# Take IELTS (Academic or General Training)

> Choose the module, book paper or computer delivery, prepare for four skills scored on the 9-band scale, and use One Skill Retake instead of a full resit if one section falls short.

- **Section:** Entrance exams · **Region:** Global · **Difficulty:** medium
- **Time:** 4–8 weeks of preparation · test 2 h 45 min · results in 3–5 days (computer) or 13 days (paper)
- **Cost:** ₹19,000 in India (from 1 April 2026); One Skill Retake ₹12,650; fees vary by country
- **You end up with:** An IELTS Test Report Form with an overall band and four section bands, valid two years
- **Last reviewed:** 2026-09-05 · **Canonical:** https://for.do/p/ielts/

## Before you start

- A valid passport (the only accepted ID at most centres)
- Clarity on which module your university or visa needs: Academic, General Training, or IELTS for UKVI

IELTS is the English test most universities, professional bodies and migration systems accept, run jointly by the British Council, IDP and Cambridge. The test itself is under three hours; the preparation that pays off is narrowly targeted at the four scoring criteria and the specific task formats, not general English.

## 1. Pick the right module

- [ ] Academic for university admission; General Training for most migration and work; IELTS for UKVI at a UKVI-approved centre for UK visas.
- [ ] Confirm the required overall band and any minimum section bands with the institution in writing.

## 2. Book the test

- [ ] Choose computer-delivered (results in 3–5 days, more dates, One Skill Retake available) or paper (results in 13 days).
- [ ] Book on the British Council or IDP site for your country; in India the fee is ₹19,000 from 1 April 2026 (₹19,250 for UKVI).
- [ ] Register with your passport details exactly; the passport is the test-day ID.

## 3. Learn the four papers

- [ ] Listening: 4 recordings, 40 questions, one play only; practise transferring answers with correct spelling.
- [ ] Reading: 3 passages (Academic) or sections (General), 40 questions in 60 minutes; skimming and locating beat careful reading.
- [ ] Writing: task 1 (chart/letter, 150 words) and task 2 (essay, 250 words) in 60 minutes; task 2 counts double.
- [ ] Speaking: three parts — introduction, a 2-minute talk on a cue card, and a discussion.

## 4. Prepare in 4–8 weeks

- [ ] Take one full official practice test to find your weakest band.
- [ ] Writing: study the public band descriptors; write two task-2 essays a week and get them marked against the descriptors.
- [ ] Speaking: record yourself on cue-card topics; extend answers with reasons and examples.
- [ ] Listening and Reading: one timed section a day from Cambridge past papers.

## 5. Test day

- [ ] Arrive early with the passport; Speaking may be scheduled on a different day within the week.
- [ ] Manage time visibly: Reading and Writing have no per-section pause, and the Writing tasks share one hour.

## 6. Results and next steps

- [ ] Results appear online; the Test Report Form is sent to up to five institutions free.
- [ ] If one section misses the target, book a One Skill Retake within 60 days (computer-delivered tests only); the new report replaces the whole score.

## Where people get this wrong

- Booking the wrong module. Universities want Academic; most migration and work visas want General Training; UK visas need the UKVI-approved version at a UKVI centre. They are not interchangeable.
- Ignoring the Writing task 1 word count. Under 150 words on task 1 or 250 on task 2 loses band points before content is judged.
- Treating Speaking as a conversation to win. Examiners score fluency, vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation; short answers and memorised speeches both score low.
- Not knowing One Skill Retake exists. If one band drags the overall down, a single-skill retake within 60 days of a computer-delivered test costs less than a full resit and produces a new full report.

## Questions

**What is the format?**  
Listening 30 minutes (40 questions), Reading 60 minutes (40 questions), Writing 60 minutes (2 tasks), Speaking 11–14 minutes with an examiner. Listening, Reading and Writing are on one day; Speaking may be up to a week apart.

**How is it scored?**  
Each skill gets a band from 0 to 9 in half-band steps; the overall band is their average, rounded to the nearest half band. There is no pass or fail — each institution sets its own minimum.

**How long are results valid?**  
Two years from the test date for most universities and immigration authorities.

## Tools used

- [IELTS official practice materials](https://find.do/t/cambridge-ielts-practice/) (official) — Sample papers and band descriptors from the test owners.

## Sources

- [IELTS — Academic test format (official)](https://ielts.org/take-a-test/test-types/ielts-academic-test)
- [IDP IELTS India — test fee](https://ieltsidpindia.com/information/ielts-test-fee)
- [Physics Wallah — IELTS One Skill Retake 2026](https://www.pw.live/study-abroad/ielts/exams/ielts-one-skill-retake)