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IELTS Exam Pattern
The IELTS exam has four sections: Listening (about 30 minutes, 40 questions), Reading (60 minutes, 40 questions), Writing (60 minutes, 2 tasks) and Speaking (11–14 minutes). Listening, Reading and Writing are taken together; Speaking may be on the same day or within a few days. Each section gets a band from 0 to 9, and your overall band is their average.
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- Sections
- Listening, Reading, Writing, Speaking
- Total time
- About 2 hours 45 minutes
- Scoring
- Band 0–9 per section; overall = average, rounded to the nearest half band
- Versions
- Academic and General Training
- Formats
- Paper-based or computer-delivered at a test centre
What is the IELTS exam pattern?
| Section | Time | Questions / tasks | Academic vs General |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listening | ~30 min | 40 questions, 4 parts | Same |
| Reading | 60 min | 40 questions, 3 sections | Different texts |
| Writing | 60 min | 2 tasks | Task 1 differs |
| Speaking | 11–14 min | 3 parts, face to face | Same |
Try every section with our free IELTS sample paper with answers.
IELTS Listening pattern
Four recordings, heard once only, with 40 questions in total.
- Part 1: a conversation in an everyday setting, such as booking a service.
- Part 2: one speaker in an everyday setting, such as a talk about local facilities.
- Part 3: a conversation in an education or training setting.
- Part 4: a talk on an academic subject.
Question types include form and note completion, multiple choice, matching, and map or plan labelling. Spelling counts. See the IELTS Listening guide.
IELTS Reading pattern
Three sections and 40 questions in 60 minutes. On paper there is no extra time to transfer answers.
- Academic: three long texts from books, journals, magazines and newspapers.
- General Training: shorter everyday and workplace texts first, then one longer general-interest text.
Question types include True/False/Not Given, matching headings, sentence and summary completion, and multiple choice. See the IELTS Reading guide.
IELTS Writing pattern
- Task 1 (at least 150 words, about 20 minutes): Academic describes a graph, table, chart, map or process. General Training writes a letter.
- Task 2 (at least 250 words, about 40 minutes): an essay giving an opinion, discussing views or solving a problem. Same type for both versions.
Task 2 counts twice as much as Task 1. Both are marked on Task Achievement/Response, Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource, and Grammatical Range and Accuracy. See how to score 7 in Writing.
IELTS Speaking pattern
- Part 1 (4–5 min): questions about you, your work or studies, and familiar topics.
- Part 2 (3–4 min): a cue card. You get one minute to prepare and speak for up to two minutes.
- Part 3 (4–5 min): a discussion of more abstract ideas linked to Part 2.
Marked on Fluency and Coherence, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range and Accuracy, and Pronunciation. See how to score 8 in Speaking.
Academic vs General Training: which pattern do you need?
Academic is for university admission and some professional registration. General Training is for work, migration and some training courses. For Canada PR, IRCC accepts IELTS General Training. Always check what your university or visa route asks for. Read General vs Academic for Canada PR.
How is the IELTS score calculated?
Each section gets a band from 0 to 9, in half bands. The overall band is the average of the four, rounded to the nearest half band (an average ending in .25 rounds up to .5, and .75 rounds up to the next whole band). Listening and Reading raw scores out of 40 are converted to bands. See IELTS band scores explained or try the band calculator.
Paper-based or computer-delivered IELTS?
Both have the same sections, question types, timing and scoring. On computer you type your answers; on paper you write by hand. Speaking is face to face with an examiner in both. Choose the format you are more comfortable with, especially for Writing: if you type faster than you write, computer-delivered can help. Check current formats and dates on ielts.org.
Last reviewed: 3 October 2026.
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Frequently asked questions
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Is the IELTS pattern the same for Academic and General Training?
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Is the computer IELTS pattern different from paper?
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