IELTS Exam Preparation

Globally, the IELTS exam is one of the important standards for assessing English language proficiency, especially for individuals who want to study, immigrate or work in English-speaking countries. At EliteStep, we provide comprehensive IELTS preparation services to help you improve your English listening, speaking, reading and writing skills and prepare for the IELTS exam with ease.

IELTS Categories

There are two types of IELTS exams: Academic (A) and General Training (G). Academic exams are for learners who plan to enter university or other higher education institutions. This type of exam focuses on assessing whether you have the English level required for academic study. General Training exams are more suitable for candidates who plan to immigrate or seek employment in English-speaking countries. It focuses on assessing daily English proficiency.

Academic (Category A)

Listening: Category A and Category G are the same, consisting of four parts and a total of 40 questions, covering dialogues and monologues in daily social situations, education and training environments, and academic content.

Reading:The Reading section contains three longer academic articles, usually from books, magazines, newspapers and research reports. These articles are mostly in the fields of science, social sciences, education and culture, and are designed to assess the candidate's ability to process complex theoretical information.

Writing: It consists of two parts. The first part is to describe, explain or summarize a chart, image or data; the second part is an argumentative essay, which requires candidates to argue a point of view, problem or argument.

Speaking: The speaking section is the same for both A and G exams. It consists of three parts: a self-introduction and general questions, a long one-way communication (a mini-speech), and a discussion with the examiner (usually an extension of the topic of the second part).

General Training (Category G)

Listening: Category A and Category G are the same, consisting of four parts and a total of 40 questions, covering dialogues and monologues in daily social situations, education and training environments, and academic content.

Reading: It includes three shorter texts, and the content usually focuses on daily life, workplace and social life. The reading materials in Category G are more practical and assess the candidate's ability to understand English information in work and daily life.

Writing: It also consists of two parts. The first part requires you to write a letter, which may be formal, informal or semi-formal; the second part is an argumentative essay, the same as Category A.

Speaking: The speaking section is the same for both A and G exams. It consists of three parts: a self-introduction and general questions, a long one-way communication (a mini-speech), and a discussion with the examiner (usually an extension of the topic of the second part).

IELTS Scoring Standards


The IELTS exam is scored based on four skill modules - listening, reading, writing and speaking. The highest score for each module is 9 points and the lowest score is 1 point. The total score of the exam is the average of the scores of the four parts, also expressed on the same scale of 1 to 9. The following is a detailed explanation of the scoring criteria for each part:

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