IELTS Exam Pattern - Check section wise Test Pattern, Marking Scheme, Duration

IELTS Exam Pattern

There are two types of IELTS tests i.e IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training and each of them comprises four sections including listening, speaking, reading and writing sections, which are the basis for analysing the proficiency level of the candidates in the English language. IELTS Scores are accepted by thousands of leading universities across the world including Auburn University, Arizona State University, University of Oxford, Middlesex University Dubai, and many more.

The listening and speaking section follows the same exam pattern for both IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training. However, the reading and writing sections follow a different pattern. The  Listening, Reading and Writing sections are conducted on the same day whereas the speaking section can be completed up to a period of seven days before or after the other tests. Overall, IELTS Academic consists of a total of 82 questions plus an oral interview under the speaking section.

On this page, you will be able to find the differences in the exam pattern and other important details regarding the IELTS 2022 exam pattern.

Highlights of IELTS Exam Pattern

Given in the table below are some of the major highlights for IELTS 2022 Exam Pattern.

Section-wise IELTS Test Pattern

As mentioned above, there are four sections of the IELTS exam namely reading, writing, listening and speaking. The time duration of each section is different.  Let us have a look at the four sections of the IELTS exam and their IELTS test pattern:

While the Listening and Speaking sections of IELTS 2022 follow the same pattern for both IELTS Academics and IELTS General Training, there is a slight variation in the exam pattern for the Writing and Reading section.

IELTS Academic VS IELTS General Exam Pattern

The IELTS Academic and IELTS General exam patterns are both different and the same. Test-takers take the same Listening and Speaking tests in both IELTS Academic and General Training but different Writing and Reading tests.

The IELTS listening test consists of four recordings where two conversations and two monologues are played only once. They are based on everyday context, education topics or academic subjects. Multiple choice, matching and sentence completion are some types of questions asked in the listening exam.

The IELTS speaking test is also the same for both IELTS General and IELTS Academic where there is a face-to-face interview with an IELTS examiner. Here, test-takers need to give a personal introduction, speak from cue cards and hold a discussion with the interviewer.

In the IELTS General reading test, extracts from general or common topics are given whereas in IELTS Academic reading test topics are descriptive or factual. The types of question asked are the same which includes multiple choice questions, identifying information, matching information and sentence completions.

In IELTS General writing section, letters and essays are given while IELTS Academic features diagrams and essays. The tasks are of 20 and 40 minutes each. IELTS Writing Task 1 is 150 words whereas IELTS Writing Task 2 is 250 words.

These are the few differences between IELTS Academic and IELTS General Exam Pattern that can be found.

IELTS Type of Questions

The four sections of the IELTS contain a variety of questions. While the listening and reading tasks contain 40 questions each, the writing task has two questions and the speaking test contains 3 questions. Let us look at the IELTS question types asked in the IELTS test.

IELTS Listening Section

In the listening section for IELTS 2022, candidates need to listen to recordings and answer questions based on the recordings. The recordings can be heard only once before the questions are asked.

The IELTS Listening section comprises four parts. Since January 2020, the word section has been replaced by parts. Each part of the IELTS listening action comprises 10 questions. Hence, the total number of questions in the listening section totals 40 questions.

The first two parts of the listening section of IELTS are set on everyday situations.

Part 1: In part 1, there will be a conversation between the two speakers.
Part 2: In part 2, there is a monologue.

In the final two parts, the situation will be set in educational and training contexts.

Part 3: In part 3, there will be a conversation between the two main speakers.
Part 4: In part 4, there will be a monologue on an academic subject.

Following are the highlights of the IELTS listening section:

IELTS Academic Reading Section

The IELTS Academic Reading section consists of 40 questions based on three different reading paragraphs. The duration for the IELTS Academic reading section is 60 minutes and questions are asked in various formats like multiple choice questions, identifying information, matching information, matching headings, matching sentence endings, matching features, sentence completion, summary completion, flow chart, diagram labelling etc.

The following table shows the highlights of IELTS Academic Reading section:

IELTS Academic Writing Section

The IELTS Academic Writing Section consists of 2 questions. In the IELTS writing first question, candidates need to describe visual information in the form of lines, graphs, charts, tables, diagrams, or bar graphs which should be completed within 20 minutes. In the second question, candidates need to respond to an argument or a point of view or a problem by writing an essay

The following table shows the highlights of the IELTS Academic Writing section:

IELTS Speaking Section

The IELTS Speaking Section consists of 3 parts. Candidates need to describe a piece of visual information in the form of graphs, tables, charts, or diagrams. It should be noted that the duration for each part and the speaking topic varies and also. Part 1 needs to be answered in 11-14 minutes, part 2 needs to be answered in 4-5 minutes, including the preparation time and Part 3 should last for 4-5 minutes. The following table shows the highlights of the IELTS Speaking section:

IELTS Indicator (Online Home Test)

The IELTS Indicator option is available for students who wish to take the test at home and submit the score for admission purposes at universities abroad. However, the IELTS Indicator test is not a substitute for the in-person IELTS test and the test taker may have to take the in-person IELTS test at an IELTS test center.

Here are some key points to know about the IELTS Indicator 2022 Exam Pattern:

• IELTS Indicator can be taken at home and is a session-based online test.

• The Exam pattern for IELTS Indicator is similar to the in-person IELTS in terms of the content, test structure, and time allocated.

• IELTS examiners score the IELTS Indicator and therefore, is as reliable as other options.

• However, candidates cannot expect the same quality and security procedure in an IELTS Indicator test as seen in the in-person format of IELTS.