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. ou will !e listening to a "re#recorded $%#&'(, and the "assages that you hear will increase in difficulty as you go through the test. The content of the Listening test is the same for !oth IELTS Academic and IELTS )eneral Training tests.

Purpose of the test

The IELTS Listening test is designed to assess a wide range of listening s*ills, including how well you understand main ideas and s"ecific factual information recognise the o"inions, attitudes and "ur"ose of a s"ea*er follow the develo"ment of an argument

Timing
The IELTS Listening test ta*es a""ro+imately ,- minutes, and you are allowed an e+tra .minutes to transfer your answers from your /uestion !oo*let to your answer sheet.

0our sections
The IELTS Listening test is !ro*en down into four sections1

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.

ou will !egin !y listening to a recording of instructions and a sam"le /uestion for section .. Then you will read the /uestions for section ., listen to section ., and answer the /uestions. This "rocedure is re"eated for sections 2, , and 3. In the final .- minutes, you will transfer your answers onto the answer sheet. Each section is heard once only.

Questions
There are 3- /uestions. A variety of /uestion ty"es is used, and you may !e as*ed to answer multi"le choice /uestions la!el a "lan, ma" or diagram fill in a form com"lete a ta!le com"lete a flow#chart give short answers

Marking
Each correct answer receives one mar*. Scores out of 3- are converted to the IELTS 4#!and scale. Scores are re"orted in whole and half !ands.

Understand the

eading test

You will need to read !uickly and efficiently" and manage your time
ou will !e as*ed to read three different "assages and res"ond to related /uestions in your IELTS &eading test. The content of the &eading test is different for IELTS Academic and IELTS )eneral Training tests. %etails of each version are given !elow.

Purpose of the test

The IELTS &eading test is designed to assess a wide range of reading s*ills, including how well you read for the general sense of a "assage read for the main ideas read for detail understand inferences and im"lied meaning recognise a writer5s o"inions, attitudes and "ur"ose follow the develo"ment of an argument This is the case for whichever version of the IELTS test you are ta*ing.

Timing
The IELTS &eading test ta*es 6- minutes. ou are not allowed any e+tra time to transfer your answers, so write them directly on to your answer sheet. ou will need to manage your time during the test !ecause you will not !e told when to start or finish each section.

Three sections
ou will !e given three different "assages to read, each with accom"anying /uestions. ou can e+"ect to read 2,.7- # 2,87- words in total during your test.

#$LT% &cademic

eading test

There are three sections to the IELTS Academic &eading test, and each contains one long te+t. These are ta*en from !oo*s, 9ournals, maga:ines and news"a"ers. They have !een written for a non#s"ecialist audience and are on academic to"ics of general interest. They range from the descri"tive and factual to the discursive and analytical. Each te+t might !e accom"anied !y diagrams, gra"hs or illustrations, and you will !e e+"ected to show that you understand these too. A sim"le glossary is "rovided if the material contains technical terms. .

Questions
There are 3- /uestions. A variety of /uestion ty"es is used. ou may !e as*ed to fill ga"s in a "assage of written te+t or in a ta!le match headings to written te+t to diagrams or charts com"lete sentences give short answers to o"en /uestions answer multi"le choice /uestions Sometimes you will need to give one word as your answer, sometimes a short "hrase, and sometimes sim"ly a letter, num!er or sym!ol. (a*e sure you read the instructions carefully.

Marking
Each correct answer receives one mar*. Scores out of 3- are converted to the IELTS 4#!and scale. Scores are re"orted in whole and half !ands.

Understand the 'riting test

'rite clearly" organise your ideas and use a varied vocabulary.

Purpose of the test

The IELTS ;riting test is designed to assess a wide range of writing s*ills, including how well you write a res"onse a""ro"riately organise ideas use a range of voca!ulary and grammar accurately This is the case for whichever version of the IELTS test you are ta*ing.

Timing
The IELTS ;riting test ta*es 6- minutes. S"end 2- minutes on Tas* ., and 3- minutes on Tas* 2. ou will need to manage your own time, so ma*e sure you move on to Tas* 2 after 2minutes.

Two tasks
There are two tas*s in the IELTS ;riting test. ou will !e as*ed to write at least .7- words for Tas* . and at least 27- words for Tas* 2.

#$LT% &cademic and #$LT% (eneral Training 'riting tests

The content of the ;riting test is different for IELTS Academic and IELTS )eneral Training tests.

#$LT% &cademic 'riting test

;rite in a formal style in the IELTS Academic ;riting test. In Tas* . you will !e "resented with a gra"h, ta!le, chart or diagram. ou will !e as*ed to descri!e, summarise or e+"lain the information in your own words. This might involve descri!ing and e+"laining data, descri!ing the stages of a "rocess or how something wor*s, or descri!ing an o!9ect or event. In Tas* 2 you will !e as*ed to write an essay in res"onse to a "oint of view, argument or "ro!lem. ou should find the issues interesting and easy to understand.

#$LT% (eneral Training 'riting test

The to"ics used in the IELTS )eneral Training ;riting test are of general interest. In Tas* . you will !e "resented with a situation and as*ed to write a letter re/uesting information or e+"laining the situation. ou can write the letter in a "ersonal, semi#formal or formal style. In Tas* 2 you will !e as*ed to write an essay in res"onse to a "oint of view, argument or "ro!lem. ou can use a fairly "ersonal style.

Marking
our ;riting test will !e mar*ed !y a certificated IELTS e+aminer. Tas* 2 is worth twice as much as Tas* . in the IELTS ;riting test. Scores are re"orted in whole and half !ands.

Understand the %peaking test

The %peaking test is as close to a real)life situation as an e*am can get.
ou will tal* to a certified e+aminer in the IELTS S"ea*ing test. The test is interactive and as close to a real#life situation as a test can get. A variety of accents may !e used, and the test will !e recorded. The content of the IELTS S"ea*ing test is the same for !oth 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 of s*ills. The e+aminer will want to see how well you can communicate o"inions and information on everyday to"ics and common e+"eriences< to do this you will need to answer a range of /uestions s"ea* at length on a given to"ic using a""ro"riate language organise your ideas coherently e+"ress and 9ustify your o"inions analyse, discuss and s"eculate a!out issues (a*e sure that you rela+ and tal* fluently. ou will need to s"ea* naturally.

Timing
The IELTS S"ea*ing test ta*es ..#.3 minutes.

Three sections
The S"ea*ing test is made u" of three sections1

Section
"art 1 #ntroducti on 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 one or two questions on the same topic. &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.

"art 2 #ndividual long turn

3$! minutes

"art 3 &wo$way discussion

!$% minutes

Marking
ou will !e assessed on your "erformance throughout the test !y certificated IELTS e+aminers. ou will !e mar*ed on the four criteria of the IELTS S"ea*ing Test Band %escri"tors1 fluency and coherence le+ical resource grammatical range and accuracy "ronunciation Scores are re"orted in whole and half !ands.