Perhaps the biggest difference between these two versions of the test is the way that they’re scored. Granted, IELTS Listening, Speaking, and Writing are scored the same way on both exams. But IELTS Reading, which represents a full 25% of your score, is rated very differently on IELTS academic vs. IELTS general training.
For example, suppose you get 30 out of 40 answers correct in IELTS Reading, also known as a raw score of 30. In general training reading, that’s an IELTS Band of 5.0. But 30 out of 40 gets you a 6.0 in academic reading. Your raw scores have a totally different meaning depending on whether you’re looking at the IELTS academic or general test!
IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training Score Comparison Charts
There is also an unofficial table of the difference between Listening and Reading scores on the IELTS academic or general test. This chart, which comes from the Wikipedia article on the IELTS, is more complete than the official one. It is also very reliable. All figures come from the unofficial-but-accurate online IELTS score calculator.
For an official, but incomplete, chart of these Reading raw score/band score conversions, check out the second chart on the official IELTS Scoring web page. These conversions can help you come up with an IELTS general and academic score comparison.
