IELTS Academic syllabus

IELTS has no syllabus in the sense of a topic list, and the organisations that run it have never published one. What they do publish is the format, the band descriptors and the assessment criteria, which is what this page sets out.

The thing most candidates get wrong is the arithmetic of their own score. The overall band is the average of the four module bands rounded to the nearest half band, and an average ending in .75 rounds up to the next whole band. A candidate with 7, 7, 6.5 and 6.5 averages 6.75 and is reported as an overall 7.0, despite two modules sitting below it. Half a band in one weak module can move the overall, which is where revision time should go.

The format below is the Academic version. Browse the available IELTS Academic practice papers.

Syllabus by section

IELTS Academic at a glance

Exam pattern

One sitting, taken in this order

Listening, Reading and Writing are taken on the same day with no breaks between them. Speaking may fall on the same day, or up to seven days before or after.

On paper based tests Listening carries an extra 10 minutes to transfer answers to the answer sheet, and Reading includes its transfer time inside the 60 minutes. Reading gives you no separate transfer allowance, so answers go straight onto the sheet as you work.

There is no penalty for a wrong answer anywhere in IELTS, which makes leaving a blank the only genuinely wasteful thing you can do.

How the band score is calculated

Each module is reported on a 0 to 9 scale in whole and half bands. The overall band is the average of the four, rounded to the nearest half band, and the rounding has two rules worth memorising.

An average ending in .25 rounds up to the next half band and an average ending in .75 rounds up to the next whole band. Both rules work in the candidate’s favour, which is why a half band gained in the weakest module is often worth more than a full band gained in the strongest.

How the pattern has changed

The test content has not changed in the last three years. Question counts, timings, the 0 to 9 scale, the rounding rule and the assessment criteria are all as they were. What has changed is how the test is delivered and what you can retake.

• One Skill Retake, introduced in 2023, lets you resit a single module rather than all four. The original test must have been taken on computer, the retake must happen within 60 days, and only one retake is allowed per original test

• Paper based IELTS is being withdrawn from mid 2026 and all tests move to computer delivery. Exact timelines vary by market, and existing paper results stay valid for the full two years

• Writing on Paper arrives in selected countries as an option inside the computer delivered test. Questions appear on screen and answers are handwritten on an answer sheet. Task types, timing and scoring are unchanged, and it is not available for IELTS for UKVI

Anyone claiming a new IELTS question format for 2026 is describing a delivery change rather than a content change.

Listening

• Part 1: a conversation between two speakers in an everyday social context

• Part 2: a monologue in an everyday social context

• Part 3: a conversation between up to four speakers in an educational or training context

• Part 4: a monologue on an academic subject

• Question types: multiple choice, matching, plan, map and diagram labelling, form, note, table and flow chart completion, sentence completion, short answer questions

• Ten questions in each part, 40 in total, and the recording plays once only

The full Listening breakdown covers each question type and where the 10 marks in each part sit.

Reading

• Three passages drawn from books, journals, magazines, newspapers and online sources, written for a non specialist reader

• Topics of general interest to undergraduate and postgraduate students, with 2,150 to 2,750 words in total

• Multiple choice, identifying information as True, False or Not Given, identifying a writer’s views as Yes, No or Not Given

• Matching information, matching headings, matching features, matching sentence endings

• Sentence completion, summary, note, table and flow chart completion, diagram label completion, short answer questions

• Forty questions, each worth one mark

The full Reading breakdown covers all eleven question types and the difference between Not Given and False, which is where most marks are lost.

Writing

• Task 1: describe visual information in your own words, from a graph, table, chart or diagram. Minimum 150 words, about 20 minutes

• Task 2: discuss a point of view, argument or problem. Minimum 250 words, about 40 minutes

• Both tasks are compulsory and both must be written in connected prose rather than notes or bullet points

• Task 2 contributes twice as much as Task 1 to the Writing band

Task 1 is assessed on four criteria: Task Achievement, Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range and Accuracy. Task 2 replaces the first of those with Task Response. The full Writing breakdown covers both rubrics and the word count rules.

