Academic, General Training, UKVI and One Skill Retake
Academic or General Training
- There are two IELTS tests, and you choose one when you book. Choosing wrong wastes the fee.
- Academic is for study at degree level or above, and for professional registration.
- General Training is for migration to Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the UK, and for training or study below degree level.
- Almost every Chinese student going abroad for a Bachelor's or Master's needs Academic.
You are applying for a Master's degree in the UK. Which IELTS do you book?
Academic is the test for study at degree level and above. General Training is for migration or study below degree level; Life Skills is a Pass/Fail visa test.
What is the same in both
- Listening is the same test. Same 4 parts, same 40 questions, same recordings played once.
- Speaking is the same test. Same 3 parts, same examiner, same 11 to 14 minutes.
- The band scale is the same: 0 to 9, in whole and half bands.
- So two of the four skills you practise here serve both tests without any change.
Which parts of IELTS are exactly the same in Academic and General Training?
Listening and Speaking are identical. Reading uses different texts, and Writing Task 1 is a figure in Academic but a letter in General Training.
What is different
- Reading. Academic uses three long texts from books, journals and newspapers written for a general reader. General Training uses everyday notices and advertisements first, then workplace texts, then one longer general text.
- Writing Task 1. Academic asks you to describe a graph, table, chart or diagram in at least 150 words. General Training asks you to write a letter in at least 150 words.
- Writing Task 2 is an essay of at least 250 words in both tests, and in both it is worth twice as much as Task 1.
- The General Training Reading passages are easier, but the band you need is often higher, so the tests are not "easy" and "hard".
Complete: in General Training, Writing Task 1 asks you to write a ___.
General Training Task 1 is a letter of at least 150 words. Academic Task 1 describes a figure, also at least 150 words.
IELTS for UKVI
- If your visa application is for the UK, you may be told to take IELTS for UKVI.
- The test itself is identical: same questions, same format, same difficulty, same scoring.
- What differs is administration — a UKVI test session, and a Test Report Form that shows it was one.
- So book the UKVI session if the university or the visa route asks for it, but prepare in exactly the same way.
- IELTS Life Skills is a different, smaller test: Speaking and Listening only, at CEFR A1, A2 or B1, and it is marked Pass or Fail, not banded. It is for certain visa routes, not for university study.
IELTS for UKVI has harder questions than the ordinary IELTS test.
No. The questions, format, difficulty and scoring are identical. Only the test session and the Test Report Form differ, to satisfy UK visa administration.
One Skill Retake — the rule that changes how you prepare
- If one skill lets you down, you can sit One Skill Retake instead of the whole test again.
- You may retake any one of Listening, Reading, Writing or Speaking — one skill, once per full test.
- Two conditions: your full test must have been IELTS on computer at a centre that offers the service, and you must sit the retake within 60 days of the full test.
- You then get a new Test Report Form carrying the new score for that skill and the original scores for the other three.
- This is why it is worth knowing which single skill is short of your target: the repair may cost one morning rather than a whole test.
- Sources, checked on 19 September 2026: General Training test, One Skill Retake, IELTS for UKVI, Life Skills, Academic Writing format.
Within how many days of your full test must you sit a One Skill Retake?
60 days, and the full test must have been IELTS on computer at a centre that offers the service. You may retake one skill, once, per full test.
Put the One Skill Retake steps in order.
The retake only exists after a full computer-delivered test, and the window is counted from that test day.