British Council / IDP / Cambridge Assessment English
IELTS Academic Syllabus 2025
International English Language Testing System — Academic
IELTS Academic is required for undergraduate and postgraduate university admissions, and some professional registration. The test assesses four language skills: Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking. Total score is reported as a Band score from 1–9.
Key Highlights
- Listening: 30 minutes + 10 minutes transfer time (40 questions)
- Reading: 60 minutes (40 questions, 3 passages)
- Writing: 60 minutes (Task 1 + Task 2)
- Speaking: 11–14 minutes (recorded, with examiner)
- Band 7+ required by most UK universities; Band 6.5 for many others
Topic-by-Topic Breakdown
Listening
- Section 1: Everyday social conversation (form filling, note taking)
- Section 2: Monologue on everyday social context
- Section 3: Discussion in academic context (up to 4 speakers)
- Section 4: Academic lecture or talk
- Question types: MCQ, matching, plan/map/diagram labelling, form/note/table/flowchart/summary completion, sentence completion
Reading
- 3 long texts from academic books, journals, newspapers
- Topics: general interest, academic, technical
- Question types: MCQ, identifying information (T/F/NG), identifying writer's views (Y/N/NG)
- Matching headings, features, sentence endings
- Summary, note, table, flowchart completion
- Sentence completion, short answer questions
Writing
- Task 1 (20 min, 150+ words): Describe a graph, table, chart, or diagram
- Task 1 key skills: overview, key features, data comparison, avoid interpreting
- Task 2 (40 min, 250+ words): Essay in response to a point of view, argument, or problem
- Task 2 essay types: Opinion, Discussion, Problem-Solution, Two-part question
- Assessment: Task Achievement, Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Speaking
- Part 1 (4–5 min): Introduction, interview — everyday topics
- Part 2 (3–4 min): Individual long turn — speak for 1–2 min on a given topic (cue card)
- Part 3 (4–5 min): Two-way discussion — abstract topics related to Part 2
- Assessment: Fluency and Coherence, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range and Accuracy, Pronunciation
High-Priority Topics
- Writing Task 2 — the highest-mark skill: structure, arguments, vocabulary
- Reading — T/F/NG questions (most commonly mistaken)
- Writing Task 1 — overview and key features (most common error: no overview)
- Speaking Part 2 — cue card: practice 2-minute extended turns
- Listening Section 4 — academic lecture: fastest pace, no breaks
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Eligibility, pattern, preparation strategy, and recommended books.
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