Speaking

• Part 1: introduction and interview, 4 to 5 minutes, on familiar topics such as home, family, work, studies and interests

• Part 2: the long turn, 3 to 4 minutes. You get a task card, one minute to prepare with pencil and paper, then speak for about two minutes, followed by one or two questions

• Part 3: discussion, 4 to 5 minutes, on more abstract issues related to the Part 2 topic

• Assessed equally on four criteria: Fluency and coherence, Lexical resource, Grammatical range and accuracy, Pronunciation

Speaking is conducted one to one with a certified human examiner and recorded. Some centres run it as Video Call Speaking, where the examiner joins by live video from another location. Content, timing, scoring and structure are identical and the centre decides which format is used. The full Speaking breakdown covers all three parts and the four criteria.

What is not in the syllabus

• No published topic list. IELTS tests language rather than subject knowledge

• No specialist or technical vocabulary. Passages are written for a non specialist reader

• No negative marking in any module

• No grammar questions asked by name. Grammar is assessed through your own writing and speech

• No multiple choice element in Writing or Speaking

• No separate vocabulary paper

How to spend the time

Work out your current average first, then find the cheapest half band. Because of the rounding rules, a candidate at 7, 7, 6.5, 6 needs half a band in one module to move from 6.5 overall to 7.0. Hours spent on the strongest module rarely do that.

Reading is the module where technique moves the score fastest. Forty questions in 60 minutes with no transfer time means about 90 seconds each, and candidates who read every passage fully before looking at the questions run out of clock in the third passage.

Writing rewards planning more than vocabulary. Task 2 is worth double, so a candidate running short on time should always finish Task 2 properly and accept a thinner Task 1.

Speaking is the module people prepare least and lose most in, because fluency and pronunciation only move with spoken practice. Recording yourself answering Part 3 questions is worth more than any word list. Browse the available IELTS Academic practice papers.

Common mistakes

• Leaving blanks, when there is no penalty for a wrong answer anywhere in the test

• Writing under the word minimum, which is penalised, while writing far over it eats time without adding marks

• Treating Task 1 and Task 2 as equal, when Task 2 counts twice

• Confusing False with Not Given in Reading, where False means the text contradicts the statement and Not Given means the text is silent

• Waiting for the Listening recording to repeat, which it never does

• Memorising Part 2 answers, which examiners are trained to spot

• Preparing from paper based practice when the test is now almost everywhere delivered on computer

IELTS Academic against TOEFL iBT and PTE Academic

TOEFL changed its scoring scale in January 2026, so any comparison written before then is out of date. Candidates applying to business schools often sit one of these alongside the GMAT syllabus requirements.

IELTS is the only one of the three where you speak to a person. TOEFL is adaptive, so item counts and timings vary between candidates. PTE is the structural outlier, merging Speaking and Writing into a single part.

Frequently asked questions

Is there an official IELTS syllabus?

No. The IELTS Partners publish the test format, the band descriptors and the assessment criteria rather than a topic list, because the test measures language rather than subject knowledge.

How is the overall IELTS band calculated?

By averaging the four module bands and rounding to the nearest half band. An average of 6.25 is reported as 6.5 and an average of 6.75 is reported as 7.0.

Is there negative marking in IELTS?

No. Nothing is deducted for a wrong answer in any module, so every question should be attempted.

How many questions are in IELTS Academic?

Forty in Listening and forty in Reading, plus two writing tasks and three speaking parts.

Does the Listening recording play twice?

No. It plays once only, in all versions of the test.

How long are IELTS scores valid?

Two years from the test date. Some institutions accept older results, but the scores themselves cannot be extended or renewed.

What is One Skill Retake?

An option to resit a single module instead of the whole test. The original must have been a computer delivered test, the retake must be taken within 60 days, and only one retake is allowed per original test.

Is paper based IELTS still available?

It is being withdrawn from mid 2026, with timelines varying by market, and all tests are moving to computer delivery. Results from paper tests remain valid for the full two years.

What is the difference between IELTS Academic and General Training?

Listening and Speaking are identical. Academic Reading uses three academic passages, while General Training uses workplace and everyday texts in three sections of rising difficulty. Academic Writing Task 1 describes visual information, while General Training Task 1 is a letter. Task 2 is an essay in both.

Is there a minimum age for IELTS?

There is no fixed minimum age, though the test is generally not recommended for candidates below 16.

Which module should I work on first?

The weakest one, because of the rounding rules. Half a band gained in the lowest module often moves the overall band, where the same effort in your strongest module usually does not.