WHAT DOES THE GENERAL TRAINING IELTS TEST CONSIST OF?

General Training Reading Module

Requirements

• You must read three reading passages with a total of 1,500 to 2,500 words.
• There will be between 38 and 42 questions. You will have 60 minutes to answer all the questions
• The level of difficulty of the texts and tasks increases through the paper.

Types of material

Notices, advertisements, booklets, newspaper, timetables, books, and magazine and articles.

• Section 1: Social survival – retrieving factual information
• Section 2: Training survival – language in a training context
• Section 3: General reading – extended prose with emphasis on descriptive and instructive texts of general interest.

Question types

You will meet a variety of question types, which may include:

• Multiple choice
• Short answer questions
• Sentence completion
• Notes/ summary/ flow chart/ table completion
• Choosing from a bank of headings
• Identification of writer’s views or attitudes (Yes/No/Not given)
• Classification
• Matching lists
• Matching phrases

General Training Writing Module

Requirements

You must complete two writing tasks. You will have 60 minutes to complete both tasks. You should spend about 20 minutes on Task 1 and write at least 150 words. You should spend about 40 minutes on Task 2 and write at least 250 words.

Task types

• Task 1

You will have to write a short letter in response to a given problem or situation. Your writing will be assessed on your ability to:

• Engage in personal correspondence
• Elicit and provide general factual information
• Express needs, wants, likes and dislikes.
• Express opinions

You will also be judged on your ability to:

• Answer the question without straying from the topic.
• Write in a way which allows reader to follow your ideas.
• Use English grammar and syntax accurately.
• Use appropriate language in terms of register, style and content.
• Task 2

You will have to present an argument or discuss a problem. Your writing will be assessed on your ability to:

• Provide general factual information
• Outline a problem and present a solution
• Present and justify an opinion

You will also be judged on your ability to:

• Communicate an idea to the reader in an appropriate style.
• Address the problem without straying from the topic.
• Use English grammar and syntax accurately.
• Use appropriate language in terms of register, style and content.

General Training Listening Module and General Training Speaking Module are the same as Academic Listening Module and Academic Speaking Modules.

Vanessa Jakeman & Clare McDowell – Cambridge IELTS 1