IELTS Academic or General Training: Which Should You Take?

What is the same and what is different

IELTS comes in two versions, Academic and General Training. Listening and Speaking are the same test in both; only Reading and Writing Task 1 differ.

Everything else is the same. In Korea both versions have been taken on computer at a test centre only since 22 March 2026, and the 60 minutes of Reading, the 60 minutes of Writing, the Overall (the average of the four skills rounded to the nearest half band) and the double weight of Writing Task 2 are the same in both. So is the fee: 347,000 won for either version at IDP Korea.

Reading: different texts, different score tables

Academic Reading is three long academic passages and 40 questions in 60 minutes (timing is covered in the Reading strategy guide). General Training is also 40 questions in 60 minutes, but the texts come in three sections:

• Section 1: everyday information, such as adverts, notices and timetables, in short texts
• Section 2: workplace texts, such as job adverts, company rules and training information
• Section 3: one long general passage

The first two sections have almost no academic vocabulary and are easier to read; the last passage is close to Academic level. The catch is the table that turns correct answers into a band. These are the most commonly targeted rows from the band score guide:

These are the widely published conversion tables, and the cut-offs can move by one or two answers from test to test. To get 7.0, you can miss up to 10 questions in Academic but only 6 in General Training; for 6.5 it is 13 against 8. That changes how you prepare:

• Academic: the deciding skill is getting through hard passages in 60 minutes. Practise finding the evidence sentence even when the passage is full of unfamiliar words, and pace yourself so a difficult Passage 3 does not cost you the marks from the earlier passages.
• General Training: the deciding skill is accuracy. Wrong answers come less from hard texts than from missing one condition in an advert or a notice (weekdays only, except public holidays), so if you have time left, recheck the conditions in Sections 1 and 2 first.

General Training Reading Easier texts make every question count for more. A 7.0 starts at 30 correct in Academic but at 34 in General Training, so General Training Reading is won by not dropping the questions you know.

Writing Task 1: a report or a letter

In Writing, the two versions part ways at Task 1. The conditions are the same (at least 150 words, about 20 minutes, half the weight of Task 2), but you write a different kind of text. Two questions written for this guide show the difference:

Academic Task 1
The table shows the average number
of hours per week that students in
four countries spent on homework
in 2005 and 2025.

Summarise the information by
selecting and reporting the main
features, and make comparisons
where relevant.

General Training Task 1
A gym near your home has started
a new evening class, but it is
always full.

Write a letter to the manager.
In your letter
  - say how long you have been
    a member
  - explain the problem with
    the class
  - suggest what the gym could do

An Academic report picks the two or three biggest features of the data and summarises them in a one-sentence introduction, an overview without numbers and two body paragraphs, with no opinions, guessed causes or conclusion. In a General Training letter, the reader sets the tone: formal to someone whose name you don't know (Dear Sir or Madam … Yours faithfully), semi-formal to a landlord or manager you know by name (Dear Mr Lee … Yours sincerely), informal to a friend (Hi Sarah … Best wishes). State the purpose in the first sentence and give each bullet point its own paragraph; for the question above, that means how long you have been a member, the class that is always full, and what you would like the gym to do.

Task 2 is an essay of at least 250 words in both versions and is prepared the same way, so if you switch versions, Task 1 is the only part of Writing to learn again. What you learn is the order of the paragraphs, not sentences to memorise (why memorised language loses marks (Korean), in Korean). The report is covered in the Writing Task 1 guide, and the letter in the General Training letter guide (Korean) (in Korean).

Which test to book

There is one way to decide. List every place that will receive this score, and find the name of the test on each one's official English language requirements page. The table below was checked on the official pages on 21 October 2026; the scores themselves are in the target score guide.

Students who entered a Canadian university with Academic switch to General Training for the Post-Graduation Work Permit: IRCC's PGWP document list says You should take the IELTS General Training option. For jobs and countries not checked here, the test name is in the notice from whoever decides: the visa, the employer or the registration body.

