A quick look at the IELTS Listening test

Duration: 30 minutes

The Listening test is the same for both IELTS Academic test and IELTS General Training
test. You will need to answer 40 questions in response to four recordings.

You will listen to four recordings which are a mix of monologues and conversations from a
range of native speakers and you will only hear each recording once. There are 10 questions
for each part of the Listening test.

These questions test your ability to understand:

 Main ideas and detailed factual information

 The opinions and attitudes of speakers

 The purpose of an utterance

 The ability to follow the development of ideas.

Listening part details:

Recording 1 A conversation between two people set in an everyday social context.

Recording 2 A monologue set in an everyday social context, e.g., a speech about local
facilities.

Recording 3 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.

Recording 4 A monologue on an academic subject, e.g., a university lecture.

Multiple choice

Multiple choice questions can be answered with one correct answer, or more than one
correct answer. Read the question very carefully to check how many answers are required.

In a multiple-choice question, where you are required to choose one correct answer (A, B or
C), you will be given:

 a question followed by three possible answers

 the beginning of a sentence followed by three possible ways to complete the

sentence.

In a multiple-choice question, where you are required to choose more than one correct
answer you will be given a longer list of possible answers and told that you have to choose
more than one answer.

Multiple choice questions are used to test a wide range of skills. You may be required to have
a detailed understanding of specific points or an overall understanding of the main points of
the listening text.
Matching

You are required to match a numbered list of items from what you hear in
the listening audio to a set of options on the question paper. The set of options may be
criteria of some kind.

Matching assesses the skill of listening for detail and whether you can understand
information given in a conversation on an everyday topic, such as identifying different types
of hotels or guest house accommodation. It also assesses your ability to follow a
conversation between two people. It may also be used to assess your ability
to recognise relationships and connections between facts in the listening text.

Plan, map, diagram labelling

You will need to complete labels on a plan (e.g., of a building), map (e.g. of part of a town) or
diagram (e.g. of a piece of equipment). You can usually select your answers from a list on the
question paper.

This matching task assesses your ability to understand, for example, a description of a place,
and to relate this to a visual representation. This may include being able to follow language
expressing directions (e.g., straight on/turn left/opposite).

Form, note, table, flow-chart, summary completion

In this completion task, you are required to fill in the gaps in an outline of part or of all of the
listening text. The outline will focus on the main ideas/facts in the text. It may be:

1. A form: used to record factual details such as names, addresses, telephone numbers

2. A set of notes: used to summarise information using the layout to show how
different items relate to one another

3. A table: used to summarise information which relates to clear categories – e.g.,

place/time/price,

4. A flow-chart: used to summarise a process which has clear stages, with the direction
of the process shown by arrows.

You will select the missing words in either way:

 From a list presented in the question paper

 From the recording

You must keep to the word limit stated in the instructions and use the exact words you
hear from the recording.

You should read the instructions very carefully as the number of words or numbers you
should use will vary. A word limit is given, for example, ‘NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS
AND/OR A NUMBER’. If you use more than the word limit, your answer will be marked as
incorrect so check the word limit carefully for each question. Contracted words will not be
tested, e.g., ‘don’t’. Hyphenated words count as single words, e.g., ‘police-man’.

This gap completion task focuses on the main points which a listener would naturally record
in this type of situation.
Sentence completion

In this sentence completion task, you are required to read a set of

sentences summarising key information from either:

 all the listening text

 from one part of it.

You will then fill a gap in each sentence using information from the listening text. A word
limit is given, for example, ‘NO MORE THAN ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER’.

You should read the instructions very carefully as the number of words or numbers you
should use will vary. A word limit is given, for example, ‘NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS
AND/OR A NUMBER’. If you use more than the word limit, your answer will be marked as
incorrect so check the word limit carefully for each question. Contracted words will not be
tested, e.g., ‘don’t’. Hyphenated words count as single words, e.g., ‘police-man’.

Sentence completion focuses on your ability to identify the key information in a listening
text. You must understand functional relationships such as cause and effect.

Short-answer questions

In the short-answer question type, you are required to read a question and then write a
short answer using information from the listening text. Sometimes test takers are given a
question which asks them to list two or three points.

A word limit is given, for example, ‘NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER’. If
you use more than the word limit, your answer will be marked as incorrect so check the
word limit carefully for each question. Contracted words will not be tested, e.g., ‘don’t’.
Hyphenated words count as single words, e.g., ‘police-man’.

Short-answer focuses on the ability to listen for concrete facts, such as places, prices or
times, within the listening text.
 A quick look at the IELTS Reading test
The IELTS Reading test consists of 40 questions, designed to test a wide range of
reading skills. These include reading for gist, reading for main ideas, reading for
detail, skimming, understanding logical argument and recognising writers' opinions,
attitudes and purpose.
You will get similar question types in both the IELTS General Training and Academic
tests; however, the reading text topics are different.
Managing your time in the test is important as you only have 60 minutes to answer
40 questions. It is always recommended to spend no more than 20 minutes on each
part of the Reading test, however, if you find the first passage easy, you may finish it
in a shorter time, allowing you more time to answer questions in the next two
passages. The passages get harder as you move through the test, so make sure you
keep enough time to tackle the final passage.

