IELTS Academic takes 2 hours 45 minutes and has the same format wherever it is taken — on paper, on computer at a test centre, or remotely through IELTS Online. Four sections, four skills, and one band score each.
What is in each section
| Section | Time | Shape |
|---|---|---|
| Listening | 30 min | Four recorded monologues and conversations, 40 questions. Parts 1–2 are everyday social situations; parts 3–4 are educational and training contexts. |
| Reading | 60 min | Three sections, 40 questions, 2,150–2,750 words of text in total. |
| Writing | 60 min | Two tasks, both compulsory. |
| Speaking | 11–14 min | An interview with a human examiner in three parts. |
Listening and Speaking are identical in IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training. Reading and Writing differ between the two, so practice material has to match the test being taken.
Writing: Task 2 is worth twice Task 1
Task 1 asks for a description of visual information — a graph, table, chart or diagram — in at least 150 words, and about 20 minutes is the intended allowance. Task 2 presents a point of view, argument or problem to discuss in at least 250 words, with roughly 40 minutes for it.
Task 2 contributes twice as much as Task 1 to the Writing band. There is no penalty for writing beyond the minimum on Task 1, but the time it costs comes out of the task that counts double. That is the single most common way a Writing band is lost.
Both tasks are marked by certificated examiners against four criteria: task achievement or response, coherence and cohesion, lexical resource, and grammatical range and accuracy. Answers must be in full sentences — notes and bullet points are not accepted.
Bands, in halves
Reading and Listening award one mark per correct answer; the result is reported as a band from 1 to 9 in whole or half bands, so 6.5 and 7.0 are both real scores and the gap between them can matter for an offer.
Speaking is with a person
Even on the computer-delivered test, Speaking is a live interview with an examiner in three parts: familiar topics first, then an extended turn and discussion. Practising aloud with another person is therefore not optional preparation — it is practice for the actual format.