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Four Modules of IELTS
Listening at a glance
Listening consists of 4 sections. There are about 38-40 questions in total. You need to
answer all the questions as you listen to the tape The tape is not paused at any time
and you hear it only once. The questions get more difficult as you progress through
the test.
Are you scared yet? Don't be! There is a technique to get you through it. Just make sure
that your answers are readable and easy to understand, when you copy them to the
Answering Sheet. You may write in pencil only.
Reading at a Glance
Reading consists of 3 teiit passages and has about 40 questions in total. Your job is to
read the passages and either answer questions, label diagrams, complete sentences
or fill gaps. For every type of task there are instructions and an example Passages are
taken from books, newspapers, magazines and the topics are very diverse, from
scuba diving to space exploration. Passages progress in difficulty, with the first being
the easiest and the fourth is the hardest.
Good news is that you don’t really have to read the whole passage, thanks to
technique I will refer to later. Not so good news is that there is no additional time to
copy your answers to the Answering Sheet and you need to squeeze it in the 60
minutes that you have. Please, don't forget to do it - I witnessed someone who did, and
it was not a pretty sight. Poor guy was crying, he received score 0 for the whole
Reading test. Here too you may write in pencil only, no pens are allowed.
Writing at a glance
Writing has 2 sub-tasks. The first one is to write a letter, using about 150 words. The
second task is to write an essay on a given topic, present and justify an opinion or to
gwe a solution to a problem, using not less than 250 words.
Nothing to worry about here! Once you’ll start using a certain structure which I’ll
explain later on for the report and the essay in addition to your imagination, it is a
piece of cake This task requires a bit of training, but after you have written a few
essays and reports you will be well-prepared for it and you will feel confident.

Speaking at a glance
This is the fun part of the test, for many reasons. You get to rest before it, you are a
little tired from the previous 3 parts and therefore more relaxed. The examiners are
trained to smile no matter what, so you feel as if you were speaking to your best
friend.
First sub-part of the Speaking test is an interview, which means that the examiner
asks you questions about yourself; your work, studies, parents, brothers/sisters,
pets, etc. This is an easy task to prepare for.
In the second sub-part of the Speaking test you receive a card with 3-4 questions.
After one minute, that you have to think about something to say, you should give a
little speech for one to two minutes, which answers those questions. In the end the
examiner might ask you a couple of additional questions.
In the third sub-part of the test you have a discussion with the examiner. The topic
is somehow related to the one from section two, but it is about more abstract ideas.
You have to express and justify an opinion. The examiner will record your session
on a tape. Don't worry about it; the tape is to test the examiner and not you.

Top Ten Tips for Listening Test
1. Make sure you improve your general listening skills before you take the IELTS test
and don’t use practice tests as a way to improve your score. Many students do this
and think it is enough. Doing practice tests will not help you to improve you score
significantly although they will help you to become familiar with the test. Listen to
everything you can. The internet is a good source of listening material.
2. Learn how to spell!
The IELTS test requires correct spelling of all words, not just the ones that are
spelled for you, so make sure you know how to spell some common words in
English. Also make sure that words that should be capitalised ie proper nouns and
names for example, are written with an initial capital letter.
3. Before each part of the test you will hear someone say: ‘You will hear a conversation
between…’ or ‘you will hear a lecture on…’ It is very important to listen to this
information because it gives the topic for what you are about to hear and makes
understanding the rest much easier. It is not written on your question paper, so
listen carefully.
4. During the test, use your time well. Read the questions quickly and try to decide
which type of word goes in the spaces eg is it a noun, verb or adjective? Write 'N' for
noun and 'A' for adjective and 'V' for verb in each space. This will help you focus
and listen for the word you need.
5. At the end of each section you have 30 seconds to check your answers. Use this time
wisely to go back and check your answers by checking for word forms, plurals (did
you forget an ‘s’ on plural words?) and spelling.
6. You know that Section 3 is almost always about education. Quite often you will hear
students and a tutor talking about an assignment. Make sure you know all the

vocabulary you can about studying at university. This will help you to understand
section 3 and gain some extra marks.
7. In section 4 there is a lecture on a general topic and there are quite often multiple
choice questions to go with this. There is a lot of reading to do in this section so try
to get through as much as possible in the time you have.
8. All the choices in the multiple choice questions will be heard, which makes them
difficult. If you don’t know, you can guess but come back to that question at the end
of the test as you may be able to give a better or educated guess at the end of the
test.
9. At the end of the test you have 10 minutes to transfer your answers onto an answer
sheet. As you do so check your answers are correct and that you are writing your
answers into the correct numbered space. That is to say that the answer for
question 9 goes onto the answer sheet in space number 9. In practice tests many
students get this wrong so don’t throw away marks through a careless mistake.
10. Don’t leave any blank answers! In both listening and reading you should write
something in the answers box. If you don’t know, then make a guess. You never
know: you may just be right!

Do and Don’t
Listen carefully to the introduction to each section. This will give you useful information
✓
about the situation and the speakers.
Use the time at the beginning of each section (and in the middle of Sections 1 - 3) to look
✓
through the questions and think about the topic.
Read the instructions for each task carefully. Remember to check the maximum number of
✓
words allowed.
Write all your answers as you listen - remember you won’t hear the recording a second
✓
time.
✓ Check that what you write makes sense in the context.
Answer all the questions even if you don’t feel sure about an answer - you may have
✓
understood more than you think.
Wait until the end of the test to transfer your answers. You have ten minutes for this which
✓
is plenty of time.
Write clearly when you transfer your answers. If an answer isn’t clear on your answer sheet,
✓
you will lose the mark.
✓ Check your spelling (and grammar where necessary).
X Don't worry if you have to cross out or change an answer.
X Don't panic if you miss one question. Look ahead and concentrate on the next one.
X Don't try to rephrase what you hear. Write down the words you hear which fit the question.
X Don’t write more than the maximum number of words or letters allowed for each answer.
Don’t copy any words that were printed on the Question Paper when you transfer your
X
answers to the Answer Sheet.

Tips for Exam Day
Before the exam
• Make sure you are familiar with the instructions for the different question types so
you can quickly glance at the questions and know what to do.
• Think about the type of situations you might come across living or studying in an
English speaking country, such as someone asking for directions or talks on topics
of general interest.
• Listen to as wide a range of material as possible - English language television and
radio, listening sites on the Internet and films and music are all great sources.
• Do as many practice tests as you can to get used to the speed of delivery and the
task types.
During the exam
Before listening
• Make sure you use the 30 seconds given at the beginning of each section to read the
questions before listening.
• Make sure you look at all the questions in each section.
• Make sure you read the instructions carefully.
• Make sure you know what form your answer should take e.g. a word, a letter, a tick, a
phrase, a circle around the correct letter etc
• Make sure you use the time given to analyse the questions.
• Decide what you are listening for. Are you listening for specific information, for the
main idea or for the speaker’s attitude?

• Use the outline given of the topic, who is talking and the situation to predict possible
answers.
• When you look at the questions, think about synonyms. You may not hear the exact
words that are in the answer choices.

While listening
• Listen carefully to the instructions.
• Listen out for key words and common signpost words like - “on the other hand’, “in
contrast’ etc
• Remember the questions usually follow the same sequence as the conversation or
talk but the information may be expressed differently from the questions.
• Write down something even if you haven’t got the answer before moving on to the
next question.
• Make sure you continue to listen while you are writing as you only hear the tape
once.
• Don’t get stuck on a question you can’t answer. Just move on.
• Remember there may be sections of irrelevant information. Just keep listening for
the information you need.
• Write notes in the question booklet as you listen. This may help you go back to a
difficult question later.
After listening
• Make sure you transfer your answers correctly.

• Make sure you use the time given to check your answers.
• If you can’t remember an answer, guess.

In - depth Listening Test Guidelines

In general
The Listening Test is probably the one people get most scared of. To help yourself
overcome that fear, start watching TV programs in English. It is better than radio or audio
books, because you also see images that help you understand the words you heat.
Listening - a skill, not a gilt!

From my experience, in many cases listening is the least developed skill. So if you feel
especially weak in that area - pay attention to the following tips, that will help you improve
your Listening ability. Remember - nobody is bom with it, it’s just a skill and you learn it. If
you think your listening needs no improvements - skip the “Teach yourself the words” part,
move forward to the next tips.
Teach yourself the words

The only way to improve your Listening ability is to train your “ears” to separate and
understand the words you hear in the flow of a sentence Often what you hear is a
Blablablablabla”, which you can't to break into words, and for that reason it makes no sense
to you. When training, take a recording of the news, lecture, television program movie or an
actual IELTS Listening test and work with it. I suggest using MP3 player. You can easily
record English from the radio or any other sourc e to it. It is also easy to repeat (re-play)
sentences you didn't understand. MP3 player is small and light, so you can use it in any
spare moment that you have - riding a bus or a tram, walking the dog, taking a walk yourself
etc.
First, listen, remember what you heard and stop the recording after each phrase. Even if
you didn’t understand the phrase, play it in your head a couple of times, like a broken
record - “Tonight we have a special guest”, “Tonight we have a special guest”, “Tonight
we have a special guest”.
Then say it out loud. If you understood that phrase at first, this exercise will improve your
pronunciation. If you didn’t understand the phrase for the first time, this repetition will give
you more time to hear it better, break it into words and make sense out of them. And if it is
still difficult, you can always rewind and hear the phrase again.
There is a big difference between seeing a word printed on paper while reading and heaiing it.
If you saw a word, it doesn’t mean you will recognize it when you hear it. So every word you
have seen, you must hear at least once.

Instructions will keep you safe

Every task in the IELTS Listening test has its instructions. It may sound stupid, but you
really need to read them carefully. Why? Because they will tell you exactly what to do
with the information: how many words you can use to answer, is there a table you must
fill, is there a list to choose words from, how many items you must name, etc. And if the
answer must be in 3 words - write EXACTLY 3 WORDS, because writing four or two
words will get you 0 score
To make my point crystal clear, let’s take the following scenario for example:
The speaker on a tape says:
“Well, if you are dieting, try to avoid fruits with lots of fructose like
watermelon, mango, peaches or grapes.”
The question in the booklet is:

“Name 2 fruits a person on a diet should not eaf.
The answer may be “watermelon, mango” or “mango, peaches” or any combination of two
items, but never three or four!!! Anyone who writes “just in case” - watermelon, mango,
peaches, grapes - receives 0 score for that question.
Note: when counting words - “a” or “the” counts as a word.
Divide and concur!

The recording divides questions into groups, so every timp you are instructed to answer a
group of 4-5 questions. There are 20-30 seconds of silence before each group.
First thing you should do when the tape starts playing is understand which group of
questions you need to answer.
For example the tape says: “Look at the questions one to four”. It means that you have about
20 seconds to look at those questions. Go over the questions, read them and underline
keywords. Keywords are the words that contain the main idea of the question. They will
help you guess what you will hear - numbers, opening hours, names, locations, etc.
Draw a line under the question four, so you won’t look further before it’s time.
Then you will hear a piece of passage and answer the questions one to four as you listen. It
means that you should be able to write one answer and listen to another.

After that, the tape will say the numbers of the questions in the next group Repeat the same
process, including drawing the line. This dividing technique is very efficient because every
time you concentrate on limited number of questions, so it makes you more focused and in
control.
Distractions
Don't get confused by all the different voices you are going to hear. The recording uses
several different voices - of younger and older people, men and women. You may also hear
different accents - Australian, British, American, Japanese, etc. The background noises also
vary. It can be of airport, cafe-shop, street, University lecture hall, you name it. Be ready for
it and don't let it distract you - because that is exactly what they want. Ignore the noises and
listen for the answers.
Listen for specifics
When you are listening, look for descriptions and details, such as dates, places, telephone
numbers, opening hours, years (1995), transportation (car, bike, train)
If you hear them, but don’t know where to place them yet - write them on the margins of
the Listening booklet. Later you will have some time to check your answers. Going over
the questions that you couldn’t answer during the Listening passage, you might see that
what you’ve written on the margins fits.
Answer as you listen

The reason you have to “answer as you listen” is that you immediately forget the sentences
after you have heard them - because of stress, foreign language, constant flow of
information, etc. After hearing the third sentence you won’t be able to repeat the first. It
means that when any part of the Listening is over - you won't be able to remember any of
the answers. So write them as you hear them, leave nothing for later
Keep moling forward
A worst case scenario is you “loosing the sequence of answers” - so you miss une answer
and then you miss another one and so on. To prevent that from happening, always look one
or two questions ahead. It sounds confusing but after a little practice it becomes very natural
and helps a lot. Even if you have missed the answer to a question - admit it and move to the
next one, otherwise you will loose it too.

Know your clues
The answer is usually pronounced louder and clearer, it is easier to hear and understand. If
you can’t hear something clear (because the speaker swallows words or whispers), then
probably the answer is not there With some practice you will be able to tell the ilifference
A good clue to an answer is when you hear a repetition of a word, a word being spelled out
(G A R F U N K E L) or a number dictated.
Spelling tasks
As simple as it sounds, the spelling task is not so easy. You should practice a little to be
prepared for it. Just ask someone to spell the names of cities from the following list for you.
If you study alone, you could record yourself spell those names and numbers, and then play
it. The same goes for the list of telephone numbers I include here It is a good practice and
will only add to your confidence Note: in numbers "00" sometimes is read as “double o”
instead of “zero-zero”.
Typical Listening tasks

Remember my promise - no surprises in IELTS? The following table shows you every type
of task you may see in the Listening test booklet. Different task types come with different
instructions, so if you see and remember them now, it will save you time later.
Of course, you won't get every type I show here in your test and the table looks
a bit boring. Anyway, my advice is to get to know them now.

