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How IELTS is built

IELTS tests Listening (about 30 minutes), Reading (60), Writing (60: Task 1 then Task 2) and Speaking (11 to 14 minutes with an examiner). Each skill gets a band from 0 to 9 in half-band steps. The overall band is the average of the four, rounded to the nearest half band: an average ending in .25 rounds up to .5, and one ending in .75 rounds up to the next whole band. Academic and General Training differ in Reading and in Writing Task 1; Listening and Speaking are the same.