📘 IELTS Complete Guide: Academic vs General Training

Academic → university. General → immigration/work. Listening & Speaking same; Reading & Writing different.

Read questions before each section. Listen for signpost words (however, then, finally). Watch for distractors.

Skim passage (2-3 min). Answer easy question types first: true/false/not given, matching headings, sentence completion. For Academic, focus on synonyms and paraphrasing.

Task 1 (150 words, 20 min): describe a chart/graph using data language (increased, fluctuated, peaked). Task 2 (250 words, 40 min): opinion/discussion essay with clear structure.

Part 1 (4-5 min): personal questions. Part 2 (cue card, 1 min prep, 2 min speak). Part 3 (4-5 min): abstract discussion. Use fluency, not just memorised answers.