Difference between Academic IELTS and General Training IELTS

Posted by Ieltsgurgaon on December 5th, 2019

IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training Score Comparison Charts

Were you aware of the fact that there are two different formats of IELTS exams?

Yes, you read it right!

The two different formats of the IELTS test are known by the names IELTS General Training and IELTS Academic. The breakdown of IELTS General Training and IELTS Academic are done due to some purpose. Both the IELTS General Training and IELTS Academic versions mostly similar in format, but there is some difference in the Writing and Reading sections of the two assessments.

Continue reading the post for a breakdown of differences between the two IELTS tests, which are IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training. We have also tried to explain the IELTS General Training and IELTS Academic score comparison and an answer to the question “Which one is easier: the IELTS General or the IELTS Academic?”

IELTS Academic vs. IELTS General Training

The IELTS General Training and IELTS Academic tests vary a lot in their purpose than in their format.

Purpose: Academic IELTS vs. General Training IELTS

Academic IELTS

It might be obvious to you that the Academic IELTS is intended for (prospective) university students applying for admission in universities and programs in which English is the medium of instruction. But that’s not all – many professionals and job applicants may find that they are also required to provide scores for this version of the test.

One example is medical work. If you would like to be a professional working in the medical domain in the UK, Australia, New island, or Canada, you will have to sit for the Academic IELTS. A wide range of medical jobs requires this version of the exam, including a doctor, nurse, pharmacist, and even hospital lab technician.

The IELTS academic version permits assessment takers to demonstrate some reading and writing skills that aren’t essentially a part of the everyday communication of English speakers. These types of reading writing skill assessments are different from reading and writing skills for IELTS General Training.

General Training IELTS

For all the other type of immigration and employment, the IELTS General Training version is used widely if you would like to enter the USA, Canada, Ireland, the UK, New Zealand, Australia, etc. for general immigration.

For example, individuals who are taking the IELTS because they are applying for permission to live in Australia near their grandchildren will find that the General Training IELTS suits their needs.
But the test is not just used for immigration. Multinational corporations sometimes use General Training IELTS scores to assess the English ability of their workers. So test-takers can use their score report to get a job, in some cases.

Format: Two Versions, Four Skills

Both versions of the assessment have a similar general format. Your English writing, reading, listening, and speaking skills are tested individually despite the type of version you are taking. In fact, there aren’t any differences between the listening and speaking sections at all.
The same topics and question should be expected in both the IELTS General Training and IELTS Academic assessments. The same is true of the other two sections.

Both writing versions involve 2 writing tasks and each reading version raise forty queries in response to assigned readings. Differences begin to seem, however, in the nature of the content and task types, which we move on to now.

Content: IELTS Academic vs. IELTS General Training

University students and professionals must be equipped with English reading skills that are strong enough for texts in professional and academic journals, textbooks, and relevant magazines and newspapers. As such, the IELTS Academic uses texts taken directly from these styles of sources to check comprehension skills. Similarly, the writing tasks specific to this version use sample topic that would be relevant in academic and professional settings. English writing skills will be assessed to make sure they are strong enough to write college-level essays.

Aspirants undergoing the IELTS General coaching take a look at, on the other hand, will encounter the kind of language that would appear in advertisements, guidebooks, magazines, notices, or what working people might encounter in employee manuals. The English written by the aspirant is tested on general tasks like letter writing or basic essay writing.

IELTS General and Academic Score Comparison

Perhaps the biggest difference between these two versions of the test is the way that they’ve scored. Granted, IELTS Listening, Speaking, and Writing are scored the same way on both exams. But IELTS Reading, which represents a full 25% of your score, is rated very differently on IELTS academic vs.IELTS general training. For example, suppose you get thirty out of forty answers correct in IELTS Reading, additionally referred to as a raw score of thirty. In general coaching reading, that’s an IELTS Band of 5.0. But thirty out of forty get the aspirant a score of 6.0 in the academic reading section. Your raw scores have a completely distinct definition of whether or not you’re viewing the IELTS tutorial or general test!