What is IELTS?

The International English Language Testing System is one of the toughest exams for English accepted worldwide. It evaluates the language proficiency of people who are willing to immigrate to English-speaking countries or are preparing for higher studies. Additionally, it was established in 1989 and jointly directed by the British Council, IDP Australia, and Cambridge Assessment English. In India, IDP Australia conducts the IELTS exam.

It is highly accepted in 140 countries by over 10,000 institutions and acknowledged by universities and companies in many big countries like Australia, Canada, New Zealand, The UK, The US, Ireland, and other countries where English is their native language.

Why is it necessary to pass IELTS?

Candidates can take the exam for the following objectives:

Students wanting to study abroad in countries such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States, Ireland, or anywhere where English is the medium of instruction or communication must take this test to demonstrate their English ability.
Work abroad- Many people who relocate overseas or want to work in English-speaking nations must take an English test to boost their chances of being recognized by employers. Nurses, doctors, engineers, accountants, and teachers are in high demand in many English-speaking countries.
Immigration abroad- Individuals wishing to immigrate to English-speaking nations must take the IELTS exam.

How to crack English Language Tests?

The test structure conducted on four abilities:

Listening
Reading
Writing
Speaking
The total test time is 2 hours and 45 minutes. Moreover, the evaluation of Reading, Writing, listening and speaking proficiency happens on the same day, and the speaking test might fall on another day sometimes.

An outline of the test structure :

I Speaking Test
(11-14 minutes) Speaking tests for candidates happens in three parts to check the speaking skills of the candidates.
Reading Test
(60 minutes) Assessment of the reading ability of the candidates.
Candidates need to answer 40 questions for evaluation.
Writing Test
(60 minutes) In the writing test, the candidate needs to complete two tasks and cover the topic of the candidate’s interest based on the module.
Listening Skill
(30 minutes) The listening ability of the candidate happens through four recordings, and then they need to answer the questions based on the recordings.
The listening and speaking test is conducted the same for both the Academic and General, but questions are different for Reading and writing tests.

IELTS Scoring System
The scoring system happens through four structures-reading, writing, speaking and listening. The scores of all 4 give a final result when rounded together.

Band Score Skill Level Description
9 Expert user Accurate and Fluent command on the language
8 Very-good user Full command with occasional inaccuracies
7 Good user Operational command with inappropriate usage and misunderstanding in some situations.
6 Competent user Effective command on language with inaccuracies in some situations but able to understand complex languages.
5 Modest user Partial command of the language but can cope with the meanings in most of situations.
4 Limited user Problem in understanding, expressing and unable to use complex language.
3 Extremely-limited user Breakdowns in communication with an understanding of general word meanings in familiar situations.
2 Intermittent user Hard to understand spoken and written English
1 Non-user No ability to use the language (except for some words)
0 Did not attempt Did not attempted the answer
Medium Of Test
The candidates can attempt IELTS via two mediums:

Computer-based Test Paper-based Test
The candidate can take the reading, listening, and writing tests on the computer on their preferred date (up to 7 days a week and three times a day) The candidate can take the reading, listening, and writing test on paper on their preferred date (up to 4 tests dates in a month or on 48 allotted dates throughout the year.
Results
The test results for the computer-based test are out in 3 to 5 days, and for the paper-based test, it takes 13 days. Besides, a candidate is issued only one TRF (test report form), Which is valid for two years.