Understand the Listening test

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

A variety of voices is used in the IELTS Listening test, so you might hear Australian, British, New Zealand or North American accents. You will be listening to a re!recorded "#!$%&, and the passages that you hear will increase in difficulty as you go through the test. The content o' the Listening test is the same 'or both IELTS Academic and IELTS (eneral Training tests.

Purpose of the test

The IELTS Listening test is designed to assess a wide range o' listening s)ills, including how well you understand main ideas and s eci'ic 'actual in'ormation recognise the o inions, attitudes and ur ose o' a s ea)er 'ollow the de*elo ment o' an argument

Timing
The IELTS Listening test ta)es approximately 3 minutes, and you are allowed an e+tra , minutes to transfer your answers 'rom your -uestion boo)let to your answer sheet.

!our sections
The IELTS Listening test is bro)en down into 'our sections.

Section Description
1 You listen to a conversation between two people set in an everyday social situation, e.g. a conversation in an accommodation agency, and answer questions on your comprehension. You listen to a monologue set in an everyday social situation, e.g. a speech about local facilities or a talk about the arrangements for meals during a conference. You listen to a conversation between up to four people set in an educational or training context, e.g. a university tutor and a student discussing an assignment, or a group of students planning a research pro ect. You listen to a monologue on an academic sub ect, e.g. a university lecture.

You will begin by listening to a recording o' instructions and a sam le -uestion 'or section ,. Then you will read the -uestions 'or section ,, listen to section ,, and answer the -uestions. This rocedure is re eated 'or sections /, 0 and 1. In the 'inal ,2 minutes, you will trans'er your answers onto the answer sheet. "ach section is heard once only.

#uestions
There are $ %uestions. A *ariety o' -uestion ty es is used, and you may be as)ed to

answer multi le choice -uestions label a lan, ma or diagram 'ill in a 'orm com lete a table com lete a 'low!chart gi*e short answers

&ar'ing
"ach correct answer receives one mar'. Scores out o' 12 are con*erted to the IELTS 3!band scale. Scores are re orted in whole and hal' bands.

Advice
You will be gi*en time to read through the %uestions before you listen As you listen( write your answers on the %uestion paper. At the end o' the test, you will ha*e ,2 minutes to trans'er your answers to the answer sheet in encil. You may write your answers in lower case or ca ital letters. listen for the specific information you want do not worry if there is a word you do not understand) you may not need to use it do not panic i' you thin) the to ic is too di''icult or the s ea)er is too 'ast4 rela+ and tune in if you do not 'now the answer to a %uestion( attempt it but do not waste time 4 mo*e -uic)ly onto the ne+t one be care'ul with your s elling and grammar focus precisely on what you are as'ed to do in com letion ty e -uestions pay attention to the word limit4 'or e+am le, i' you are as)ed to com lete a sentence using no more than two words, i' the correct answer is 5leather coat6, the answer 5coat made o' leather6 would be incorrect i' the -uestion as)s you to com lete the note 5in the76 and the correct answer is 5morning6, note that 5in the morning6 would be incorrect4 the correct answer is 8morning8 attempt all %uestions) there are no penalties for incorrect answers chec) your answers

Understand the *eading test

You will need to read %uic'ly and efficiently( and manage your time
You will be as'ed to read three different passages and res ond to related -uestions in your IELTS $eading test. The content o' the $eading test is di''erent 'or IELTS Academic and IELTS (eneral Training tests. #etails o' each *ersion are gi*en below.

Purpose of the test

The IELTS $eading test is designed to assess a wide range o' reading s)ills, including how well you read 'or the general sense o' a assage read 'or the main ideas read 'or detail understand in'erences and im lied meaning recognise a writer6s o inions, attitudes and ur ose 'ollow the de*elo ment o' an argument

Timing
The +"LT, *eading test ta'es - minutes. You are not allowed any extra time to transfer your answers, so write them directly on to your answer sheet. You will need to manage your time during the test because you will not be told when to start or 'inish each section.

Three sections
You will be gi*en three di''erent assages to read, each with accom anying -uestions. You can e+ ect to read /,,92 ! /,:92 words in total during your test.

