IELTS Academic or IELTS General: What’s the Difference?

IELTS Academic or IELTS General: What’s the Difference? 

A lot of people doing the IELTS aren’t sure of which one to take: IELTS Academic or IELTS General.

Well, it depends on why you are doing the IELTS.

If you are doing it to get into an English-speaking university or professional registration, then you will need to do the IELTS Academic. If you are doing it for migration purposes, then you will need to do the IELTS General.

Which IELTS test is right for me? 

There are two types of the IELTS test: IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training.

All test takers take the same Listening and Speaking tests but different Reading and Writing tests. The distinction between IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training lies in the subject matter of the Reading and Writing components.

IELTS Academic
The IELTS Academic test is for people applying for higher education or professional registration in an English speaking environment. It reflects some of the features of academic language and assesses whether you are ready to begin studying or training.

This approach is widely supported by the institutions that recognise IELTS.

IELTS General Training
The IELTS General Training test is for those who are going to English speaking countries for secondary education, work experience or training programs. It is also a requirement for migration to Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the UK. The test focuses on basic survival skills in broad social and workplace contexts.

Many test-takers aren’t sure which IELTS test they need!

The IELTS test has 4 parts:

1. Writing (task 1 & 2) 
2. Reading 
3. Listening 
4. Speaking

Writing Task 2, Listening and Speaking are the same for both IELTS Academic and IELTS general.

Writing task 2 is an essay. You will be given an essay question to answer in 40 minutes by writing at least 250 words.

In the Listening test, you will hear 4 audio recordings and have to answer 40 questions. It lasts between 30-40 minutes.

In the Speaking test, you will be interviewed by an examiner. This test includes 3 parts: the interview, the short presentation and the discussion. It last between 11-14 minutes.

The only difference between the two tests is Writing Task 1 and Reading.

So, how are they different? I’ll start off with writing task 1 and then move onto the reading.

IELTS Academic or IELTS General: Writing Task 1

Academic

Describe and analyse data in one of the following:

• Bar chart
• Line graph
• Pie chart
• Table
• Diagram

General

Write a letter in one of the following styles:

• Formal (to someone you do not know)
• Semi-formal (to someone you know formally)
• Informal (to friend or family)

You get 20 minutes to complete both of these tasks and must write at least 150 words for each..

IELTS Academic or IELTS General: Reading

Academic

• 3 long passages increasing in difficulty
• Academic style texts (journal articles, text-book extracts)
• Texts related to academic topics such as science, history, sociology

General

• 4 short passages increasing in length and difficulty
• More general /everyday style texts
• Texts related to social survival (advertisements, notices etc.); workplace survival (job descriptions, employment contracts etc.); general texts (newspapers, magazines, travel brochures etc.)

You get an hour to complete both of these reading tasks (50 minutes of reading time and 10 minutes to transfer your answers onto your answer sheet). Both tests include 40 questions in total.

Which IELTS is for you: IELTS Academic or IELTS General?

Ahmad is applying to get into university in Australia. He wants to study a Master of Business at the University of Melbourne. Although he has graduated from an English-speaking university in Egypt, the University of Melbourne has requested an IELTS test. To be considered for acceptance into the Master’s program, Ahmad will need to complete the Academic IELTS.

Jaspreet is on a Working Holiday visa from India. She has applied for a job with an IT company in London. The company has asked for evidence of Jaspreet’s English ability. Jaspreet should complete the IELTS Academic.

Gabriela is a dentist from Brazil. She now lives in Sydney and wants to apply for registration with the Dental Board of Australia. In order to do so, Gabriela will need to complete the IELTS Academic.

Juan visited Ontario last year and met the love of his life. He now wants to migrate to Canada to be with her. As part of his application for immigration, Juan will need to complete the IELTS General.

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