General Training Reading

The IELTS General Training Reading passages are extracts from materials that you can
find on a day-to-day basis in an English-speaking country. The questions in this
section will test your ability to understand content present in everyday materials
such as:

 Newspapers
 Advertisements
 Handbooks
 Notices.
To become more familiar with these text types, make use of many sample questions.
By familiarising yourself with a range of texts and question types before test day, you
will be able to manage your time better as you will be better prepared.
Academic Reading

The IELTS Academic test is used for university admissions and professional
registrations around the world, so the questions in this section will test your ability to
understand content present in academic materials.
To prepare for test day, make sure you read a range of texts on different topics from:

 Books
 Journals
 Magazines
 Newspapers
When you have experience with reading a range of different text types, you will be
able to focus more on the questions linked to each text type.
Question types (Academic and General Training)
You can expect a variety of question types in the General and Academic Reading tests
such as:
 Multiple choice

 Identifying information
 Identifying a writer's views/claims
 Matching information
 Matching headings
 Matching features

 Matching sentence endings

 Sentence completion
 Summary, note, table, flow-chart completion
 Diagram label completion
 Short-answer questions

To ensure you can accurately answer a range of question types in the 60 minutes, you
will need to manage your time. Take a look at the following advice on how you can
manage your time during the IELTS Reading test.
Tips to manage time

Skim through the passage

Your Reading test will have 3 different reading passages. You can quickly skim
through the entire passage to understand the gist. Do not spend time reading every
sentence in detail as this can be time consuming and unnecessary. Focus on
headings, sub headings and look for main points that describe the passage. This will
help later with finding answers.

Pay attention to the introduction and conclusion

The author's point of view is often expressed in the introduction and conclusion. You
can answer most questions correctly when you read these two sections of the
reading passage. Skim through the body of the passage after you thoroughly go
through the introduction and conclusion.
Identify key words
A key word will help you identify the concept associated with the passage. Identify
these key words and underline or highlight them when you skim through the
passage. This can help you answer most questions that follow the passage.
Read all questions before you begin answering
Before you begin answering, have a quick look at all the questions first. Remember
that questions appear in groups of 3, or 4, or more, so read that group of questions
before studying the text. Make sure to highlight the key information words in your
questions and since you have already skimmed through the passage and identified
key words, it will make it easier to find your answers.
Answer every question
Remember to answer every question even if you cannot find the answer or option. If
you are running out of time, remember that you will not lose a mark if the answer is
wrong, so make an educated guess and you may get the answer right.
Check your answers
Checking your answers can help you improve your IELTS Reading score. Make sure
that you answer all the questions and allocate at least 20 minutes for checking. You
can use the practice materials available on our website and time yourself to
perfection.
The IELTS Reading section can be intimidating for test takers however, prior
preparation and time management can make the difference between an average
score and a great one.
 A quick look at the IELTS Writing test

The IELTS Writing test is the 3rd part of the exam. It lasts 60 minutes and consists of 2
different tasks. The test format is different for Academic IELTS and General Training:

You are assessed on 4 different criteria: task achievement; coherence & cohesion; lexical
resource; grammatical range & accuracy. You are awarded a band score between 1-9 and
you can see here how the different criteria is assessed for Task 1 and Task 2.

Bands can be divided into half scores, so if the examiner decides you are between band 7
and band 8, you will be awarded 7.5.

Academic IELTS

Time
Task Length Task description
limit

150 20 A report describing visual information presented in a bar

1
(minimum) mins chart, table, graph, diagram or map (see examples)

250 40 An essay presenting a logical argument and opinion

2
(minimum) mins related to a topic of general interest (see examples)

General IELTS

Time
Task Length Task description
limit

150 20 A formal/informal letter asking for / giving information or

1
(minimum) mins explaining / complaining about a problem (see examples)

250 40 An essay presenting a logical argument and opinion

2
(minimum) mins related to a topic of general interest (see examples)

A quick look at the IELTS Speaking test

The IELTS speaking test is a face-to-face interview with one examiner consisting of 3 parts
and lasts 11-14 minutes. The test is recorded, but the examiner assesses your performance
during the test and decides on your band score as soon as the test has finished.

You are assessed on 4 different criteria: fluency & coherence; lexical resource; grammatical
range & accuracy; pronunciation. You are awarded a band score between 1-9 and you can
see how the different criteria is assessed here

Bands can be divided into half scores, so if the examiner decides you are between band 7
and band 8, you will be awarded 7.5.

Band 8
Part / Time Task
example

Introduction General questions on familiar topics, e.g. home, family,

Part 1
(4-5 mins) studies, work, interests, future plans, past experiences

Talk about a given topic for 1-2 minutes. Prompts are

Long-turn (3-4 provided on a task card and 1 minute preparation time is
Part 2
mins) given for you to make notes and think about what you
want to say.

Discussion type questions related to the topic of Part 2

Discussion (4-
where you are expected to express your opinion about Part 3
5 mins)
more abstract issues and ideas.