Different types of tasks

Task Type What do you do Instructions in the booklet
From 3-4 pictures choose a picture that best

Picking Pictures Circle the appropriate letter
describes what you hear on tape
There is a question and a number of answers

Multiple choice Circle the appropriate letter
(three, four or five), your job is to pick the
Questions /Circle the correct answer
right one (sometimes more than just one).
Complete the notes/table. Use

Short-answer
Answer in 3 words, as the instructions say NO MORE THAN 3 WORDS
Questions
for each answer
Complete the notes/table. Use
Complete a sentence according to what you
Sentence Completion NO MORE THAN 3 WORDS
hear
for each answer
Complete the form. Write NO

A form is given and you need to fill in blank
Form Completion MORE THAN 3 WORDS for
fields
each answer
Complete the notes/table
Chart/Table A table with some blank cells is given
There are several sentences with missing Complete tire notes below by
words, you should pick the correct word and writing NO MORE THAN 3
Gap-fill
fill it in the gap. Choose from the list (if there WORDS in the spaces
is one), or from what you have heard. provided
Complete/label the diagram by

Write description in l to 3 words for different
Diagram Labeling writing NO MORE THAN 3
parts of a drawing according to what you hear
WORDS in the boxes/spaces
provided

Eliminate
When you deal with multiple-choice questions, elimination is a good strategy.
Usually only one answer is correct, unless instructions say something else.
This task is similar to True/False/Not Given. You should decide for every choice of
answer - is it True, False or Not Given in the passage. After you have decided, choose
the one that is True - this is the correct answer. Any other choice. False or Not Given, is
incorrect.
Keep in mind that there are cases when all the choices are correct or none of them is
correct. Read the instruction carefully and you will know what to do in such cases.
Gap-fill strategy
Look at the words around the gap to understand what’s missing, a noun (like boy, toy,
truck), an adjective (little, pretty, shiny) or a verb (stands, looks, moves).
For instance, if you see a Norm before the blank (“The boy is ______________________ ”), it
means that it’s
Adjective (“The boy is small”) or it’s Verb (“The boy is smiling”) is missing.
Once you have picked a word, write it above the gap and then read the whole sentence
to be sure that it makes sense.
"Chameleon" questions
They might use different words with the same meaning to confuse you. It
could be expressions or synonyms.
For example, the tape says “All the candidates have to fill an application form” and the
question says “The candidates must fill an application” - is it True, False or Not Given?
The correct answer is True because "have to" means "must".
Watch out for traps

Trap Number One -unexpected turn
You might hear speaker starting to say one thing and then, suddenly, continuing to
something completely different. This is a trap, so make sure you don’t fall for it. The rule
here is “The last word counts”. For example, if the speaker says “I want to visit that gallery
on Monday. No, wait, I’ve just remembered that it is closed on Monday, so I will go on
Wednesday.”, and the question is "when” - the correct answer here is Wednesday, and
Monday is a trap.

Trap Number Two - generalizations
You might hear speaker first give a list of things and then say them all in one word. For
example: “Well, 1 like to swim, hike, and camp - to be involved in outdoor activities.” If the
question is “What kind of actwities...” the correct answer is “outdoor” and not “swimming’’,
“hiking” or “camping’.
Trap Number Three - explicit answer choices
Explicit answers choices can be (and mostly will be) traps. The following example
demonstrates what I mean:
The tape says: “This course is a must for all the first year students, excluding foreign
students”.
The Question is "All the first year students have to take this course”,
The Answer should be F(alse), because there is an exception - foreign students. All the
explicit answers that mean “no exceptions” are suspicious to us and call for more attention.
Check the Grammar

If the answer you give is grammatically incorrect - it can not be the right one Checking the
grammar of your answers will give you an idea whether your answer is correct or not,
especially in tasks lik“
* Gap-fill
* Sentence completion
Use your time wisely

During the test, you have a little time between passages. Use it to check and complete your
answers.
Copy answers smartly

After the 20 minutes of theListening test, there are 10 additional minutes. During the test
you have written all of the answers in the Listening test booklet These 10 minutes are gwen
you to copy your answers to the Answer Sheet, and you should use them smartly.
The Answer Sheet has 2 sides, one for the Reading test and one for the Listening test, so
make sure you are writing on the Listening side. I include here an example of Answer Sheet
so you could get familiar with it and use it for practicing.

First, copy all the answers from the booklet to the Answer Sheet, and pay attention to the
following guidelines (as simple as they sound - they are BIG time savers):
• For multiple-choice questions and picking pictures - just copy the letter of correct answer,
don't circle it.
• For sentence completion - just copy your answer, not the whole sentence
• For True/False/Not given question - just copy T, F or NG, whatever your choice is.
• For gap-fills - just copy the word you have chosen for the gap.
• For answers written in short (like prof, advise) - write the full version (professional
advise).
• Check that all the answers are clear and understandable.
Now, if you missed some questions - it is a good time to guess.

Pattern of Listening Test

Procedure of the test
• The listening module is the first test you do on the test day.
• The tape is only played once.
• You are given a question paper and an answer sheet. While you listen you write
your answers on the question paper.
• When the tape stops you are given 10 minutes to transfer your answers to the
answer sheet.
• The test takes about 30 minutes.
Structure of the test
The first two sections are concerned with social needs.
Section 1
In this section you will hear an informal or semi-informal conversation between two
people. For example, you might hear a discussion about what’s on television; or you
might hear someone making a complaint about their rented flat or a faulty product, or
someone asking for information or making a booking.
Section 2
In this section you will hear a monologue in a similar context to section 1. For example
you could hear someone talking about the restaurants in a town or describing the rules
or regulations in a hostel or the procedure you need to follow in order to make a
complaint.
The last two sections are concerned with situations related to educational or
training contexts.
Section 3
In this section you will hear a conversation with up to four speakers. It will be more
formal than Section 1. The speakers could be students discussing a lecture or planning
something for class or talking to someone in authority at a college or university.

Section 4
In this section you will hear a monologue in the form of a lecture or talk. It will also be
more formal.
All the topics will be of general interest and not biased towards students of particular
disciplines.
Test instructions
At the beginning of each section the speaker will give a brief introduction to the
situation. For example,
You are now going to listen to a conversation in a language school. Paulo is

registering for a course and talking to a lady at the student services counter.
You will then be given instructions:
Read questions 1 to 6. As you listen to the tape, write the correct answer in the spaces
provided.
You are then told to look at the questions:
First you have some time to look at the questions 1 to 6.
The tape will be silent for about 30 seconds. Then the speaker will repeat which
questions you have to answer:
Now listen and answer questions 1 to 6.
Question types*
The types of tasks are:

1. Multiple Choice
2. Short-answer questions
3. Sentence completion
4. Notes/table/summary flow-chart/diagram completion
5. Labelling a diagram which has numbered parts
6. Classification
There are 40 questions in total and about 10 questions in each section and at least
two types of questions in each section. Both the texts and the tasks increase in
difficulty as the test progresses.

Marking
You are given a mark for each of the 40 questions and your result is converted into a
score which corresponds to one of the bands from 1-9 which you will see on your
result sheet. You can be awarded a whole or a half band in the listening section.
The Question Types
1. Multiple Choice
The Questions
There are three types of multiple choice questions in the IELTS listening exam.
1. Where there is one possible answer. (These are sometimes picture multiple
choice.)
2. Where there are multiple answers for only one mark.
3. Where there are multiple answers and one mark for each.
For these questions you may be given the start of a sentence which you have to complete
with one out of four or more choices. Or you may be presented with a question and
asked to find two, three or four items in a list of answers.
How to do the multiple choice questions
• Read the instructions carefully and check how many letters you need to circle.
• Skim the questions and the answer choices quickly before the recording starts and
during the 30 seconds given. As you do this,
➢ Underline the key words - the words that give you the most information, such as
the Wh-’ words and nouns.

➢ Try to work out what you are going to hear from the vocabulary of the questions
and/or pictures.
➢ Translate any pictures into words and look for details that are different in the
options.

Answer the questions as you listen. Circle the letters. The information will be given in
the same order as the questions, although it might be expressed differently. Be
prepared not to hear the first or even second answer choices mentioned.
• Remember to make notes beside the question if you are not sure of the answer, so
you can go back later.

• Don’t leave any questions unanswered.
Remember
✓ To listen for people correcting themselves when speaking. They may

discuss one of the answer choices and then reject it.
✓ To eliminate unlikely answers.
2. Short answer questions
The Questions
These questions require general information or specific details which you will find by
listening to the text.
There are two types of short answer questions in the IELTS listening exam.
Type 1. Questions
Type 2. Lists
These questions will always tell you to write your answers in NO MORE THAN THREE
WORDS. So you can answer with one word, two words or three words but no more.
Also note that the answers should not require a hyphenated word (e.g. non-smoker) or
a contraction (e.g. They’ve).
If the answer requires a number, you can write it as a numeral (e.g. 6) or a word (e.g. six)
or a combination of a numeral and a word (e.g. 6 million).

How to do short answer questions
• Read the instructions carefully.

• Skim the questions quickly before the recording starts and during the 30 seconds
given. As you do this,
➢ Underline the key words.
➢ Try to work out what you are going to hear.
➢ Decide what you need to listen out for.
➢ Look out for question words like ‘where’ and ‘who’ which indicate you should
listen for specific things like places and people.
• Listen to the introduction given carefully.
• Answer the questions as you listen. The answers will be given in the same order as
the questions although they may be expressed differently.
• You may use your own words.
Make notes beside the question if you are not sure of the answer.
Remember
✓ If you don’t know the meaning of any of the words in the questions look at the
other questions. They might have some associated vocabulary in them to help you
guess the meaning.
✓ The answer could be one word, two words or three words but not four or more.
if you think you need more than three words your answer is probably incorrect.
3. Sentence completion questions

The Questions
These questions require you to complete the end of a sentence or insert a word or phrase
in the middle of a sentence or one sentence may require a word in the middle and a
word at the end. The sentences may be in a table.
They are similar to the short answer questions in that they will always tell you to write
your answers in NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS. So you can answer with one word,
two words or three words but no more.

How to do sentence completion questions
• Read the sentences carefully before the recording starts and during the 30 seconds
given. As you do this,

➢ Anticipate grammatical form as well as vocabulary.
➢ If the sentences are part of a table, check whether they are horizontal or vertical.
• Answer the questions as you listen. The information will be given in the same order
as the questions, although it may be expressed differently. You may use your own
words.
• Make sure your sentences are grammatically correct.
Make notes beside the question if you are not sure of the answer.
Remember
✓ the answer could be one word, two words or three words but not four or more.
✓ if you think you need more than three words your answer is probably incorrect
4. Notes/table/form/summary/flow chart/diagram
completion questions
The Questions
These questions ask for specific information.
There are two types of these completion questions in the IELTS exam. Type 1. With a
selection of possible answers.
Type 2. Without a choice of possible answers.
These questions require you to:
➢ Insert a word or phrase in the middle of a sentence.

➢ Insert a word in the middle and another word at the end of a sentence.

➢ Write words or phrases that are not in sentences.
➢ Write a letter that represents a word or phrase.
Type 2 questions are similar to the short answer questions in that they will tell you to
write your answers in NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS. So you can answer with one
word, two words or three words but no more.
How to do these completion questions
• Look at the table or form etc carefully before the recording starts and during the 30
seconds given. As you do this,
➢ Examine any headings or subheadings.

➢ If a box of answers is given, see if you can guess any of the matches & eliminate
unlikely answers.
• Answer the questions as you listen.

• Make notes beside the question if you are not sure of the answer.
Remember
✓ if there is a box of answers, there will be at least two you don’t need.
✓ if there is no box, the answer could be one word, two words or three words but not
four or more.
✓ if you think you need more than three words your answer is probably incorrect.
there may be alternative rubrics for these completion questions e.g. ‘complete the
notice’ or ‘complete the explanation’ or ‘complete the news report’.


The Questions
You will be given a diagram and asked to label it with labels given in the listening text.
You will usually be given a box of words or phrases from which to select the labels.
How to do labelling the diagram questions
• Read the instructions carefully. They will state how many words you should use if
there is not a box of labels provided. You could be asked to write one word only.
• Study the diagram. You may be able to predict one or two answers
or associated vocabulary that you may hear connected to a particular label.
• Check whether the labels are numbered in a clockwise or anticlockwise direction.

The information will be given in the same order as the numbers on the diagram.
Write down or select the labels as you listen. Use the words you hear, not your own.
6. Classification questions
The Questions
These questions ask you to classify information given in the listening text.
Classifications are often according to the speaker’s opinion or according to a period of
time or place.
You will either be asked to write a letter which represents one of the classifications
beside each item in a list of statements. Or you could be asked to circle a letter in a table
or tick a column in a table.
How to do these classification questions
• Make sure you know how many classifications there are and what letters you have to
use.
• Read the classifications carefully and make sure you know which letter represents
each one.
• Read the statements/phrases or words beside the question numbers and make

yourself as familiar with them as possible. You will hear them all mentioned but they
may be expressed differently in the text.
• Underline the key words in both the classifications and the question statements.
• Listen out for the words you have underlined.
Don’t leave any statements without a letter.

Tips for Reading Test

• Remember to read the instructions carefully. The instructions will tell you where to
find the answers, what you need to do, what kind of answer is required, and how many
words you need to write. The instructions will also tell you if an option can be used
more than once, and will remind you to transfer your answers to your Answer Sheet.
• Remember that the questions for certain task types follow the order of information
in the reading passage.
• Remember to read all the questions very carefully.
• Practice scanning for key words in the extracts or the reading passage that match
the items. You can also practice scanning for paraphrases of key words.
• Remember that in most tasks which involve writing words or numbers, e.g. Short-
answer Questions, the answers have to be grammatically correct and spelt correctly.
Accuracy in spelling and word form are very important and you will be penalised for
incorrect spelling.
• Use the information provided in the notes, tables, diagrams or flow-charts, as well
as any examples, to predict the type of information that is required.
• In classroom activities, discuss the type of information you need for each task type
you might meet in the test.
• Underline key words and phrases when you read as well as paying attention to key
words in the questions.
• Practice using synonyms, summary words etc. to help you locate information.
• Practice different ways of expressing the same ideas or information in a text.
• Practice reading skills such as skimming and scanning for information.

