall band is the average of the four, rounded to the nearest half band. The details, including the raw-score tables for Listening and Reading, are in how IELTS band scores are calculated.

Computer or paper?

Most test centres in Australia now run IELTS on computer. The content and marking are the same; what changes is how you answer. Listening review time is shorter on computer, and typing makes word counts easier to check. See IELTS on computer for the details and what to practise.

How to use this

Before you study anything else, sit one full test under real timing. It shows you which section is costing you the most, and the answer is often not the one you expect. Many students who think Writing is their weakest skill find they are losing just as many marks to Part 4 of Listening.