IELTS introduction

 The International English Language Testing System (IELTS)

measures the language proficiency of people who want to study or
work where English is used as a language of communication. It
uses a nine-band scale to clearly identify levels of proficiency, from
non-user (band score 1) through to expert (band score 9).
 IELTS Academic or IELTS General Training
 IELTS is available in: Academic - for people applying for higher
education or professional registration, and General Training for
those migrating to Australia, Canada and the UK, or applying for
secondary education, training programs and work experience in an
English-speaking environment. Both versions provide a valid and
accurate assessment of the four language skills: listening, reading,
writing and speaking.
 IELTS Academic

 The IELTS Academic test is for people

applying for higher education or professional
registration in an English speaking
environment. It reflects some of the features of
academic language and assesses whether you
are ready to begin studying or training.
 This approach is widely supported by the
institutions that recognise IELTS
 IELTS General Training

 The IELTS General Training test is for those

who are going to English speaking countries
for secondary education, work experience or
training programs. It is also a requirement for
migration to Australia, Canada, New Zealand
and the UK. The test focuses on basic survival
skills in broad social and workplace contexts.
 HOW IS IELTS SCORED?

 IELTS results are reported on a nine-band scale. In addition to the

score for overall language ability
 IELTS provides a score, in the form of a profile, for each of the four
skills (Listening, Reading,
 Writing and Speaking). These scores are also reported on a nine-
band scale. All scores are recorded
 on the Test Report Form along with details of the candidate’s
nationality, first language and date of
 birth. Each Overall Band Score corresponds to a descriptive
statement which gives a summary of the
 English language ability of a candidate classified at that level. The
nine bands and their descriptive
 statements are as follows:
 Test format – Listening

 30 minutes + 0 minutes at the end of the

listening in order to transfer your answers to
the answer paper. (Note: it is not the same with
the reading test)
 You will listen to four recordings of native English speakers and then write
your answers to a series of questions.
 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
 Assessors will be looking for evidence of your ability to understand the
main ideas and detailed factual information, the opinions and attitudes of
speakers, the purpose of an utterance and evidence of your ability to follow
the development of ideas.
 Listening Test Question Types
In the IELTS Academic listening test the same
types of question come up every time so it will
help you to know what these types are. They are
as follows: multiple choice  short answer 
sentence completion 
notes/summary/diagram/flow chart/table
completion  labelling a diagram with
numbered parts  classification  matching
lists/phrases
 Listening Test Strategies
 get time to read the questions at the start of
each section and mid-way in each section. Use
this time (usually 20 seconds) wisely
 You should know in advance all the questions
before you hear the tape. At the end of the
sections you also get some time to check your
answers. Use this time to check through your
answers and then turn ahead to read the next
questions in advance.
 Tips and Ideas on the Listening Test
 As in all IELTS tests, the questions get harder as it goes
on. You will see from your practice that the types of
listening and questions that you encounter in Section 1
are more difficult in Section 2 and so on. This does not
mean that by Section 4 they are impossible but they are
more demanding linguistically.
 Beware of some questions which require a number (i.e.:
a telephone number) or some letters (i.e.: a postcode) as
sometimes what you think is the answer will be read out
only for the speaker to correct him or herself and then
say the correct answer.
 An important tip is to answer all the questions
as you hear them; don't wait until later.
Sometimes people in these tests hear the
correct answer but decide to remember the
answer and write it down later so they can wait
for the next answer.
 be careful about your spelling!
 If the question asks for no more than 3 words,
use no more than 3 words. Writing 4 words is
wrong. You won't be asked to do it in 3 words
or less unless it is possible so don't worry; it
can always be done
 Don't panic if you miss an answer.
 Never leave a question unanswered; especially
if it is only an A,B,C,D question or something
similar. Guess if you really don't know
 Test format – Reading

 60 minutes

The Reading section 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.

IELTS Academic test - this includes three long texts which range
from the descriptive and factual to the discursive and analytical.
These are taken from books, journals, magazines and newspapers.
They have been selected for a non-specialist audience but are
appropriate for people entering university courses or seeking
professional registration.
 Paper format: Three reading passages with a variety of questions
using a number of task types.
 Timing: 60min
 Multiple choice questions  Short answer questions 
Completion questions: Completing sentences  Completing notes
 Completing a summary (no word bank)  Completing a
summary (with word bank)  Completing a diagram 
Completing a flow chart  Completing a table  Matching a bank
of headings to identify paragraphs or parts of text  Matching a
bank of writers' views/claims/information with the writer 
Identification of information in the text: yes/no/not given
questions  true/false/not given questions  Matching
lists/phrases  Classification questions
 TIPS
 Don't spend too long on a single question as that will
lose you time for answering questions that could be
easier for you. Sometimes leaving a question and
coming back later can help you answer it too. Leave
any questions that you have spent too long on, and
come back at the end of the test if you have time.
Sometimes, if the question has a yes/no/not given
answer, the answer you are looking for does not exist
as it could be a not given. Be aware so you don't
waste time looking for something that isn't there.
 Read the questions and instructions so you
don't make a silly mistake. For example,
people often will mix the yes/no answers with
the true/false answers and write yes as an
answer instead of true or vice versa. Strictly
speaking you are wrong although you have
understood the question and answer.
 Read the questions and instructions so you
don't make a silly mistake. For example,
people often will mix the yes/no answers with
the true/false answers and write yes as an
answer instead of true or vice versa. Strictly
speaking you are wrong although you have
understood the question and answer.
 If the question asks for no more than 3 words,
use no more than 3 words. Writing 4 words or
more is wrong. You won't be asked to do it in 3
words or less unless it is possible so don't
worry; it can always be done.
 One area that students don't like is that, in the
reading test, good grammar and spelling are
important. The grammar part is not as important as
you can't make many grammar errors in 3 words (the
maximum you use in the reading test) but, if you
spell something wrong, it will be marked as wrong.
People think, quite rightly in my opinion, that the
reading should test whether you understand what
you read and not how you spell something but these
are the rules. So, be careful about your spelling!
 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
getting the band that you need, and getting half
a band less than you need and having to do the
exam again.
 Writing
 You will be allowed 1 hour to complete two
tasks in the IELTS Academic Writing test.
 You will be allowed 1 hour to complete
two tasks in the IELTS Academic Writing
test.
 task 2 contributes twice as much as task 1 to the
Writing score.
 Writing task 1
 You should spend about 20 minutes on task 1
 write in a formal style
 write at least 150 words
 Writing task 2
 You should spend about 40 minutes on task 2
 write in a formal style
 write at least 250 words
 Describing the movement: adjectives and adverbs
Sometimes we need to give more information about
a trend as follows:
There has been a slight increase in the value of the
dollar (degree of change) Unemployment fell
rapidly last year (the speed of change) Remember
that we modify a noun with an adjective (a slight
increase) and a verb with an adverb (to increase
slightly). Describing the degree of change
 Describing the degree of change
sharp - sharply
huge
enormous enormously
steep steeply
substantial substantially
considerable considerably
significant significantly
marked markedly
moderate moderately
slight slightly
small
minimal minimally
GOOD LUCK!