Latest syllabus for IELTS (2022)

Types of IELTS

Before diving into the exam pattern and syllabus, let’s discuss the various types of IELTS exams. So, there are two types of IELTS exams, they are as follows:

1. IELTS Academic

The candidates/ students who wish to apply for professional registration or higher education in countries where English is the main medium of communication are supposed to take the IELTS academic test.

The main objective of this test is to decide whether an applicant is ready to begin training and learning in English. The United Kingdom, United States, New Zealand, Australia and Canada are some countries that accept the score of IELTS for academic purposes.

2. IELTS General Training

This type of IELTS applies to people who wish to migrate to Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United Kingdom or the United States. Also, for all those who wish to apply for their secondary school, job experience or training programmes in a country whose main language is English.

The main focus of this exam is on checking the basic survival skills of the candidates in a broad workplace setting.

Syllabus for IELTS Exam

The wait is finally over! Let’s now go deep into understanding the syllabus of IELTS.

1. IELTS Reading syllabus

This section consists of 3 basic texts on the topic relevant for the candidates who wish to study for a postgraduate or undergraduate degree, work or move to other countries.

The reading module of the exam constitutes three sections with forty questions, most of which are MCQs.

Identifying the data for brief answer questions, summary or sentence completion, identifying the views of the writer and matching lists or phrases are some of the skills of the candidates which are examined. The students get 30 and 10 minutes of transfer time to solve this particular section. Below are some of the major differences between the syllabus of the two kinds of reading sections. They are: 

Academic IELTS 

• Three lengthy paragraphs are given in the exam which can be descriptive, factual or analytical.
• The most probable sources of the paragraphs are books, research works, journals or newspapers.
• Their main motive is to check the English skills of the students and working professionals.

General Training 

Three paragraphs are the same as the structure of the academic section. They can be from advertisements, company guidelines, brochures etc.

2. IELTS Listening Syllabus

The listening section of the exam is divided into four different sections. The starting two conversations are based on social needs whereas the next two are related to education.

These are around three minutes long. The conversations in the listening section can be both dialogues as well as monologues. These conversations can only be heard once. Different varieties of questions are asked in the exam, such as note completion, short answer type questions, sentence completion, labelling a diagram and many more.

Moreover, the total number of questions asked in this section is 40 and the duration is 30 minutes.

The first and second sections are concerned with day-to-day social situations.

• The first recording would consist of a conversation between the two people in an everyday social context. 
• The second recording would be a monologue set in an everyday social context.

Moreover, the third and fourth sections are about the training and educational situations.

• The third audio would be a conversation between 4 people in the training or educational context.
• The fourth and final audio would be a monologue on an academic subject.

3. IELTS Writing Syllabus

The writing section of IELTS consists of two tasks each in the two versions; General Training and Academic. We are going to discuss them both one by one.

IELTS Academic

The writing section generally consists of two tasks. The topics given are of general interest and they are suitable for all candidates who are planning to pursue their undergraduate or postgraduate degrees or looking for professional registration from abroad.

Task I:

The candidates would be provided with a table, graph, chart, or diagram. They are then asked to summarise, describe or explain that pictorial representation in their own words. The examiner can ask the test takers to describe a particular data, different stages of a process, a flowchart, an event or any object.

Task II:

In the second task, the candidates are supposed to write an essay regarding an argument, problem or point of view. The responses to both of these tasks should be in an academic and formal style. Also, the arguments should be supported by examples.

IELTS General Training:

The writing section of general training IELTS consists of two different tasks which are based on topics of general interest.

Task I:

The candidates/students will be given a situation and then they’ll be asked to describe that particular situation in a letter.  This letter can be formal, semi-formal and personal in style.

Task II:

In the second task, the test takers will be asked to write a review as a response to the arguments, problem or point of view. The essay in the general training can be more in style than the essays in the academic writing II task. The opinions in the essays should be supported by relevant examples.

4. IELTS Speaking syllabus

This is the most important part of the IELTS exam. The test happens as a face-to-face interview which lasts for about 11 to 14 minutes. Then, the examiners will evaluate you for your communication skills.

The whole session of the test is divided into three different parts. In each section, the examiner will communicate with you on different topics that are general and simple. The entire session of the test is recorded. 

It also consists of three different parts which are described below:

Part I:

• The examiners ask the basic questions about you in the first part.
• These questions will be about your academic achievements, personal life and family.
• The session lasts for about four to five minutes.

Part II:

• In the second part, you will be asked to prepare your speech.
• The duration of the speech should be at least 2 minutes.
• Also, the topic will be given to you, it will be mentioned on the card.

Part III:

The final session of the exam will be about your previous speech. In this section, you will need to share further thoughts or ideas. The duration of this part should be two to five minutes.

Strategy To Get 8 Score In IELTS

Everyone wishes to get an 8 score in IELTS. Here are the tips to get an 8 score on the IELTS exam.

• First things first,  build your vocabulary as much as you can. For that, begin reading more and more books, newspapers and magazines.
• To practise listening, play YouTube videos, play podcasts and outline what you have heard.
• Try to improve your grammar by taking notes of books and the punctuation and sentence structure they use.
• For writing, start practising topics each day. Read more and more 300 to 400-word articles and create frameworks to write an essay in a structured format.
• Work on reading the lengthy passages just by skimming. This is the section that will need the longest time during your IELTS test. Practice skimming the text and creating a mental note of the main points in the passage.
• As far as the speaking section is concerned, try not to memorise the answers. Try to use various grammatical structures and practice maintaining fluency instead of just using large unfamiliar words.

Conclusion

So, here comes the end. We have thoroughly discussed the exam pattern and syllabus of the IELTS exam. We believe you are now ready to take your first step toward your IELTS journey.

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