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IELTS: Academic or General?

IELTS: Academic or General?

As I promised, this is a story about a mistake I made while studying for the IELTS test. I started to prepare for the Academic module whereas I should have studied for the General Training. It took me about 2 weeks to see what a mistake I was making, which means half of the time I had 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 the 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 these two IELTS modules is that the Reading and Writing tests are different in the Academic and General Modules. The Listening and Speaking tests are the same.

The difference between two Reading tests is that you may have to read 3 longer and more complicated passages in Academic versus 4-5 smaller and easier texts in General Training.

From my experience, the fact that I studied for Academic reading and practiced using Academic kind of texts didn’t hurt me and even helped me. The problem was the Writing test assignments. The difference between Academic and General Writing test is that in the Academic you receive a graph and the task is to describe it in 150 words. In the 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 the 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 the General Training IELTS, click here for some writing tips

    • Making technology work for you

    When you have to study for the IELTS Reading, Writing or Listening tests, you don’t really need anyone to help you, but what about the Speaking test? Do you just speak to the mirror?

    My idea was to use an MP3 player that can record voice. I bought one especially for that purpose, to record myself speak. It helped me to recognize and admit all of my problems: the bad pronunciation, the long pauses between words, and the super-long and confusing sentences. What you do is just speak on some topic, record yourself, listen and analyze it later. It is really necessary to recognize all of those weaknesses in advance, so you can work and improve them. Make a list of things that need improvement and look at it every time before you start speaking.

    Speaking to a live partner is better, of course, but if you’re on your own – an MP3 player a great solution. Another advantage here is that you can use it for listening exercises – fill it with audio books in English or IELTS Listening tests you download from the Internet and take it with you wherever you go. This way you won’t waste any time – driving, eating lunch or walking your dog can be done while listening to English on your MP3 player.

    Another idea is to prepare for the IELTS Speaking test using Skype – a very popular software that lets you talk to anyone who also has Skype. All you need to do is to install it on your and your friend’s computer, plug in a set of headphones and a microphone and call your friend using Skype. Y0u can actually make international call, talk as much as you want, the voice quality is great and it costs nothing!