• Some students are convinced that only test practice will really help them, and want
to do test after test. This can be discouraging, as they do not see the rapid progress
they would like. You should read widely, e.g. newspapers, journals, magazines and
books, and use materials from these sources when preparing for the test.
• Be aware of the different text types and how best to approach them. Practise the
full range of IELTS Academic Reading task types. Take time in class to discuss the
differences between task types and the skills that are being tested.
• You should make sure that you understand that there is more than one way to read
a text. Some students believe that they must read every text slowly and carefully,
underlining every unknown word and stopping to worry about it. You should
remember that your main aim is to locate the answers to the questions. You do not
need to read in the same way you would if you needed to memorise something. You
should try not to worry too much about the presence of unknown words, and you
should also practice guessing meaning from context. Try not to look up every unknown
word in the dictionary.
• Make sure that you read the instructions carefully in every case: many task types
contain variations, and it is easy for you to confuse them if you do not check carefully
what it is you are required to do.
• You should remain conscious of time limits during the test, and you should move
on rather than spending too much time on a particular question to which you are
unable to find the answer.
• Be aware of the dangers of relying on locating the exact words in the text that you
find in a question: practice using paraphrases and locating paraphrase in a text.

• In task types where the information is located in order in the text, remember you
don’t need to go back to the beginning of the text for each question.
• Take care when you need to copy a word or words from the text onto your Answer
Sheet. Copying incorrectly will lead to loss of marks.
• Make sure that you get some practice in using an answer sheet.

DOs and DON'Ts

Keep an eye on the time: it will probably seem to pass very quickly, so take care not to spend
✓ too much time on any one passage or question. Remember that you only have 60 minutes to
answer the questions and to transfer your answers to your Answer Sheet.
Start at the beginning of the test and work through it. If you cannot do a particular question,
✓ leave it and go on to the next. You can then return to that question later if you have time. Put
a mark next to this question on the Question Paper so that you can find it again quickly.
✓ Answer as many questions as you can.

Look carefully at the title of the passage and any subtitles and illustrations it may have. You
✓ can get a quick idea of what the passage is about from these.
Read the instructions for each set of questions very carefully: it is important to do exactly
✓ what you are asked to do
Where appropriate remember to skim the questions before reading the passage so that you
✓ have a purpose for reading.
Make sure you give the passage a quick read through so that you are familiar with the topic
✓ and how it is developed in the passage. An understanding of the text structure can be very
helpful in answering the questions.
✓ Use the glossary, if there is one provided, to help you understand unfamiliar words.
✓ Pay attention to any examples that are provided.

Make sure that your answers keep to the word limit asked for: if you are asked for ‘NO MORE
✓ THAN THREE WORDS’, for example, then do not write more.
Make sure that you copy words accurately from the text: spelling mistakes will mean that you
✓ will lose the mark for that question.
Make sure that where you have to write an answer yourself, your answer is grammatically
✓ correct, (e.g. Short-answer Questions, Sentence Completion, Summary Completion).
Don't waste time reading the whole passage each time for each set of questions. Remember
X that many task types ask you to locate or check details in the text. In cases like this you need
to skim quickly through the passage rather than read it all carefully.
Don't go back to the beginning of the passage for each question when you know from the task
X type that the answers will come in the order of the information in the passage.
X Don’t forget that questions can come before the reading passage as well as after.
Don't become anxious if there are questions you cannot answer. Leave them and move onto
X the next questions. You can always come back to the ones you couldn’t answer at the end of
the test if you have time.
Don’t worry if you don’t understand every word. It may not be necessary to understand all
X the words in order to answer the questions correctly.
Don’t forget that you must write your answers on your Answer Sheet. You will not be given
X extra time to do this at the end of the test.
Don’t write more than one answer when only one is required; even if one of your answers is
X correct, you will not receive a mark.

Tips of Exam Day

Before the Exam
• Make sure you are familiar with the instructions for the different question types so
you can quickly glance at the questions and know what to do.
• Read as much as possible.
• Work on your reading skills such as ‘guessing the meanings of unknown words’,
‘understanding reference words in texts’ and reading quickly.
• Read newspaper articles and practise the following:
➢ Dividing the content into facts and opinions

➢ Finding the topic sentences of paragraphs
➢ Writing summaries
➢ Interpreting any diagrams or tables
➢ Thinking of headings you could give to paragraphs
➢ Underlining the pronouns and working out what they refer to
➢ Underlining unknown words and seeing if you can work out what they mean
➢ Reading the first paragraph and seeing if you can predict what will come next
• Do as many practice tests as you can to get used to the rubric and the task types.
During the Exam
• Look through the whole reading module first.

• Quickly look at the texts. Study any:
➢ Titles
➢ Headings
➢ Sub headings
➢ Illustrations
➢ Diagrams
➢ Words in bold type or italics
➢ Read the questions carefully. Identify the question type. Make sure you do exactly what they
say.
➢ Read the glossary beside the passage, if there is one.
➢ Don’t spend too long on one question.
➢ If you don’t know the answer, guess. Incorrect answers are not penalised.
➢ Make sure you copy all words taken from the texts correctly as incorrect spelling is penalised.
➢ Don’t forget your answer may be given in a diagram, graph or illustration.

What Reading skills are tested in IELTS Academic Reading?

This is a test of reading comprehension in a general academic context. The texts used
and the skills tested are intended to reflect the target language needs of undergraduate
and postgraduate students, without bias for or against students of any particular
discipline. Candidates may have to:
• Identify the writer’s overall purpose, target audience, sources etc.
• identify and follow key arguments in a text
• identify opinions and attitudes as opposed to facts
• locate specific information
• read for detailed information
• extract relevant information
• distinguish the main idea from supporting detail
• recognize key points for a summary
• group pieces of information in a text in accordance with salient criteria
• extract information from a prose text to put into a diagrammatic representation
• make inferences
• use correct spelling and correct grammar in their answers.

In – depth Reading Test Guidelines
• Test structure
Academic Reading on most cases consists of 3 large passages taken from newspapers
or magazines. The first passage usually is the easiest and the last one is the most
difficult.
Similarly to the Listening test, questions in the Reading test are given in groups
Instructions will tpll you which group of questions belongs to which paragraph or
portion of text. You may see the questions before or after the passage they belong to.
• Manage your own time

As I said before, time is your greatest enemy. In the Listening test it was managed for
you, but Reading test is a different story. You need to manage it very carefully yourself
and this is where “15 -20-25” rule comes in.
When you receive the Reading booklet, first of all, count how many passages are there.
Typically there are 3 passages in the booklet. You could divide the hour into 3 equal
parts and spend 20 minutes on each passage, but this is not the smartest way. The
smartest way is to spend 15 minutes on first passage, 20 minutes on second and 25 on
the last one Why? Because they progress in difficulty!
Write the time when you should start and when you should finish working on each
passage and stick to it. In each passage set aside 2 minutes to copy your answers to the
Answer Sheet For example, in first paragraph you should use 13 minutes to actually
answer the questions (writing the answers on the booklet pages) and 2 to copy your
answers to the Answer Sheet.
If you didn’t finish a passage in time, move to the next one anyway. And whatever you
do, please do not forget about the Answering Sheet (remember the guy with the ZERO
score?)
If you have some time left in the end of the Reading test, make sure that you didn’t
forget to answer any question, check and double check your answers. It can add you a
few “easy” points if you find mistakes before the examiner does.
• Use the passage layout
Every text and every paragraph in it has a certain structure, meaning it is written
according to some rules.
Usually first paragraph contains the main idea of the passage and the author’s opinion.
Last paragraph often summarizes the main points of the passage

Every paragraph has its structure that is similar to the structure of whole text It has an
introduction, a body and a conclusion. The main idea can usually be found in the
introduction. It means that if you want to understand quickly what paragraph is about,
it is enough to read only its introduction.
• Make a Map
The text before you resembles a new strange territory. It is so easy to get lost inside all
these words! What you need is a map that will help you to orientate. Every paragraph
in the passage has its own main idea, which is different from all the other paragraphs.
Write on the margins near the paragraph what rs its topic, main idea. If writing takes
too much time, underline the words in the paragraph that e::plain its main idea.
Congratulations! You have just created a map that later will guide you through the
search for answers.
• Learn the Rules
First, lead the instruction and the example They show you exactly what your answer
should look like - is it a number or a name, how many words you must write, etc. The
following points are important because they may affect your score.
1. Style
When filling the answers, copy the example's style. For demonstration
look at the following table:
USA Canada Sweden
Divorces rate Example 1: 55°/o
Marriage Example 2: first
Example 1
If the example says “55%”, give your answer in this exact form, a number and %. Any
other form or style (like “55” or “55 percent” or “fifty five percent”) may harm your
score I
Example 2
If the example says “first”, answering in any other form or style (like “1st”, “1” or “first
marriage") may harm your score

2. Words Limit
Usually if there is a word limit for an answer, it is no more than 3 words. Prepositions
(in, of to, at, etc) and articles (a, an, the) do count for a word. The reason behind this 3
word limit is a small space on the Answer Sheet
3. One Question - one answer
Don’t give more than one answer to one question, even if you see more than one
option. It will result in ZERO score For example, if you see in a passage names of 3
countries that qualify as an answer and the question asks to name just one - don’t even
think of giving 2 or 3 names, the only conect answer is to name exactly one. Only if they
ask for two names, you should name two, etc.
• Co fishing!
Now it is time to start “fishing" for answers. Read the questions one-by-one, for every
question see what its theme is. Then find it (or some thing close to it) on your map -
that is the paragraph to search for the answer.
• Choose your battles
If any question takes you too much time - give up, move to the next one. Don't forget to
mark it with some sign (like so you could identify it and come back to it later. There are
a lot of questions and you might miss the easy ones if the hard ones take all of your
time. Another reason to leave hard questions for last is that after you do all the easy
ones, you know more about the text, so then solving the tricky questions might become
easiest.
• Find the keywords
Keywords are the main words in the question; they contain the most important
information. For instance, in a question like “Employers are likely to employ graduates,
who...” there are 3 keywords: employers, employ and graduates.
Identify keywords in each question and look for them in the text - the answer will be
near. Don’t stop after finding mst one, continue to scan through the text - there might
be more.

Types of Tasks
The kinds of tasks you may have to deal with are in the table below. Tasks of different
types come with different instructions. It is important for you to see them all now, so
nothing will surprise you during your IELTS test. Understanding in advance of what
you need to do in every type of task gives you huge advantage. This way during the test
you will only read the instructions to confirm what you already know.
Task Type What do you do Instructions in the booklet
There is a list of headings; your job is to Choose the most suitable heading
Matching choose the most suitable heading for every for each paragraph from the list of
paragraph of the text. headings below.
There is a question and a number of

Multiple choice answers (three, four or five), your job is to
Choose the appropriate letter.
question pick the right one (sometimes more than
just one).
Short-answer Using NO MORE THAN THREE

question Answer in 3 words, as the instructions say WORDS answer the following
questions.
Complete the sentences below
Sentence Complete a sentenc e according to what you with words taken from the reading
completion hear passage. Use NO MORE THAN
THREE WORDS for each answer.
Chart/Table Complete the table/chart below
completion J- Table with some blank cells is given; ording using information from the
your job is to fill to the passage you hear. Reading Passage Use NO MORE
them acc THAN THREE WORDS for each
answer.
Read the passage and look at the
There is a statement, which can be True, statements below. Write TRUE if
True/False/Not
False or Not Given in the passage; you need the statement is true, FALSE if the
Given task statement is false and Not Given if
to decide according to what you read
the information is not given in the
passage
There are several sentences with missing
Complete the summary below
words, you should pick the correct word
Gap-fill (Chose your answers from the box
and fill it in the gap. Choose from the list (if
at the bottom of the page)
there is one), or from the te:rt

• Skimming
Your first task when you begin reading is to answer the question “What is the topic of
the selection?” This can best be answered by quickly skimming the passage for the
general idea, stopping to read only the first sentence of each paragraph. A paragraph’s
first sentence is usually the main topic sentence, and it gives you a summary of the
content of the paragraph.
Once you’ve skimmed the passage, stopping to read only the first sentences, you will
have a general idea about what it is about, as well as what is the expected topic in each
paragraph.
Each question will contain clues as to where to find the answer in the passage.
Do not just randomly search through the passage for the correct answer to each
question. Search scientifically. Find key word(s) or ideas in the question that are going
to either contain or be near the correct answer. These are typically nouns, verbs,
numbers, or phrases in the question that will probably be duplicated in the passage.
Once you have identified those key word(s) or idea, skim the passage quickly to find
where those key word(s) or idea appears. The correct answer choice will be nearby.
Example: What caused Martin to suddenly return to Paris?
The key word is Paris. Skim the passage quickly to find where this word appears. The
answer will be close by that word.
However, sometimes key words in the question are not repeated in the passage. In
those cases, search for the general idea of the question.
Example: Which of the following was the psychological impact of the author’s childhood
upon the remainder of his life?
Key words are “childhood” or “psychology”. While searching for those words, be alert
for other words or phrases that have similar meaning, such as “emotional effect” or

“mentally” which could be used in the passage, rather than the exact word
“psychology”.
Numbers or years can be particularly good key words to skim for, as they stand out
from the rest of the text.
Example: Which of the following best describes the influence of Monet’s work in the 20th
century?
20th contains numbers and will easily stand out from the rest of the text. Use
20th as the key word to skim for in the passage.
Once you’ve quickly found the correct section of the passage to find the answer, focus
upon the answer choices. Sometimes a choice will repeat word for word a portion of
the passage near the answer. However, beware of such duplication – it may be a trap!
More than likely, the correct choice will paraphrase or summarize the related portion
of the passage, rather than being exactly the same wording.
For the answers that you think are correct, read them carefully and make sure that
they answer the question. An answer can be factually correct, but it MUST answer the
question asked. Additionally, two answers can both be seemingly.
correct, so be sure to read all of the answer choices, and make sure that you get the
one that BEST answers the question.
Some questions will not have a key word.
Example: Which of the following would the author of this passage likely agree with?
In these cases, look for key words in the answer choices. Then skim the passage to
find where the answer choice occurs. By skimming to find where to look, you can
minimize the time required.

