Academic or General Training IELTS – Which one should you take?
Before you start your prep or enroll for the IELTS exam, you have to be certain which module you need to choose – Academic IELTS or General Training IELTS. The simplest Solution to This question would be:
Register for Academic IELTS if your purpose is to get admitted to a college or university. For migration, training or vocational schooling function, go for the General Training module of IELTS.
It’s always a smart idea to check with the immigration/ university and IELTS authority. Why don’t you provide a call to the immigration office / your university & subsequently British Council and state that your purpose and inquire which module is obligatory for you. The answer would remove any doubt you’ve got.
Still not convinced? Then dig farther!
IELTS has become easily the most popular & broadly accepted English language proficiency test for those who want to fulfil qualifications requested by most of the schools and universities of Canada, Singapore, New Zealand, England, Australia, Ireland etc. and by the immigration authorities. IELTS can also be used to demonstrate someone’s English language proficiency when registering as a professional overseas arriving to work or to be educated in the countries like UK, Australia, Canada etc.. More than 2.5 million candidates today get involved in the IELTS test annually to the greater study or immigration purposes.
IELTS conforms to the highest international standards of language assessment and has become the most common English language proficiency testing exam. IELTS is also getting acceptable to American and other international establishments of further and higher education.
The very first thing to do is finding out that module of IELTS you are required to consider: Academic or General Training. You should not assume – check and double-check which one you need to take. Contact to the immigration authority or to the University/ college you’re intending to get admitted prior to registering for the IELTS examination.
IELTS test is available in two formats — Academic IELTS test and General Training IELTS test.
Academic Module is suitable for people who are going to apply for further studies and professional enrollment. Academic module mainly focuses on the candidates’ ability to continue their education in an English speaking university or a professional place.
General Training module is suitable for those who are going to English-speaking states to finish work experience and training programs or for spiritual purposes. General Training IELTS format mostly focuses on overall communication skills of the candidates they will need in the workplace and society in an English speaking country.
A score of 6.5 in the Academic Module is generally required for an academic course in a UK university. 7.0 or 7.5 may be needed for subjects which require a lot of writing and reading (by way of example, linguistics or medication ) and for individuals wanting to be doctors or dentists in the UK. A score of 5.5 in the General Training Module is usually needed for non-academic training classes in the UK. A rating of 6.0 or 6.5 may be needed for subjects which require higher language abilities.
It’s a candidate’s responsibility to notify the IELTS test center whether they wish to take the Academic or General Training Module of IELTS test. Confirm which module you’re needed to and sit for the proper IELTS exam. In your IETLS registration form, you would need to mention if you are likely to take the Academic module or the GT module.
All candidates take the same Listening and Speaking Tests, however Reading and Writing tests vary depending upon whether or not a candidate is taking the Academic IELTS test or the General Training IELTS test.
Difference between Academic IELTS and General Training IELTS Exam format:
Are precisely the exact same for both Academic and GT IELTS candidates. Thus you won’t detect any differences in Listening and Speaking modules no matter which examination (academic or GT) you require.
However, Writing and Reading sections disagree for the academic and GT
The academic reading comprises Three extended reading passages with around 40 questions. Each passing would have roughly 12-14 questions. The passages are primarily linked to the study materials utilized on various academic publications in the university or college level.
The General Training reading module Has three sections and lasts for just one hour. Section one has two or 3 texts that are smaller and simpler than the academic reading passages. Those texts are often aimed to test the candidates’ capacity to survive and speak in an English speaking environment. Section 2 has one or 2 texts relates to work or training subjects. Section three has just one long passage, much like the academic module. There would be around 40 queries in complete in GT reading module.
The Academic writing module Has two tasks and has 1 hour to complete these 2 tasks. Task one requires a candidate to describe a graph, process or picture and also to write minimum 150 words and task two requires a candidate to compose a composition on a topic of minimum 250 words. The essays are usually of general curiosity and carry more weight the task one. It is advisable to invest 20 minutes on task 1 and staying 40 minutes on task 2.
The General Training composing module Has 2 tasks too. The task one is a letter writing task and activity 2 is an Essay writing task. Essay writing is similar to the academic writing task 2 and Carries more weights compared to letter writing task. It is a Good Idea to invest 20 Moments on letter writing tasks and remaining 40 minutes on essay writing task.
