Format of the 1989 IELTS

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Format of the 1989 IELTS​

From 1989 IELTS candidates took two non-specialised modules, Listening and Speaking, and two specialised modules, Reading and Writing. The non-specialised modules tested general English while the specialised modules were intended to test skills in particular areas suited to a candidate's chosen course of study. Specialised reading and writing modules (incorporating a direct link between the reading and writing activities) were available in three discipline fields which linked together related fields that had previously been separate modules in the ELTS battery, as shown below:

Module A – Physical Science and Technology
Module B – Life and Medical Sciences
Module C – Business Studies and Social Sciences


Reading Module A Module B Module C General
Writing Module A Module B Module C General
Listening Non-specialised Module
Speaking Non-specialised Module



Over the next five years the number of people taking the test rose by around 15% each year so that by 1995 there were over 43,000 candidates in 210 test centres around the world.