The pie chart illustrates the four main sections of the IELTS examination, namely Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking.
Overall, the IELTS test consists of four sections, each assessing a different language skill. Listening and Speaking focus on understanding and communicating verbally, while Reading and Writing assess candidates’ ability to comprehend and produce written English.
Regarding the Listening section, it lasts approximately 30 minutes and comprises four parts played on a cassette tape. These parts become progressively more difficult and may include either dialogues or monologues.
The Reading section takes 60 minutes to complete. Candidates are required to undertake either an Academic or a General Training test, both of which consist of three sections arranged in increasing order of difficulty. Similarly, the Writing section lasts 60 minutes, during which candidates must complete two tasks. They are given either the Academic or General Training version, with different writing requirements.
Finally, the Speaking section involves an introduction and interview, an individual long turn, and a two-way discussion. Candidates speak about a particular topic during the long turn before participating in a discussion related to it. This section typically lasts between 11 and 14 minutes.