Smart IELTS Preparation:

IELTS is your passport to success!

If you do better in IELTS you would do better in your whole career enterprise.

This is a test that opens doors around the world

Introduction: 

“IELTS, the International Language Testing System, is designed to assess the language ability of people who want to study or work where English is the language of communication.”

Preparing for your test

Make sure you are ready to demonstrate your English

More information is available from:

• IELTS
• British Council
• Cambridge English
• IELTS Essential
• IELTS USA

Know the IELTS rules and regulations

It’s important to familiarize yourself with the IELTS rules and regulations. These are laid out in the Notice to Candidates and Declaration which are included in the application form. When you sign the application form declaration, or agree to the terms online, you are confirming that you have read and understood the IELTS rules and regulations and agree to abide by them.

Register as soon as possible

When you feel you are ready to take the test, you need to register for a test date with an IELTS center. Contact the center as soon as possible, as the number of test takers who can take the test on a particular date may be limited. You will need to pay the fee when you register.

Tell your center if you have special requirements

In order to ensure that the language ability of all test takers is assessed fairly and objectively, IELTS provides a comprehensive service for test takers who have special requirement, including specific learning difficulties, hearing difficulties and visual difficulties.

If you require a modified version of the test, for example a Large Print or Braille version, you must give the test center three months’ notice. This notice period is necessary for the modified test version to be prepared. If your circumstances require special administrative arrangements to be made, for example if you need extra time or you need to use access technology such as a screen reader, you must give the test center six weeks’ notice. Please contact your test center to discuss your requirements. Any special arrangements agreed are in accordance with the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ).

Test Format

There are two modules to choose from- Academic and General Training.

• IELTS Academic: IELTS Academic is for test takers wishing to study at undergraduates and post graduates levels, and for those seeking professional registration.
• IELTS General Training: IELTS General Training is for test takers wishing to migrate to an English-speaking country (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and UK) and for those wishing to train or study at below degree level.

Each organization sets its own entry requirements. In some cases either Academic or General Training may be accepted. If you are in doubt as to which to take, you should contact the organization you are applying to in order to check their requirements.

You are tested on all four language skills- Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking, unless you have an exemption due to a disability (see section on special requirements). Everyone takes the same listening and speaking test. There are different Reading and Writing test for IELTS Academic and General Training.

The Listening, Reading and Writing tests must be completed on the same day. The order in which these tests are taken may vary. There are no breaks between these three tests. The speaking tests may be taken up to seven days before or after the other three tests.

The Four Components of the IELTS test 

Listening

Timings

Approximately 30 minutes (plus 10 minutes’ transfer time).

Questions

There are 40 questions. A variety of questions types are used, chosen from the following: multiple choice, matching, plan/map/diagram labeling, form completion, note completion, table completion, flow-chart completion, summary completion, sentence completion, short-answer questions.

Tests parts

There are 4 sections:

Section 1 is a conversation between two people set in an everyday social context (e.g.  a conversation in an accommodation agency).

Section 2 is a monologue set in an everyday social context (e.g. a speech about local facilities or a talk about the arrangements for meals during a conference).

Section 3 is a conversation between up to your four people set in education or training context (e.g. a university tutor and a student discussing an assignment, or a group of students planning a research project).

Section 4 is a monologue on an academic subject (e.g. university lecture).

Each section is heard once only.

A variety of voices and native-speaker accents are used.

Skills Assessed

A wide range of listening skills are assessed, including:

• Understanding of main ideas
• Understanding of specific factual information
• Recognizing options, attitudes and purpose of a speaker
• Following the development of an argument.

Marketing

Each correct answer receives 1 mark. Scores out of 40 are converted to the IELTS 9-band scale.

Scores are reported in whole and half bands. 

Reading

Timing

60 minutes (no extra transfer time).

Questions

There are 40 questions. A variety of questions types are used, chosen from the following: multiple choices, identifying information (True/false/Not Given), identifying a writer’s view/claims (Yes/No/Not Given), matching information, matching headings, matching features, matching sentence endings, sentence completion, note completion, table completion, flow-chart completion, summary completion, diagram label completion, short-answer questions. 

Test Parts

There are 3 sections. Total length IS 2,150-2,750 words.

Academic Reading

Each section contains one long text. Texts are authentic and are taken from books, journals, magazines and newspapers. They have been written for a non-specialist audience and are on academic topics of general interest. Texts are appropriate to, and accessible to, test takers entering undergraduate or postgraduate courses or seeking professional registration. Texts range from the descriptive and factual to the discursive and analytical. Texts may contain non-verbal materials such as diagram, graphs or illustrations. If texts contain technical terms, then a simple glossary is provided.

General Training Reading

Section 1 contains two or three short factual texts, one of which may be composite (consisting of 6-8 short texts related by topic, e.g. hotel advertisements). Topics are relevant to everyday life in an English-speaking country.

