The IELTS test, answered
IELTS tests four skills: Listening (about 30 minutes, 40 questions), Reading (60 minutes, 40 questions), Writing (60 minutes, two tasks) and Speaking (11 to 14 minutes with a certified examiner, in three parts, sometimes on another day). The whole test takes 2 hours 45 minutes. Each skill is reported as a band from 1 to 9: Speaking and Writing are marked against four criteria each, Listening and Reading from the number of correct answers out of 40, and the four are averaged into the Overall Band Score, rounded to the nearest half band. Every page below answers one specific question people ask about the test — how long each part lasts, how it is scored, what a band means, what happens if you get nervous, when results arrive, how to prepare — in a few sentences, checked against the pages IELTS, the British Council and IDP publish themselves. Start with a theme below, or use "Where to go next" to reach the site's practice tools directly.
106 questions answered · each one checked against the official IELTS pages
Every page names the official source it was checked against. How we work.
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Test format
What the test looks like: timing, parts, and how it is delivered.
How is the IELTS Speaking test conducted?
How the IELTS Speaking test runs: a face-to-face interview with a certified examiner, 11 to 14 minutes, recorded, in three parts: interview, a long turn from a task card, then a discussion.
How long is the IELTS Speaking test?
The Speaking test lasts 11 to 14 minutes in total: Part 1 runs four to five minutes, Part 2 (the cue card) takes about three to four minutes including your one
Is IELTS Speaking the same for General Training and Academic?
Yes. IELTS states that Speaking and Listening are identical in Academic and General Training; only Reading and Writing differ. Same examiner, same four criteria, same 11 to 14 minutes and three parts.
Is the IELTS Speaking test face to face?
Yes. IELTS Speaking is a live interview with a certified examiner, never an automated test. At some centres you take it by video call from a private room at the centre, with the same marking.
Is the IELTS Speaking test on the same day?
It depends on your centre and how you booked. On computer, Speaking is normally the same day, before or after the other parts; at some centres it can be on a different day, up to seven days before or after.
Is the IELTS Speaking test recorded?
Yes. The official format pages state that every IELTS Speaking test is recorded. Recording is routine, does not change how the examiner marks you, and is what makes a remark possible.
What is the IELTS Speaking test?
The IELTS Speaking test is an 11 to 14 minute face-to-face conversation with a certified examiner, recorded, and scored on four criteria: Fluency and
What type of questions are asked in the IELTS Speaking test?
IELTS Speaking asks three kinds of question: familiar-topic questions about you in Part 1, a task card in Part 2, and abstract discussion questions in Part 3.
How long is the IELTS Listening test?
The IELTS Listening test takes approximately 30 minutes, with four recordings and 40 questions. Computer adds no transfer time; paper, withdrawn from mid-2026, adds 10.
How long is the IELTS Reading test?
The IELTS Reading test lasts 60 minutes, with three sections and 40 questions. IELTS.org states the time includes transfer time, so nothing is added.
How long is the IELTS Writing test?
The IELTS Writing test lasts 60 minutes for two tasks. IELTS suggests about 20 minutes for Task 1 (150 words minimum) and 40 for Task 2 (250 words minimum).
How long is the whole IELTS test?
IELTS.org gives the test time as 2 hours 45 minutes: Listening about 30 minutes, Reading 60, Writing 60 and Speaking 11 to 14, sometimes on another day.
How many questions are in IELTS Listening?
IELTS Listening has 40 questions in four parts, each worth 1 mark. Parts 1 and 2 are everyday situations; Parts 3 and 4 are educational. Six question types.
How many questions are in IELTS Reading?
IELTS Reading has 40 questions in three sections, each worth 1 mark. IELTS.org lists 11 question types for Academic and eight for General Training.
How to register for IELTS?
Register for IELTS online: choose the test type and format, pick a city and date, submit the application with a passport copy, and pay the fee set locally.
What is the difference between IELTS Academic and General Training?
Reading and Writing differ between IELTS Academic and General Training; Listening and Speaking are the same. Academic suits study, General Training migration.
Where can I take the IELTS test?
