IELTS: Academic or General?

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As I promised, this is a story about a mistake I made studying for IELTS. I started to prepare to Academic module when I should have study for General Training. It took me about 2 weeks to see what a mistake I was making, which means half of that time was wasted and the deadline moved much closer.

The first thing to do is to find out what module of IELTS are you going to take, Academic or General Training. Usually Academic module is intended for future students and the General training for immigrants, but you should not assume – check and double-check which one you need to take.

The difference between two IELTS modules is that Reading and Writing tests are different in Academic and General. The Listening and the Speaking tests are the same.

The difference in Reading test is that you may have to read 3 longer and more complicated passages in Academic versus 4 smaller and easier texts in General Training.

From my experience, the fact that I studied for Academic reading and practiced on Academic kind of texts didn’t heart me and even helped me. The problem was the Writing test assignments. The difference between Academic and General Writing test is that in Academic you receive a graph and the task is to describe it in 150 words. In General Training you receive a description of a real-life situation and the task is to write a letter about that situation.

So I learned my lesson and now my advice to you is:

Practice in Academic Reading no matter what kind of IELTS you’re taking. If you take General Training IELTS – do some General reading tests as well. This way you hope for the best and prepare for the worst

Jokes aside, here are some Academic reading tips and here is how to deal with one of the challenging question types True False Not Given. Another good idea is to learn how to practice smarter, not harder.

Pay attention to the Writing test: Academic = Graph, General = Letter, practice accordingly. Before you start practicing, go through these helpful tips for Academic writing task 1. If you’re studying for General Training IELTS, click here for some writing tips