All candidates take the same Listening and Speaking Modules. There is an option of either Academic or General Training Reading and Writing Modules. Academic is suitable for candidates planning to undertake higher education study. General Training is suitable for candidates planning to undertake non-academic training or work experience, or for immigration purposes.

You have to complete the Listening, Reading & Writing Sections in one day. You may take the Speaking Section seven days before or after the other three sections (at the discretion of the test center).

The Listening, Reading and Writing tests are administered during the morning. Speaking interviews are scheduled during the afternoon if conducted on the same day.

The venue for the speaking section may differ from that of the other three modules.

Which Module should I sit, Academic or General Training?

Candidates must select either the Academic or General Training Reading and Writing Modules depending on their stated requirement of their sponsor or receiving institution.

The Academic Reading and Writing Modules assesses whether a candidate is ready to study or train in the medium of English at an undergraduate or postgraduate level.
Admission to undergraduate and postgraduate courses should be based on the results of Academic Modules.

The General Training Reading and Writing Modules are not designed to test the full range of formal language skills required for academic purposes.

The emphasis of General Training is on basic survival skills in a broad social and educational context. It is suitable for candidates who are going to English speaking countries to complete their Secondary education, to undertake work experience or training programs not at degree level, or for immigration purposes to Australia and New Zealand.

Can a candidate retest only for the module where he / she did not score well instead of repeating the whole test ?

IELTS provides a profile of a candidate's English proficiency at a given time. It provides not only an indication of ability in a particular module but also an indication of overall ability. This would not be possible if modules were not taken at the same time. Stakeholders require an indication of proficiency at a given time. Stakeholders have expressed a preference for full re-testing to gain an accurate assessment of a candidate's language proficiency. 

Interpersonal Skills: Negotiations, listening skills, social skills, assertive skills, cross-cultural communications.

Which is the best score for getting visa ?

There is no minimum IELTS score requirements for Visa but universities generally ask for at least 6 or 6.5 band. A score of 8 considered good. There are other alternative also where anybody need just a score of 4.5.

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IELTS Exam:

IELTS Tips for Speaking

Tip 1 Part of the reason they start the speaking test with 'giving personal information' is to put students at their ease, so the examiner gets a chance to see what students are capable of during the test. Therefore students should just relax and answer the questions as naturally as possible. 
 
Tip 2 Students shouldn't just provide one-word answers, but it isn't necessary to stretch one question out to the whole 4 or 5 minutes either. Extended speaking is tested in Part Two of the speaking paper. In other words, the answer to 'Do you have any brothers or sisters?' is not 'Yes', but it isn't 'My eldest sister is 5 foot 2 inches tall and her birthday is 7 weeks after mine….' either. Again, be natural.
 
Tip 3 Students should remember that the different parts of the speaking test do not have separate marks, so it isn't the end of the world if they start slowly just as long as they have showed what they can do by the end of the test.
 
Tip 4 The examiner has had a long hard day, and is human too- so be interesting!
 
Tip 5 A good warmer, and practice for providing interesting extended answers to the questions, is getting students to ask their partners exactly the same question over and over again. Each time they answer the question, students should give a different response. For example,
A: Where are you from?'
B: Seaford'
A: Where are you from?'
B: A small town on the south coast of England'
A: Where are you from?'
B: A really boring place to grow up' Etc.
 
Tip 6 Another good practice activity for this is to have play the 'Don't answer yes or no' game. Basically, one student sits in front of the class and answers all the questions the other students ask them. If they say 'Yes' or 'No' at any time they are out, and another student takes their place. The winning student is the one who stays there the longest.
 
Tip 7 A simpler warmer is just getting students to question each other in detail about a different one of the possible topics at the beginning of each lesson.
 
Tip 8 Getting students to concentrate on communicatively important things such as keeping eye contact and not fidgeting can help some students by taking their attention off the actual language they are using.
 
Tip 9 A range of times and tenses may come up in this part, and it a good opportunity for students to show they can talk about the past, present and future as the topics are less demanding than in the other parts of the speaking exam.

