IELTS Academic does not have a syllabus in the sense a school exam does. There is no list of topics to revise and no body of knowledge that is examined; the test measures how well you use English across four skills, and the texts and recordings can be about almost anything a university student might meet. What the test owners do publish is a fixed format — four sections, each with a set structure, time and marking method — and that format is the real syllabus you prepare against, alongside the Myndaq IELTS Academic course.
Who sets the test
IELTS is jointly owned by the British Council, IDP IELTS and Cambridge University Press & Assessment. The Academic module is the version for higher-education study and professional registration, and it can be taken at a test centre or remotely online (IELTS Online). General Training is the other module; it is aimed at migration and work.
The four sections at a glance
The whole test takes 2 hours and 45 minutes:
- Listening — 4 parts, 40 questions, about 30 minutes
- Reading — 40 questions, 60 minutes
- Writing — 2 tasks, 60 minutes
- Speaking — 3 parts, 11 to 14 minutes, live with an examiner
Listening, Reading and Writing are taken in one sitting. Speaking may be on the same day or within seven days of the other three sections, so do not assume your whole test happens in one block.
Listening
Four recorded parts, forty questions in total, and you hear each recording once only:
- Part 1 — a conversation between two speakers in an everyday social situation, such as travel arrangements
- Part 2 — one main speaker in an everyday social situation, such as a speech about local facilities
- Part 3 — a conversation between two main speakers in an educational or training setting, such as two university students in discussion
- Part 4 — one person speaking on an academic subject
The question formats are multiple choice; matching; plan, map or diagram labelling; form, note, table or flow-chart completion; sentence completion; and short-answer questions. The skill being tested is following a speaker while writing — and in Part 4 there is no second voice to give you a pause.
For the part-by-part breakdown and the question types, see the IELTS Listening section guide.
Reading
Forty questions in 60 minutes across three sections, with a total text length of 2,150–2,750 words. The texts come from books, journals, magazines, newspapers and online resources written for a non-specialist audience, on topics of general interest to undergraduate or postgraduate students — you are not expected to know the subject.
Eleven question formats can appear:
- Multiple choice
- Identifying information (True / False / Not Given)
- Identifying the writer's views or claims (Yes / No / Not Given)
- Matching information
- Matching headings
- Matching features
- Matching sentence endings
- Sentence completion
- Summary, note, table or flow-chart completion
- Diagram label completion
- Short-answer questions
Each format rewards a different reading method, and the commonest error — confusing "False" with "Not Given" — is a method error rather than an English error.
Time is the real constraint here; the 60-minute Reading time strategy sets out how to split it.
Writing
Two tasks in 60 minutes. The owners describe them as "an academic-style report and a formal essay":
- Task 1 — you describe one or more graphs, charts or tables, or a diagram of an object, device, process or event. At least 150 words in about 20 minutes, in full sentences, not notes or bullet points.
- Task 2 — you are given a topic and discuss the most relevant issues. At least 250 words in about 40 minutes, as connected text.
Task 2 contributes twice as much as Task 1 to the Writing score. Both tasks are marked by examiners against published band descriptors, not against a raw score. That weighting is why Task 2 is where most candidates gain or lose the band they need; the Writing Task 2 guide covers its structure and the criteria.
Speaking
A live conversation with an IELTS examiner, 11 to 14 minutes, in three parts. The test is recorded.
- Part 1 (4–5 minutes) — the examiner checks your identity and asks general questions on familiar topics such as home, family, work, studies or interests.
- Part 2 (3–4 minutes including preparation) — you get a task card, one minute to prepare with pencil and paper, and then keep talking for 2 minutes.
- Part 3 (4–5 minutes) — you and the examiner discuss issues related to the Part 2 topic in a more general and abstract way.
How the bands are awarded
Each section is reported on a 0–9 band scale in whole and half bands. The overall band is the mean of the four, rounded to the nearest half band — an average ending in .25 rounds up to the next half band, and one ending in .75 rounds up to the next whole band.
For Listening and Academic Reading, a raw mark out of 40 is converted to a band. As a guide from the owners, about 30 out of 40 is roughly Band 7 in both, and about 23 out of 40 is roughly Band 6 in Listening; the exact conversion varies slightly between test versions. Writing and Speaking have no raw score at all.
There is no pass mark. Universities, regulators and visa routes each set the band they require, sometimes with minimums per section. The owners recommend that results be treated as valid for two years. For worked rounding examples and what each criterion rewards, see IELTS band scores explained.
Academic and General Training — what actually differs
Listening and Speaking are the same in both modules. Reading and Writing Task 1 differ: Academic Reading uses academic-style texts and Academic Task 1 describes visual data, where the General Training versions use everyday and workplace material. Book the module your university or registering body names — the wrong one is not interchangeable.
What the published format does not tell you
- No topic weightage. No official list says how often a subject area appears, and there is none to find. Treat topic lists on coaching sites as guesswork.
- No fixed question-type mix per paper. The eleven Reading and six Listening formats are the possibilities; any single test uses a selection of them.
- No band per raw mark that holds for every paper. The 30/40 guide is a guide.
If one section lets you down
Candidates who took the computer-delivered test can re-sit a single section through IELTS One Skill Retake, within 60 days of the full test and once per original test, and receive a new Test Report Form. Whether your university or visa route accepts it is their decision; the UK Visas and Immigration department accepts it in selected locations. The rules are in our One Skill Retake explainer.
For what the test costs and how cancellation and transfers work, see IELTS Academic fees and booking. For worked Reading items in each question format, see IELTS Academic practice questions.
Quick answers
Is there an IELTS Academic syllabus?
Not a content syllabus. The test measures English across Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking; what is fixed is the format — section lengths, question counts and marking — and that is what to prepare against.
How long is IELTS Academic?
2 hours and 45 minutes: Listening about 30 minutes, Reading 60, Writing 60 and Speaking 11 to 14. Speaking may be on a different day, within seven days of the rest.
How many questions are in IELTS Reading and Listening?
Forty each. Listening has four parts heard once; Reading has three sections totalling 2,150–2,750 words, with 60 minutes for all 40 questions.
What is the pass mark for IELTS?
There is none. Each receiving institution sets the band it requires.
Is the Academic Speaking test different from General Training?
No. Listening and Speaking are identical in both modules; Reading and Writing Task 1 differ.
