IELTS — which version do you actually need?
General Training is the version Canada accepts for economic immigration. Academic is the version universities require, and the one the UK, Australian and New Zealand skilled-migration routes use. Choosing wrong costs you the fee and the wait.
| You are doing this | You need |
|---|---|
| Express Entry / Canadian permanent residence | General Training, 8777 for CLB 9 |
| University admission (UK, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Canada) | Academic |
| UK Skilled Worker · Australian points test · New Zealand residence | Academic |
Two things worth knowing before you book: IELTS Online exists only in the Academic version and is not accepted by IRCC, and One Skill Retake is explicitly rejected by IRCC for Express Entry. In Canada the paper test was withdrawn on 7 May 2026 — the test is computer-delivered.
What SELM does today
Speaking and writing practice against IELTS task types, with pronunciation, fluency and hesitation feedback on your own recording, and band-criterion feedback in whole integers — as the real Test Report Form reports them. A product that shows you “Grammar: 5.5” is telling an informed candidate that it is not modelled on the real thing.
In build Full General Training and Academic simulators, with all reading question types and both Writing Task 1 forks.
What we teach on the writing tasks
Task 2 carries double weight and must never be the task that runs out of time — candidates routinely over-invest in Task 1. Academic Task 1 is description, not opinion: introducing an argument is a criteria mismatch that costs marks regardless of how good the English is. Word-count minimums are enforced and penalised.
We teach structure — a skeleton you fill with your own content. Never a script to reproduce.