Understand the Listening test

You will be listening for a purpose and hear a variety of accents.

A variety of voices is used in the IELTS Listening test, so you might hear Australian, British,
New Zealand or North American accents.
ou will !e listening to a "re#recorded $%#&'(, and the "assages that you hear will increase
in difficulty as you go through the test.
The content of the Listening test is the same for !oth IELTS Academic and IELTS )eneral
Training tests.
Purpose of the test
The IELTS Listening test is designed to assess a wide range of listening s*ills, including how
well you
understand main ideas and s"ecific factual information
recognise the o"inions, attitudes and "ur"ose of a s"ea*er
follow the develo"ment of an argument
Timing
The IELTS Listening test ta*es a""ro+imately ,- minutes, and you are allowed an e+tra .-
minutes to transfer your answers from your /uestion !oo*let to your answer sheet.
0our sections
The IELTS Listening test is !ro*en down into four sections1
Section Description
1 You listen to a conversation between two people set in an everyday social
situation, e.g. a conversation in an accommodation agency, and answer
questions on your comprehension.
2 You listen to a monologue set in an everyday social situation, e.g. a speech
about local facilities or a talk about the arrangements for meals during a
conference.
3 You listen to a conversation between up to four people set in an educational or
training context, e.g. a university tutor and a student discussing an assignment,
or a group of students planning a research proect.
! You listen to a monologue on an academic subect, e.g. a university lecture.
ou will !egin !y listening to a recording of instructions and a sam"le /uestion for section ..
Then you will read the /uestions for section ., listen to section ., and answer the /uestions.
This "rocedure is re"eated for sections 2, , and 3.
In the final .- minutes, you will transfer your answers onto the answer sheet.
Each section is heard once only.
Questions
There are 3- /uestions.
A variety of /uestion ty"es is used, and you may !e as*ed to
answer multi"le choice /uestions
la!el a "lan, ma" or diagram
fill in a form
com"lete a ta!le
com"lete a flow#chart
give short answers
Marking
Each correct answer receives one mar*.
Scores out of 3- are converted to the IELTS 4#!and scale. Scores are re"orted in whole and
half !ands.
Understand the eading test
You will need to read !uickly and efficiently" and manage your time
ou will !e as*ed to read three different "assages and res"ond to related /uestions in your
IELTS &eading test.
The content of the &eading test is different for IELTS Academic and IELTS )eneral
Training tests. %etails of each version are given !elow.
Purpose of the test
The IELTS &eading test is designed to assess a wide range of reading s*ills, including how
well you
read for the general sense of a "assage
read for the main ideas
read for detail
understand inferences and im"lied meaning
recognise a writer5s o"inions, attitudes and "ur"ose
follow the develo"ment of an argument
This is the case for whichever version of the IELTS test you are ta*ing.
Timing
The IELTS &eading test ta*es 6- minutes.
ou are not allowed any e+tra time to transfer your answers, so write them directly on to your
answer sheet.
ou will need to manage your time during the test !ecause you will not !e told when to start
or finish each section.
Three sections
ou will !e given three different "assages to read, each with accom"anying /uestions. ou
can e+"ect to read 2,.7- # 2,87- words in total during your test.
#$LT% &cademic eading test
There are three sections to the IELTS Academic &eading test, and each contains one long
te+t.
These are ta*en from !oo*s, 9ournals, maga:ines and news"a"ers. They have !een written
for a non#s"ecialist audience and are on academic to"ics of general interest.
They range from the descri"tive and factual to the discursive and analytical.
Each te+t might !e accom"anied !y diagrams, gra"hs or illustrations, and you will !e
e+"ected to show that you understand these too.
A sim"le glossary is "rovided if the material contains technical terms.
.
Questions
There are 3- /uestions.
A variety of /uestion ty"es is used. ou may !e as*ed to
fill ga"s in a "assage of written te+t or in a ta!le
match headings to written te+t to diagrams or charts
com"lete sentences
give short answers to o"en /uestions
answer multi"le choice /uestions
Sometimes you will need to give one word as your answer, sometimes a short "hrase, and
sometimes sim"ly a letter, num!er or sym!ol.
(a*e sure you read the instructions carefully.
Marking
Each correct answer receives one mar*.
Scores out of 3- are converted to the IELTS 4#!and scale. Scores are re"orted in whole and
half !ands.
