IELTS Registration, Exam Pattern, Syllabus, Cut-Off | EducationAsia.in

IELTS 2021

IELTS exam is conducted to judge the comprehensive understanding of English as a language among those who wish to drift in foreign countries; be it for study or work purposes. The exam is taken to test the reading, listening, speaking, and writing skills of aspiring students.  There are two types of IELTS exams i.e. 1) Academic Version 2) General Training Version. Academic Version exam is for those candidates who wish to get admission to foreign universities or institutions and for professionals from the Medical field immigrating to English-speaking countries for practicing purposes. General Training Version is for those individuals, who want to undertake non-academic training or to gain work experience. It’s an online exam that is offered 3-4 times a month. IELTS exam is conducted online as well as offline mode. Currently, over 130 countries use the IELTS exam’s score.

Highlights:

Name of exam International English Language Testing System (IELTS)
Conducting body British Council and IDP Education Ltd
Mode of exam Computer-based test (CBT)
Application fee Rs. 13,250/-
Exam frequency 3 - 4 times a month
Types of exam Two types:
1 - Academic Version
2 - General Training Version

IELTS Exam

The IELTS exam will take place 4 times in a given year. There are 48 fixed dates during which the IELTS exam will take place. There are two variants of the test:

IELTS Academic: The Academic version is available on all 48 dates

IELTS General Training: General Training Module will take place only on 24 dates.

The test generally takes place on Thursdays and Saturdays to make it convenient for the candidate.

Dates for LRW

The exam dates will vary for Listening, Reading and Writing (LRW) will take place on the same day but the Speaking Test will take place either before or after 7 days of the LRW tests. The test date will vary based on the city in which you want to take the IELTS test.

IELTS Exam City

Ahmedabad Dehradun Ludhiana Rudrapur
Ambala Gurgaon Mangalore Surat
Amritsar Hyderabad Moga Thane
Bangalore Jaipur Mumbai Trichur
Bhatinda Jalandhar Navi Mumbai Trivandrum
Bhopal Jammu New Delhi Vadodara
Calicut Karnal Noida Vijayawada
Chandigarh Kochi Patiala Visakhapatnam
Chennai Kolkata Pune -
Coimbatore Kottayam Rajkot -

IELTS Admit Card

Candidates will get an email regarding the admit card in their registered email address. No hard copy of the admit card will be sent to the candidates. The IELTS admit card will be available on the official website. Candidates who have successfully registered can download the admit card.

Steps to download the IELTS admit card:

  • Go to the official website of IELTS(Britishcounsil.in)
  • Click on the "IELTS Exam Admit Card Online"
  • Enter your registration number and date of birth
  • Click on the "Submit" button
  • The admit card will appear on the screen
  • Download and take a print out of the admit card

IELTS Syllabus

The syllabus of IELTS consists of 4 sections:

1. Listening:
Section 1:
 Here you will listen to two people having a conversation on everyday social topics such as arranging a trip, organizing an event, etc.
Section 2: Here you will listen to one person giving information on a general topic such as a public event, a service provided, etc.
Section 3: Here you will listen to a conversation between two to four people in an educational or training context such as an assignment for a course, an academic subject in a seminar, etc.
Section 4: This is a monologue on an academic or study-related topic. This means you will listen to a person given a lecture or talk, which is focused academically.

2. Reading:
In this section, you will get three long reading passages with tasks. Texts range from descriptive and factual to discursive, and analytical includes non-verbal material like diagrams, graphs, and illustrations texts are authentic (taken from books, journals, and newspapers).

3. Writing:
Task 1:
 Students are presented with a graph, table, chart or diagram and are asked to describe, summarize or explain the information in their own words. They may be asked to describe and explain data, describe the stages of a process, how something works or describe an object or event. The main purpose of this task is to see how well a student assimilates information and is able to put that understanding in his own words.
Task 2: Students are asked to write an essay in response to a point of view, argument or problem. Responses to both tasks must be in a formal style. The standpoint of the student should ideally be neutral, as this is an exercise where there are no correct or wrong answers, but rather the focus is on the correct style of writing.

4. Speaking:
Part 1:
 The examiner will ask you general questions about yourself, your family, interests, studies, work, etc.
Part 2: You will be given a card that asks you to speak on a given topic. You will have one minute to prepare before speaking.
Part 3: The examiner will ask you questions related to the topic given to you in Part 2, giving you the opportunity to discuss the issues and ideas connected to the topic.

IELTS Exam Pattern

With the excellent availability of the internet, the exam has become an Internet-based test. The internet-based test has certainly dominated the computer-based tests and paper-based tests. The test consists of Reading, Listening, Speaking and Writing.

  • Reading: In the Reading section, there are 3-4 passages of 700 words each, where students have to answer questions about main ideas, details, vocabulary, rhetorical purpose and overall ideas. 
  • Listening: The listening section includes six passages of 3-4 minutes in length. In this section, there are passages that include two student conversations and four academic lectures or discussions. Each conversation is heard only once. Each conversation will be associated with five questions, whereas each lecture with six. Questions in this section will be asked to determine the main ideas, important details, speaker purpose, and attitude.  
  • Speaking: The speaking section consists of six tasks: two independent tasks and four independent tasks. In independent tasks, the candidate has to answer opinion questions on familiar tasks. Candidates are judged on their ability to speak spontaneously and clearly
  • IELTS Paper Pattern:Listening: The total length of this section is 30 minutes and it is divided into four parts candidates have to answer different types of 40 questions.
  • Reading: The reading section comprises of three texts of general interest that deals with issues which are suitable for candidates going to pursue post-graduate or undergraduate program. The total time for this section is 30 minutes and it comprises almost 40 questions.
  • Writing: The duration of this section is 60 minutes and comprises of two questions where candidates are expected to write a short essay of a minimum of 250 words. In addition to this, students are given data, table, or diagram which the candidates have to explain in their own words.
  • Speaking: The total time of this section varies from 11 to 14 minutes and candidates also have to give a face-to-face interview. With the help of this section, the candidates are checked whether they can communicate effectively in the country where they have applied.