Sometimes it may be difficult to identify a good key word in the question to skim
for in the passage. In those cases, look for a key word in one of the answer choices
to skim for. Often the answer choices can all be found in the same paragraph,
which can quickly narrow your search.
• Paragraph Focus
Focus upon the first sentence of each paragraph, which is the most important. The
main topic of the paragraph is usually there.
Once you’ve read the first sentence in the paragraph, you have a general idea about
what each paragraph will be about. As you read the questions, try to determine which
paragraph will have the answer. Paragraphs have a concise topic. The answer should
either obviously be there or obviously not. It will save time if you can jump straight to
the paragraph, so try to remember what you learned from the first sentences.
Example: The first paragraph is about poets; the second is about poetry. If a question asks
about poetry, where will the answer be? The second paragraph.
The main idea of a passage is typically spread across all or most of its paragraphs.
Whereas the main idea of a paragraph may be completely different than the main idea
of the very next paragraph, a main idea for a passage affects all of the paragraphs in
one form or another.
Example: What is the main idea of the passage?
For each answer choice, try to see how many paragraphs are related. It can help to
count how many sentences are affected by each choice, but it is best to see how many
paragraphs are affected by the choice. Typically the answer choices will include
incorrect choices that are main ideas of individual paragraphs, but not the entire
passage. That is why it is crucial to choose ideas that are supported by the most
paragraphs possible.

• Eliminate Choices
Some choices can quickly be eliminated. “Andy Warhol lived there.” Is Andy Warhol
even mentioned in the article? If not, quickly eliminate it.
When trying to answer a question such as “the passage indicates all of the following
EXCEPT” quickly skim the paragraph searching for references to each choice. If the
reference exists, scratch it off as a choice. Similar choices may be crossed off
simultaneously if they are close enough.
In choices that ask you to choose “which answer choice does NOT describe?” or “all of
the following answer choices are identifiable characteristics, EXCEPT which?” look for
answers that are similarly worded. Since only one answer can be correct, if there are
two answers that appear to mean the same thing, they must BOTH be incorrect, and
can be eliminated.
Example:
A.) changing values and attitudes
B.) a large population of mobile or uprooted people
These answer choices are similar; they both describe a fluid culture. Because of
their similarity, they can be linked together. Since the answer can have only one
choice, they can also be eliminated together.
• Contextual Clues
Look for contextual clues. An answer can be right but not correct. The contextual clues
will help you find the answer that is most right and is correct. Understand the context
in which a phrase is stated.
When asked for the implied meaning of a statement made in the passage, immediately go
find the statement and read the context it was made in. Also, look for an answer choice that
has a similar phrase to the statement in question.

Example: In the passage, what is implied by the phrase “Churches have become more or
less part of the furniture”?
Find an answer choice that is similar or describes the phrase “part of the furniture” as
that is the key phrase in the question. “Part of the furniture” is a saying that means
something is fixed, immovable, or set in their ways. Those are all similar ways of saying
“part of the furniture.” As such, the correct answer choice will probably include a
similar rewording of the expression.
Example: Why was John described as “morally desperate”.
The answer will probably have some sort of definition of morals in it. “Morals” refers to
a code of right and wrong behavior, so the correct answer choice will likely have words
that mean something like that.
• Fact/Opinion
When asked about which statement is a fact or opinion, remember that answer choices
that are facts will typically have no ambiguous words. For example, how long is a long
time? What defines an ordinary person? These ambiguous words
of “long” and “ordinary” should not be in a factual statement. However, if all of the
choices have ambiguous words, go to the context of the passage. Often a factual
statement may be set out as a research finding.
Example: “The scientist found that the eye reacts quickly to change in light.”
Opinions may be set out in the context of words like thought, believed, understood, or
wished.
Example: “He thought the Yankees should win the World Series.”

Opposites
Answer choices that are direct opposites are usually correct. The paragraph will often
contain established relationships (when this goes up, that goes down). The question
may ask you to draw conclusions for this and will give two similar answer choices that
are opposites.
Example:
A. if other factors are held constant, then increasing the interest rate will lead to a
decrease in housing starts
B. if other factors are held constant, then increasing the interest rate will lead to
an increase in housing starts
Often these opposites will not be so clearly recognized. Don’t be thrown off by different
wording, look for the meaning beneath. Notice how these two answer choices are
really opposites, with just a slight change in the wording shown above. Once you
realize these are opposites, you should examine them closely. One of these two is likely
to be the correct answer.
Example:
A. if other factors are held constant, then increasing the interest rate will lead to a
decrease in housing starts
B. When there is an increase in housing starts, and other things remaining equal, it
is often the result of an increase in interest rates.
Make Predictions
As you read and understand the passage and then the question, try to guess what the
answer will be. Remember that most of the answer choices are wrong, and once you
being reading them, your mind will immediately become cluttered with answer choices
designed to throw you off. Your mind is typically the most focused immediately after
you have read the passage and question and digested its contents. If you can, try to
predict what the correct answer will be. You may be surprised at what you can predict.
Quickly scan the choices and see if your prediction is in the listed answer choices. If it
is, then you can be quite confident that you have the right answer.
It still won’t hurt to check the other answer choices, but most of the time, you’ve got it!

Answer the Question

It may seem obvious to only pick answer choices that answer the question, but IELTS
can create some excellent answer choices that are wrong. Don’t pick an answer just
because it sounds right, or you believe it to be true. It MUST answer the question. Once
you’ve made your selection, always go back and check it against the question and make
sure that you didn’t misread the question, and the answer choice does answer the
question posed.
Benchmark
After you read the first answer choice, decide if you think it sounds correct or not. If it
doesn’t, move on to the next answer choice. If it does, make a mental note about that
choice. This doesn’t mean that you’ve definitely selected it as your answer choice, it
just means that it’s the best you’ve seen thus far. Go ahead and read the next choice. If
the next choice is worse than the one you’ve already selected, keep going to the next
answer choice. If the next choice is better than the choice you’ve already selected, then
make a mental note about that answer choice.
As you read through the list, you are mentally noting the choice you think is right. That is
your new standard. Every other answer choice must be benchmarked against that
standard. That choice is correct until proven otherwise by another answer choice beating
it out. Once you’ve decided that no other answer choice seems as good, do one final check
to ensure that it answers the question posed.
New Information
Correct answers will usually contain the information listed in the paragraph and
question. Rarely will completely new information be inserted into a correct answer
choice. Occasionally the new information may be related in a manner than IELTS is
asking for you to interpret, but seldom.
Example:
The argument above is dependent upon which of the following assumptions?
A.) Scientists have used Charles’s Law to interpret the relationship.

If Charles’s Law is not mentioned at all in the referenced paragraph and argument,
then it is unlikely that this choice is correct. All of the information needed to answer
the question is provided for you, and so you should not have to make guesses that are
unsupported or choose answer choices that have unknown information that cannot be
reasoned.
Key Words
Look for answer choices that have the same key words in them as the question.
Example:
Which of the following, if true, would best explain the reluctance of politicians since
1980 to support this funding?
Look for the key words “since 1980” to be referenced in the correct answer choice.
Most valid answer choices would probably include a phrase such as
“since 1980, politicians have...”
Valid Information
Don’t discount any of the information provided in the passage, particularly shorter
ones. Every piece of information may be necessary to determine the correct answer.
None of the information in the passage is there to throw you off (while the answer
choices will certainly have information to throw you off). If two seemingly unrelated
topics are discussed, don’t ignore either. You can be confident there is a relationship,
or it wouldn’t be included in the passage, and you are probably going to have to
determine what is that relationship for the answer.
• Final Warnings
Hedge Phrases Revisited
Once again, watch out for critical “hedge” phrases, such as likely, may, can, will often,
sometimes, etc, often, almost, mostly, usually, generally, rarely, sometimes. Question
writers insert these hedge phrases, to cover every possibility. Often an answer will be
wrong simply because it leaves no room for exception.

Example: Animals live longer in cold places than animals in warm places.
This answer choice is wrong, because there are exceptions in which certain warm
climate animals live longer. This answer choice leaves no possibility of exception. It
states that every animal species in cold places live longer than animal species in warm
places. Correct answer choices will typically have a key hedge word to leave room for
exceptions.
Example: In severe cold, a polar bear cub is likely to survive longer than an adult polar
bear.
This answer choice is correct, because not only does the passage imply that younger
animals survive better in the cold, it also allows for exceptions to exist.
The use of the word “likely” leaves room for cases in which a polar bear cub might not
survive longer than the adult polar bear.
Word Usage Questions
When asked how a word is used in the passage, don’t use your existing knowledge of
the word. The question is being asked precisely because there is some strange or
unusual usage of the word in the passage. Go to the passage and use contextual clues to
determine the answer. Don’t simply use the popular definition you already know.
Switchback Words
Stay alert for “switchbacks”. These are the words and phrases frequently used to
alert you to shifts in thought. The most common switchback word is “but”. Others
include although, however, nevertheless, on the other hand, even though, while, in
spite of, despite, regardless of.
Avoid “Fact Traps”
Once you know which paragraph the answer will be in, focus on that paragraph.
However, don’t get distracted by a choice that is factually true about the paragraph.
Your search is for the answer that answers the question, which may be about a tiny

aspect in the paragraph. Stay focused and don’t fall for an answer that describes the
larger picture of the paragraph. Always go back to the question and make sure you’re
choosing an answer that actually answers the question and is not just a true statement.
• Practice, practice, practice!
Reading the text in the way I described in this chapter must become your second
nature. The only way to make it happen is to practice in using my tips while doing the
Reading test.
When practicing, finish the Reading test and then check your answers according to
answer key. Pay attention to those you've got wrong, not those you've got right -
understand why didn't you do them light and try to remember, so that mistake won't
come back.
Practice with a clock and copy your answers to the Answer Sheet. You may use the one
from the chaptei on Listening test; it is similar to the Reading test Answer Sheet.
In order to practice, use only Academic module reading and never General Training
reading Generally, you need to buy texts to practice on, but I have managed to find a
few sources of free tests and recommend them to you.

Strategies for Reading Test

➢ Strategy for the Matching Task
First, read the instructions and the example. If the instructions say that a heading can
not be used more than once - cross the heading used in the example out of the list. This
way you won’t try to use it again by mistake (and believe me, it's a very common
mistake!).
Second, return to the map you have prepared. Go over the text, look on your map what
it says about the ide a of first paragraph. Go to the list of headings and choose the
heading that has the most similar meaning to idea on your map, write its number on
the margins of the first paragraph. Now continue and do the same for the second
paragraph, and so on.
Sometimes you will see that paragraph X mentions the same fact as the heading Y, but
only as addition. It is a trap to make you choose heading Y for that paragraph X.
It sounds confusing, but this example explains everything:
Paragraph X:
The end result says that 61.6% of the Dutch people vote tegen (against) the European
Constitution, while 38.4% voted voor (for) the Constitution.
Turnout was unexpectedly high, at 62.8%, more than the last three elections. The 'no1
vote follows a similar vote in France last week that lead to the resignation of the prime
minister Jean-Pieire Raffarin.
Heading Y:
Primp minister of France resigns.
Explanation:
Although the resignation of the prime minister of France is mentioned in the

paragraph X it is not its topic. The topic is the Dutch people voting for/against
the constitution, which means that the heading Y is not suitable for the
paragraph X.
If some paragraphs are hard to match - leave them alone, keep moving forward.
Come back to them later.
When finished matching - check your answers carefully, because they can
influence each other. Don't forget to copy the answers to the Answer Sheet.

➢ Strategy for the True/False/Not Given Task
To simplify it for you, if the statement clearly appears in text - it is True. If the text
clearly says the opposite of statement - it is False, if you didn't find the statement to be
either TRUE or FALSE - it is Not Given.
Every passage is divided into paragraphs and each paragraph usually contains an
answer to one question. It means that if you have found an answei to the question 1 in
paragraph A, then answer to the question 2 will probably be in paragraph B. In many
cases when you don’t see that paragraph is confirming that the statement is either
True or False, the answer is Not Given.
The best advice here is not to over think it. Otherwise you might start building logical
sequences that take you to the wrong direction.
➢ Strategy for the Multiple-choice Task
Here too the True/False/Not Given technique is a big help. The difference is that you
need to use it on each answer choice. For every possible answer you need to decide, if
it is True, False or Not Gwen in the text. Finally, answers you have marked as False or
Not Given are incorrect, and the ones you marked as True are correct.
Remember: it is True only when passage says exactly the same thing, it is False when
passage says exactly the opposite and it is Not Given in any other case.
Keep in mind that there are cases when all the choices are correct or none of them is
correct. Read the instruction carefully and you will know what to do in such cases.
➢ Strategy for the Gap Fills
First of all try to understand what the main idea of the first sentence is. Then find it on
your map - this should take you to the paragraph that "hides" the answer.
Now, when you know where to look, you need to know what to look for. Look around
the gap to understand what’s missing, a noun (like boy, toy, truck), an adjective (little,
pretty, shiny) or a verb (stands, looks, moves).
For example, what is missing here: “She ________________________ around and saw him in
the comeF’?
You have 4 choices: happy, man, looked, smiled. It is clear that you need a verb here,
but which one, “looked” or “smiled”? Now it is time to start reading the text.
Find where example answer is and start there. Remember to read only first, second
and last sentence Of course, “looked” is the right word!

Sometimes there are words near a gap that will give you a clue what kind of word is
missing. For example, “Main physical activities in the summer camp are fishing
and swimming. Naturally, you will look for words that end with “ing” to fill for the gap -
like “hiking”.
There are 2 types of gap-fills:
1) There is a list of words for you to choose from
2) There is no list, you need to choose words from text
When you choose a word from the list and the instructions say that every word is to be
used once only, write it above the gap and cross it out from the list. If there is more
than one possible answer - write them all and then decide which one is better.
If they don’t give you a list, try to pick a word from the text. It is better then "inventing"
it, because it saves time and your chances of being right are higher
After you have decided about the word that goes into the gap, read the whole sentence
again. It must make sense according to the text, and it must be grammatically correct.
When you move forward to the second gap, keep in mind that usually there are no
more than 2 gaps per paragraph. It means that if you have found an answer to the first
gap in the paragraph 1, the answer to the second gap will be in the paragraph 2 and so
on.

