General or academic IELTS?

Audio: 7 min. 39 sec.

One of the biggest questions people have when they decide to go overseas is – “Which version of the IELTS test should I take? General or Academic?”

Depending on your future pathway, you will need to choose one of these two tests to take. Making the right decision early can help save both time and money.

In this ThisCourse blog we will take a deep dive into differences between IELTS Academic, and IELTS General.

In a nutshell, both versions of the IELTS test have the same four sections – listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

The listening and speaking sections of the test are the same for both tests, but the reading and writing sections have some big differences depending on which test you decide to take.

The IELTS general test is designed to test your everyday English, and is for people who want to live in a foreign country, while the academic test is for people who want to apply for university in another country.

Let’s take a look at each section of the test in isolation.

(SAME FOR GENERAL AND ACADEMIC)

The listening section of both IELTS tests has four parts of ten points each (a total of 40 questions), which are designed to get increasingly difficult as the test progresses.

Section 1 (questions 1-10) is a simple conversation between two speakers, usually an exchange of personal information.

Section 2 (questions 11-20) will contain a monologue by one person giving information.

Section 3 (questions 21-30) is a conversation between 3 people, often a teacher talking to two students, and in section 4 (questions 31-40) there is an expert giving a monologue on a technical topic.

Questions can be in the form of note/table completion, multiple choice, sentence completion, paragraph matching, or short answer.

(SAME FOR GENERAL AND ACADEMIC)

The speaking section of both tests has 3 parts, and lasts for about 11-14 minutes.

In part 1, the examiner will 1) ask for your name and some identification, 2) ask you some very general questions about yourself, and then 3) start asking you a series of general questions on one or two topics.

All of these questions come from a script, so in a way they are quite predictable, and allow you to practice some great answers at home.

In this part of the test, imagine that the examiner cares about you, and wants to know about you.

In part 2, you will have to speak by yourself for 1-2 minute about a topic.

The examiner will give you a “topic card” that has four prompts on it. The first three prompts will use “wh-“ question words such as what, where, when, and why.

The fourth and final prompt will ask you to “explain” what you think about the topic (give your opinion).

In this part of the exam the examiner wants you to prove that you can talk for a long time.

In part 3, you will be asked some abstract questions about the topic from part 2.

You will have to justify your opinions with reason, as well as analyse the topic in greater depth with complex grammar and vocabulary.

In this part of the test, the examiner is not interested in you, but wants you to show your understanding of the world.

(DIFFERENT FOR BOTH TESTS)

The IELTS reading test is 60 minutes long and consists of 40 questions.

This means you have an average of 90 seconds to answer each question.

Both tests have three sections of 13 or 14 questions each.

Questions in the IELTS reading test can come in the form of: multiple choice, identifying information, identifying writer’s claims, matching, sentence completion, summary completion, table completion, diagram labelling, and short answer.

In the general reading test, the three passages will be from everyday realia such as newspapers, advertisements, handbooks, and notices.

These questions are generally much easier than the academic reading test.

In the academic reading test, you will have to prove that you can understand academic-style texts such as journals, research papers, and books.

(DIFFERENT FOR BOTH TESTS)

Both IELTS writing tests will have 2 “tasks”, and last for 60 minutes for both the general and academic versions.  

For the general writing test task 1, you will have to write a letter of 150 words to someone.

In this letter you will have to respond to a problem, apologise to someone, explain a situation, or request some information.

You will also have to adjust your level of formality based on who you are writing the letter to.

In the general task 2 IELTS writing, you will have to write an essay of at least 250 words.

You will be given someone’s point of view, an argument, or a problem, and will then have to give your own opinion on the matter.

In IELTS academic task 1, you will have to write 150 words about a chart (bar, pie, line, map, table, or process).

You will have to analyse the chart and use a range of complex grammar (such as perfect tenses, adjective and adverb forms, participles, relative clauses, passives, and nominalisation) to create an academic response.

In IELTS academic task 2, you will have to write an opinion, discussion, advantages and disadvantages, double question, or problem and solution style essay on the topic in 250 words.

To summarise, the IELTS general test is easier than the IELTS academic test, and the purposes are different – take the IELTS general test if you are moving overseas to live, and the IELTS academic test if you are going to university in another country.