Is IELTS Hard or Easy? Find out the IELTS Difficulty level

Study abroad aspirants are often riddled with the IELTS, like “Is IELTS hard or easy? How difficult is IELTS?” Well, IELTS being the world’s leading English language proficiency assessment, the test is not difficult in itself. Test-takers with the right preparation, practice, and dedication can pass IELTS without difficulty. In fact, many non-native English speakers prove their English skills in Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking through IELTS for study abroad, work, or migration purposes. The test difficulty varies from person to person irrespective of a beginner or an advanced learner. Read this article till the end to get answers to your queries such as whether is IELTS hard or easy. Is IELTS difficult to take? Also, learn ways to tackle the difficulty in all the sections.

In this blog you will find

• How to Prepare for IELTS? Ways to tackle each section
  
  • Listening Section
  • Reading Section
  • Writing Section
• Speaking Test
• How difficult is IELTS?
• Tips to Improve IELTS Score
• Frequently asked questions

IELTS Exam

IELTS is a standardized English language assessment, available online and offline. The IELTS exam duration is less than 3 hours, it checks your abilities in Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking skills of English. The IELTS exam has conditions including IELTS syllabus format, question types and included tasks, methodology to correct the test, and so on.  

Is IELTS exam really that hard? Many applicants are curious to know whether the exam is easy or difficult. Well, the answer to this is: It depends. If you take the exam without any preparation, and without having a command of English, you might face a lot of difficulties in getting a high band score in the IELTS. So how difficult the IELTS is depends on your timely practice, learning style, and your ability to retain the knowledge you learned.

How to Prepare for IELTS? Ways to tackle each section

Preparing thoroughly can help mitigate the perceived difficulty of the assessment. To know how to prepare for IELTS, refer to the brief checklist as follows:

• Gain fluency in the British or American accent depending on your study abroad destination. Follow the best IELTS preparation books.
• Be familiar with each part of the IELTS test. For instance, brush up your letter writing skills both formal and informal.
• Some sections of IELTS exam demand visual literacy (charts, graphs, etc.). So know the type of questions asked in each section and understand what skills they are assessing.
• Identify your strengths and weaknesses in the skills being tested in the exam and work on weak areas to improve your score.
• Prepare a well organized study plan and stick to it.
• As the test date gets closer, practice IELTS mock tests.

Many students wonder about the difficulty level of the IELTS Exam. Is IELTS test easy? Yes, the IELTS test is easy with thorough practice, proper guidance, and resources. 

Familiarizing all the sections of the IELTS exam can be beneficial before starting your preparation. Here is an overview of different parts of the IELTS exam along with the ways to deal with the test complexity in each section:

IELTS Listening Section

The Listening test lasts for 30 minutes, an extra 10 minutes is given for transferring their answers to the answer sheet. The IELTS listening test comprises four parts, the test-taker needs to carefully listen to the speaker before answering the questions. Candidates might find it challenging due to the facts that:

• Recording can be heard only once.
• The difficulty level and question types in each section progressively increase. They occur rapidly one after the other making students feel tense.
• Concentration issues that cause leaving of answers blank to some questions.

Exam time management is crucial in the listening test. It is important to practise well to score better. To answer all questions, understand the speaker's accent, which can be learned by going through IELTS Listening prep tools, English music, or by watching English movies/ television shows.

IELTS Reading Section

In the IELTS Reading test, you have 40 questions and 60 minutes to answer them. One needs to read around 2000 words within this one-hour time limit which is a bit apprehensive. This reading section contains different types of questions to evaluate the test-takers reading capacity. Moreover, the test format is different for IELTS General and IELTS Academic tests.

You might find this section difficult if you didn’t practise English vocabulary well and might face difficulty in scanning and skimming the test text. To overcome this, start reading English books, magazines, and newspapers that can improve your English vocabulary as well as your scanning and skimming skills. You should implement the right reading strategies from the beginning of your IELTS Preparation until the day of the exam. These reading tips and strategies include:

• Create a checklist of a wide range of question types and trickier questions.
• Practice as much as you can reading for gist and details (skimming & scanning).
• Work from questions to the text, this will save you time.
• Enhance your reading speed by tackling longer texts within the same time frame/or by decreasing the time limit.
• Regardless of whether the section is tough or easy, prefer underlining lines that help you identify relevant parts of the text.
• Don’t be worried if you do not understand any word, try to imagine the word in a different context and comprehend the meaning.

IELTS Writing Section

In the IELTS Writing, test takers need to attempt two writing tasks. The time limit is 60 minutes, split as 20 minutes for the first task and 40 minutes for the second task. Most students feel IELTS writing is the hardest part of the test, to write all the answers and satisfy the word limit in each task within the allotted time is tough and challenging. 

The writing task test format differs in IELTS Academic and IELTS General. With some differences in task pattern, the IELTS Writing tasks include:

In Writing Task 1, you need to write a description of information displayed in the form of charts, graphs, tables, etc., or a letter on a given topic or subject.

In Writing Task 2, you need to write an argumentative essay, point of view, or problem.

