IELTS Exam Skills

104 flashcards by MentisLibrary

How the IELTS test actually works: the four papers and their timings, every question type in Listening and Reading, what each Writing task and Speaking part asks for, how band scores are calculated, and the English that earns marks.

How many papers does IELTS have, and which one can fall on a different day?
Four: Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking. Listening, Reading and Writing run back to back with no break; Speaking may be on the same day or within seven days before or after.
What is the difference between IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training?
Listening and Speaking are identical. Reading and Writing differ: Academic uses journal and textbook style passages and a data description task, General Training uses everyday and workplace texts and a letter.
Roughly how long do Listening, Reading and Writing take in one sitting?
About two hours and forty minutes: Listening around thirty minutes, Reading sixty minutes, and Writing sixty minutes, with no break between them.
How long is the Speaking test and who conducts it?
Eleven to fourteen minutes, one to one with a trained examiner, in person or by video call. The whole test is recorded.
What is the difference between paper based and computer delivered IELTS?
The content, question types and band scale are the same. Only the delivery differs: typing rather than handwriting, on screen highlighting, and a shorter answer checking period in Listening. Speaking is face to face in both.
In Listening, how much time do you get to write answers onto the answer sheet?
In the paper test, ten minutes at the end to transfer answers from the question paper. In computer delivered IELTS there is no transfer, only about two minutes to check what you have typed.
Are marks deducted for a wrong answer?
No. Every question is worth one mark and nothing is subtracted for an error, so an unanswered question can only lose you marks.
Does spelling count in Listening and Reading answers?
Yes. An answer that is misspelled is marked wrong, even if the word is clearly the one intended. Grammatical form matters too, so a plural gap needs a plural.
Are British and American spellings both accepted?
Yes. Either variant is accepted in every paper, so organise and organize, colour and color are both fine. What is not accepted is mixing conventions inconsistently in a single piece of writing.
What is IELTS One Skill Retake?
An option to re-sit a single component rather than the whole test, producing an updated Test Report Form. It is offered at selected centres and only for computer delivered tests, so availability has to be checked locally.
How long are IELTS results usually treated as valid?
Two years is the period most institutions and immigration authorities accept, counted from the test date. IELTS does not cancel the Test Report Form itself, but recognising organisations set their own cut off.
What is an Enquiry on Results?
A remark of one or more papers by a senior examiner, requested within a set period after results are issued. The fee is refunded if any band score changes.
What is IELTS Life Skills?
A separate shorter test of Speaking and Listening only, reported as pass or fail at CEFR A1, A2 or B1, used for some UK visa and settlement routes. It does not produce a band score.
What identity document do you need on test day?
The same document you registered with, valid and unexpired, normally a passport. The document is checked before Listening and again before Speaking, and a photograph is taken.
How is the Listening paper structured?
Four parts, ten questions each, forty questions in total, and the difficulty rises through the paper. Each recording is played once only.
What kind of recording is Listening Part 1?
A conversation between two speakers in an everyday social context, usually involving a form, a booking or a set of arrangements, with names, numbers, dates and prices to catch.
What kind of recording is Listening Part 2?
A monologue in an everyday, non academic context: a talk, a set of instructions or a tour description. Maps, plans and labelling tasks appear here most often.
What kind of recording is Listening Part 3?
A conversation among up to four speakers in an educational or training context, typically students and a tutor discussing an assignment, a project or a set of readings.
What kind of recording is Listening Part 4?
A single academic monologue, usually a short lecture extract, with no break in the middle. It is normally a note completion task that follows the talk in order.
How do you handle the instruction to write no more than three words and/or a number?
Count the words in your answer against the limit and never exceed it. A hyphenated compound counts as one word, and a number written in digits counts as the number.
What is a distractor in the Listening paper?
Information that fits the question but is then corrected, rejected or attributed to a different speaker. The recording almost always gives the wrong option first.
How are spelled out names and numbers handled in Listening?
They are read letter by letter or digit by digit and must be transcribed exactly. Double letters are usually announced as 'double L' and zero is often read as 'oh'.
Do Listening questions follow the order of the recording?
Yes. Answers appear in the order the questions are printed, which is why a missed answer should be abandoned rather than hunted for.
What language signals position on a Listening map or plan task?
Prepositions and reference points: opposite, next to, adjacent to, across from, at the far end, on your left as you enter, in the corner, between X and Y, just past.
How should answers be written on a paper answer sheet?
Legibly, in pencil or pen, inside the numbered box, with the exact word or letter required. Capital letters throughout are allowed in Listening and Reading and remove any doubt about letter shapes.
What should you predict before a Listening gap fill begins?
The grammatical class and the likely content of each gap: a noun, a plural, a number, a day, a price, a material. Reading the gap sentence tells you what kind of word can fit.
Why is paraphrase the central skill in Listening?
The recording rarely uses the exact words printed in the question. It states the same idea in different words, so recognising a synonym or a reworded structure is what locates the answer.
What does an instruction to choose TWO letters mean in a Listening multiple choice task?
Two of the listed options are correct and both must be selected for the mark, or for two marks if the task is scored that way. Order does not matter.
How is the Reading paper timed?
Forty questions in sixty minutes with no extra transfer time. Answers must be on the answer sheet by the end of the hour in the paper test.
What texts appear in the Academic Reading paper?
Three long passages taken from books, journals, magazines and newspapers, written for a non specialist audience. At least one contains a developed argument rather than only description.