Understand the 'riting test
'rite clearly" organise your ideas and use a varied vocabulary.
Purpose of the test
The IELTS ;riting test is designed to assess a wide range of writing s*ills, including how well
you
write a res"onse a""ro"riately
organise ideas
use a range of voca!ulary and grammar accurately
This is the case for whichever version of the IELTS test you are ta*ing.
Timing
The IELTS ;riting test ta*es 6- minutes. S"end 2- minutes on Tas* ., and 3- minutes on
Tas* 2.
ou will need to manage your own time, so ma*e sure you move on to Tas* 2 after 2-
minutes.
Two tasks
There are two tas*s in the IELTS ;riting test. ou will !e as*ed to write at least .7- words for
Tas* . and at least 27- words for Tas* 2.
#$LT% &cademic and #$LT% (eneral Training 'riting tests
The content of the ;riting test is different for IELTS Academic and IELTS )eneral
Training tests.
#$LT% &cademic 'riting test
;rite in a formal style in the IELTS Academic ;riting test.
In Tas* . you will !e "resented with a gra"h, ta!le, chart or diagram. ou will !e as*ed to
descri!e, summarise or e+"lain the information in your own words. This might involve
descri!ing and e+"laining data, descri!ing the stages of a "rocess or how something wor*s,
or descri!ing an o!9ect or event.
In Tas* 2 you will !e as*ed to write an essay in res"onse to a "oint of view, argument or
"ro!lem. ou should find the issues interesting and easy to understand.
#$LT% (eneral Training 'riting test
The to"ics used in the IELTS )eneral Training ;riting test are of general interest.
In Tas* . you will !e "resented with a situation and as*ed to write a letter re/uesting
information or e+"laining the situation. ou can write the letter in a "ersonal, semi#formal or
formal style.
In Tas* 2 you will !e as*ed to write an essay in res"onse to a "oint of view, argument or
"ro!lem. ou can use a fairly "ersonal style.
Marking
our ;riting test will !e mar*ed !y a certificated IELTS e+aminer.
Tas* 2 is worth twice as much as Tas* . in the IELTS ;riting test.
Scores are re"orted in whole and half !ands.
Understand the %peaking test
The %peaking test is as close to a real)life situation as an e*am can get.
ou will tal* to a certified e+aminer in the IELTS S"ea*ing test. The test is interactive and as
close to a real#life situation as a test can get. A variety of accents may !e used, and the test
will !e recorded.
The content of the IELTS S"ea*ing test is the same for !oth the IELTS Academic and IELTS
)eneral Training tests.
Purpose of the test
The IELTS S"ea*ing test is designed to assess a wide range of s*ills.
The e+aminer will want to see how well you can
communicate o"inions and information on everyday to"ics and common e+"eriences<
to do this you will need to answer a range of /uestions
s"ea* at length on a given to"ic using a""ro"riate language
organise your ideas coherently
e+"ress and 9ustify your o"inions
analyse, discuss and s"eculate a!out issues
(a*e sure that you rela+ and tal* fluently. ou will need to s"ea* naturally.
Timing
The IELTS S"ea*ing test ta*es ..#.3 minutes.
Three sections
The S"ea*ing test is made u" of three sections1
Section Duration Information
"art 1
#ntroducti
on and
interview
!$%
minutes
&he examiner will introduce him or herself and
ask you to introduce yourself and confirm your
identity. &he examiner will ask you general
questions on familiar topics, e.g. home, family,
work, studies and interests. &his section should
help you relax and talk naturally.
"art 2
#ndividual
long turn
3$!
minutes
&he examiner will give you a task card which
asks you to talk about a particular topic,
including points to include in your talk. You
will be given one minute to prepare and make
notes. You will then be asked to talk for 1$2
minutes on the topic. You will not be
interrupted during this time, so it is important to
keep talking. &he examiner will then ask you
one or two questions on the same topic.
"art 3
&wo$way
discussion
!$%
minutes
&he examiner will ask you further questions
which are connected to the topic of "art 2.
&hese questions are designed to give you an
opportunity to discuss more abstract issues and
ideas.
Marking
ou will !e assessed on your "erformance throughout the test !y certificated IELTS
e+aminers.
ou will !e mar*ed on the four criteria of the IELTS S"ea*ing Test Band %escri"tors1
fluency and coherence
le+ical resource
grammatical range and accuracy
"ronunciation
Scores are re"orted in whole and half !ands.