What Is IELTS? Format, Timing and Scoring

IELTS has four sections — Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking — and each one is scored separately on a scale from 0 to 9; your overall score is the average of the four. The whole test takes about 2 hours and 45 minutes, and results are generally accepted for two years. One thing you don't decide yourself is which version to sit: the institution you're applying to does that for you.

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Beginner's guide

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How many sections does IELTS have, and how long does it take?

There are four sections. Listening, Reading and Writing are taken in a single sitting, one straight after the other. Speaking is a face-to-face interview with an examiner, held either on the same day or on a date close to it.

  • Listening — 4 parts, 40 questions, about 30 minutes (you hear each recording once)
  • Reading — 3 passages, 40 questions, 60 minutes
  • Writing — 2 tasks (at least 150 words for Task 1 and 250 for Task 2), 60 minutes
  • Speaking — 3 parts, 11–14 minutes, face to face with an examiner

How is the band score calculated?

Each section is marked from 0 to 9 in half bands. Your overall band score is the average of the four, rounded to the nearest half or whole band: an average of 6.25 becomes 6.5, while an average of 6.125 becomes 6.0.

In Listening and Reading, the number of questions you answer correctly is converted into a band. Writing and Speaking are each assessed against four separate criteria, so a weakness in just one criterion pulls down the band for the whole section.

Academic or General Training: how do you choose?

The choice isn't really yours — it depends on the institution you're applying to. Universities and academic programmes usually ask for Academic, while immigration applications and many employers ask for General Training. The two versions differ only in Reading and Writing Task 1; Listening and Speaking are exactly the same in both.

What band score is good enough?

There's no universal threshold: the score that counts is the one your institution asks for. Undergraduate programmes often ask for 6.0–6.5 and postgraduate programmes for around 6.5–7.0, and some also set a minimum for each section. Confirm the institution's official requirement before you settle on a target.

Booking the test in Turkey

In Turkey, IELTS is run by the British Council and IDP. You book the test directly with one of them and pay the exam fee to them. We teach the preparation; we don't take exam bookings or collect exam fees.

IELTS exam fee in Turkey

Common mistakes at the start

  • Guessing which version to sit instead of asking the institution
  • Studying general English without ever preparing for the test format
  • Concentrating on one section without realising the overall score is an average of all four
  • Not checking whether the institution sets a minimum score for each section
  • Starting preparation without measuring your level, and spending time in the wrong places

Frequently asked questions

The whole test takes about 2 hours and 45 minutes. Listening, Reading and Writing are taken in one sitting, back to back, and together take about 2 hours and 30 minutes; Speaking is a separate 11–14-minute interview held on the same day or on a date close to it.

No. Nobody passes or fails IELTS. Your result is a band score from 0 to 9, and the institution you're applying to decides what score is enough.

Results are generally accepted for two years from the test date. Some institutions ask for a more recent result, so check their requirement as well.

You can, but it isn't a good idea. IELTS tests how well you know the format as well as your English; candidates who aren't familiar with the question types or with managing the time can score below what they expected, even when their English is good.

You register directly with the British Council or IDP, and you pay the exam fee to them. We provide preparation; we don't take exam registrations.

No. IELTS has no maths section and no maths questions; it measures English language proficiency only, through the Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking sections. The only place where numbers come in is Academic Writing Task 1, and even there you aren't asked to calculate anything — you describe the trends in a graph or table in written English.

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