The IELTS exam, or the International English Language Testing System examination, is now becoming more and more popular because of the increasing number of people deciding to work, study, or live abroad. It is designed to assess the level of one’s language skill and is the exam of choice of many professional organizations including the Australian Department of Immigration, the New Zealand Immigration Service, and the Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

Today, over 1,500 professional organizations and universities in the United States recognize and accept IELTS scores as evidence of English proficiency as well. Included in the list are prestigious schools such as Brown University, UCLA, MIT Graduate School, and Princeton University.

There are two types of IELTS exams – one is General, for immigrants; and the other is Academic and General Academic for those who plan on becoming students abroad. Your proficiency is reflected in a band score from 0 to 9, 9 being the highest.

The IELTS test consists of four main parts:

A. Listening

This part takes about half an hour. You are given approximately 20 minutes to listen to a recorded voice and answer questions based on what you have just listened to, and another 10 minutes to transfer your responses to the answer sheet. The answers range from a word to a figure (number) to a phrase. This part has four sections and 40 items in all.

You can find sample audios on the Internet to get an idea of how a the Listening part of the IELTS exam goes. The speakers may have a variety of accents – some have a light British or Australian accent, while others have a Western U.S. accent, so it would be helpful if you practice listening to various audio clips for practice.

Tips: Unlike other tests when it’s okay to leave things for later, it is better for you to answer the questions as you are listening on an IELTS test. This is because the audio will not be repeated and you will more likely forget the answer to Item 1 when answer clues for Item 3 are already being read. In addition, pay special attention to repeated or spelled-out words – there’s a big chance that they are important.

B. Reading

This is the part that most test-takers find the easiest because they can always go back to something they have missed on first pass. The only thing to remember here is you need to estimate your time because although an hour is devoted to this part, the multiple-choice answers can be a bit ambiguous and you would need to go over them several times to select the best one.

Basically, the task is to read passages and answer questions related to the selection you have just read. The Academic Reading and General Training Reading exams both consist of 3 sections and 40 items in all.

Tips: Don’t over analyze the question. This may lead you to complicated logical trains of thought that can merely take you away from the correct answer. Another important thing to remember is the answers should be based on what is on the text, not on what you know. For instance, if the question in a ‘True-False-Not Given”-type of exam states, “Research revealed that smoking in pregnant mothers causes low birthweight.” You know this to be true, but if the selection states, “No study has shown evidence proving that smoking in pregnant mothers causes low birthweight,” then the answer is False.

C. Writing

You are allotted 1 hour for this part, which consists of 2 sub-parts: 20 minutes to compose a report or a letter and 40 minutes to compose an essay.

Tips: If, for instance, you are asked to write a report analyzing a given graph, the rating of your composition would be based on several factors. You will be rated on how you fulfilled the task requirement; the manner by which you selected the information to be included in the report; the overview and key features; how you organized your presentation; cohesion and variation (if you use the same sentence structure over and over to present data, it will cost you); and your vocabulary range. If it isn’t that extensive, you’ll still be awarded points if you were able to present a clear report.

D. Speaking

This may be taken right after the first three parts, while sometimes a test-taker is rescheduled for another date. This is because the IELTS Speaking test is a one-on-one session. It may take about 15 minutes and comprises 3 parts: a personal interview, a brief speech, and a discussion.

Tips: As opposed to the Reading part, this one is considered by many to be the toughest, mainly because of the face-to-face interaction which worries many young people especially. Before you enter the interview room, make sure you’re thoroughly relaxed. The questions are very simple but avoid answering with one-word replies. Similarly, stop yourself from rambling if you’re not that confident.

What are half-band scores?

Beginning July 2007, IELTS changed its rating for the Writing and Speaking tests. These will now make use of both full and half bands, just like in the Listening and Reading parts of the test.

This change has been made in response to feedback from various organizations that use IELTS scores. In light of this development, organizations would be able to set their recruitment and admission requirements more precisely, especially if they want more specific results from any of the exam parts.

In the test-taker’s viewpoint, this change will help them have more precise information on where their strengths and weaknesses lie. The reults will also be easier to understand because all four parts will already be rated in the same manner.

It takes several weeks to a few months to sufficiently review for the IELTS exam. Even if you consider yourself fluent in English, it still helps to learn about the exam format so you will know what to expect, to be able to budget your time well and achieve the best score you can possibly get.