As you already know, IELTS is taken for various purposes: The Academic version for further studies and the General Training version for immigration or work. But how are they different?

The listening and speaking tests are exactly the same in Academic or General Training IELTS; however, there are differences in the reading and writing parts:

Academic IELTS

Reading

• Long and academic passages
• Better Scoring formula (30 correct answers out of 40 = 7.0)

Writing

• More difficult task 1: Report (graph, chart, etc. description)
• Task 2: Essay

General Training IELTS

Reading

• Shorter and easier passages
• Worse scoring formula (30 correct answers out of 40 = 6.0)

Writing

• Easier Task 1: Letter
• Task 2: Essay

So it seems like it is easier to sit the General Training version of IELTS, but it still depends on what you need your IELTS score for. Make sure you ask which version is accepted by the country/university/organization.

Still unsure which one to choose? Leave a comment below or ask your question in our Telegram IELTS Q&A group.

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Note: Did you know there is an even easier type of IELTS? Learn more →

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