IELTS – An international standard test that assesses the level of English proficiency among non-English speakers. Developed in 1989, it is jointly managed by the University of Cambridge and the British Council. . There are two different versions of IELTS: https://www.idp.com/hongkong/ielts-hk/prepare-for-ielts/?lang=en academic (academic) and general (general education).
IELTS Academic
The academic version https://www.idp.com/hongkong/study-in-uk/?lang=en for those who want to enroll and study in higher education institutions, as well as for professionals (such as health professionals, lawyers) who will work in their specialty in an English-speaking environment
General education
Designed for work in other specialties, for studies outside higher education institutions, as well as for immigrants. Most British, Australian and Irish educational institutions and more than 3,000 American and Canadian universities rely on IELTS results.
There is no minimum threshold to pass the test. Based on its results, a score of 0 to 9 is assigned to you and each organization defines its success threshold. Organizations are advised not to take into account test results of more than two years if the candidate does not confirm that they have worked to maintain their level. In 2012, more than 2 million people took the IELTS test.
Listening
It consists of four parts of increasing complexity and lasts 40 minutes, of which 30 are reserved for the hearing and 10 minutes for the transfer of answers on the examination sheet. Each section is either dialogue or a monologue, begins with the introductory part, which explains the situation and the knowledge of the speakers.
Each skill is evaluated separately. The conversation is face-to-face with the examiner with a mandatory record if the results are called. Then the candidate has a little time to examine the questions. The first three parts of the test pause when the candidate can re-examine the questions and assess the points that you should pay close attention to when listening. Each part is listened to only once.
Reading test (reading)
This part of the test lasts 60 minutes. The academic version consists of three parts – three texts, for each part – 13-14 questions, in total 40 questions must be answered. The general version can include up to 5 shorter texts, as well as 40 questions.
Writing
In the academic version, the writing consists of two parts. In the first part, the candidates describe the schema, the timetable, the schema – a process and in the second part, the arguments “for” or “against” on a given subject, that is to say, to emphasize the advantages and disadvantages, expressing their opinion on this issue.
There are also two tasks in the general test version. The first is to write a letter or explain the situation and the second part to write an essay (see article). Some video tips from the Oxford School of English on writing a good essay.
