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IELTS: Format, Scoring and How to Prepare

IELTS: Format, Scoring and How to Prepare

The pillar page — what the test is, section by section, how scoring works, a realistic prep timeline, and links to every drill on the site.

Overview

The pillar page — what the test is, section by section, how scoring works, a realistic prep timeline, and links to every drill on the site.

This page is written for study-abroad applicants who need IELTS for university offers and student visas — not as a replacement for official IELTS.org / British Council / IDP materials.

Search themes covered here: ielts, ielts academic, ielts advantages and disadvantages essay, ielts agree or disagree essay, ielts cue card a book you enjoyed, ielts cue card a childhood friend, ielts cue card a difficult decision, ielts cue card a gift you received.

What IELTS covers

  • Listening — conversations and monologues, question types from multiple choice to map labelling
  • Reading — Academic passages (or General Training texts) with matching, T/F/NG, completion tasks
  • Writing — Task 1 (chart/letter) and Task 2 (essay)
  • Speaking — Part 1 interview, Part 2 cue card, Part 3 discussion

Scores use 0–9 bands. Universities publish their own floors; UK Student visas often need IELTS for UKVI (a SELT), not only Academic.

Where to go next on StudyWhere

Next step

Use Start Chat on WhatsApp below for a quick IELTS level check, target-band plan, or help matching your score to university and visa rules.

Start Chat on WhatsApp

Message StudyWhere on WhatsApp for a quick IELTS level check, target-band plan, or visa-score advice.

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Read Next

IELTS · CompareIELTS Academic vs General Training: Which Version Should You Book?

IELTS Academic vs General Training: Which Version Should You Book?

Where the two papers differ, who needs which, and the mistake that costs people a re-sit.

IELTS · ScoresIELTS Band Score Calculator — Work Out Your Overall Band

IELTS Band Score Calculator — Work Out Your Overall Band

Enter four section scores, get the overall band with the rounding rules applied. Shows what each section would need to lift you half a band.

IELTS · ScoresIELTS Band Scores Explained: What Each Band Means and How Marks Convert

IELTS Band Scores Explained: What Each Band Means and How Marks Convert

Raw-score-to-band tables for listening and reading, the writing and speaking descriptors in plain English, and how the overall band is rounded.

IELTS · General TrainingIELTS General Training: Writing Formal Letters

IELTS General Training: Writing Formal Letters

Register, opening and closing conventions, and marked samples.

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