Section 2 contains two short factual texts focusing on work-related issues (e.g. applying for jobs, company policies, pay and conditions, workplace facilities, staff development and training).

Section 3 contains one longer, more complex text on a topic of general interest.

Texts are authentic and are taken from notices, advertisements, company handbooks, official documents, books, magazines and newspapers. 

Skills Assessed

Wide ranges of reading skills are assessed, including:

• Reading for gist
• Reading for main ideas
• Reading for details
• Understanding inferences and implied meaning
• Recognizing writer’s opinions, attitudes and purpose
• Following the development of an argument.

Marketing

Each correct answer receives 1 mark. Scores out of 40 are converted to the IELTS 9-band scale.

Scores are reported in whole and half bands.

Writing

Timing

60 minutes 

Task

There are 2 tasks. You are required to write at least 150 words for task 1 and at least 250 words for task 2. 

Test Parts

There are 2 parts.

Academic Writing

In Task 1, you are presented with a graph, table, chart or diagram and are asked to describe summaries or explain the information in your own words. You are asked to describe and explain data, describe the stages of a process, how something works or describe an object or event.

In Task 2, you are asked to write an essay in response to a point of view, argument or problem.

The issues raised are of general interest to, suitable for and easily understood by test takers entering undergraduate or post graduate studies or seeking professional registration. Responses to Task 1 and Task 2 should be written in an academic, semi-formal/neutral in style.

General Training Writing

In Task 1 you are presented with a situation and are asked to write a letter requesting information or explaining the situation. The letter may be personal or semi-formal/neutral in style.

In Task 2, you are asked to write an essay in response to a point of view, argument or problem. The essay can be slightly more personal in style than the academic writing task 2 essay.

Topics are of general interest. 

Skills assessed

In both tasks, you are assessed on your ability to write a response which is appropriate in terms of:

• Content
• The organization of ideas
• The accuracy and range of vocabulary and grammar.

Academic writing

In Task 1, depending on the task type, you are assessed on your ability to organize, present and possibly compare data; to describe the stages of a process or procedure; to describe an object or event or sequence of event; to explain how something works.

In Task 2, depending on the task type, you are assessed on your ability to present a solution to a problem; to present and justify an opinion; to compare and contrast evidence, opinions and implications; to evaluate and challenge ideas; evidence of an argument.

General Training Writing

In Task 1, depending on the task type, you are assessed on your ability to engage in personal correspondence in order to; elicit and provide general factual information; express needs, wants, likes and dislikes; express opinions (views, complaints etc.)

In Task 2, you are assessed on your ability to provide general factual information; to outline a problem and present a solution; to present and possibly justify an opinion; to evaluate and challenge ideas; evidence of an argument. 

Marketing

You are assessed on your performance on each task by certified IELTS examiners according to the IELTS Writing test assessment criteria (Task Achievement/Response Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resources, Grammatical Range and Accuracy). The public version of the assessment criteria can be found at www.ielts.org/criteria.

Task 2 contributes twice as much as Task 1 to the Writing score.

Scores are reported in whole and half bands. 

Speaking 

Timing

11-14 minutes 

Test Parts

There are 3 parts.

Part 1 Introduction and interviews (4-5 minutes)

The examiner introduces him/her and asks you to introduce yourself and confirm your identity. The examiner asks you general questions on familiar topics, e.g. home, family work, studies and interests.

Part 2 Individual long turn (3-4 minutes)

The examiner gives you a task card which asks you to talk about a particular topic and which includes points you can cover in your talk. You are given 1 minute to prepare your talk, and are given a pencil and paper to make notes. You talk for 1-2 minutes on the topic. The examiner may then ask you one or two questions on the same topic.

Part 3 Two-way discussion (4-5 minutes)

The examiner asks further questions which are connected to the topic of part 2. These questions give you an opportunity to discuss more abstract issues and ideas. 

Kills assessed

Wide ranges of reading skills are assessed, including:

• The ability to communicate opinions and information on everyday topics and common experiences and situations by answering a range of questions
• The ability to speak at length on a given topic using appropriate language and organizing ideas coherently.
• The ability to express and justify opinions and to analyses, discuss and speculate about issues.

Marketing

You are assessed on your performance throughout the test by certified IELTS examiners according to the IELTS Speaking test assessment criteria (fluency and coherence, Lexical Resources, Grammatical Range and Accuracy, Pronunciation). The public version of the assessment criteria can be found at

www.ielts.org/criteria.

Scores are reported in whole and half bands.

Test Prep Fee and Schedule

FEE: Rs.12,000/-
TIMINGS: (3:00 PM-4:30 PM) (6:00 PM-7:30 PM)
DAYS: 2 Days in a Week
Note: The examination fee of British Council is Rs.24,860/-