The words to look for

On the institution's page, the line that matters is the one that names the test.

Before you book Choose the test by the exact name on the English requirements page of the institution that will receive your score. Read that page yourself rather than a forum post or a summary table, and note the date you checked it.

If both versions are accepted

1. Will this score go anywhere else? Most bodies accept results up to two years old (Australian skilled visas, up to three years depending on the visa). If anywhere in that window accepts only Academic, such as a graduate school or a nursing board, take Academic; if anywhere accepts only General Training, such as Canadian immigration, take General Training.
2. If two places each accept only one version, sit both. Graduate school at Toronto (Academic) and Express Entry (General Training only) cannot be done with one test.
3. If you are still free to choose, decide by Reading and Task 1. Do one Reading set from each version and compare them with the table above, and write one report and one letter to see which suits you.

How IELTS for UKVI differs

IELTS for UKVI is not a third test. It is Academic or General Training taken as a Secure English Language Test (SELT) approved by the UK government, which is why there is an IELTS for UKVI Academic and an IELTS for UKVI General Training; the questions and the marking are the same as in the standard tests. Three things differ:

• You take it only at an approved test centre. In Korea it is held only in Seoul (as of September 2026).
• It costs more. At IDP Korea, the standard test is 347,000 won and UKVI is 389,000 won.
• It is the test for UK visa applications. The UK government's list of approved tests just says "IELTS for UKVI" without separating Academic from General Training, so if your university or employer names a version, follow it.

If you need UKVI and take the standard test, the result cannot be used for the visa; if you don't need it and take it anyway, you pay more and travel to Seoul. IELTS Life Skills, which also appears on the booking pages, is a different test of Listening and Speaking only, used for UK family visas and for settlement and citizenship applications.

Two cases, step by step

The people are examples; the requirements are as published on the official pages on 21 October 2026.

Case 1: registering as a nurse in Australia, then migrating

1. List every place that will receive the score. Nursing registration (the NMBA, applied for through Ahpra) and the skilled visa (the Department of Home Affairs).
2. Read the registration body's wording. It accepts IELTS Academic (Academic paper and computer at test centre only), with Overall 7, 7 in Listening, Reading and Speaking, and 6.5 in Writing. Two sittings within 12 months can be combined (provided each has Overall 7 and no skill in either is below 6.5), and One Skill Retake is accepted.
3. Read the visa's wording. Home Affairs lists both IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training for Competent English, at least 6 in each skill. IELTS Online is not accepted.
4. Pick the test both accept. Registration takes Academic only and the visa takes either, so the answer is IELTS Academic. The computer-delivered test at a Korean test centre meets the test-centre condition.
5. Aim for the higher requirement in each skill. That is 7 in Listening, Reading and Speaking and 6.5 in Writing. Those four average 6.875, so the Overall comes out at 7.0, and they also clear Competent (6 in each). If the visa stage asks for Proficient (7 in each), Writing needs a 7 as well.
6. Check the dates. Registration generally looks at results from the two years before you apply, and skilled visas at results from up to three years before, depending on the visa, so work out from the dates whether one result can cover both.

Case 2: a UK master's programme and a Student visa

1. List every place that will receive the score. Graduate admission (Oxford) and the Student visa (the UK government).
2. Read the university's wording. Oxford accepts IELTS Academic and IELTS Academic for UKVI, and says We are not able to accept the IELTS General Training or IELTS Online tests. The standard level is Overall 7.0 with at least 6.5 in each skill (some courses use the higher level, 7.5 with 7.0 in each), and the scores must come from a single test, so One Skill Retake cannot fill a gap.
3. Read the visa's wording. Degree-level study needs B2, which through a SELT means IELTS for UKVI with 5.5 in each skill. But at degree level the university may assess your English itself (your Higher Education Provider (HEP) can assess your level of English themselves): if a university with a track record of compliance states on your CAS (Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies) that it has done so, that meets the requirement.
4. Pick the test both accept. If the university assesses your English, IELTS Academic covers everything; if it asks for a SELT, take IELTS for UKVI Academic, which Oxford also accepts. If you have to book before the university tells you, UKVI Academic is the safe choice because both accept it (it costs more and is held only in Seoul).
5. Aim for the higher requirement in each skill. The university's 7.0 with 6.5 in each is above the visa's 5.5 in each, so the university sets the target. An Overall of 7.0 with a 6.0 in Writing still falls short.
6. Check the dates. Oxford wants a test taken less than two years before the course starts; the visa wants a SELT result awarded in the two years before you apply.

