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IELTS | General Training Listening sample

IELTS | Test Takers - Academic or General Training?

There are two versions of IELTS to choose from:
IELTS Academic
IELTS General Training
IELTS Academic Institutions of Higher and Further Education
The Academic format is, broadly speaking, for those who want to study or train in an Englishspeaking university or Institutions of Higher and Further Education. Admission to
undergraduate and postgraduate courses is based on the results of the Academic test. IELTS
Academic may also be a requirement to join a professional organisation in an English-speaking
country.
General Training for school, work or migration
The General Training format focuses on general survival skills in broad social and workplace
contexts. It is typically for those who are going to English-speaking countries to do
secondary education, work experience or training programs. People migrating to
Australia, Canada and New Zealand must sit the General Training test.

IELTS | Test Takers - General Training Reading sample

The General Training Reading test is 60 minutes long.
A variety of questions are used, chosen from the following types; multiple choice, identifying
information, identifying writers views/claims, matching information, matching headings,
matching features, matching sentence endings, sentence completion, summary completion,
note completion, table completion, flow-chart completion, diagram label completion, shortanswer questions.

IELTS | Test Takers - General Training Writing sample

The General Training Writing test is 60 minutes long.
It has two writing tasks of 150 words and 250 words.
In Task 1, candidates are asked to respond to a situation, by writing a letter for example,
requesting information or explaining a situation.
In Task 2, candidates write an essay in response to a point of view, argument or problem.
Below are samples of Task 1 and Task 2. (Note that candidates for IELTS Academic do a
different Reading test to IELTS General Training).

IELTS | General Training Listening sample

IELTS | Test Takers - Speaking sample

In the Speaking test, you have a discussion with a certified Examiner. It is interactive
and as close to a real-life situation as a test can get.
The test is 11 to 14 minutes long with three parts.
In Part 1, you answer questions about yourself and your family.
In Part 2, you speak about a topic.
In Part 3, you have a longer discussion on the topic.
There are three parts to the test and each part fulfills a specific function in terms of interaction
pattern, task input and candidate output.
The Speaking test is the same for both Academic and General Training tests.

IELTS | Test Takers - Listening sample

The Listening test is 30 minutes long and is four recorded monologues and
conversations.
The Listening test is the same for both Academic and General Training tests.
The following IELTS Listening Sample Tasks are to be used with the Answer Sheet and MP3
audio files/transcripts. Each answer sheet indicates which Recording to listen to, or if a
transcript is provided.