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IELTS Exam Pattern and Syllabus - Section Wise 2025

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Overview

This blog will begin with a discussion on the IELTS syllabus as this examination focuses on checking a candidate’s language proficiency apart from his/her capacity to use English in actual situations.  The exam consists of four sections, which test the listening, reading, writing, and speaking abilities of candidates. Every task consists of specific themes and particular types of activities are involved with them. Examinees should gain perfect information regarding the syllabus to achieve great bands; which in turn will be crucial to fulfill their dreams of studying or residing abroad. In order to gain admission in highly reputed universities, or for gaining PR in English-speaking nations, candidates ought to try to achieve 8 bands and emerge as expert users. Apart from this, highly certified and dedicated trainers of WayUP Abroad Consultants are always ready to support the candidates.

Section-Wise IELTS Syllabus

As discussed above, the IELTS syllabus consists of four sections and a candidate has to excel in all of them to gain great bands in this exam. Whereas the listening and the speaking sections are the same for both Academic and General Training Candidates, there is a slight difference in reading and writing sections for both sorts of test takers. Now, we are going to explore all the sections separately in this blog.

Listening Section

The listening section in IELTS comprises of 40 questions which are spread in four sections. Whereas the first and second sections are based upon social conditions, once we move on to the third and fourth ones; we enter academic territory. Moreover, both monologues and dialogues are part of these conversations. The candidates can hear the conversation only once and then they have to start writing or typing the answers. The audio section comprises of 30 minutes but once the audio is over, the CBT (computer-based test) aspirants are given two extra minutes to check their answers whereas the PBT (paper-based test) aspirants are given ten extra minutes to write down their answers on the answer sheet. Different sorts of questions that we can expect in this exam consist of multiple choice questions, fill-in-the-blanks, maps, and note completion among others.

Topics Covered in the Examination

The listening section has different themes and we are going to discuss them now:

  • Section 1 of listening involves a conversation between two people and it includes a situation where one person is making reservations or booking of some sort (e.g. booking a flat or buying a movie ticket). Most of the time, a range of sentence completion and note completion questions are part of this section.
  • As we move on to section 2, we will encounter a monologue here where the speaker describes a resort, some tourist attraction or any non-academic subject. 
  • Section 3 constitutes of an academic discussion between two to three people. Most of the times it includes descriptions related to an academic paper or assignment.
  • Section 4 consists of an academic lecture and a person, usually the lecturer keeps on speaking throughout the section.

How to Excel in the Listening Section

It’s important to understand five major accents of native English speakers who are British, Americans, Australians, Canadians and speakers from New Zealand. Further, by focusing on connectors and by following a conversation thoroughly, proper conclusions can be drawn.

Speaking Section

We move on to the speaking section of IELTS which is organised as an interview to check the candidate’s general speaking proficiency. Further, this section is arranged across three parts which include a personal interview, a speech (cue card) and discussion.

Topics Covered in the Examination

Speaking Section 1 - Introduction and Interview

The first section constitutes of normal questions about a candidate’s background, education, profession, hometown and interests among others. Further, this task is 4-5 minutes long.

Speaking Section 2 - Long Turn

This section is 2-3 minutes long and the examinee is provided a card with a topic on it and he/she needs to speak on it for 2 minutes. The candidate is given one minute in between to make some points regarding the same. 

Speaking Section 3 - Discussion

This section continues for 5-6 minutes and some detailed questions are asked here. Furthermore, candidate is asked questions regarding his/her opinion on a specific situation or topic. The answers in part three should be a bit lengthier than those in part 1.

How to succeed in the speaking section

Some of the prominent issues necessary to succeed in the speaking section include fluency, proper grammar, vocabulary and excellent pronunciation. It’s advisable to practice with certified tutors before going for the actual exam and in case of such guidance, candidates can always consult trainers at WayUp Abroad Consultants.

Writing Section

In complete contrast to the listening and speaking sections, the IELTS writing section is a bit different for both Academic and General Training exams. 

IELTS Academic and General Training

As far as the IELTS Academic section matters, it contains two major tasks. IELTS writing, however, doesn’t have any specific syllabus and it's important to be aware of trending issues, geopolitics, and current news. It’s also important to read magazines and newspapers to update one’s knowledge.

Task 1 Academic Writing - Candidates will be provided a table, graph, diagram, pie chart or any other sort of image and they need to write a report regarding them. While summarizing them, they are required to present specific details regarding the same.

