The exam at a glance
Which result you need
| Goal | Usually required |
|---|---|
| Studying in the UK | Bachelor’s usually 6.0–6.5, master’s 6.5–7.0, often with at least 5.5–6.0 in each part |
| Competitive programmes: medicine, law, top universities | Often 7.0 or higher with a minimum in every part; Writing is usually the hardest one to reach |
| English-taught degrees in continental Europe (the Netherlands, Germany, Scandinavia) | Often 6.0–6.5, more for the most selective programmes |
| Migration to Canada or Australia | Usually General Training, with a minimum score in each of the four parts; in points-based systems a higher score often earns more points |
| Professional registration (doctors, nurses) | Often 7.0 or higher, frequently in every part; the exact rules depend on the country and the regulator |
The exam part by part
Four parts of 10 questions each, 40 in total, and you hear every recording only once. Part 1 is an everyday conversation (a booking, renting a flat, joining a course); Part 2 a monologue on an everyday topic (a guided tour, local services); Part 3 an academic discussion, for example students and a tutor talking about an assignment; Part 4 a lecture on an academic subject. Tasks include form, note and table completion, multiple choice, matching and labelling a map or plan. On paper you get 10 extra minutes at the end to transfer your answers to the answer sheet; on computer, 2 minutes to check them.
Tips- Use the pause before each part to read the questions, underline key words and predict the type of answer: a number, a name, a date, a noun. Then you listen for something specific instead of everything at once.
- Expect distractors: speakers often correct themselves (“Tuesday, oh sorry, Thursday”), and the corrected version is the answer. Answers come in question order, so if you miss one, move straight on to the next.
- A misspelt answer or one word over the limit is marked wrong. Practise the English alphabet by ear (names and streets are spelt out), numbers, dates and plurals; British and American spellings are both accepted.
Three sections and 40 questions. Academic has three long texts from books, journals, magazines and newspapers, usually getting harder as you go. General Training starts with short everyday texts (notices, adverts, timetables), continues with work-related texts (job ads, instructions, company rules) and ends with one longer text on a general topic. Question types: True / False / Not Given (facts) and Yes / No / Not Given (the writer’s views), matching headings to paragraphs, finding which paragraph contains a piece of information, sentence and summary completion, short answers.
Tips- Keep to about 20 minutes per text. If a question resists, mark it and move on: every answer is worth one mark, and the third Academic text is the hardest.
- Skim the text for 2–3 minutes to see what each paragraph is about, then scan for key words. Many question types follow the order of the text; matching tasks usually don’t.
- Questions almost always paraphrase the text: the question says rise, the text says increase or go up. Learn synonyms and collocations rather than single words, because that is what Reading really tests.
Two tasks. Academic Task 1: describe a graph, chart, table, map or process in at least 150 words. General Training Task 1: a letter (formal, semi-formal or informal), also at least 150 words. Task 2 in both versions: an essay of at least 250 words in which you give and support an opinion, discuss two views or suggest solutions to a problem. Task 2 is worth twice as much as Task 1, and answers under the word limit lose marks. Four criteria: Task Achievement (Task Response in Task 2), Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range and Accuracy.
Tips- Split your time 20 and 40 minutes. Task 2 counts double, so don’t polish the chart at the expense of the essay; you are allowed to start with Task 2.
- Academic Task 1 needs an overview: the two or three main trends or differences in one or two sentences; without it, Task Achievement usually stays at 5 or below. Don’t list every number or explain causes: describe and compare the data, with no opinions. In a General Training letter, cover every bullet point and keep the right tone.
- Spend 5 minutes planning the essay: a clear position in the introduction, one main idea per paragraph with an explanation and an example, a conclusion. Leave 3–5 minutes to check articles, tenses, agreement and spelling.
A one-to-one conversation with an examiner, which is recorded. Part 1 (4–5 minutes): questions about you, your work or studies, your home and interests. Part 2 (3–4 minutes): a task card, one minute to prepare with notes and a talk of 1–2 minutes. Part 3 (4–5 minutes): a discussion of more general, abstract questions linked to the Part 2 topic. Four criteria: Fluency and Coherence, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range and Accuracy, Pronunciation; an accent alone does not lower your score, what counts is being easy to understand.
Tips- In Part 1, answer in two or three sentences: answer, reason, example. A bare “Yes, I do” shows no language, and a long speech eats the time for other questions.
- In Part 2, use the whole minute: note two or three key words for each point on the card, not full sentences. Keep talking until the examiner stops you, and practise with a timer so that 2 minutes feels normal.
- Part 3 is about reasoning: an opinion, a reason, a comparison, an example from society. If you don’t understand a question, you can ask the examiner to repeat or rephrase it; memorised answers are easy to spot and don’t help.
