This is a general overview of the format of the Academic IELTS. Feel free to share with your friends. If you wish to prepare for the IELTS exam, contact me: angelos.bollas@gmail.com I offer short face-to-face and online courses.

1. Academic IELTS:
Exam Format
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2. Overview
● Listening
● Reading
● Writing
● Speaking

3. Listening: Overview
● 40 questions
● 30 minutes
● one point for each correct question
● Test takers will be given time to read the questions
before they hear the recording. At the end of each
recording, test takers will be given half a minute to
check answers.
● At the end of the recording, test takers will be given
10 minutes to transfer answers from the booklet to
the official answer sheet.

4. Listening: Skills
These are the skills tested in the exam (Lougheed, 2013: 13):
● Making assumptions
● Understanding numbers
● Understanding the alphabet
● Distinguishing similar sounds
● Listening for descriptions
● Listening for time
● Listening for frequency
● Listening for similar meanings
● Listening for emotions
● Listening for an explanation
● Listening for classifications
● Listening for comparisons and contrasts
● Listening for negative meaning
● Listening for chronology

5. Reading: Overview
● 60 minutes
● 3 passages
● 40 questions
● Answers must be written on the answer sheet -
there will be no time to transfer answers from
booklet to answer sheet.

6. Reading: Question Types
These are the question types of the reading part of the exam (Lougheed,
2013: 62):
● Multiple-choice questions
● Short-answer questions
● Completing sentences
● Completing notes, summary, tables, flowcharts
● Labeling a diagram
● Choosing headings for paragraphs or sections of a text
● Locating information
● Identifying points of view
● Identifying writer’s claims
● Classifying information
● Matching lists or phrases
● True, False, Not Given
● Yes, No, Not Given

7. Writing: Overview
● 2 writing tasks
● Task 2 is worth twice as much as Task 1
● Task 1 - 20 minutes - 150 words minimum
● Task 2 - 40 minutes - 250 words minimum

8. Writing: The Tasks
● Task 1 - 20 minutes - 150 words min.
o Describe or summarize facts and figures presented in
one or more charts, graphs, or tables.
o Or, explain a diagram of a machine, a device, or a
process.
● Task 2 - 40 minutes - 250 words min.
o Express an opinion and give examples to support your
ideas.
(Lougheed, 2013: 92)

9. Writing: Assessment Criteria
● Task Achievement
● Coherence and Cohesion
● Lexical Resource
● Grammatical Range and Accuracy

10. Speaking: Overview
● Three parts
● 11-14 minutes
● One test taker - one examiner
● Interview will be recorded

11. Speaking: the parts
● Part 1
o Answer questions about yourself and your activities
(4-5 minutes)
● Part 2
o Talk on a topic presented on a task card (3-4 minutes)
o Notes are allowed
● Part 3
o Discuss with examiner issues related to the topic in
Part 2 (4-5 minutes)

12. Speaking: Assessment Criteria
● Fluency and Coherence
● Lexical Resource
● Grammatical Range and Accuracy
● Pronunciation

13. What to do first?
● Listen to as much English as possible (songs, movies,
series, shows, radio, etc)
● Read as much and as varied texts as possible (books,
magazines, articles, reports, etc.)
● Blog about your learning experience - write one post
per day explaining what you do to improve your scores.
● Connect with candidates from other countries - share
your study habits and learn about theirs.
● Talk to your self.
● Create a persona - Be ready to answer questions about
him or her.

14. References
● Lougheed, Dr Lin. Barron's Ielts. N.p.: Barrons
Educational Series, 2013. Print.

15. Let’s connect and learn
together!
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