How the test works

Four skills, sat in one day: Listening, Reading and Writing without a break, and Speaking either the same day or within a week. The whole thing takes under three hours, not counting the interview.

The two versions

Academic is for university entry and professional registration. General Training is for work, training and migration. Listening and Speaking are identical in both. Reading and Writing are different: the Academic reading uses long journal-style passages and its Task 1 asks you to describe data, while General Training uses everyday texts and asks for a letter. General Training reading is easier, so it needs a higher raw score for the same band.

Timing

Skill	Structure	Time	Note
Аудирование	4 parts, 40 questions	30 минут	Plus 2 minutes to check your answers (computer-delivered).
Чтение	3 sections, 40 questions	60 минут	No extra transfer time — write answers as you go.
Письмо	2 tasks	60 минут	About 20 minutes for Task 1, 40 for Task 2.
Говорение	3 parts	14 минут	11–14 minutes across three parts.

How the score works

Each skill gets a band from 0 to 9, in half bands. Listening and Reading are marked out of 40 and converted to a band. Writing and Speaking are judged against four criteria each, which are averaged.

The overall band is the average of the four, rounded in a specific way: an average ending in .25 rounds up to the next half band, and one ending in .75 rounds up to the next whole band. So 6.5, 6.5, 5.0 and 7.0 averages 6.25 and is reported as 6.5.

IELTS does not publish a fixed raw-to-band table, and every real paper is equated against its own difficulty. These bands use the widely published indicative conversions: honest for tracking progress, not a promise about test day.

Writing

Task 1 needs at least 150 words in about 20 minutes; Task 2 needs at least 250 in about 40. Task 2 counts double, which is why the time split is not even. Writing under the minimum is penalised mechanically, regardless of quality, and text copied from the question is not counted towards your total.

Speaking

Part 1 — Introduction and interview, 4–5 minutes.
Part 2 — Individual long turn (cue card), 3–4 minutes, with 60 seconds to prepare.
Part 3 — Two-way discussion, 4–5 minutes.

Question types, and what each one is really testing

Аудирование

Form completion: Expect names, numbers and addresses. Practise spelling aloud — most marks lost here are spelling, not listening.
Note completion: Notes follow the order of the recording or text. If you miss one, move on — going back costs you the next two.
Table completion: Read across the row AND down the column: the heading often supplies the word class you need.
Flow-chart completion: Follow the arrows. The answer for each box is usually signalled by a sequencing word such as 'next' or 'once'.
Sentence completion: The grammar of the sentence tells you what part of speech is missing. Decide that before you hunt for the word.
Multiple choice: Read all the options before you look back at the text — distractors usually repeat a word from the passage without repeating its meaning.
Matching: Options are often NOT in the order you hear them. Cross out each one as you use it.
Map/plan labelling: Fix your starting point and the compass directions before the recording begins.
Diagram labelling: Orient yourself first: find the part of the text or recording that describes the diagram, then follow it in order.
Short-answer questions: Obey the word limit exactly. A correct answer that is one word too long scores zero.

Чтение

True / False / Not Given: 'Not Given' means the text is silent, not that the text disagrees. If you are arguing with yourself about it, it is usually Not Given.
Yes / No / Not Given: You are matching the WRITER'S opinion, not the facts. Look for the verbs that signal a view: claims, argues, suggests.
Matching headings: Read the paragraph's first and last sentence first — the main idea usually sits in one of them.
Matching information: This asks WHERE something appears, not whether it is true. Scan for the specific detail, do not read for gist.
Matching features: Some features are used more than once, and some not at all. Read the instruction line carefully.
Matching sentence endings: Match the grammar first: only some endings will fit the beginning at all.
Multiple choice: Read all the options before you look back at the text — distractors usually repeat a word from the passage without repeating its meaning.
Sentence completion: The grammar of the sentence tells you what part of speech is missing. Decide that before you hunt for the word.
Summary completion: If there is a word bank, the answer is in the bank — never write a word of your own.
Note completion: Notes follow the order of the recording or text. If you miss one, move on — going back costs you the next two.
Table completion: Read across the row AND down the column: the heading often supplies the word class you need.
Diagram labelling: Orient yourself first: find the part of the text or recording that describes the diagram, then follow it in order.
Short-answer questions: Obey the word limit exactly. A correct answer that is one word too long scores zero.

Word limits

When a question says NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS, an answer of three words scores zero even if it contains the right ones. A hyphenated compound counts as one word, and so does a number, however it is punctuated. This app enforces the limit exactly as a marker would — it is the most common way candidates lose marks they believe they have earned.

Spelling

Spelling is marked. Both British and American spellings are accepted, so colour and color both pass, but a misspelling is wrong. In Listening especially, most lost marks are spelling rather than hearing.

MidorIELTS is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to IELTS, the British Council, IDP Education or Cambridge Assessment English. All practice material here is original.