IELTS Listening Test – Structure

Firstly, It is important to know that the listening test is same for all IELTS candidates. This means, Academic and General Training candidates takes same listening test and there is no difference in the types or difficulty of the questions asked in the exam. In addition, marking criteria is also the same.

Your listening band score is calculated by the number of correct answers you have out of the 40 questions in the test. You do not lose points for an incorrect answer and, thus, you should attempt all the questions. You can use our IELTS Band Score Calculator for free to convert the number of correct answers to band score or use the following table:

Table – Number of Correct Answers to IELTS Band Score for Listening (Academic and General)

The IELTS Listening test is approximately 40 minutes in duration out of which 10 minutes are given to transfer the answers from question paper to the answer sheet. Pen and paper based IELTS exam answer sheet looks like the picture given below. However, for computer-delivered IELTS listening test, candidates have to input their answers while taking the test and they are automatically saved on the computer. Hence, candidates are not given extra 10 minutes transfer or recheck answers in computer delivered IELTS listening test. Instead, candidates get 2 minutes to review their answers and change anything they need to.

Picture – Sample IELTS Listening Answer Sheet

Now go through the different topics mentioned in the ‘Lesson Content’ box below