Understanding the IELTS II – Academic Test Pattern

ACADEMIC TEST PATTERN

The exam consists of four sections –

Reading

Writing

Listening

Speaking

Reading, writing and listening are scheduled on the same day while the speaking exam is scheduled for another day. The Test taker is required to retain his/her exam ticket till both tests(reading/writing/listening and speaking) are complete.

Reading (60 mins)

The reading section generally has three parts to it.

1.Graphs, descriptive and discursive text followed by analytical questions of the objective variety(multiple choice, fill in the blanks, true or false)

2.Diagram-based text, bar and pie charts or other illustrations followed by factual text and analytical or reasoning questions.

3.A long  paragraph accompanied by graphs or statistics followed by objective questions based on the paragraph.

Writing(60 mins)

This section has two questions.

1.Data interpretation (a minimum of 150 words)

This task requires the test taker to interpret a graph, table, chart or statistic and present a summary or opinion with justification.

2.Essay( a minimum of 250 words)

This section could be of the narrative or opinion-based variety. A topic and two or three points are provided to the exam taker, and he or she must elaborate.

Listening(30 mins + 10 mins)

The listening section contains four recorded monologues spread across 30 minutes. Test takers are given about five minutes between recordings to jot down the answers. The questions are of the objective variety ( fill in the blanks, multiple choice).

Exam takers are given an additional 10 minutes to transfer their answers to the answer sheet.

Speaking(11-15 mins)

The speaking exam is scheduled on a different day. The exam taker is required to answer various questions relating to general affairs and specific topics set by the examiner. The examiner leads the speakers through a series of questions that test fluency, vocabulary and confidence. Test takers also get time to organize their thoughts before answering questions. Most questions are of the narrative or opinion variety.

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