Take IELTS at an official centre run through partners such as IDP and the British Council, or at home for Academic only. The official search finds a centre.
Is there a difference between IDP and British Council IELTS?
IDP and the British Council are joint owners of IELTS, so the test is the same. What differs is which partner runs the centres where you live. How to check.
Is PTE harder than IELTS?
No body ranks PTE Academic against IELTS. Pearson relates PTE 63 to IELTS 7 and the IELTS Partners' study gives 66.3, so the two tables differ.
Is TOEFL harder than IELTS?
No official body ranks TOEFL against IELTS. ETS publishes a score comparison on its 1 to 6 scale, and difficulty depends on which format suits you.
What are the top 5 English language tests?
No official source ranks English tests. Five publish a comparison with IELTS: IELTS, TOEFL iBT, PTE Academic, Cambridge English and the Duolingo English Test.
Scoring
How the four criteria turn into a band, and how bands are combined.
How is IELTS Speaking scored?
A certified examiner scores your Speaking test live against four equally weighted criteria, and the average of those four becomes your band on the 0-9 scale.
How is the overall IELTS score calculated?
Your overall IELTS band is the average of the four section scores rounded to the nearest half band: an average ending in .25 rounds up to the half band, .75 up to the whole band. With worked examples.
How many bands does IELTS have?
IELTS has nine bands, from band 1 (non-user) to band 9 (expert user), plus band 0 for a test not attempted. Scores come in whole and half bands: nineteen possible scores, no pass or fail.
How do you get band 8 in IELTS Speaking?
What Band 8 asks for on each of the four IELTS Speaking criteria, how it differs from Band 7, and the rule about fully meeting a band's positive features.
Is 6.5 a good score in IELTS Speaking?
A 6.5 in IELTS Speaking sits between band 6 (competent user) and band 7 (good user). Whether it is enough depends on where you apply. It is an average of four criteria, which shows where to work next.
Is band 7 in IELTS good?
On the nine-band scale, band 7 is the good user level. Whether it is good enough is a separate question, because every institution sets its own required scores.
Is IELTS Speaking marked immediately?
The examiner assesses you during the test, but no score is given in the room. Your Speaking band arrives with the rest of your results, and the wait varies.
What are the IELTS Speaking criteria?
The four IELTS Speaking criteria: Fluency and Coherence, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range and Accuracy, Pronunciation. What each assesses, and why one weak criterion holds your band down.
Who marks the IELTS Speaking test?
A certified IELTS examiner conducts your Speaking test and marks it at the same time. Here are the qualifications they need and the checks that follow.
Can you predict your IELTS Speaking score before the test?
Only roughly. The Speaking criteria are public, so a recorded answer checked against the band descriptors gives a likely range, not an exact band.
How is the IELTS Listening score calculated?
Each of the 40 Listening questions is worth one mark, and the total is converted to a band from 1 to 9 in whole or half bands. Band 7 is 30 marks, band 8 is 35.
How is the IELTS Reading score calculated?
IELTS Reading has 40 questions, one mark each, converted to a band. General Training usually needs more correct answers than Academic for the same band.
How is the IELTS Writing score calculated?
Certified examiners mark each Writing task on four criteria, and Task 2 counts twice as much as Task 1. The result is reported as a whole or half band.
How to get Band 7 in IELTS Writing?
Band 7 Writing needs a developed position, clear progression, some less common vocabulary and frequent error-free sentences, per the public descriptors.
What do IELTS band scores mean?
IELTS bands describe English ability from 1 (non-user) to 9 (expert user) in whole and half bands. Band 0 means the test was not attempted.
What IELTS score is required for Australia immigration?
Australia sets five English levels: functional needs a 4.5 average, then 5, 6, 7 and 8 in each IELTS skill. Your visa decides which level applies.
What IELTS score is required for Canada immigration?
For Express Entry you take IELTS General Training, and IRCC converts bands to CLB levels. The Federal Skilled Worker minimum is CLB 7, or 6.0 in each skill.
What is a good IELTS score?
A good IELTS score is the one your university, employer or government body asks for. IELTS has no pass mark and each organisation sets its own requirement.
