IELTS Academic · University and professional registration
IELTS Academic, practised the way it is actually sat.
Three dense passages in sixty minutes with no transfer time. A Task 1 that asks you to describe data, not write a letter. And a Reading band scale that is more forgiving than General Training — which is exactly why you should never practise on the wrong one.
Score scale
30 correct out of 40 in Reading is band 7.0 here — the same 30 is only 6.0 on General Training. One paper, two tables.
- Score scale
- 0–9 bands
- Reading
- 3 academic passages
- Writing Task 1
- Describe a visual
- 30 of 40 in Reading
- Band 7.0
- Length
- ~2h 45m + speaking
Who sits it
Choosing the wrong one wastes weeks.
University and professional registration
Take this test if you are
- Undergraduate and postgraduate study at an English-speaking university
- Professional registration — medicine, nursing, engineering, accountancy
- Institutions that require evidence of academic English
Not sure? Your university, employer or immigration authority specifies which one they accept. Check before you book — they are not interchangeable.
Test structure
What you sit, in order.
Listening, Reading and Writing are taken in one sitting with no break. Speaking may be on the same day or up to a week either side.
Listening
~30 minutes · 40 questions
Four parts, increasing in difficulty. Identical to General Training. The audio plays once — no pausing, no replay, no going back.
Reading
60 minutes · 40 questions
Three long passages taken from journals, books and newspapers, at least one carrying a detailed logical argument. No extra time to transfer answers.
Writing
60 minutes · 2 tasks
Task 1 describes a visual in 150+ words. Task 2 is a 250+ word essay and counts for twice as much. Suggested split: 20 minutes, then 40.
Speaking
11–14 minutes · 3 parts
Interview, a long turn from a cue card with one minute to prepare, then an abstract discussion. Identical to General Training.
The task that separates the two tests
Task 1 — describe what the data shows
You are given a visual and asked to summarise and report the main features in at least 150 words. You are never asked for your opinion, and inventing reasons for the trend costs you marks under Task Achievement.
What you may be asked for
- Line graph — change over time
- Bar chart — comparison across categories
- Pie chart — proportion
- Table — mixed data
- Process diagram — stages of a cycle
- Map — change to a place over time
- Two sources combined in one task
Every submission is scored on Task Achievement, Coherence & Cohesion, Lexical Resource, and Grammatical Range & Accuracy — separately, each worth a quarter, each with its own explanation quoting your own sentences.
Reading band scale
How Academic Reading is actually scored.
Academic Reading is scored more generously than General Training. 30 correct answers is band 7.0 here and band 6.0 on General Training.
30 correct out of 40 on Academic = band 7.0
| Correct answers | Band |
|---|---|
| 39–40 | 9.0 |
| 37–38 | 8.5 |
| 35–36 | 8.0 |
| 33–34 | 7.5 |
| 30–32 | 7.0 |
| 27–29 | 6.5 |
| 23–26 | 6.0 |
| 19–22 | 5.5 |
| 15–18 | 5.0 |
Indicative conversion. Exact tables vary slightly by test version — ours are versioned per test and pinned to your result.
Question types
Every type you will meet, drillable on its own.
When your review shows you lost six marks on True / False / Not Given, you practise only that — rather than sitting another full test and hoping.
Sit a full Academic mock this week.
The free plan includes one full mock every month, marked against the Academic band table, with a question-by-question review.