How it is scored
Each part gets a band from 0 to 9 in half-band steps, and the overall band is their average rounded to the nearest half band: 6.25 becomes 6.5 and 6.75 becomes 7.0. There is no pass or fail: each university or authority sets the overall score it needs and often a minimum for each part.
How many words you need
For IELTS 6.5 you need roughly 3,500–3,750 English words that you recognise when reading, and for 7.0 and above about 4,000 or more. That is what learners at upper B2 and C1 know (Milton and Alexiou, 2009). Below: how the exam works, which band matches which level and how to build the vocabulary you need.
| IELTS band | CEFR level | Words you recognise |
|---|---|---|
| 4.0–5.0 | B1 | 2,750–3,250 |
| 5.5–6.5 | B2 | 3,250–3,750 |
| 7.0–8.0 | C1 | 3,750–4,500 |
| 8.5–9.0 | C2 | 4,500–5,000 |
Not sure how many words you know? Take the free English vocabulary test: 3 minutes, an estimate up to 5,000 words and your CEFR level.
Take the English vocabulary test →Vocabulary by exam topic
- carbon emissions carbon dioxide released into the air, mainly by burning fuel
- renewable energy power from sources that do not run out, such as sun and wind
- fossil fuels coal, oil and gas, formed underground over millions of years
- deforestation cutting down forests over a large area
- biodiversity the variety of plant and animal life in a place
- endangered species animals or plants in danger of dying out
- sustainable development growth that meets today’s needs without harming future generations
- to tackle climate change to take action against global warming
- compulsory education schooling that children must attend by law
- tuition fees money paid for teaching at a university or college
- curriculum the subjects and content of a course or school programme
- vocational training practical training for a particular job or trade
- distance learning studying remotely, usually online, without attending classes in person
- academic performance how well a student does in their studies
- critical thinking the ability to analyse information and judge it carefully
- rote learning memorising by repetition without real understanding
- technological advances new developments and progress in technology
- automation using machines and software to do work that people used to do
- cutting-edge the newest and most advanced
- data privacy keeping personal information safe from misuse
- the digital divide the gap between people with access to modern technology and those without
- screen time time spent looking at phones, computers or TV
- to become obsolete to go out of use because something better exists
- to rely heavily on to depend very much on
- sedentary lifestyle a way of life with very little physical activity
- obesity the condition of being seriously overweight
- a balanced diet eating the right amounts of different kinds of food
- life expectancy the average number of years people live
- chronic disease an illness that lasts a long time, such as diabetes
- mental health a person’s emotional and psychological well-being
- preventive measures steps taken to stop a problem, such as illness, before it happens
- healthcare system the way medical services are organised in a country
- unemployment rate the share of people who want a job but do not have one
- job security how likely you are to keep your job
- work-life balance a healthy split of time between work and private life
- career prospects chances of success and promotion in a job
- economic growth an increase in the goods and services a country produces
- income inequality large differences in how much people earn
- the labour market the supply of workers and the jobs available
- remote work working from home or anywhere outside the office
- urbanisation the growth of cities as people move from the countryside
- urban sprawl the uncontrolled spread of a city into the land around it
- affordable housing homes that people on average incomes can pay for
- traffic congestion too many vehicles on the roads, causing delays
- an ageing population a population with a growing share of older people
- cost of living how much money you need for basics such as food and housing
- overcrowding too many people living or travelling in one place
- crime rate the number of crimes relative to the population
Paste a topic name from the list above into the generation chat in the app and get a word set made for your exam, with examples in context, audio and smart reviews. You can get words for any other topic the same way.
Grammar for the exam: what you need
Band 7 in Writing and Speaking needs a variety of complex structures, so join ideas with although, whereas and unless, and with relative clauses using who, which and whose. Watch the punctuation too: commas around a non-defining clause, and a full stop or semicolon, never just a comma, before however when it links two complete sentences. Example: “Although public transport is cheaper, many people still drive, which adds to congestion.”
In Academic Task 1, use the past simple for data with finished dates, the present perfect only for a period that reaches the present, and future forms for forecasts: is expected to, is projected to, will have doubled by. In Speaking Part 1 you need the present perfect with for and since to say how long you have done something. Example: “Sales rose sharply between 2010 and 2015 and have remained stable since then.”
Academic Task 1 asks you to compare the data, and varied comparisons show range: twice as many as, slightly lower than, the largest share, the same as. Use the number of with plural nouns and the amount of with uncountable ones. Example: “Twice as many people cycled to work as in 2010, but the car was still by far the most popular.”
