IELTS Academic question guides
One guide for every question type and task in the IELTS Academic test. Each explains the format, a strategy that works and the traps to avoid — and links to free practice. For a step-by-step route, start with a course.
The test at a glance
| Section | What it is | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Listening | Part 1 (10 questions): a conversation in an everyday situation – usually a form or notes to complete. | 32 min |
| Reading | Passage 1 (13 questions): a factual or descriptive text – spend about 20 minutes. | 60 min |
| Writing | Task 1 (about 20 minutes): describe a graph, chart, table, map or process in at least 150 words. | 60 min |
| Speaking | Part 1 (4–5 minutes): questions about yourself and familiar topics. | 11–14 min |
Each section gets a band from 0 to 9; the overall band is their average, rounded to the nearest half band.
Listening
Form, note & table completion
How to complete forms, notes, tables, flow-charts and summaries in IELTS Listening: predicting each gap, word limits, sp…
Sentence completion
Sentence completion in IELTS Listening explained: how to predict the gap from grammar, follow paraphrase, respect the wo…
Short-answer questions
Short-answer questions in IELTS Listening: how to read the question word, predict the answer type, keep to the word limi…
Multiple choice
Multiple choice in IELTS Listening: how to reduce options to keywords, mark each one as you hear it, spot the change of …
Choose two answers
How to answer 'choose TWO letters' questions in IELTS Listening: framing the question, ticking and crossing five options…
Matching
Matching in IELTS Listening: reading the options box, following numbered items in order, recognising paraphrase and hand…
Map & plan labelling
How to label maps, plans and diagrams in IELTS Listening: find 'You are here' and the compass first, follow position wor…
Reading
True / False / Not Given
True / False / Not Given in IELTS Reading explained: what each answer means, the opposite test that separates False from…
Yes / No / Not Given
Yes / No / Not Given in IELTS Reading explained: how to separate the writer's own view from quoted opinions, read hedgin…
Multiple choice
Multiple choice in IELTS Reading explained: how to answer the stem first, find the right sentence and eliminate options …
Choose two or three answers
How to answer 'choose TWO letters' questions in IELTS Reading: reading the question frame, ticking and crossing each opt…
Matching headings
Matching headings in IELTS Reading: how to find a paragraph's main idea, why extra headings exist and how to avoid the d…
Matching information
Matching information in IELTS Reading: how to turn a paragraph-by-paragraph map into fast answers and avoid choosing a p…
Matching features
Matching features in IELTS Reading: how to scan for the names in the list, note what each one says and avoid crediting a…
Matching sentence endings
Matching sentence endings in IELTS Reading: how to use anchor words, grammar and meaning together, and why a grammatical…
Sentence completion
Sentence completion in IELTS Reading: predicting the word type, finding the sentence through paraphrase, copying the exa…
Summary completion
Summary completion in IELTS Reading using words from the passage: how to use the title and flow of the summary, predict …
Summary completion from a box
Summary completion with a list of words in IELTS Reading: how to predict meaning and word class, match box words to para…
Note, table & flow-chart completion
Note, table and flow-chart completion in IELTS Reading: how to use headings, rows and arrows to find the right place, an…
Short-answer questions
Short-answer questions in IELTS Reading: how to read the question word, find the answer in order, cut it to the word lim…
Diagram labelling
Diagram label completion in IELTS Reading: how to find the paragraph that describes the diagram, read position words and…
Writing
Task 1: line graph
How to describe a line graph in IELTS Writing Task 1: a four-paragraph plan, an overview that names the main trends, the…
Task 1: bar chart
How to describe a bar chart in IELTS Writing Task 1: selecting what matters, grouping bars to compare them, writing a us…
Task 1: pie charts
How to write about pie charts in IELTS Writing Task 1: the language of proportion, comparing segments across charts and …
Task 1: table
How to write about a table in IELTS Writing Task 1: choosing the figures that matter, grouping rows or columns, writing …
Task 1: multiple charts
How to answer an IELTS Task 1 with two or three charts: finding the link, writing one overview for all of them, selectin…
Task 1: process diagram
How to describe a process diagram in IELTS Writing Task 1: using the passive for manufacturing and active for natural cy…
Task 1: maps
How to describe maps in IELTS Writing Task 1: reading the time frame, using the language of location and change, choosin…
Task 2: opinion essay
How to write an IELTS Task 2 opinion essay: answering 'to what extent do you agree', stating a clear position, developin…
Task 2: discussion essay
How to write an IELTS Task 2 discussion essay: giving each view a fair and developed paragraph, placing your own opinion…
Task 2: advantages & disadvantages
How to write an IELTS Task 2 advantages and disadvantages essay: answering the exact question, including 'outweigh' vers…
Task 2: problem & solution
How to write an IELTS Task 2 problem and solution essay: identifying exactly what is asked, matching solutions to proble…
Task 2: two-part question
How to answer a two-part IELTS Task 2 question: separating the two questions, giving each its own developed paragraph an…
Speaking
Part 1: interview
How to answer IELTS Speaking Part 1: what the examiner asks, how long to speak, how to extend with a reason or example a…
Part 2: long turn
How to do the IELTS Speaking Part 2 long turn: using the preparation minute, making brief notes, structuring a two-minut…
Part 3: discussion
How to answer IELTS Speaking Part 3 questions: giving opinions with reasons, comparing past and present, speculating abo…
Courses
Twelve lessons covering the format, core reading skills, every question type, timing and a study plan.
IELTS Listening CourseTen lessons covering the four parts, prediction, distractors, every task type and a practice plan.
IELTS Academic Writing CourseFourteen lessons covering the marking criteria, every Task 1 visual and every Task 2 essay type.
IELTS Speaking CourseTen lessons covering the three parts, the four criteria, fluency, vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation.
IELTS Reading Workshop: Worked PassagesComplete passages solved step by step, showing how a high scorer reads, locates and decides.
IELTS Writing Clinic: From Band 6 to Band 8The same tasks answered at different bands, with examiner-style comments and line-by-line upgrades.