How to Prepare for IELTS - Reading

Details of the Reading Test Procedure of the test
➢ The reading module is the second test you do on the test day.
➢ You are given a question booklet and an answer sheet. There is no time, unlike
in the listening test, at the end to transfer answers so you have to write your
answers directly onto the answer sheet.
➢ You are given 60 minutes for the test.
➢ The test instructions indicate how much time you should spend on each section
of the test.

➢ The test is divided into three sections.
➢ You are given a reading passage with questions in each section. The questions
can be both before and after the passages.
➢ The topics of the passages are of general interest and come from magazines,
journals, books and newspapers. At least one of the passages will present a
logical argument.
Question types*
The types of tasks are:
1. Multiple Choice
2. Short-answer questions
3. Sentence completion
4. Notes/table/summary flow-chart/diagram completion
5. Yes, no, not given or True, false, not given
6. Classification
7. Matching lists/phrases
8. Choosing headings for paragraphs/sections of a text
9. Scanning and identifying location of information
There are 40 questions in total. Each of the three sections has around 10-15 questions
and there are at least two types of questions in each section.

Marking
You are given a mark for each of the 40 questions. Your result is converted into a score which
corresponds to one of the bands from 1-9. You will see the band on your result sheet. You can be
awarded a whole band or a half band for the reading section.
The Question Types
1. Multiple Choice
The Questions
There are three types of multiple choice questions in the IELTS reading exam.
Type 1. Where there is one possible answer.
Type 2. Where there are multiple answers for only one mark.
Type 3. Where there are multiple answers and one mark for each.
For these questions you may be given the start of a sentence which you have to
complete with one out of four choices. Or you may be presented with a question and
asked to find two, three or four items in a list of answers.
You could be asked to identify facts or opinions in the texts.
Multiple choice questions can test both your global understanding of the text or ask
you for specific information. This means you will have to make the decision yourself
whether to skim or scan the text.
How to do the Multiple Choice Questions
• Read the instructions carefully and check how many letters you need to circle.
• Skim all the questions and the answer choices quickly. As you do this,
➢ Underline the key words (the words that give you the most information).
➢ Try to get an idea of the topic you will be reading about from the vocabulary of
the questions.
➢ Look at any illustrations or diagrams that go with the text.
• Go back to the first question. Decide if you are looking for specific information or
whether the question requires you to understand the whole text . Then either scan or
skim the text, as appropriate, to find the answer.
• Read the relevant part of the text very carefully.
• Don’t leave any questions unanswered.

Remember
✓ To read the stem or question carefully.
✓ To eliminate unlikely answers.
2. Short Answer Questions
The Questions
There are two types of short answer questions in the IELTS reading exam.
Type 1. Questions
Type 2. Lists
These questions will usually tell you to write your answers in NO MORE THAN THREE
WORDS. So you can answer with one word, two words
or three words but no more. However, this is not always the case, so check the rubric
carefully.
For these questions, like the multiple choice questions, you have to apply both
skimming and scanning techniques.
Also note that the answers should not require a hyphenated word (e.g. non-smoker ) or
a contraction (e.g. They’ve).
If the answer requires a number, you can write it as a numeral (e.g. 6) or a word (e.g.
six) or a combination of a numeral and a word (e.g. 6 million).
How to do short Answer Questions

• Skim all the questions quickly. As you do this:
➢ Decide what information you need to find in the text.
➢ look out for question words like ‘where’ and ‘who’ which indicate you should
listen for specific things like places and people.

• Go back to the first question and decide what part of the text you need to read.
• Read the part carefully to find the answer.

• You may use your own words. You don’t have to write a complete sentence but it
does have to be grammatically correct.

Remember
✓ If you don’t know the meaning of any of the words in the questions, look at the other
questions. They might have some associated vocabulary in them to help you guess the
meaning.
✓ The answer could be one word, two words or three words but not four or more.
✓ If you think you need more than three words your answer is probably incorrect.
3. Sentence Completion Questions
The Questions
There are two types of sentence completion questions in the reading exam.
Type 1. With a selection of possible answers.

These questions require you to complete the end of a sentence.
The questions appear in the same order as the information in the text.
Type 2 questions are similar to the short answer questions in that they will always tell
you to write your answers in NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS. So you can answer with
one word, two words or three words but not more. They will also tell you to use words
from the reading passage.
As with short answer questions:
Also note that the answers should not require a hyphenated word (e.g. non-smoker) or
a contraction (e.g. They’ve). Also, if the answer requires a number, you can write it as a
numeral (e.g. 6) or a word (e.g. six) or a combination (e.g. 6 million).
How to do Sentence Completion Questions
• Quickly read through all the sentences halves. As you do this
➢ Try to work out what information you need.
➢ Think about the grammatical form as well as the vocabulary that should

follow immediately from the stem.

• Go back to the first sentence and decide what information you need to complete it.
• Find the place where the information should be in the text and read it carefully.
• Look out for synonyms and parallel expressions because the questions are not likely
to use the same words as those in the text.
• Make sure your sentences make sense both logically and grammatically.
Remember
✓ For type two, the answer could be one word, two words or three words but not four
or more.
4. Notes/Table/ Form/Summary/Flow chart/Diagram Completion Ques.

The Questions
These questions ask for specific information.

There are two types of these completion questions in the IELTS reading exam.
Type 1. With a selection of possible answers.
These questions require you to:
▪ insert a word or phrase in the middle of a sentence
▪ insert a word in the middle and another word at the end of a sentence
▪ write words or phrases that are not in sentences
▪ write a letter that represents a word or phrase
For Type 1 questions the words or phrases provided will be different from the words in
the text. There will be more words than gaps.
Type 2 questions are similar to the short answer questions in that they will tell you to
write your answers in NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS. So you can answer with one
word, two words or three words but no more.
As with short answer questions: Also note that the answers should not require a
hyphenated word (e.g. non-smoker) or a contraction (e.g. They’ve).

If the answer requires a number, you can write it as a numeral (e.g. 6) or a word (e.g. six)
or a combination (e.g. 6 million)
How to do these Completion Questions
• Look at the table or form etc carefully:
➢ Examine any headings or subheadings.
➢ Try to get an idea of the topic.
➢ Decide what section of the passage the exercise covers.

➢ If a box of answers is given, see if you can guess any of the matches & eliminate
unlikely answers.
➢ If the question is in the form of a table, work out which way it is best to read it -
horizontally or vertically.
➢ If the question is in the form of a summary, read through it first and see if you
can guess any of the missing words.

• Take each gap one by one and search the text for the best word(s) to fill the gap.
Remember
✓ If there is a box of answers, there will be at least two you don’t need.
✓ If there is no box, the answer could be one word, two words or three words but not
four or more.
✓ There may be alternative rubrics for these completion questions e.g. ‘complete the
notice’ or ‘complete the explanation’ or ‘complete the news report.
5. Yes, no, not given or True, false, not given
The Questions
These tasks either ask you to identify the writer’s views or claims in the text or identify
information in the text.
You will be given a list of statements which are either opinions or facts and you have to
decide for:

Type 1 if they are opinions, whether they are the opinions of the writer or not or not
given in the text.
Type 2 if they are facts, whether they are true, false or not given in the text.
For type 1 the writers views may not be directly stated, so you may have to work out
what is implied.
The questions will be in the same order as the text.
How to do Yes, no, not given or True, false, not Given Questions
• Quickly read through all the statements to get an idea about the topic.
• Read the first statement more carefully. Underline the key words so you
understand the main point.

• Search for the section of the text which deals with the idea or fact.
• Once you have found the relevant section, read it carefully. For type 1, if the
statement disagrees with the writer’s opinion, then select ‘no’ and if the author
doesn’t give an opinion, select ‘not given’. For type 2, if the statement is the opposite
to the information in the text, then select ‘false’ and if there is no mention of it, select
‘not given’.
6. Classification Questions
The Questions
These questions ask you to classify information given in the reading text.
Classifications are often according to the writer’s opinion or according to a period of

time or place.
You will be asked to identify a letter which represents one of the classifications for
each item in a list of statements.
How to do these Classification Questions

• Make sure you know how many classifications there are and what letters you have

to use. (E.g. US, J, G & UK in the exercise above.)

• Read the classifications carefully and make sure you don’t confuse the letters which
represent each one.
• Read the statements/phrases or words beside the question numbers and underline
key words.
• Start with the first statement and work your way through them one by one,
searching the text to find where the information is mentioned.

• The questions will not necessarily be in the same order as the
text and the wording will probably be different in the text so look out for synonyms
and parallel expressions.
• When you’ve located the reference in the text, read it carefully and select your
answer.
• Don’t leave any statements without a letter.
7. Matching
The Questions
These questions require you to match a list of opinions to sources mentioned in the
text. These questions are used with texts which present a number of different people’s
opinions.
The sources are usually numbered and the opinions are given a letter each. In the answer
booklet you write the letter(s) beside the numbers.
There could be more opinions than sources. If so, you will need to write more than one
letter beside the question in the answer booklet. If there are more sources than
opinions, then one of more or the opinions will be used more than once.
How to do Matching Questions
• Take the names of the sources one by one and find them in the text and underline
them.
• When you have located a name, read carefully to see what is said about his/her

opinions.
• Look at the list of opinions and see if you can make a match.
• Remember that the text is not likely to use the same words as the questions, so look
for synonyms and parallel expressions.

Also, be aware that the sources may be referred to in more than one place in the text.
• The opinions in the task are not listed in the same order as they appear in the text.
Phrases like “he said’ or ‘in his opinion’ should help you locate the arguments.
8. Choosing Headings.
The Questions
There are two types of headings questions.
Type 1. Choosing headings for paragraphs or sections of a text.

Type 2. Choosing a heading for the whole text.
Type 1 questions require you to sum up the meaning of a paragraph in order to match
it to a bank of possible headings. You may be asked to match every paragraph or
section of the text or just a selection of paragraphs.
Type 2 questions require you to sum up the whole text.
How to do choosing Headings Questions

• Make sure you know which paragraphs or sections you have to sum up.
• Read the first paragraph or section and try to sum up, in your own words, what it is
about.
• Then search through the bank of headings for the best answer.
• Make sure the heading you have chosen sums up the entire paragraph and not just one
idea within it.
• If you have to sum up the entire text. Read the whole text before looking at the bank
of headings. Try to think of your own heading and then look at the options.

9. Scanning and identifying location of information
The Questions
These questions require you to scan the text to find the location of information. You
will be given a set of statements and you need to find the paragraph each one comes
from.
How to do Scanning and Identifying location of information Questions

• Quickly read the statements to get an idea of what the text is about.
• Take the statements one by one. Underline the key words.
• Next search the text to find where the information is mentioned.
• Remember to look for synonyms and parallel expressions because it is likely that the
statements express the ideas differently to the way they are expressed in the text.
10. Labelling a Diagram which has numbered Parts
The Questions
You will be given a diagram and asked to label it with words from the text or labels
given.
How to do labeling the Diagram Questions
• Study the diagram and the labels if they are given.
• See if you can guess any of the answers.

Tips for Writing Test

• Analyse each task properly and spend some time making notes
• Highlight or underline key words in the tasks to make sure that you focus on what
you have to do.
• Use paragraphs clearly; put one idea in each paragraph.
• Do not repeat ideas using different words.
• Do not copy whole sentences from the question – you will receive no marks for this
• Keep to the topic; do not write about unrelated subjects
• Manage your time; remember, Task 2 is worth twice as much as Task 1
• Spend approximately 20 minutes on Task 1 and approximately 40 minutes on Task

2
• Pay attention to the number of words required for each task; you will lose marks if
you do not write at least 150 words for Task 1 and at least 250 words for Task 2
• Learn to recognise how long 150 and 250 words look in your handwriting; you will
not have time to count during the test
• You must write your answers in full; answers written in note form or in bullet
points will lose marks
• Pay attention to spelling, grammar and punctuation; you will lose marks for
mistakes
• Avoid informal language
• Do not memorise model answers; examiners are trained to recognise them and
your test will be invalid
• Spend several minutes re-reading and correcting your answers

• Work with a teacher. Write several sample essays and have them corrected by a
teacher. You cannot prepare for the writing section of the IELTS alone, as you have
no way of receiving feedback on your errors. If you are short on money, at least
invest in a teacher or class to prepare for the writing and speaking sections of the
IELTS, and then do the listening and reading sections on your own by working with a
good preparatory IELTS guidebook.
• Read the questions very carefully. Often the question will ask you to do three or
four different things, aside from the main question. Jot them down and make sure
you address all of them in your answer. The IELTS examiner will be checking for this.
• Practice writing tasks within the given time limits. It really doesn't matter if you
can write a beautiful answer in two hours. Always recreate the conditions of the
exam as closely as possible, when doing any kind of practice exercises.
• Write in an organized way. When you've planned in advance, you'll end up with a
more organized, logical piece of writing, which will earn you higher marks. There are
many ways to be organized – linear, circular, etc. – but in the end the final product
must be cohesive.
• Stay on topic. You will be penalized if you stray off topic. This is where the initial few
minutes of planning can help you a great deal.
• Write clearly. This is not the time or place to experiment with new vocabulary or
idioms. Use simple, clear English to get your ideas across in a powerful way.
• Write legibly. Though marks are not granted or taken away for poor or messy
writing, the examiner should be able to read what you have written without undue
difficulty.

• Spell correctly. Yes, this does affect your score so avoid careless mistakes. A careless
mistake is when you have spelt the same word in various ways in the same piece of
writing or when you misspell a word which is already given in the exam topic and all
you have to do is copy it correctly. That's not okay. Watch for this when you're
practicing and resolve to overcome it.
• Think about the examiner – use paragraphs well

The examiner will not spend very long grading your paper. You need to create an
immediate good impression and the best way to do this in my experience is to
present a well-structured piece of writing with clearly laid out paragraphs. This way
the examiner is going to be on your side. If, however, it looks disorganised, the
examiner is not going to be impressed.
• Think about range of vocabulary

You should also check your writing for unnecessary word repetition – you are graded
on the variety of your language. You should note that this does not mean you need to
use long, complex words, rather it means you should use precise words.
• Task 1 and task 2 – which do you answer first?
The essay is worth twice the marks of the report. One idea is to do task 2 (the essay)
before task 1(the report), just to ensure you finish the essay. You do need to spend at
least 20 minutes on part 1 though. Do not try to answer it in 15 minutes.
• Time is your enemy – have a plan and a watch
Timing can be a problem. It is important to keep moving and stick to your timing.
Don’t be tempted to spend more than 40 minutes on your essay – you need 20
minutes to answer task 1 properly.