Task 1 General Training Writing - Test takers are required to write a letter regarding any situation in front of them. These letters constitute formal, semi-formal or informal documents. Whereas the formal letter is written to strangers sitting in administrative positions, the informal one is written to people with whom we share a professional or social relation. On the other hand, the informal letter is written to friends and family members.

Task 2 - Essay for both Academic and General Writing - This section consists of an essay that has to be written regarding any specific perspective, argument or issue. The essay is the same for both academic and general writing and various topics it can cover include science, technology, arts, commerce, politics, business, economics, nuclear energy, and medicine among others. One needs to thoroughly research and write the essay apart from giving relevant examples.

Skills Required To Ace The IELTS Writing Section

In order to succeed in the IELTS writing section, one has to understand the data, graphs, and diagrams apart from summarizing information. Further, it's important to balance viewpoints and study different current topics, and be up to date on geopolitical issues apart from reading articles from newspapers and journals.

Reading Section

The reading section too constitutes of a different course syllabus for both the academic and general IELTS. Although, both sorts of exams constitute of three lengthy passages, but the context they showcase is quite different which depends on the version of the IELTS exam they belong to. 

  • IELTS Academic - In the Academic reading section there are three paragraphs that are based on analytical, descriptive or factual perspectives. Academic books, journals, newspapers, research work, and similar sources are used to find out the content of the academic exam.
  • IELTS General Training - The General Training section too provides three paragraphs to aspirants which are once again dependent on descriptive, factual, or analytical perspectives. However, the content for this exam is taken from brochures, companies’ guidelines, and advertisements among others.

Skills Required to Ace the IELTS Reading Section

As far as skills needed to succeed in the reading section of IELTS matter, aspirants need to skim, scan the content and paragraphs, mark keywords and understand the overall context. Further, it’s important to strengthen the vocabulary in order to excel in this examination.

Preparation Tips

Candidates need to give their best in order to succeed in the IELTS exam and try to get more than 8 bands in order to study in their dream universities or migrate to their favorite destinations. As a result, its important to understand different strategies to do well in this examination and experts from WayUp Abroad Consultants have listed some tips and tricks related to the same.

Proper strategies to succeed in the IELTS Listening Section

  • It’s highly important to interpret different accents in order to be familiarised with them.
  • A candidate has to think in English, instead of his/her native language.
  • You need to understand gist of sentences, instead of trying to understand every word.
  • Try to focus on connectors and keywords to get to the answer.
  • Listen to English news, podcasts and music in order to understand the flow of native speakers.

Proper strategies to succeed in the IELTS Reading Section

  • Skim and scan the reading passages to find specific information and gist of the whole writing.
  • Mark keywords and improve your vocabulary.
  • Try to focus on underlined, bold or capital texts that can provide important details.
  • We need to find out answers as per the available data in the paragraphs.
  • It's important to read the questions first before reading the text.

Proper strategies to succeed in the IELTS Writing Section

  • Try to utilize a good range of vocabulary while ensuring spelling and punctuation are correct.
  • Arrange paragraphs in a coordinated manner to make the writing appealing.
  • The argument that a candidate provides in his/her essay should be convincing and well-researched.
  • It’s important to summarize and interpret the diagrams, bar graphs, and charts.
  • Aspirants need to enhance their knowledge related to current affairs, and geopolitics and read more newspapers and journals.
  • Proper examples and evidence need to be offered in the writing part 2, which constitutes of the essay.

Proper strategies to succeed in the IELTS Speaking Section

  • Candidates shouldn’t try to fake any accent and should speak in their own natural and fluent manner.
  • Proper vocabulary needs to be used and pronunciation has to be perfect.
  • One needs to pay attention to the questions the examiner is asking.
  • It’s important to note down the key points, especially in section 2, so as to remember them.
  • Try not to repeat words or thoughts.
  • Your answers should not constitute of one liners; rather you need to extend them.

Conclusion

Now that we have provided thorough details regarding IELTS, it should be crystal clear to candidates that there is no specific syllabus in this examination as it’s not an academic subject. In such a scenario, it’s advisable to candidates to take support from certified instructors at WayUp Abroad Consultants in order to resolve their queries. Further, these trainers can also offer proper guidance via classes, provide highly researched study materials and train aspirants to attain perfection in the examination. 

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