The speaking test will be assessed on four broad areas that have been listed below:-

  • Fluency and Coherence
  • Lexical Resource
  • Grammatical Area
  • Pronunciation 

The first three sections are scored out of 9 and the fourth is marked as 2, 4, 6 and 8. 

Section Duration Description
Listening 30 Minutes 4 Sections
Writing 60 Minutes 2 Writing
Reading 60 Minutes

3 Sections

40 Questions

Speaking 11-15 Minutes 3 Parts

IELTS Cut-Off

IELTS Band score accepted by different institutions in the USA:

Name of Institution IELTS Minimum Band Score (UG Courses) IELTS Minimum Band Score (PG Courses)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology 7.0 7.0
California Institute of Technology 7.0 7.0
Harvard University 7.0 7.0
Yale University 7.0 7.0
New York University 7.5 7.5
Northwestern University 7.5 7.5
University of Texas 6.5 6.5
Brown University 8.0 7.0
Ohio State University 6.5 7.0
Pennsylvania State University 6.5 6.5
Dartmouth College 7.0 7.0

IELTS Registration / Application Form

Candidates, who are interested in appearing for IELTS exam, must register themselves. Registration can be done in any one of the following three methods i.e. Online, Courier and in Person.

For Online Registration:

  • Go to the official website of IELTS
  • Go to 'Register for Test' option
  • Select your preferred test, test type, and available test date in the city
  • Provide your personal details
  • Provide registration details
  • Upload copies of your passport
  • Select the list of colleges where you want to send your Score Report
  • Review your details before making payment
  • Pay the exam fee of Rs. 13,250 through credit card

Registration by Courier:
Download the application form from IELTS official website
Complete the application form
Sign the application form and the Test terms and conditions sheet attached to the form
Attach Photocopy of your Passport (first and last page) AND any observation pages
Attach the Demand Draft for the test fee (demand draft must be drawn in favor of "IDP EDUCATION INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED, Payable at New Delhi" and drawn on any bank listed in the approved banks list in the Terms & Conditions document) or attach the original customer copy of the ICICI deposit slip depositing cash in nearest ICICI bank branch
Send the completed application form with all attachments and the test fee to the following address:
IDP Education India Pvt. Ltd.
Global Gateway Towers, Tower-B, 5th Floor, Sikanderpur Ghosi, Sector-26, M.G. Road, Gurugram -122002, Haryana, India
Tel: +91-124-4445999

Registration in Person:
Walk into any IDP branch/head offices or the nearest Input Node and use any of the following methods to register: 

  • Register online using the computer at the office and make payment of test fee by Credit card, get immediate confirmation of your seat (this is identical to online registration)
  • Hand over Photocopy of your Passport (first and last page) and any observation pages.
  • Hand over the Terms & Conditions document duly signed
  • Take the instant acknowledgment letter confirming your seat in the test

IELTS Result

The result of IELTS is declared within a week of commencement of the exam. The candidates have to provide their login credentials to view their results. The result will only be available for 40 days. There is no pass or fail in IELTS. IELTS results are classified on the 9 level IELTS band scores system ranging from 1 - 9.

IELTS Band Scores:

Correct Answers Band Score
39 - 40 9
37 - 38 8.5
35 - 36 8
32 - 34 7.5
30 - 31 7
26 - 29 6.5
23 - 25 6
18 - 22 5.5
16 - 17 5
13 - 15 4.5
11 - 12 4

IELTS Answer key

The organizing authority of the examination i.e. International English Language Testing System (IELTS) does not release any answer key for the entrance examination.

IELTS Eligibility

The is no such eligibility criteria is applied in the section of the candidate's educational qualification. Any candidate who wishes to study in an English speaking country and aim to gain global exposure can appear IELTS.

Age Limit:
The minimum age to appear for the IELTS is 16 and the candidate should have a valid passport.

A candidate is eligible if they fall into one of the following categories:

  • Planning to study in UK/Australia/Canada/New Zealand/USA
  • Being a medical professional, planning to work or study further in UK/Australia/USA
  • Planning to emigrate to Canada/Australia/New Zealand.

FAQs

Q: For how many years is the IELTS score valid?
A: The IELTS score is valid for 2 years.

Q: Can I transfer my test date?
A: Yes, only those transfer requests that are received more than five weeks before the test date will be considered. The candidate has to deposit an administrative charge of INR 3,000/- to request the transfer. Transfer requests received within the five-week period prior to the test date will not be considered.

Q: What is the application fee for the IELTS exam?
A: The application fee for the IELTS exam is Rs 13,250/-.

Q: Can I give the exam in offline mode?
A: No, the IELTS exam is available only in online mode i.e. it is a computer-based test.

Q: What is the syllabus of IELTS?
A: The syllabus of IELTS contains 4 sections:

  • Listening
  • Reading
  • Writing
  • Speaking.

Q: How is IELTS scored?
A: The IELTS is scored on the basis of band scores ranging from 1 - 9, 1 being the lowest and 9 being the highest.

Q: Which countries accept IELTS scores?
A: Over 130 countries accept IELTS scores including UK, Australia, New Zealand, USA, and Canada.

Q: How many times is the IELTS exam conducted in a year?
A: There are no fixed times IELTS is conducted per year.  Normally the frequency lies 3 times per month.

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