+"LT, .eneral Training *eading test

There are three sections to the IELTS (eneral Training $eading test. The te+ts used in each section are ta)en 'rom notices, ad*ertisements, com any handboo)s, o''icial documents, boo)s, maga;ines and news a ers. ,ection / contains two or three short factual texts( one of which may be made up of - 0 1 short texts related by topic( e.g. hotel advertisements. The to ics are rele*ant to e*eryday li'e in an English!s ea)ing country. ,ection 2 contains two short factual texts focusing on wor'0related issues , e.g. a lying 'or a <ob, com any olicies, ay and conditions, wor) lace 'acilities, sta'' de*elo ment and training. ,ection 3 contains one longer( more complex text on a topic of general interest .

#uestions

There are $ %uestions. A *ariety o' -uestion ty es is used. You may be as)ed to 'ill ga s in a assage o' written te+t or in a table match headings to written te+t to diagrams or charts com lete sentences gi*e short answers to o en -uestions answer multi le choice -uestions ,ometimes you will need to give one word as your answer( sometimes a short phrase( and sometimes simply a letter( number or symbol. &a'e sure you read the instructions carefully.

&ar'ing
Each correct answer recei*es one mar).

Advice
It is essential that you write your answers on the answer sheet. Nothing you write on the -uestion a er will be mar)ed. You may write your answers on the -uestion a er and trans'er them to the answer sheet be'ore the end o' the test i' you li)e. =owe*er, it is important to note that you will not be given extra time to do this. You must write your answers in encil. ma)e sure that you understand the -uestions and 'ollow instructions care'ully ay attention to timing4 do not s end too long on one assage or -uestion do not try and read every word) remember( you are reading for a purpose if you do not 'now the answer to a %uestion( attempt it but do not waste time) move %uic'ly onto the next one do not anic i' you do not )now anything about the sub<ect o' the te+t4 all the answers can be 'ound in the te+t the word3s4 you use must be ta'en from the *eading text) you must not change the form of the word3s4 in the text do not worry if there is a word that you do not understand 5 you may not need to use it be care'ul to use singular and lural correctly 'ocus recisely on what you are as)ed to do in 5com letion6 ty e -uestions i' the -uestion as)s you to com lete the note 5in the76 and the correct answer is 5e*ening6, <ust use 5e*ening6 as your answer4 note that 5in the e*ening6 would be incorrect pay attention to the word limit) 'or e+am le, i' you are as)ed to com lete a sentence using no more than two words, i' the correct answer is 5sil) shirt6, the answer 5shirt made o' sil)6 would be incorrect

attempt all %uestions) there are no enalties 'or incorrect answers, so you ha*e nothing to lose

Understand the 6riting test

6rite clearly( organise your ideas and use a varied vocabulary.

Purpose of the test

The IELTS >riting test is designed to assess a wide range o' writing s)ills, including how well you write a res onse a organise ideas use a range o' *ocabulary and grammar accurately This is the case 'or whiche*er *ersion o' the IELTS test you are ta)ing. ro riately

Timing
The IELTS Writing test takes 60 minutes. Spend 20 minutes on Task 1, and 40 minutes on Task 2. You will need to manage your own time, so make sure you move on to Task 2 a ter 20 minutes.

Two tas's
There are t!o tasks in the IELTS >riting test. "ou !i## $e asked to !rite at #east 1%0 !ords or Task 1 and at #east 2%0 !ords or Task 2 +"LT, .eneral Training 6riting test The to ics used in the IELTS (eneral Training >riting test are o' general interest. In Tas) , you will be resented with a situation and as)ed to write a letter re-uesting in'ormation or e+ laining the situation. You can write the letter in a ersonal, semi!'ormal or 'ormal style. In Tas) / you will be as)ed to write an essay in res onse to a oint o' *iew, argument or roblem. You can use a 'airly ersonal style. &ar'ing Your >riting test will be mar)ed by a certi'icated IELTS e+aminer. Tas) / is worth twice as much as Tas) , in the IELTS >riting test. >rite your answers in en or encil. You may write entirely in ca ital letters i' you wish.