• Don’t copy whole sections of the question
If you copy whole sections of the question, the examiner will not include those words
in your word count: 260 words can become 230 words if you are not careful.
• Don’t write too many words
The more words you write, you more mistakes you are likely to make. The more
words you write, the less efficient you become and the quality will fall. The ideal is to
aim for between 260 – 280 words in the essay and 160-180 words in the report.
• Don’t start writing too soon – think and plan!
It is important to finish both pieces of writing, but the way to do this is not
necessarily starting to write immediately. If you do that, you may get half way
through the writing and realise you cannot finish it. Only start writing when you
know how you are going to finish.
In the essay this can mean up to 10 minutes and in the task 1 report it can mean up to
5 minutes. The more you think, the better and more quickly you will write. 2/3
minutes is almost certainly not enough. For more detail on this, try looking
at Planning an IELTS essay – the 10 minute solution.
• Read the question – answer the question
Rule number 1 is to answer the question: read the question carefully and underline
all the information you need to include. This works differently in the essay and the
report.
In the essay, often you will find background information and the question itself. Make
sure you answer the question
(eg “Do you agree?”) and do not write generally about the topic. If you copy another
essay you have written on the same topic, you will lose a lot of marks.
In task 1, all the information you need to include is in the chart/graph: make sure you
identify the key points before you start writing.

Dos and Donts
Make sure that you read all of the information in the questions very carefully and
✓
respond appropriately.
Make sure that you follow all instructions including the number of words that you
✓
need to write.
Make sure that you stop Writing Task 1 after 20 minutes to allow enough time to
✓
answer Writing Task 2.
Remember that Writing Task 2 carries more marks, so you need plenty of time to
✓
answer it.
✓ Make sure that, for Task 1, you use figures or data from the question paper accurately.
Make sure that you plan your ideas before you begin to write. For Writing Task 1, stop
✓ to locate and select the most important pieces of information. For Writing Task 2, take
time to organise your ideas and argument.
Be sure to provide supporting evidence for any of your claims or views in Writing Task
✓
2.
Leave time to check your answer for careless mistakes at the end. Try to check for
✓ spelling mistakes, verb and subject agreement, singular/plural nouns, tense mistakes
and problems of fluency.
✓ Make sure that all of your ideas are relevant to the question.
Try to avoid repeating the same words, phrases and ideas too often. Try to use a range
✓ of vocabulary. Try to make sure that you do not repeat the same idea too often, make
sure you explore different ideas to provide a well-balanced response.
✓ Make sure you write as clearly as possible.
Make sure that you produce organised and linked paragraphs and that the style of
✓
your language is academic.
X Don't copy from other people’s work.
X Don't write less than the required number of words.
X Don't repeat task instructions in your writing.
X Don’t use note form or bullet points.

X Don’t leave out any required information.
Don’t waste your time learning essays by heart to use in the exam. You will be
X penalised for this and you will waste valuable time that could be spent developing
good writing skills.
Don’t simply copy words and phrases from the question paper, try to use your own
X
words at all times by paraphrasing the question.

An Overview of IELTS General Writing
WRITING TEST - TASK 1
The IELTS General Training Writing Test lasts for 1 hour and includes 2 tasks. Task 1 is
a letter and you must write at least 150 words. You should spend about 20 minutes out
of the hour for task 1. Task 2 is an essay and you must write at least 250 words. You
should spend about 40 minutes for Task 2.
The Task for the IELTS General Training Task 1 Writing
The IELTS General Training Writing Task 1 asks you to write a letter of a minimum of
150 words in response to some situation or problem. The task will probably ask you to
complain about something, to request information, ask for help, to make arrangements
and/or explain a situation. All these are fairly similar tasks.
Marking for the IELTS General Training Task 1 Writing
The IELTS General Training Task 1 Writing will be marked in four areas. You will get a
mark from 1 to 9 on Task Achievement, Coherence & Cohesion, Lexical Resource and
Grammatical Range and Accuracy. Your final band for task 1 will be effectively an
average of the four marks awarded in these areas. Task 1 writing is less important than
task 2 and to calculate the final writing mark, more weight is assigned to the task 2
mark than to task 1's mark. To get a good overall mark for The IELTS General Training
Writing though, both tasks have to be well answered so don't hold back on task 1 or
give yourself too little time to answer it properly. The marking system below can also
be used for marking IELTS practice tests and it is used to grade the example writing in
our IELTS practice tests.
Task Achievement This where you can really make a difference through careful
preparation. This mark grades you on basically "have you answered the question". It
marks whether you have covered all requirements of the task suffiently and whether
you presented, highlighted and illustrate the key points appropriately.
Coherence and Cohesion These two are interrelated which is why they are done
together. Cohesion is how your writing fits together. Does your writing with its ideas
and content flow logically? Coherence is how you are making yourself understood and
whether the reader of your writing understands what you are saying. An example of
bad coherence and cohesion would be as follows:

1 . We went to the beach because it was raining.
Probably the writer of this sentence does not mean "because" as people don't usually
go to the beach when it is raining. The writer should have written:
2 . We went to the beach although it was raining.
Sentence 1 has made a cohesion and coherence error (as well as a vocabulary one).
"Because" does not join the ideas of the sentence together correctly and, as a result, the
reader does not understand what the writer wants to say. This is an exaggerated
example but it shows what I mean. Good cohesion and coherence is not noticeable as it
allows the writing to be read easily. Good cohesion and coherence also includes good
and appropriate paragraph usage.
Lexical Resource This area looks at the your choice of words. The marker will look at
whether the right words are used and whether they are used at the right time in the
right place and in the right way. To get a good mark here, the word choice should not
only be accurate but wide ranging, natural and sophisticated.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy Here the examiner will mark your appropriate,
flexible and accurate use of grammatical structures. Many people are worried about
their grammar but, as you can see, grammar is only one section of four used to grade
your writing. IELTS is much more interested in communication rather than
grammatical accuracy. It is, of course, still part of the marking scheme and important
as such.
Areas to Prepare
1) Write at least 150 words.
Writing less does not answer the question, which tells you to write at least 150 words.
If you write less than 150 words, the examiner marking your paper will give you a
maximum of 5 for Task Achievement or even less. Making sure that you write enough
is one of the vital things you can do when using IELTS practice tests.
2) Fully do all the things that the question asks you.
In this case it asks you to do 3 main things:
1. explain the situation

2. apologize for the inconvenience
3. say what you are going to do
The important part is to fully do these things. Don't take 1 line to explain about your
relative - people who do this often don't make the 150 word limit. Enlarge on what the

question tells you. Use your imagination. It must be something fairly serious to make
you leave town and you must be the only one possible to look after the relative so go
into these things. Be realistic as well.
You're writing to a library and you won't make it too personal. Apologizing won't take
up much space but you can still devote a couple of sentences to it. Saying what you are
going to do should be a full explanation as well.
3) Make your letter realistic so it would function in a real life situation.
This involves adding other things to the letter, which it may not ask you for, but
without which your letter would not perform its function. For this question, it would
mean introducing yourself by name, giving your library card membership number,
telling the library the titles of the books that you have borrowed, the names of their
authors, their library reference numbers, when you borrowed them and when they
were due back.
Finally, in this question, the situation might involve you getting a fine for the late books
so you could ask politely for that to be cancelled due to the circumstances. Without this
information, the letter wouldn't help the library much in real life and, even though the
question doesn't ask you specifically to include it, the examiner reading your work will
be looking for such things. These are things that are needed to get a 9 for task
fulfilment and, theoretically, anyone, whatever their level of English, should be able to
get a good mark here.
The Opening Greeting of the Letter
Your letter will probably need to be a reasonably informal letter to a friend or a semi-
formal letter. The opening of your letter should reflect which one you are writing.
A friendly letter will open with Dear followed by a name which should then be
followed by a comma, eg:
Dear John,
A semi-formal letter will also open with Dear and then be followed by a name, (if you
decide that in the situation you would know the name) or by Sir (if it's a man), Madam
(if it's a woman) or Sir/Madam if you don't know, eg:
Dear Mr. Phillips,
Dear Mrs. Phillips,
Dear Sir,
Dear Madam,
Dear Sir/Madam,
The question also might specify how you are to begin so follow what it says.

The Opening Paragraph of the Letter
In a semi-formal letter, I feel it is important to state the reason for the letter straight
away. You could use the following to help you:
I am writing to ask/ tell//inform you that...

I am writing to ask/inquire...
I am writing with regard to...
I am writing with reference to...
I am writing in connection with...
I am writing in response to...
In reply to your letter, I am writing to... (if the question indicates that you
have had a letter)
If the letter is a less formal one to a friend then you should open the letter in a
friendlier way. EG:
Dear John,
Hi there! It's been so long since I've heard from you. I hope you are doing well and I
hope all you family are doing fine. I'm pretty good in spite of working hard. Anyway,
the reason I'm writing is...
The Substance of the Letter
I've already gone into detail about answering the question fully and using your
imagination to produce a realistic letter fulfilling all functions so I won't repeat that.
Through great experience with IELTS, I can say that questions tend to ask you to do
certain things. Here I will give you some ideas about some language to use in the
substance of the letter which will help you to answer the task well.
Asking for Help

I would like you to...
I would be grateful if you could...
I need to ask your advice about...
I'd like to ask for information about...
What I'm looking for is...
Complaining
I'm writing to express my dissatisfaction/annoyance/ about...
I'm writing to express my anger at...
I am not happy about...
... is not what I expected/was expecting.
I want to know what you are going to do about this situation.

NB When complaining, don't get too angry. I've had students who really became too
heated in their complaints. In a polite semi-formal letter, this should not happen. Also,
do not over-exaggerate. If it's a reasonably small and understandable problem, do say
that you're not satisfied but show that you understand and stay calm in your
expressions.
Thanking
I'm very grateful for...

I'd like to thank you very much for...
I very much appreciated...
Apologizing
I'm very sorry that/about...
Please forgive me for...
I'd like to apologize about...
Please accept my apologies
Of course it is hard to remember all these things. By using IELTS practice tests, you can
use these words and phrases under controlled conditions and later you will be able to
use them better in the pressure situation of the real test.
Ending your Letter
First of all, in English we often end letters before the sign off with certain phrases.
These can be included in most letters and will make your letter seem realistic and
polished. For a formal letter, you could use:
If you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thanking
you in advance for your help, I look forward to hearing from you soon.
For a more informal letter you could use:
If you need to know anything else, just get in touch with me as soon as you can. Thanks a
lot for your help and I hope to hear from you soon.
Be careful though! IELTS examiners quite rightly look for writing that has been
memorised and just repeated so, if you use expressions like the ones above, make sure
that they fit in with the rest of your letter.
Finally you'll need to sign off your letter. For a formal letter use:
Yours faithfully, OR Yours sincerely,
Remember the commas (it makes a good impression on the examiner if you use good
punctuation) and spell "sincerely" correctly (a lot of people don't!).

For an informal letter, love is not always appropriate though English speakers use it a
lot. Better would be to use:
Regards,
Yours,
Best wishes,
Other Hints for the IELTS General Training Task 1 Writing
DON'T copy any part of the question in your answer. This is not your own work and
therefore will be disregarded by the examiner and deducted from the word count. You
can use individual words but be careful of using "chunks" of the question text.
Don't repeat yourself or the same ideas. This gives a bad impression and the examiner
realises that it isn't adding to the content of your letter.
If you are weak at English grammar, try to use short sentences. This allows you to
control the grammar and the meaning of your writing much more easily and
contributes to a better coherence and cohesion mark. It's much easier to make things
clear in a foreign language if you keep your sentences short!
Think about the tenses of your verbs. If you're writing about something that happened
in the past, your verbs will need to be in the past tenses. If you're arranging something
in the future, you will need to use the future tenses. If it's a habitual action, you'll need
the present simple tense and so on. If you have time, a quick check of your verbs at the
end of the exam can help you find errors.
As I just said, if you have finished the exam with time to spare, DON'T just sit there!!
Check what you have done. If you have time after the check, check again. And so on....
Don't be irrelevant. Although you can use your imagination to expand on your answer,
if any part of your letter is totally unrelated to the question and put in to just put up
the word count, then the examiner will not take it into account and deduct it from the
word count.
If you want to improve, there's no secret. Practice. Practice. Practice. You won't get
better sitting and doing nothing. Even good English users need practice for the IELTS
exam. It could make all the difference between your getting the band that you need,
and getting half a band less than you need and having to do the exam again.

IELTS Academic Writing - Task 2 Task Description

What are candidates required to do?
In Writing Task 2 candidates are given a topic to write about. Answers should be a
discursive consideration of the relevant issues, as required by the rubic. The writing
style should be formal and academic. Candidates should make sure that they read and
answer the question fully. If the topic is computers they should make sure they
understand exactly what aspect of computers they need to discuss. They should not
simply write about computers in general. Candidates should write at least 250 words.
Is Task 2 compulsory?
Yes, it is. Because Task 2 carries more marks, candidates who fail to attempt to answer
this task will greatly reduce their chance of reaching a good band.
How long does it take?
Candidates are asked to spend no more than 40 minutes on this task.
What style must candidates write in?
Semi-formal/neutral. Discursive writing is usually written in this style, even when a

specific reader is not identified.
What skills are being tested?
For this task candidates are assessed on their ability to present an argument clearly
giving evidence or examples to support their ideas. They are also assessed on how well
their ideas are organised and the accuracy of the language they use. They should make
sure that each of their ideas is sufficiently developed and that all of their ideas are
relevant to the question. Candidates are expected to write at least 250 words. Short
answers will be penalised. Candidates will not be penalised if an answer is longer.
However, if they write a very long answer they may not have time for checking and
correcting at the end and some ideas may not be directly relevant to the question.
They may also produce handwriting which is unclear. Candidates should try to
discipline themselves to plan their ideas, select the most relevant ones and organise
these so that they are presented as clearly and as accurately as possible within the
time allowed. Finally candidates should make sure that they do not copy directly from
the Question Paper because if they do, this will not be assessed. Candidates should use
their own words when writing their answer.

