IELTS: about the Academic version
Upper-intermediate to advanced level (B2-C2)
There are two IELTS exams: the General and the Academic version.
Almost all people who plan to go to college or university take the IELTS Academic version. The difference is that the reading and writing parts of the exam are not the same as in the General version. The other questions are the same.
The reading and writing parts are designed to be suitable for undergraduates.
Academic Reading (60 minutes)
There are 3 sections and each section has a text to read. The texts are real and can be from books, newspapers, magazines or academic journals.
The text could be descriptive, factual, analytical or present an argument. It might contain graphs, images or diagrams.
Academic Writing (60 minutes)
There are 2 tasks. Both tasks require a formal style of writing. The examiners will look at:
- the range of your grammar and vocabulary
- whether you did what was required
- whether your ideas and sentences are logical and connect well
- how accurate your writing is (how many mistakes you make)
First task (minimum 150 words):
You have to explain, summarise or describe a graph, table, chart or diagram. Spend about 20 minutes on this question.
Example question: Summarise the most important information in the table below. Mention any significant differences and similarities.
| Bus company | Omni | Axisa | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average age of buses | 5 | 3 | ||
| Cost of 5km (pence) | 180 | 220 | ||
| Customer satisfaction (%) | 80 | 60 | ||
| Punctuality (%) | 90 | 93 |
Second task (minimum 250 words):
You have to write an essay about a problem or argument/point of view. Spend about 40 minutes on this question.
Example question: Today, people in India, the USA and Nigeria can listen to the same music, wear the same clothes and see the same films. Is this a good thing?
More practice
Here is a great website for detailed IELTS training http://www.dcielts.com/writing-2/