All about the IELTS Academic Exam
Four modules, one band score, and human examiners for the two that decide most applications.
IELTS Academic is accepted for university admission and professional registration worldwide. Listening, Reading and Writing are taken in one sitting of two hours and forty minutes; Speaking is a face-to-face interview taken on the same day or within a week.
Each module is scored from 0 to 9 in half-band steps, and your overall band is the average of the four, rounded to the nearest half.
- Choose computer-delivered or paper-based, then book your test date.
- Sit Listening, Reading and Writing back to back — no break between them.
- Attend the Speaking interview with a certified examiner.
Flowy gives you one place for everything the IELTS Academic format asks of you, and walks you through the preparation so test day holds no surprises.
The IELTS Academic is open to any candidate who needs to prove their English for study, work or migration — there is no prerequisite beyond booking a seat.
Practice sets, full mocks and expert-reviewed feedback all sit under one login, so the hours you spend preparing land on the parts of the IELTS Academic that actually move your score.
Important things you need to know about the IELTS Academic format:
- The written modules run for two hours and forty minutes with no break.
- Speaking is a one-to-one interview with a certified examiner.
- Bands are reported 0 to 9 in half-band steps for each module.
- Academic Reading uses journal, book and newspaper passages.
- Computer-delivered results arrive in three to five days; paper takes thirteen.
- To know more about the format, try out a free mock test on Flowy.
To know more about the IELTS Academic format — try out a free mock test on Flowy
Major aspects of different modules of IELTS Academic Exam structure
- Module 1
Listening
30 minutes
- Part 1 — Conversation, everyday social context
- Part 2 — Monologue, everyday social context
- Part 3 — Conversation in an educational context
- Part 4 — Academic monologue
- Module 2
Reading
60 minutes
- Passage 1 — Descriptive academic text
- Passage 2 — Discursive academic text
- Passage 3 — Argumentative academic text
- Forty questions across eleven task types
- Module 3
Writing
60 minutes
- Task 1 — Describe a chart, graph, table or process
- Task 2 — Essay responding to an argument or problem
- Module 4
Speaking
11 - 14 minutes
- Part 1 — Introduction and familiar topics
- Part 2 — Long turn from a cue card
- Part 3 — Two-way discussion
How does the IELTS Academic format test a candidate's knowledge from each module?
Listening Module
Recordings play once and move from social to academic contexts, testing whether you can follow detail, opinion and signposting at natural speed.
Reading Module
Three long academic passages in sixty minutes, with no extra transfer time on the computer-delivered test — pace is part of what is measured.
Writing & Speaking Modules
Both are marked by certified examiners against four public criteria, which is why Flowy has real evaluators check every AI band before you see it.
IELTS Academic
Score Guide
01
Listening30 minutes
Ten questions.
02
Reading60 minutes
- Passage 1 — Descriptive academic text
- Passage 2 — Discursive academic text
- Passage 3 — Argumentative academic text
03
Writing60 minutes
At least 150 words. Recommended time: 20 minutes.
04
Speaking11 - 14 minutes
Four to five minutes.
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