How are answers assessed?
Examiners assess the answers according to these criteria:
• Task Response (i.e. how fully and appropriately the candidate has answered all
parts of the task; the extent to which the candidate's ideas are relevant,
developed and supported; the extent to which the candidate's position is clear
and effective)
• Coherence and Cohesion (i.e. how well the information and ideas are organised
and presented, including paragraphing; how well the information is linked)
• Lexical Resource (i.e. the range of vocabulary used, how accurately it is used
and how appropriate it is for the task)
• Grammatical Range and Accuracy (i.e. the range of structures used, how
accurately they are used and how appropriate they are for the task)
Are there any other regulations the candidate needs to know?
• They must write their answers on the Answer Sheet provided.

• If candidates write less than the minimum word limit, they will be penalised.
• They will be penalised for irrelevance if the response is off-topic.
• Any writing which is plagiarised (i.e. copied from another source) will be
severely penalised.
• They will be penalised if their answer is not written as full connected text (e.g.
using bullet points in any part of the response, or note form etc).
Understanding the Task
To understand better how candidates need to approach this task, it may help you to do
the task yourself and analyse what you had to do to produce a good answer.
Look at this sample Writing Task 2. Complete the task, thinking about how you are
doing it.
Focus on Assessment Assessment Criteria
The writing scripts are marked by fully qualified IELTS examiners. The examiners are
trained and monitored following a rigorous standardisation process. On the day of
your test, the writing scripts are distributed randomly to a group of examiners. Each

writing task is assessed individually and assigned a separate mark. The final score is
then calculated and a final band score is awarded. Academic Writing band scores are
reported in whole bands or half bands.
Task 1 scripts are assessed on the following criteria:
• Task Achievement (i.e. how effectively the candidate has identified, illustrated
and reported the key features of the information in the task)
• Coherence and Cohesion (i.e. how well the information and ideas are organised,
presented and linked)
Task 2 scripts are assessed on performance on the following areas:
• Task Response (i.e. how fully and appropriately the candidate has answered all
parts of the task; the extent to which the candidate's ideas are relevant,
developed and supported; the extent to which the candidate's position is clear
and effective)
• Coherence and Cohesion (i.e. how well the information and ideas are organised,
presented and linked)

How is Academic Writing different from General Writing?
The table shows that the first tasks in General Training Writing and Academic Writing
are different. The differences in these tasks mean that candidates are required to
produce different kinds of writing. The second tasks are quite similar in that they are
both discursive and candidates may need to present a solution to a problem, present
and justify an opinion, or evaluate and challenge ideas, evidence or arguments.
However, the topics in General Training Writing are topics of general interest which
tend to be more concrete and personal than those in Academic Writing. The topics and
instructions in General Training Writing require candidates to provide general factual
information and usually do not require the same degree of comparison and contrast of
evidence, opinion or implication as Academic Writing does. The second task in
Academic Writing also assumes an academic context and should therefore be formal in
style.
General Training Writing Tasks Academic Writing Tasks
Presenting information from a chart,

Writing an informal, semi-formal
Task 1 table, graph or diagram in the candidate’s
or formal personal letter
own words
Writing a discursive piece of writing that

Writing a discursive piece of
Task 2 involves consideration of more abstract
writing
issues

Tips for Writing Task 2 – Essay
You don’t have to be a writer to write a good essay. This task may look even harder
than the letter, but it is only a first impression. Just follow the rules, keep the right
structure, use some “smart” words and practice a little This way you can easily reach a
level, where no matter what topic they give you, after 40 minutes you turn a beautiful 2
pages long essay and walk out of the room with a huge smile on your face
Structure of Essay
Every essay should have this exact structure: introduction, body and conclusion.
It is very important because your grade is affected by it. Introduction usually takes one
paragraph, body - two or three paragraphs and conclusion - one paragraph.
Essay Topics - 3 different kinds
There are only 3 kinds of essay topics in IELTS, let’s call them A, H, S.
Topics “A” present an Argument and you need to explore pros and cons, reasons for
and against, while you support only one side
Topics “H” present a Hidden Argument. These topics usually ask “To what extent
...?”,“ In what way...?”,“ H ow has s omething change...?”.
Topics “S” present a Situation and you need to explore reasons why it is what it is,
assume what will happen in the future and suggest solutions to problems, if required.
The following examples demonstrate the difference between topics of A, H or S kind:
A: “Modem society benefits greatly from computer technology. However, becoming

more dependent on computers has its disadvantages. Discuss threats of computers.”
Here the 2 sides of argument are the advantages and disadvantages of computers.
H: ‘To what extent should tek^non participate in our children’s education?’

"What they really ask here is whether the television should educate the children
or not.
S: “Due to change of women’s role in modem society, men are now the ones suffering
from sexual discrimination. Do you agree?”
Here you can see the description of situation and you have to write what you think
about it.

Essay of Argument - kind
1. The introduction paragraph must clearly state the argument, both sides of it.
Do not simply copy the topic from instruction, write it in other words.
Don’t give your opinion, save it for later.
2. Body paragraphs (at least 2) must refer to each side of the argument. Write first
paragraph about the side you disagree with. The side you do agree with shjuld be
in the last body paragraph, because this way it naturally leads to the conclusion.
3. The conclusion paragraph should contain summary of the points you were
making. Never mind if the paragraph turns out to be short, the important thing is
that you kept the structure of the essay.
Essay of Hidden Argument kind
1. The introduction paragraph must define the question. You need to reveal the
hidden argument. Rewrite the topic, so it will say what it really means: from “to
what extent something affects...?” to “Does something affect...?” from “in what way
something contributes?” to “does something contribute?” from “how does
something influence ..?” to ’’does something influence..?
Now it became an argument with two sides, and you write essay of kind “A”.
Essay of Situation) kind
1. The introduction paragraph must state the situation and explain it. Don’t give your
opinion here.
2. Body paragraphs (at least 2) should describe reasons that lead to the situation,
making it like it is now. Each paragraph should talk about one reason.
3. The conclusion paragraph should summarize the points of the essay. If the task
requires suggesting solution to problems, recommendations, advice - this is the
place for it. If your opinion is required - you should also give it in the conclusion
paragraph.

More about Task 2 & how to do it.
Task 2 essays require you to explore issues by comparing, evaluating or challenging

ideas. You may be asked to present a point of view or offer a solution to a problem.
This means demonstrating your understanding of the topic by including examples
from your own experience. You should think of your audience as a non-specialist,
educated reader. Some essay types are outlined below, but you may not meet all of
them in General Training Task 2.
Step 1: Analyse the Task

• Become familiar with some main essay types and how to respond to them.
• Read and highlight/underline key words related to (1) the topic and (2) the
task.
• If necessary, explain key terms in your introduction.
Essay Types Task words This means...

What can be done to solve... ? Explain 2 or 3 aspects of the issue.
How can this problem be addressed? (1 paragraph each)

Problem/solution
What challenges.,. ? Suggest solutions.
What strategies... ? Make recommendations.
Take a position..
Do you agree or disagree?
Defend it strongly. Give several
Explain your position. reasons to support your position. (1
Agree or disagree paragraph each)
Justify your opinion.
It is useful to acknowledge the
Write in support of one of these views. opposite view (counter argument)
and say why you don't accept it.
Give a balanced presentation. This
Discuss means you should write equally
Two sides of an argument about both sides of the issue. In the
Compare/contrast Advan tages/disadvan tages conclusion you can indicate your
position.
Explain a problem or Give reasons or explanations

What are the reasons for... ? Why...?
situation cautiously and support them.
You will probably take a position

To what extent.. ? which is neither in total agreement
Evaluate an issue or
(100%) nor total disagreement (0 %),
problem
How important/serious... ? What do you think? but somewhere in between. Explain
why.

Step 2: Generate Ideas

Brainstorm:
Using Spider Diagrams
• Write key topic word(s) in the centre of a circle.

• Note down any related ideas or examples that come to mind.
• Do the same for other important words from the Task.
• Group the ideas to become your paragraph topics.
Idea
Example
Key Example
Words
Or
Idea
Using Questions
• Start with key topic word(s).
• Think about the Task and ask relevant questions.
• Group the answers to become your paragraph topics.
Step 3: Plan your Essay
General statement(s) about the topic

followed by thesis statement (what you are going to
(l short
Introduction write
paragraph)
about or what position you intend to take on the
question.)
Begin each paragraph with a topic

(2-3
Body sentence (main idea} followed by examples/evidence
paragraphs)
for support.
Summarise, but don't repeat, main ideas.

(l short
Conclusion Include recommendation if necessary or (re)-state
paragraph)
your position, to bring essay to a close.

Strategies for improving your IELTS score

The style of essay required for Task 2 of the IELTS writing test is standard to academic
courses. There are several published textbooks available to assist you to improve your
writing skills for this part of the test.
Structure and cohesion should be evident at the essay level, within and between
paragraphs and within and between sentences. Structure and cohesion have a very
important effect on the readability and clarity of your essay as a whole.
The structure of your essay should show a clear development from introduction,
through your points and on to the conclusion. Your essay needs to have an
introduction, body and conclusion.
Structure and cohesion should also be apparent within and between paragraphs. Each
paragraph will typically contain a topic sentence which states the main point of your
paragraph. The topic sentence is usually the first one. This will be followed by the
evidence which supports the point of the paragraph. The final sentence will typically
lead into the point of the following paragraph.
A good essay will also have structure and cohesion within and between sentences. It is
important that you are confident using linking devices such as relative clauses,
connectives and transition signals.

Essay Format For Reason Solution Essay

……………is still a major problem, which is unfortunately on rise at alarming rate. Therefore there are
many factors responsible for this. In the following paragraphs, I would explain the reasons with
suitable solutions.
The first reason is that

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….moreover……………
…………………………………………………………………………………by this, I mean to

say………………………………………………………………that……………………………………………….furthermore,
…………………………………………………………….is another reason to make the situation worse to worst.
For example,…………………………………………………
last but not least…………………………………………….at the same time, there are many solution to tackle the
situation. First of
all……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………..secondly……………………………………………..
Beside this……………………………………………
To put in a nutshell, nothing is impossible, if people and government join hands then……………………
.can be eradicated (reduced) too great extent.
There is heated debate concerning the controversial issue whether

…………………………….therefore there are many arguments on both sides. Some people think
that……………………….However other hold opposite view. As far as I am concerned, I agree with this
statement. In the following paragraphs, I intend to support my views with my arguments.
First and foremost reason, for…….is………..To supplement my view. I would like to cite an example of
ancient times(past time) , former times. individuals used to (proverb)………………………but in the
present scenario, every thing has changed, nowadays people………………Another point is ……………it is a
well known fact that………………..
Furthermore, I tend to think………………….is also responsible for making situation worse to

worst………………..for instance,……………….in addition to this…………………………………………………it has
been rightly said that”……………………………………………………..” By this I mean to
say………………………………………………………………..
On the other hand. Some people critics might argue that ……………………they may cite numerous
example to make their views strong. they think if…………………………………………….. but these arguments
do not matter much……………………………………………………………….
To put it in a nutshell, we have been that there are multiple strong arguments in my favor.
There may be many more but as far as I am concerned, the above given are most important.

Tips for Speaking Test
• Try to talk as much as you can.
• Talk as fluently as possible and be spontaneous.
• Relax, be confident and enjoy using your English.
• Develop your answers.
• Speak more than the examiner.
• Ask for clarification if necessary.
• Do not learn prepared answers; the examiner is trained to spot this and will
change the question.
• Express your opinions; you will be assessed on your ability to communicate.
• The examiner’s questions tend to be fairly predictable; practise at home and
record yourself.

Dos and Don’ts
✓ Talk to the examiner - you’ll feel more involved in the conversation.
✓ Listen carefully to the questions you’re asked so that your answers are relevant.
Answer the questions you’re asked with some detail so that your answers are long
✓
enough.
✓ Practise speaking for 2 minutes for the long turn in Part 2.
✓ Use the preparation time in Part 2 to think about what is written on the card.
Use the instructions and prompts on the card in Part 2 to help you to organise your
✓
long turn.
✓ Practise ways of delaying answers to give yourself time to think in Part 3.
✓ Explain your opinions and give examples to support them.
X Don't learn answers by heart.
Don't give very short answers except when the examiner interrupts you at the end of
X the 2 minutes in Part 2. At this point the examiner needs to move on to Part 3 of the
test and only expects a short answer to his/her questions.
X Don't talk about something different from what’s on the card in Part 2.
Don’t worry if the examiner stops you in Part 2. It means you have spoken enough,
X
and s/he has to keep to the timing of the test.
X Don’t worry if you can’t think of a word, try to paraphrase and get round it.
X Don’t write on the task card.
Don’t worry if you realise you’ve made a mistake. It’s OK to correct yourself. If you
X
can't correct yourself, forget it and carry on.
X Don’t ask the examiner if what you say is correct.

General tips for Speaking
Before the Test
• Try and talk in English as much as possible.
• Remember the more familiar you are with everyday social English the more fluent
you will sound.
• Make sure you are familiar with the structure of the test.
• Talk aloud to yourself and tape yourself.
During the test
• Your appearance may have an unconscious effect on the examiner, so dress neatly.
• Arrive early. Sometimes examiners get ahead of their schedule.
• Try to look confident. Don’t fold your arms.
• Keep eye contact with the examiner, especially in parts 1 and 3. Don’t speak to the
cassette recorder.
• Don’t worry if the examiner does not look at you in part 2. He or she will be
listening and checking the criteria for assessing you.
• Don’t worry about being nervous. Everyone is nervous doing these tests. Don’t say
to the examiner ‘I’m nervous’!
• Remember speaking ‘fluently’, does not mean speaking ‘quickly’.
• Don’t be afraid to correct yourself if you make a grammatical mistake.