Possible Questions from the Interviewer of the IELTS Test
1. What is the meaning of your given name?
2. Does your name affect your personality?
3. Tell me something about your hometown.
4. What are the differences in accent between your hometown and Beijing?
5. What is the character of the people like in your hometown?
6. What is people's favourite food in the region where you live?
7. What will you do during the Spring Festival this year?
8. Are there any traditional festivals in your region? 
9. Describe a typical Spring Festival for a Chinese family.
10. Tell me something about the Lantern Festival.
11. How have weddings changed in recent years?
12. Tell me something about the Qing Ming Festival.
13. Describe a traditional wedding ceremony.
14. How do Chinese usually celebrate birthdays?
15. Are there any traditions concerning the birth of a baby?
16. How do you like Beijing? Compare it to your hometown.
17. What place do you like best in Beijing?
18. What places in Beijing should a foreigner visit?
19. What places would you recommend a visitor to go to in your region/hometown?
20. If you had the choice, where would you choose to live in China?
21. Which parts of China would you recommend a foreigner to visit?
22. Tell me something about your family.
23. Which is the worst place you've been to in China?
24. Who takes the greatest responsibility for bringing up your child in your family?
25. Which is the best place you've been to in China?
26. Who does most of the household chores in your family?
27. Are the traditional sexual roles within the family changing?
28. Why is the divorce rate increasing so rapidly? Is it a problem?
29. What is your opinion of the one-child policy?
30. How do you discipline your child?
31. Is it acceptable for couples to live together without marrying?
32. If you had the choice, would you have a son or a daughter?
33. Are you going to bring your child up any differently to the way your parents did?
34. What hopes do you have for your child?
35. Do women still have too heavy a burden in their day to day life?
36. Is the increasing influence of the West largely a positive or negative thing?
37. What, according to you, has been the greatest change in recent years?
38. What, according to you, has been the most problematic change in recent years?
39. What, if you are a lecturer what changes have you seen in education over the past few years?
40. Who should bear the responsibility for payment of tuition fees?
41. What can be done to improve education in rural areas?
42. Have recent changes affected your job in any way?
43. Do you agree with private education?
44. What can be done to close the gap between urban and rural areas?
45. If you had the power, what reforms would you carry out within education?
46. Describe a typical working day for you.
47. How do you see yourself in ten years time?
48. If you had the opportunity to change your job, what would you do instead?
49. If you had one million Yuan, what would you do with it?
50. If you could start your life again, would you do anything differently?
51. Do you have any ambitions?
52. Which country/place would you most like to visit?
53. What changes do you think China will see in the next few years?
54. Will any possible future changes affect your job in any way?
55. How do you think you will cope in Britain?
56. Does anything worry you about going to the UK?
57. Are you looking forward to anything in particular in Britain?
58. What are your plans on your return to China?
59. What do you do in your spare time?
60. What will you do if you fail the IELTS? 

The IELTS Result

All IELTS results are released 13 calendar days after the test. "

In case a candidate needs to obtain the results within a week, the candidate needs to pay an extra amount, as mentioned in the application form." The score report is mailed within two weeks of the test. All four modules are equally weighted. The score for each section is reported on a band of 0-9. The average of the scores of all sections is taken and the overall score is given in band of 0-9.

What can candidates do if they are unhappy with their results?
Candidates may apply for an enquiry on results procedure at the centre at which they took their test within four weeks of issue of results. There is a fee for this which is refunded should the band score change.

Why are results now issued after 13 days and not earlier?
All IELTS results around the world will now be issued 13 days after the test date to ensure global consistency. This allows Cambridge ESOL more time to analyse all centres' results and check for any inconsistencies before they are released. This is also application in IELTS India result.

What if I lose my Test Report Form / Result?
At any time within two years of your test administration, you can apply to the centre where you took the test for further copies of the Test Report Form (TRF). There will be a small administrative charge for this service.

What if I need additional TRF's to be sent to Institutions ?
You may request for additional TRF which will be dispatched directly the by the test centre to the institution. There is NO CHARGE for the additional TRF, HOWEVER, will have to pay for the dispatch i.e. the Registered Post or Courier charge as opted by you.

IELTS Score link

check your IELTS score online by visiting following websites.

India: New Delhi
IDP Australia : http://www.ieltsindia.com/candidate.htm
British Council: http://ielts-results.britishcouncil.org

Iran: Tehran
IDP: http://www.ieltstehran.com/index.php

Nepal: Kathmandu
British Council: http://www.britishcouncil.org/nepal-exams-ielts-results.htm

What if I lose or change my ID / passport before the test?

You are not allowed to take the test.
The candidates must present the same identification document (either ID card or passport with the same candidate information, including name, gender, date of birth, ID/Passport number). We do not accept any alternative identity documents.

Can I sit the test with a temporary ID card?

Temporary ID card is not acceptable.

What are the necessary documents to be shown at time of the test?

You need to submit the following documents to the test centre for registering for IELTS

• Two passport sized photographs at the discretion of the test centre.
• Photocopy of the passport
• Duly filled up and signed Test Registration Form
• Demand Draft (DD is the only mode of payment). If you register online on www.ieltsindia.org you can even pay by credit card.

What can the candidate bring into the examination room?

Only pens, pencils and erasers. Correction fluid must not be used. You must leave anything which you do not need, or which is not allowed, either outside the examination room, or as instructed by the supervisor. Mobile phones and pagers must be switched off and placed with personal belongings in the area designated by the supervisor. Any candidate who does not switch off their phone/pager, or who retains one in their possession, will be disqualified.

What should the candidate bring for the Speaking test?

The candidate needs to bring the same identification documents they supplied on registration, as these must be checked again against the information on the application form. These documents will be checked by the administrator and the Speaking examiner prior to the candidate entering the interview room.

Can I make some notes on the Listening and Reading question paper? Yes. The examiner will not see your question paper.

Can I complete the Listening and Reading answer sheet in pen?

No. The answer sheet is scanned by a computer which cannot read pen.

Is there a similar period of ten minutes at the end of the Reading test for the transfer of answers?

No. The Reading test is one hour, and you must write all your answers on the answer sheet in this time.

Does the listening tape provide the candidate with necessary instructions and pauses?

Yes. At the beginning of the test, candidates receive instructions and hear a sample question. Next, candidates read Section One questions and then listen to Section One and answer the questions on the question paper as they listen. The same procedure follows for Sections Two, Three and Four. This takes approximately 30 minutes to complete. In the following final ten minutes, candidates transfer their answers onto the answer sheet.
 
How long is my test score valid?

The IELTS score is valid for 2 years. While obtaining admission to
an educational institute, the latest IELTS score is considered.