What CEFR level is my IELTS band?
IELTS aligns its overall bands with the CEFR: 4 to 5 is B1, 5.5 to 6.5 is B2, 7 to 8 is C1, 8.5 to 9 is C2; bands 5 and 8 are borderline.
What is my IELTS band as a Duolingo English Test score?
Duolingo relates a Duolingo English Test overall of 120 to 125 to IELTS 6.5, 130 to 135 to IELTS 7 and 150 to 155 to IELTS 8 on its scoring page.
What is my IELTS band in PTE Academic scores?
Pearson relates PTE Academic 55 to IELTS 6.5, 63 to IELTS 7 and 79 to IELTS 8, each the minimum score for the band, on its current concordance.
What is my IELTS band in TOEFL iBT scores?
ETS relates IELTS 6.5 to TOEFL iBT 4.5, IELTS 7 to 5 and IELTS 8 to 6 on the 1 to 6 scale of 21 January 2026. The table, the old scale, the caveats.
How can I get 8.5 in IELTS Reading?
IELTS.org lists 35 of 40 marks for band 8 in Academic Reading. Indicative tables place 8.5 at 37 or 38 marks. The rest is which question types lose you marks.
How can I get 8.5 in IELTS Speaking?
IELTS publishes no 8.5 Speaking descriptor. An 8.5 sits between the band 8 and band 9 wording on all four criteria, which carry equal weight.
How can I get 8.5 in IELTS Writing?
IELTS publishes no 8.5 Writing descriptor. An 8.5 sits between the band 8 and band 9 wording on all four criteria, with Task 2 weighted more than Task 1.
Is 4.5 a fail in IELTS?
IELTS has no pass or fail, so 4.5 is not a fail. It sits between a limited user and a modest user, and each organisation sets its own required score.
Is a 7.5 IELTS score easy?
A 7.5 sits between good user and very good user on the nine-band scale. In IELTS.org's published data, 45% of English and 10% of Uzbek speakers reach it.
Is a 7 IELTS score easy?
IELTS publishes no easy or hard rating. In its published data, 64% of English and 22% of Uzbek speakers who took Academic reached an overall 7.0 or above.
What is 27 out of 40 in IELTS Reading?
IELTS.org lists 23 marks for Academic band 6 and 30 for band 7, so 27 is between them. Indicative tables read it as 6.5 Academic, 5.5 General.
Part 1
The short warm-up questions about you, your home and your routine.
Do IELTS Speaking questions repeat?
IELTS Speaking topic areas repeat by design (home, family, work, studies, interests), but IELTS publishes no question bank, so lists of repeated questions are candidate reports.
How many questions are in IELTS Speaking Part 1?
IELTS publishes no number of Part 1 questions, only a time: four to five minutes on home, family, work, studies or interests. One-word answers bring more questions and lower marks.
What are common IELTS Speaking topics?
The IELTS Speaking topics that come up most: the official Part 1 areas (home, family, work, studies, interests), the Part 2 cue card families, and how Part 3 follows the card.
Part 2
The cue-card turn of one to two minutes, and the minute of prep before it.
How long is IELTS Speaking Part 2?
IELTS Speaking Part 2 takes three to four minutes: one minute to prepare with pencil and paper, one to two minutes to speak, then one or two questions. The examiner stops you at two minutes.
What is a cue card in IELTS?
A cue card, officially a task card, is the card the examiner hands you in IELTS Speaking Part 2: one topic, points to cover, one minute to prepare, one to two minutes to speak.
Part 3
The abstract discussion that follows your cue card.
Fluency
Keeping going without losing the thread, and what counts against you when you lose it.
How do you improve IELTS Speaking fluency?
What the Fluency and Coherence criterion actually measures, why speaking faster does not raise it, and the specific habits that move you from one band description to the next.
What to do if you forget what to say in IELTS Speaking?
If your mind goes blank in IELTS Speaking, say so naturally, buy a moment and give any view you can. What to do in Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3, and what to avoid.
Vocabulary
The words and phrases the examiner is actually listening for.
Grammar
Range and accuracy: the sentences you can build, and how correctly you build them.