Most students find control of timing in each part of the test extremely challenging. Apart from this, one must write the minimum number of words for each task assigned. Always focus on vocabulary and paraphrasing. This can be achieved through thorough practice and proper preparation. Here is the key to balance timing in this test:

Task 1:

• Don’t be anxious, take 5 minutes to read the question, and understand the context. 
• Use 10-12 minutes in writing, and describe all the relevant details.
• Then, spend 2-3 minutes cross-checking the data written, ensuring there are no grammatical errors or spelling mistakes.

Task 2:

• Take 5-8 minutes to work out an essay plan and structure. Say, If it is an argumentative or point of view essay, list around 3 to 4 “for” and “against” points. Connect the relevant lines using linking words like however, although, etc.
• Write the text for about 25-30 minutes.
• Finally, check over the written content for 5-8 minutes to avoid grammatical errors.

Apart from this, Keep the below points in mind that help you solve the difficulty you are facing in the IELTS Writing task.

• Refer to sample essays on the internet to get an idea about the question type in this test.
• Give importance to quality over quantity. Improve your quality of writing, and writing speed through practice.
• Maintain the specified word count. For instance, in the IELTS Academic writing test, make sure to write at least 150 words in task 1 and 250 words in task 2.
• Avoid using complicated words, if you don’t know the meaning.

IELTS Speaking Test

The Speaking test in IELTS takes 11-14 minutes to complete, which assesses the candidate’s English speaking ability. This IELTS speaking section might be hard for many test-takers, particularly those who do not use English for communication, but easier for those who speak English frequently. In this test, candidates have to face three tasks put by the examiner

• Task 1 - The examiner asks students to speak about general topics like hometown, family, friends, hobbies, etc.
• Task 2 - Test takers will be given a cue card - a particular topic to speak about, one minute for preparation and then you need to speak for about two minutes.
• Task 3 - The examiner asks a few questions in connection to the topic you spoke about, providing an opportunity to present your ideas and communicate more.

Always remember that, one must not only speak but also answer the questions and provide a comprehensive discussion on the given topic. Do not deviate from the main topic given, you will land in a difficult situation and lose your score. Instead of getting nervous, use the given 60 seconds of topic preparation time wisely, and make a note of the complex phrases, idioms, collocations, etc.

One common difficulty students often face in speaking tests is retelling the same story repeatedly, especially when they finish it in just 50 seconds. To handle this issue, students can utilize different English tenses like past, present, and future while speaking, and share different stories as per the assignment card. Remember that, one of the keys to success in IELTS is to demonstrate that you have rich and varied lexical resources. This test is the prime opportunity to showcase it.

Also Check out: IELTS General vs Academic Test

How difficult is IELTS?

The IELTS exam tests a candidate’s ability in reading, writing, listening, and speaking. The difficulty level of the skill might vary from person to person. For some individuals, Listening can be difficult while reading can be difficult for others. Similarly, writing can be the hardest part for a few candidates. So, when preparing for the exam, don’t be stressed. Just make sure you focus on your weak areas. 

Also Check out: Top 10 Toughest Exams in the World 2025

Is IELTS Easy or Hard? Tips to Improve IELTS Score

How to get a good IELTS Score? Here are a few IELTS preparation tips to score well:

• Go through the syllabus of IELTS, and understand the IELTS exam pattern.
• Well-structured sentences will lead to an improved IELTS score. Hence improve your grammar skills.
• Improve your vocabulary, and use appropriate words to frame a sentence that showcases your command of tips to Improve IELTS score subject. Try learning at least 10 words a day.
• Revision and Practice are must. Refer to IELTS books, and other resources, and take practice tests, and mock tests to improve your English language skills.  

Wrapping Up!

After going through the above factors, if you still think Is IELTS Hard? Is IELTS easy to pass? Here is the quite simple answer- The examination rigor of IELTS entirely depends on your goals and needs. If you have extreme determination and practice regularly, then you can get a good IELTS score. Remember a good IELTS band score will land you in your dream university abroad.

Prepare your IELTS exam well. For any subject-specific areas you are struggling with, you may need the help of a qualified tutor, we are here to help you. At Kanan International, we support students at every stage of test prep, admission application process, visa assistance and more. 

Frequently asked questions

1. Is IELTS very difficult?

IELTS exam difficulty level may vary from person to person. Listening can be difficult for some people while others face difficulty in the reading section. Similarly, Writing can be hardest for few test takers. So, prepare well for the exam and make sure to focus on your weakest sections.

2. Is IELTS easy to pass?

IELTS is not an easy exam to pass. If you have been considering taking the IELTS exam, it is certainly possible to pass with the right preparation, dedication and practice.

3. Which part of the IELTS is most difficult?

Most students find Writing is the hardest part of the IELTS because it requires more concentration and writing speed. You can prepare for IELTS writing with useful tips from experts.

4. Is IELTS tough for Indian students?

The IELTS test is normally hard for Indians as they are non-native speakers. People who really don't know much about English will always find this exam difficult. Also students find it extremely hard to pass the IELTS exam if they are not at all familiar with the whole exam conduction criteria. Hence to help students to prepare we are providing IELTS Coaching in Rajkot. You can also take world class coaching from major cities like Chennai, Bangalore, Vadodara etc. 

5. How much time is required to prepare for IELTS?

One’s IELTS preparation time depends on the existing English language skills level. However, a decent 4-5 months time is required if you are starting from scratch.