IELTS comes in two versions. Listening and Speaking are identical in both; Reading and Writing differ. Booking the wrong version is an expensive mistake, so decide from your goal — not from which one sounds easier.
Choose Academic if you are applying for…
- University or college study (undergraduate or postgraduate).
- Professional registration in fields such as healthcare, law, or engineering, where the regulator asks for Academic.
Academic Reading uses texts from books, journals, and magazines. Academic Writing Task 1 asks you to describe a chart, graph, table, or process.
Choose General Training if you are applying for…
- Migration programmes, such as Canada’s Express Entry (which converts your score to CLB levels).
- Work experience, training programmes, or secondary school in an English-speaking country.
General Training Reading uses everyday texts — adverts, notices, workplace documents, and one longer article. Writing Task 1 is a letter: asking for information, explaining a situation, or making a request.
Three checks before you book
- Read the requirement on the official page of your university, employer, or immigration programme — it names the version.
- Check whether a minimum score per skill is required, not just an overall band.
- If two goals conflict (for example, study now, migration later), the Academic version is accepted more widely — but some migration programmes accept only General Training. Your main goal decides.
Preparing for Canada? See what your bands mean with the CLB Converter in the free tools.