Pronunciation
How you sound, not just what you say.
The examiner
Who is in the room, what they are allowed to do, and what they are not.
Are IELTS Speaking examiners native speakers?
Native-speaker status is not an IELTS examiner requirement. The published criteria are a degree, a recognised English teaching qualification and teaching experience.
Can you ask the IELTS examiner to repeat a question?
Yes, and it does not lower your score. In Part 1 the examiner repeats the same question more clearly or slowly; in Part 3 they can rephrase it for you. What to say when you ask, and what not to do.
How do you greet the IELTS Speaking examiner?
No greeting is prescribed for the IELTS Speaking test. Official pages describe the examiner introducing themselves and checking your identity — here is what that means.
What do IELTS examiners look for?
Examiners assess four criteria in Speaking and four in Writing, against public band descriptors. They do not mark your opinions, accent as such or appearance.
Who marks the IELTS test?
Qualified IELTS examiners assess Writing and Speaking; Listening and Reading are scored one mark per correct answer out of 40. Examiners are monitored.
Nerves and mistakes
Common slips, and how much a single one actually costs.
Results and retakes
When results arrive, how to read them, and what a remark or retake involves.
Can I retake IELTS Speaking only?
You can retake IELTS Speaking on its own through One Skill Retake, but only after a full IELTS on computer test at a participating centre and within 60 days.
Can you get your IELTS Speaking score re-marked?
Yes. An Enquiry on Results is a re-mark by senior IELTS examiners, applied for within six weeks of your test date, and it can cover Speaking on its own.
Do universities accept IELTS One Skill Retake?
Some do and some do not: acceptance is each organisation's own decision, so IELTS says to check with the university before you book. Australia, New Zealand and the UK accept it for visas.
How many times can you retake IELTS?
There is no published limit on how many full IELTS tests you can sit, and no mandatory waiting period. One Skill Retake is capped at once per full test.
How do you book IELTS One Skill Retake?
Book IELTS One Skill Retake through the centre or account you used for your full IELTS on computer test, after results are released and within 60 days.
How do you check your IELTS Speaking score?
Your Speaking band appears in the Test Taker Portal or the account you booked through, next to Listening, Reading and Writing and your overall band score.
What is IELTS One Skill Retake?
IELTS One Skill Retake lets you sit one of the four skills again after a full IELTS on computer test, within 60 days, and issues a new Test Report Form.
When do IELTS Speaking results come out?
There is no separate Speaking result. All four bands are released together: 1 to 5 days for IELTS on computer, 6 to 8 for IELTS Online, up to 13 on paper where it is still offered.
How much does IELTS One Skill Retake cost?
IELTS publishes no global One Skill Retake fee: each country and test centre sets its own, and IDP says it is the same whichever skill you retake, with no separate registration fee.
Is IELTS One Skill Retake free?
No. IELTS One Skill Retake is a separately booked, paid test, and the fee is set by your local test centre rather than published as one global figure by IELTS.
Can I retake IELTS Writing only?
You can retake IELTS Writing on its own through One Skill Retake, if your full test was IELTS on computer, your centre offers it and you sit within 60 days.
How long are IELTS results valid?
IELTS recommends that a result shows your English for a maximum of two years. Each organisation decides whether to accept an older Test Report Form.
How do you get your IELTS Test Report Form?
You see results in the Test Taker Portal, then receive the Test Report Form on paper from your centre or as an eTRF. Copies and sending, as IELTS and IDP state.
When do IELTS One Skill Retake results come out?
IELTS.org says IELTS One Skill Retake results arrive within 3 to 5 days. You get a new Test Report Form showing the retaken skill marked as a retake.
When do IELTS results come out?
IELTS results come out 13 days after a paper test, in 1 to 5 days for IELTS on computer and in 6 to 8 days for IELTS Online, as IELTS.org and IDP state.
How rare is 8.5 in IELTS?
IELTS.org's published distribution puts an overall 8.5 or above at 8% of Academic English speakers and 1% of Arabic speakers, with what 8.5 means.
Computer, paper and video call
Computer-delivered and video-call Speaking tests, the paper withdrawal, and how they differ.