Advice
You may ma)e notes on the -uestion a er, but nothing you write on the -uestion a er will be mar)ed. highlight or underline )ey words in the tas)s to ma)e sure that you 'ocus on what you ha*e to do lan your answers use aragra hs clearly4 ut one idea in each aragra h

do not co y whole sentences 'rom the -uestion ? you will recei*e no mar)s 'or this )ee to the to ic4 do not write about unrelated sub<ects

manage your time4 remember, Tas) / is worth twice as much as Tas) ,

spend approximately 2 minutes on Tas' / and approximately $ minutes on Tas' 2

pay attention to the number of words re%uired for each tas') you will lose mar's if you do not write at least /7 words for Tas' / and at least 27 words for Tas' 2

you must write your answers in 'ull4 answers written in note 'orm or in bullet oints will lose mar)s

ay attention to s elling, grammar and unctuation4 you will lose mar)s 'or mista)es

a*oid in'ormal language

do not memorise model answers4 e+aminers are trained to recognise them and your test will be in*alid

s end se*eral minutes re!reading and correcting your answers

Understand the ,pea'ing test

The ,pea'ing test is as close to a real0life situation as an exam can get.
You will tal' to a certified examiner in the +"LT, ,pea'ing test. The test is interacti*e and as close to a real!li'e situation as a test can get. A *ariety o' accents may be used, and the test will be recorded. The content o' the IELTS S ea)ing test is the same 'or both the IELTS Academic and IELTS (eneral Training tests.

Purpose of the test

The IELTS S ea)ing test is designed to assess a wide range o' s)ills. The e+aminer will want to see how well you can communicate o inions and in'ormation on e*eryday to ics and common e+ eriences4 to do this you will need to answer a range o' -uestions s ea) at length on a gi*en to ic using a organise your ideas coherently e+ ress and <usti'y your o inions analyse, discuss and s eculate about issues &a)e sure that you rela+ and tal) 'luently. You will need to s ea) naturally. ro riate language

Timing
The IELTS S ea)ing test ta)es //0/$ minutes.

Three sections
The S ea)ing test is made u o' three sections.

Section
"art 1 #ntroduction and interview

Duration
!$% minutes

Information
&he examiner will introduce him or herself and ask you to introduce yourself and confirm your identity. &he examiner will ask you general questions on familiar topics, e.g. home, family, work, studies and interests. &his section should help you relax and talk naturally. &he examiner will give you a task card which asks you to talk about a particular topic, including points to include in your talk. You will be given one minute to prepare and make notes. You will then be asked to talk for 1$2 minutes on the topic. You will not be interrupted during this time, so it is important to keep talking. &he examiner will then ask you

"art 2 #ndividual long turn

3$! minutes

Section

Duration

Information
one or two questions on the same topic.

"art 3 &wo$ way discussion

!$% minutes

&he examiner will ask you further questions which are connected to the topic of "art 2. &hese questions are designed to give you an opportunity to discuss more abstract issues and ideas.

&ar'ing
You will be assessed on your er'ormance throughout the test by certi'icated IELTS e+aminers. You will be mar)ed on the 'our criteria o' the IELTS S ea)ing Test Band #escri tors. 'luency and coherence le+ical resource grammatical range and accuracy ronunciation

A89+:" The S ea)ing test is a 'ace!to!'ace con*ersation with a certi'ied e+aminer. It is as close to a real!li'e situation as a test can get. The e+aminer will as) you about 'amiliar to ics such as home, wor) or studies in art ,. This should hel you 'eel com'ortable when s ea)ing. Try and rela+ so that you can s ea) as naturally as ossible. Ta)e time be'ore the test to ractise s ea)ing with a artner, 'riend or teacher. &a)e the most o' your S ea)ing test. try to tal) as much as you can tal) as 'luently as ossible and be s ontaneous rela+, be con'ident and en<oy using your English de*elo your answers s ea) more than the e+aminer as) 'or clari'ication i' necessary do not learn re ared answers4 the e+aminer is trained to s ot this and will change the -uestion e+ ress your o inions4 you will be assessed on your ability to communicate the e+aminer6s -uestions tend to be 'airly redictable4 ractise at home and record yoursel'