Speaking Test Guidelines
PART Nature of Interaction Timing
1 Introduction and interview 4 - 5 minutes
After introductions and identity check, the examiner

asks the candidate questions about familiar topics.
2 3 - 4 minutes
Long turn
The candidate receives a task card with a topic. S/He
Then has 1 minute to prepare and make notes before
speaking about the topic for 1 to 2 minutes.
3 Discussion 4 - 5 minutes
The examiner discusses with the candidate more
abstract aspects of the topic in Part 2.
• Give a full answer
Don't just give one word answers. Include more information. For example, when asked
where you're from, instead of just saying the name of the place, speak in a sentence
which states the name, the location, and how long you've been there. This shows the
examiner you are confident speaking in English. But don't speak too long or the
examiner will think you've misunderstood the question!
• Speak clearly and don't worry about your accent
Everyone has an accent when they speak English. The important point is that you
enunciate the best you can so the examiner can understand you. Rehearse in advance
to overcome any obvious pronunciation problems. If you make a mistake, don't worry,
just correct yourself and keep going.
• Use descriptive words
Don't use boring words like good, bad, nice, or okay.Use exciting words that covey
emotion. Practice using higher level words for every simple word you know – such as
thrilled instead of happy, or depressed instead of sad.
• Speak up
Sometimes, students mumble and speak very softly because they are nervous or
unsure of their words. Use simple, correct language rather than complicated
vocabulary and speak loudly enough that the examiner does not have to strain to hear
you. This indicates self-confidence and command of the language.

• Don't use slang
You have 11 minutes to display the best English you know in all the years that you
have been learning English! Choose to be formal rather than informal.
• Stay on topic.
Don't change the subject or the examiner will think you have misunderstood and may
give you a lower mark.
• Have daily discussions with friends.
Take turns asking each other questions about current events and develop your ability
to speak about various topics, using varied sentence structure and vocabulary.
• Use natural spoken English
The best form of English to use in the test is natural spoken English. This will help you
to speak more fluently and improve your pronunciation. Here are some examples of
what works:
short forms like it’s and not it is
words like quite that we use a lot in speaking
common spoken phrases like I guess and I suppose
• Sometimes give short answers too!
Not all IELTS speaking questions are equal. For some you may have more to say about
and some less. That is only natural. If you get a question that you don’t know very
much about do NOT try and talk and talk about it. If you do you will probably become
incoherent. Much much better is just to give a shortish answer saying that you don’t
know very much about that and then wait for the next question – there’s always
another question.
Naturally you can’t do this all the time and in part 2 you do need to keep speaking for
at least one and a half minutes.
• Correct yourself – if you can do it immediately
If you make a mistake and you can correct it immediately, do so. This will show the
examiner that you have control over the language. If, however, you are unsure how to
correct yourself, move on: the examiner may not have noticed the mistake in the first
place and if you try unsuccessfully to correct it, a small mistake may become a much
bigger one.

• If you don’t understand the question – ask
This is a speaking test and not a listening test. If you don’t understand the question, ask
the examiner to repeat or explain it – you should not be penalised for this. If you try to
answer a question you do not understand, you will almost certainly become
incoherent.
• Listen to the grammar in the question
The best advice for IELTS speaking is very simply to listen to the question and answer
it. The reason for this is for this is the one time you are face to face with the examiner
and nerves are a sigificant problem. If you are trying to remember complex advice, you
are likely to become more nervous and not perform to your best. Keep it simple.
One example here is in part 1. If you here a question in the past tense:
“What sports did you play as a child?”
A good answer will use the past tense – the examiner will be listening for this.
• Give examples
If you are the sort of person who finds it difficult to explain things or tends to give
short answers, then it may help you to try and give examples. Examples are great for
explaining ideas and it is much easier to say for example than because. If you give an
example, you are just describing something you know about and that takes very little
mental effort. If though you say because that is much harder as you now need to think!
Be easy on yourself.
• Make eye contact
A large part of communication is non-verbal. You are marked by the examiner in the
room and you should do everything you can to show that person that you are a good
communicator. If you do not make eye contact with the examiner, s/he is probably
going to be less impressed with your performance.
• Do not relax too much – it’s not a conversation
This is an exam and you need to show the best side of your spoken English. If you relax
too much and become too conversational, your English may suffer. You need to
recognise that this is not a true dialogue between two people: it is more of an interview
with one person speaking and the other listening.
In a conversation the speaking conventions are quite different: you expect the other
person to share 50% of the talk time and to react to your comments, typically one
person will not speak for any length of time.

Details of the Speaking Test

There are three tasks or parts to the test which takes the form of an interview lasting
between 11 & 14 minutes:
➢ Part 1 Introduction & Interview (4-5 minutes)

➢ Part 2 Individual long turn (3-4 minutes)
➢ Part 3 Two-way discussion (4-5 minutes)
The Tasks test your ability to perform the following functions in English:
• provide personal and non-personal information

• express & justify opinions
• make suggestions
• speculate
• express a preference
• make comparisons & discuss contrasts
• summarise
• relate personal experiences
• analyse
• repair conversation & paraphrase
Procedure of the test
The test is conducted by one examiner. He or she asks all the questions and assesses
you. The test is recorded on audio cassette. You will be taken to the examiner’s room
where you will be asked to sit either opposite or at right angles to the examiner. The
examiner will then switch on the cassette recorder and start the test.
Marking
Your performance will be assessed on the criteria below:
• Fluency & Coherence
Being able to keep going, to talk at a normal rate without unnatural pauses and
hesitations.
Being able to link ideas and language together clearly so the examiner understands
you.

• Lexical Resource
Which enables you to express yourself while talking about both familiar and unfamiliar
topics or being able to get around any vocabulary gaps without hesitation.
• Grammatical Range & Accuracy
Being able to use a variety of grammatical structures appropriately. Making as few

grammatical mistakes as possible.
Being understood despite making grammatical mistakes.
• Pronunciation
Being able to use English pronunciation features like stress and intonation naturally.
Not causing the examiner any problems in understanding what you are saying.
The examiner will give you a score from 1 to 9 for each of these factors. They will be
converted into one final score between 1 and 9.

Three Parts of Speaking Test – Details

Part 1 Introduction & Interview (4-5 minutes)
The examiner will introduce him self or her self and confirm your identity. He or she
will then ask you a number of general questions.
About yourself to try and make you feel relaxed. You may be asked about your home or
studies. Then you will be asked one or two more sets of questions on familiar topics
such as your interests, your country, your family or types of things you like in various
categories such as food, clothes, holidays etc. The questions come from an examiner
‘frame’ (pre-determined questions) so the examiner will not necessarily follow-up with
questions based on what you say. The more questions that are asked on a specific topic
the more difficult they tend to be. However, you do not have to express a point of view
or justify it in this part.
Some typical questions/prompts might be:
▪ Where do you come from?

▪ What is your home like?
▪ Tell me about your family.
▪ Tell me about your job/studies.
▪ Is there anything you dislike about your job/studies?
▪ What type of transport do you use most?
▪ Do you like reading?
▪ What kind of television programmes do you watch?
▪ Tell me about a film you have seen recently.
▪ Do you have a pet?
▪ What kind of food do you like?
▪ How often do you go shopping?
▪ What’s your favorite festival? Why?
▪ How do people celebrate this festival?
How to do Part 1
• Listen to the questions carefully.
• Give full answers to the questions if possible but don’t anticipate related questions.
For example, if you are asked where you live a suitable answer would be ‘I live in the
new territories - in a village just outside Sai Kung, called Pak Tam. ’
NOT ‘I live in Sai Kung. It’s a really nice town with quite a large population and lots of
seafood restaurants. It’s a lovely place to live as.
answer and the examiner’s next question might be ‘What’s Sai Kung like?’.
• Don’t give one or two word answers as the examiner can only rate you on what he

or she hears.
• Make sure you relate what you say to what the examiner asks. For example,
Examiner: Do you like reading?

You: Yes, I do but I don’t get much time to read these days.
How to prepare for Part 1
• Make a list of possible topics you could be interviewed on e.g.

▪ your home
▪ your country
▪ yourjob
▪ your interests
▪ your school
▪ your family
▪ food
▪ festivals
▪ clothes
▪ books
▪ films
▪ transport etc.
• Write questions for each of your topics and get a family member or friend to ask
you the questions or put them on an audio cassette and test yourself responding to
them.
• Record yourself answering the questions and listen to see how you can improve
your responses.
• Make sure you know all the vocabulary necessary to talk about these topics.
Practice the pronunciation of any new vocabulary.

Part 2 Individual Long Turn (3-4 minutes)
The examiner will ask you to speak for 1-2 minutes on a topic, which he or she will give
you on a card. The card will give you an outline of what you need to talk about. You will
be given one minute to prepare and you can make notes. The examiner will give you a
piece of paper and a pen. He or she will invite you to start talking when your
preparation time is up. The examiner will not say anything while you are speaking but
will stop you, if you talk for more than two minutes. Then you might be asked one or
two short follow-up questions.
The topics will be of a general nature. You will be asked to describe things such as a
restaurant you enjoy eating in, a book you have read recently or a piece of equipment
in your house you cannot live without. You will also be asked to relate what you are
talking about, to yourself - e.g. ‘say why you choose to eat in this restaurant’ or ‘say what
you enjoyed about the book’
For example
Describe a restaurant you enjoy eating in.
You should say:
Where this restaurant is
What kind of menu it has
What other features it has
How to do Part 2
• Read the topic card carefully.
• Use the preparation time wisely. Make sure you have understood what you need to
talk about. Jot down a few points to answer the prompts on the topic card. Don’t
waste time writing sentences.
• Don’t write on the topic card.
• Make sure you answer both parts of the topic card - description and explanation.
• Organise your talk by following the order on the card.
• Make your talk as interesting and as lively as possible.
• Refer to your notes as you talk, expanding each point you have.
• Make sure you use examples from your own life. It’s much easier to talk more
fluently about your own experiences.
• Try to expand your sentences using linking words like ‘however’ and ‘although’.

Don’t use words like ‘moreover’ and ‘thus’ which are normally used for writing.
• Don’t hesitate for too long. Talk about anything related to the question rather than
nothing at all.
• Try to relax and enjoy talking about yourself!
• Don’t worry about the time. The examiner will stop you when your time is up.
Also, don’t worry if the examiner stops you before you have finished. You will not be
penalized for not concluding your talk.
• Using the topics you have thought about for Part 1 take them one at a time and time
yourself preparing for one minute and talking about them for one to two minutes.
Record yourself talking on these topics. Play the recordings back to see how easy you
are to understand and how you could improve. Use the checklist on the next page to
assess your performance:
▪ Did I cover all the points?

▪ Did I elaborate the points?
▪ Did I vary my vocabulary?
▪ Did I organize my ideas logically?
▪ Would am examiner have understood me?
▪ Was my pronunciation clear?
▪ Were my notes useful?
▪ How long did I talk for?
• Spend some time thinking about how you will make Mindmaps are quick and useful
for this kind of activity.
• Think about the language:

▪ to introduce your topic
▪ to describe objects, people, events or places
▪ to describe a sequence of events
▪ to talk about experiences
▪ to talk about how you feel or felt about something in the past
▪ to talk about personal goals
Practice short answer questions for the follow-up questions.

How to do Part 3
• Remember there is no right or wrong answer. Don’t be afraid to say what you think
about a topic.
• Try to give interesting responses to the examiner’s prompts.
• Show your ability to express abstract ideas and support your opinions.
• Demonstrate a willingness to give extended responses. Don’t give one-word
answers.
• Try to repair any breakdowns in communication by getting around a word you
can’t think of or don’t know by using other words to express your meaning.
• Think about abstract issues related to the topics you have for Part 1 & 2.
For example - school/teachers - qualities of a good teacher; learning styles;
qualifications versus experience; face-to-face tuition versus on-line courses etc.
• Make it a habit to read English language newspapers - even the Metro News in the
MTR is better than nothing! and watch the news reports and listen to the radio to
keep up to date on everyday topics.
• Try to listen to or watch current affairs programmes e.g. Pearl Watch.
• Think about the language which will be useful e.g.

▪ language of comparison and contrast
▪ language to express opinions and give reasons
▪ language to speculate about the future
▪ language to discuss the hypothetical e.g. conditional sentences
• Try to take a current affairs issue every day and list all the vocabulary you would
need to talk about it. Think about your opinion on the issue and think about
opposing views.

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Tips and Strategies for All Modules CAREER ZONE MOGA

Career Zone IELTS

For Any Query Regarding Online or Offline

+91 – 98144 53378

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Four Modules of IELTS

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Top Ten Tips for Listening Test

2. Learn how to spell!

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✓ Check that what you write makes sense in the context.

✓ Check your spelling (and grammar where necessary).

X Don't worry if you have to cross out or change an answer.

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Tips for Exam Day

Before the exam

During the exam

• Make sure you look at all the questions in each section.

• Make sure you read the instructions carefully.

main idea or for the speaker’s attitude?

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difficult question later.

• Make sure you transfer your answers correctly.

• If you can’t remember an answer, guess.

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In - depth Listening Test Guidelines

Listening - a skill, not a gilt!

Teach yourself the words

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Instructions will keep you safe

The speaker on a tape says:

The question in the booklet is:

Note: when counting words - “a” or “the” counts as a word.

Divide and concur!

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Listen for specifics

Answer as you listen

Keep moling forward

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Know your clues

Typical Listening tasks

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Different types of tasks

From 3-4 pictures choose a picture that best

There is a question and a number of answers

Complete the notes/table. Use

Complete the form. Write NO

is one), or from what you have heard. provided

Complete/label the diagram by

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Watch out for traps

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Trap Number Two - generalizations

Trap Number Three - explicit answer choices

Check the Grammar

Use your time wisely

Copy answers smartly

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• Check that all the answers are clear and understandable.

Now, if you missed some questions - it is a good time to guess.