Both cases follow the same order. Filling in these five lines before you book keeps you from choosing the wrong test:

Before booking
1. Where the score will go:
2. Test name on each page:
3. Test they all accept:
4. Target: L   R   W   S   Overall
5. Date the result must be valid:

Is General Training easier?

The texts are easier to read, but you need more correct answers for the same band (7.0 starts at 30 in Academic and at 34 in General Training), so on Reading score alone it is hard to call either one easier. Writing Task 1 differs in kind, not difficulty, and Listening, Speaking and Task 2 are the same test.

Australian and New Zealand skilled migration accept both versions and ask for the same scores from each, so General Training is not a step below Academic either. The question is not which test is easier but which test is right, and most of the institutions checked here have already decided that for you.

If you booked the wrong test

On IDP's session list, the Academic and General Training sessions for the same date and time sit side by side, so read the test name on the line before you click. Before the test, there is a way to change: call IDP (its online transfer only moves you to the same test type), while the British Council works by cancelling and rebooking, so you lose a fee under its cancellation rules.

Once the provider's deadline passes nothing can be done, so check the test type in your confirmation email as soon as you book; the rules are in the step-by-step booking guide (Korean) (in Korean). After the test you cannot change, so if the receiving institution does not accept the version you took, you need to sit the right test.

What to remember

• The institution that will receive your score decides the version. Book by the exact name on its English requirements page.
• Listening and Speaking are the same in both versions. Reading and Writing Task 1 differ.
• General Training Reading has easier texts but needs more correct answers for the same band: 7.0 starts at 30 in Academic and at 34 in General Training.
• Canada's Express Entry accepts General Training only; the graduate schools and the nursing and medical boards checked here accept Academic only; Australian and New Zealand skilled migration accept both.
• If a UK visa is involved, check first whether you need IELTS for UKVI.
• If the score is going to more than one place, take the test they all accept and aim for the highest requirement in each skill.

What to read next

1. IELTS band scores: start here if you haven't yet. Bands, how the Overall is rounded, and the full Reading tables.
2. The scores you need, by purpose: once you know which test, find the exact target.
3. The General Training guide (Korean) (in Korean): if you are taking General Training, the three Reading sections and how to prepare.
4. The General Training letter (Korean) (in Korean): Task 1 for General Training, with the three levels of formality and a plan for each letter type.
5. The Writing Task 1 guide: Task 1 for Academic, and how to write the chart report.
6. IELTS fees and booking in Korea: when the test and the target are settled, the fees and the booking steps.

Sources

Sources Checked 21 October 2026. IELTS: test types · IELTS: Academic Writing format · IELTS: scoring in detail · IDP Korea: computer-only notice · IDP Korea: test fees · GOV.UK: Student visa, knowledge of English · GOV.UK: Skilled Worker visa, knowledge of English · GOV.UK: approved English tests (SELT) · IRCC: Express Entry language tests · IRCC: PGWP documents · Home Affairs: English language · Home Affairs: Competent English · Home Affairs: Proficient English · Home Affairs: Student visa (500) · Immigration New Zealand: skilled residence English · NMC: IELTS Academic · NMBA: English language skills · Ahpra: accepted English tests · GMC: using your IELTS certificate · Oxford: graduate English requirements · University of Toronto SGS: English proficiency · University of Melbourne: Master of IT entry · UC Berkeley Graduate Division: requirements