A manufacturing process in Academic Task 1 is described mostly in the passive, and in Task 2 a phrase like It is often argued that… keeps your tone neutral and formal. Get the forms right in every tense (is collected, has been replaced, will be built) and add by only when it matters who does the action. Example: “The bottles are collected, washed and then crushed into small pieces.”
Solutions in Task 2 and hypothetical questions in Speaking Part 3 call for the first and second conditional, and a mixed conditional, with a past cause and a present result, shows real range. Modals such as may, might and could soften claims you cannot prove, which suits an academic essay. Example: “If the city had built a metro in the 1990s, traffic would be much lighter today.”
Slips with a, the and plural -s repeat in every paragraph and pull down your accuracy score, so use no article for general statements and the for things that are specific or already mentioned. In Listening and Reading gap-fills, check that your answer fits the gap: after a you need a singular noun, after several a plural, and a missing -s can cost you the mark. Example: “Tourism creates jobs, but the tourists in this survey spent less than expected.”
The app has a big grammar section for every level from A1 to C2, with short lessons and exercises. Paste a topic name from the list above into the generation chat and get exercises on exactly that topic. Any other topic works the same way.
8-week preparation plan
Take a full timed practice test (ideally from the official Cambridge IELTS books) and a vocabulary test to see your starting band in each part. Plan on 1–1.5 hours a day, start an error log and learn 15–20 new words a day with spaced repetition. Topic of the week: environment.
Listening: Parts 1 and 2, forms, maps and plans. Do one part of a test every day, then check it against the transcript: find where the answer was and which distractor caught you. Topic of the week: education.
Reading: three timed texts this week, 20 minutes each. Drill True / False / Not Given and matching headings separately, and write down pairs of synonyms from the questions and the text. Topic of the week: technology.
Writing Task 1 (or the letter for General Training): chart types and the language of trends (rise sharply, remain stable, peak at). Write three reports with an overview and check them against the criteria. Second practice test at the end of the week. Topic of the week: health.
Writing Task 2: the five essay types (opinion, discussion of two views, problem and solution, advantages and disadvantages, two-part question). Plan in 5 minutes, write three essays with feedback, then rewrite the best one. Topic of the week: work and economy.
Speaking: every day 3–4 Part 1 questions and one Part 2 card, recorded on your phone. Listen back for long pauses, repetition, word stress and the sounds your first language makes difficult. Topic of the week: society and urbanisation.
Two full practice tests in exam conditions, with breaks as on the real day. Go through every mistake in your error log, rewrite your weakest essay and review all six topic lists.
Light week: one test early on, then only word review, your error log and short drills. Check your ID, the test address and your Speaking time; the day before the exam, learn nothing new and get a good night’s sleep.
Common mistakes
False means the text says the opposite; Not Given means the text says nothing about it. Answer from the text only, not from your own knowledge or common sense.
If the instructions say NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS, a three-word answer is wrong, and so is a misspelt one. Check plural -s and tricky spellings such as accommodation, environment, government and Wednesday.
If the task asks two questions or wants both views discussed, cover every part, or Task Response usually stays at 5 or below. Underline each part of the question before you plan.
Information, advice, research, equipment and evidence have no plural and take no a or an: much information, a piece of advice. The same slip repeated in every paragraph pulls down your grammar score.
Starting every sentence with Moreover or Furthermore, or saying “it’s raining cats and dogs” in Speaking, sounds mechanical. Use linkers only where they show a real relationship, and choose precise collocations over memorised idioms.
On exam day
- Bring the same ID you registered with: with a different document you will not be let in. Arrive early, because check-in with a photo, and in many centres a fingerprint scan, takes time.
- Your phone, watch and bags usually go into storage; in the room you keep only your ID, pencils, an eraser and water in a clear bottle. A wall clock or the on-screen timer shows the time.
- In Listening, read the next part’s questions during every pause. On paper, write your answers on the question paper first and transfer them carefully in the 10 minutes at the end; Reading has no extra time, so write straight onto the answer sheet.
- In Writing you can start with Task 2 if that calms you: it is worth twice as much. Watch the clock: 40 minutes for the essay, 20 for Task 1, the last few minutes for checking. On paper, write clearly.
- In Speaking, talk to the examiner as you would to a person, not a microphone: ask them to repeat a question you didn’t catch, and correct yourself if you slip. If your Speaking test is on a different day, check its time and address separately.
How NewLexi helps you prepare for IELTS
Generate word sets on IELTS topics at your level or add words from practice tests by photo. Every word gets spaced repetition and comes back in stories and dialogues written just for you at your level, which you can read and listen to. Practise essays in the writing trainer with instant AI feedback and grammar from A1 to C2 in the same daily plan.
