IELTS or Multilevel: which English exam should you take?

IELTS or Multilevel? For candidates in Uzbekistan the question comes up more and more often. Both exams test the same four skills, listening, reading, writing and speaking, and a learner who is good at one is usually good at the other. But they report different results, they are built differently, and they are asked for by different organisations. The right choice depends less on which exam is easier than on who you are taking it for.

Start with who will read the certificate

Before comparing formats, find out exactly what the organisation you are applying to accepts, whether it is a university, an employer, a scholarship programme or a government body. Requirements are usually written in one of two ways:

• An IELTS band, such as IELTS 6.5 overall, with no skill below 6.0. Only IELTS, or an exam the organisation names as equivalent, meets it.
• A CEFR level, such as B2 or above. The organisation then lists the exams it accepts as proof of that level. For requirements set in Uzbekistan, check whether the national Multilevel certificate is on the list.

If you are applying abroad, to a university in the UK, Europe, Asia or elsewhere, plan on IELTS or another international exam unless the institution says otherwise. If the requirement is set in Uzbekistan and names the national certificate, the Multilevel exam reports exactly what is being asked for: a CEFR level.

IELTS or Multilevel: how the two exams differ

The papers test the same English through different tasks:

• The result. IELTS gives a band from 0 to 9 for each skill and an overall band. The Multilevel exam places you at B1, B2 or C1 on the CEFR scale.
• Reading. IELTS Academic Reading has three long passages and 40 questions in 60 minutes. Multilevel Reading has five parts and 35 questions in 60 minutes, rising from B1 to C1, and it includes gap fills where the missing word is already in the text.
• Writing. IELTS Writing has two tasks: a report on a chart in Academic or a letter in General Training, and an essay. Multilevel Writing has three: an informal message and a formal letter about the same situation, and a forum post.
• Levels. One IELTS paper serves every level, and your band shows where you are. One Multilevel paper climbs through three CEFR levels, and your answers show how far up you can go.

Is one exam easier than the other?

Neither is simply easier. Candidates who find IELTS hard usually find the same things hard in Multilevel: reading quickly for detail, writing a well-organised argument, and speaking at length without preparation. What differs is the format, and an unfamiliar format costs marks in both. A candidate who has prepared only with IELTS books is often surprised by Multilevel's two-letter Writing Task 1, and a candidate who has prepared only for Multilevel can meet IELTS Task 1 charts for the first time on exam day.

Preparing for one exam, or both

Most of your preparation transfers. Vocabulary, grammar, reading speed and the ability to organise an argument are the same skills in both exams. Two things do not transfer, and they deserve practice of their own:

1. Each exam's task types. Practise every part in its real format until the instructions feel familiar. IELTS True, False or Not Given and Multilevel No Information test the same reading skill, but you should know which one you are facing.
2. The marking. IELTS Writing is marked on four criteria, while a Multilevel answer is judged against the level its task targets. Practise with feedback that uses the scale of the exam you will actually sit.

For the Multilevel format, read The Multilevel exam explained and Multilevel Writing Task 1: one situation, two letters. For IELTS, read How the IELTS band score is calculated.

Practise both formats free

EngProgress prepares candidates for both exams. There is a free daily CEFR Multilevel practice with full Reading and Writing papers, free daily IELTS practice for Writing, Reading and Listening, and a free writing checker that marks IELTS Task 1 and Task 2 as well as the three Multilevel writing tasks. Sit a little of each, and the format you find harder is the one to practise most.