Can you do IELTS online at home?
IELTS Online lets you sit the Academic test remotely, including Speaking by video call. It has age, equipment, room and acceptance limits, and availability varies by country.
IELTS on computer vs IELTS on paper: what is the difference?
Same questions, same timing, same marking. What changes is typing versus handwriting, the ten minutes of Listening transfer time, and how long you wait for results.
Is IELTS Online accepted by universities?
Acceptance of IELTS Online is decided institution by institution, so confirm with yours directly. It is never accepted for immigration or professional registration purposes.
Is IELTS Speaking computer based?
Even in an IELTS on computer test, only Listening, Reading and Writing are on screen. Speaking stays a live interview with a trained examiner, in person or by video call.
Is IELTS Speaking on a video call?
Video call Speaking runs from a private room at some test centres with the examiner elsewhere. IELTS Online brings the call to your own location. Marking is the same.
Is the IELTS Speaking test online or offline?
Speaking is in person at a test centre if you book IELTS on computer (or on paper, where it is still offered), and a video call from your own location if you book IELTS Online.
When is the Speaking test for computer-based IELTS?
For IELTS on computer the Speaking test is usually the same day, before or after the other three sections. IDP says some test centres schedule it up to seven days before or after the test date.
Which IELTS is better, paper or computer?
Question types, timing, content and marking are identical in both formats. Choose on typing speed, results timing, Listening transfer time and what your centre offers.
How does IELTS on computer work?
On computer you take Listening, Reading and Writing on screen and type your answers. Speaking stays face to face with an examiner; results take 1 to 5 days.
Is IELTS Speaking formal or informal?
IELTS Speaking is a conversation, so natural, neutral spoken English works best. IELTS publishes no formality label, and overusing formal words can hurt.
What is IELTS Online?
IELTS Online is IELTS Academic taken on your own computer, with human and AI remote proctoring and Speaking by video call. It is not accepted for immigration.
Preparation
How long to prepare, and what a sensible routine looks like.
How long does it take to prepare for IELTS Speaking?
What official IELTS guidance says about how long it takes to move a band score, the factors that decide your own timeline, and how to plan Speaking preparation without a fake deadline.
How do you answer IELTS Speaking questions?
How to answer IELTS Speaking questions in each part: the right length, the shape that works, why memorised answers backfire, and what to say when your mind goes blank.
How do you improve IELTS Speaking from 5.5 to 7?
What changes between Band 5, Band 6 and Band 7 on each IELTS Speaking criterion, why 5.5 to 7 is three steps rather than one jump, and where to start.
How hard is IELTS?
IELTS has no pass or fail, so its difficulty depends on the band you need. Band descriptors run from 1 to 9, and each organisation sets its own required score.
How to improve your IELTS Listening score?
Improve IELTS Listening with official sample tests, practice with a recording heard once, and by removing spelling and word-limit errors that cost marks.
How to improve your IELTS Reading score?
Improve IELTS Reading with about 20 minutes per passage and practice by question type. General Training needs more correct answers than Academic per band.
How to improve your IELTS Writing score?
Improve IELTS Writing by working on the four marking criteria, giving Task 2 the most attention because it counts twice as much, and meeting both word minimums.
How to prepare for IELTS?
Prepare for IELTS: learn the format of your test type, practise with official sample questions and time each skill. IELTS sets no fixed preparation time.
How to prepare for IELTS Speaking at home?
Prepare for IELTS Speaking at home by recording full answers, timing Part 2 with one minute to prepare, and judging yourself on the four official criteria.
What are common IELTS Writing Task 2 topics?
IELTS publishes no list of Task 2 topics. The commonly reported themes, with example question angles, and how to prepare by theme and by essay shape.
Can I crack IELTS in 7 days?
IELTS has no pass or fail, and IELTS.org warns about one-week success stories. Seven days can teach the format and timing; they are unlikely to move a band.
Can I score 7 in IELTS in 1 month?
IELTS.org cites two studies where students took about three months, on average, to gain up to half a band. A month can fit a half-band gap, not a full band.
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