INTRODUCTION TO IELTS
GET TO KNOW THE FORMAT
overview compiled by Kate Elliott
for use at Mongol Aspiration Laboratory School, Ulaanbaatar
September 2013
IELTS (the International English Language Testing System) is designed to assess language ability in the key
areas of: speaking, listening, reading and academic writing. An IELTS exam is a pre-requisite for university
entrance into university studies in Australia, Canada, Ireland, the UK, the USA and New Zealand. Every year,
over 1.4 million people take an IELTS test. They come in two forms: ‘academic’ and ‘general training’. All
candidates sit the same listening and speaking tests. Once candidates’ exams have been assessed, they
receive an overall score, from 0 to 9. Universities tend to require an IELTS score of between 6 and 7 as a
minimum entrance requirement; some universities set a minimum score in each of the four sections of the
exam.
The four sections are as follows:
•
Listening - 4 sections, 40 questions, 30 minutes
•
Speaking - 15 minutes allocated (interview format)
•
Reading (academic/general training) 3 sections, 40 questions, 1 hour
•
Writing (academic/general training) 2 pieces of writing, 1 hour
Explanation of IELTS band scores: http://www.examenglish.com/IELTS/IELTS_Band_Scores.html
IELTS band score calculator: http://www.examenglish.com/IELTS/IELTS_Band_Score_Calculator.html
How IELTS compares with other international English exams: www.examenglish.com/examscomparison.php
Listening
40 q’s
30 mins
6 – 25-28
6.5 – 29-31
7 – 32-33
7.5 - 34-35
8 - 36-37
8.5 – 38-39
9 - 40
SECTION 1 of ‘Listening’
Questions 1-3
MCQs – choose one correct answer out of 4 possible answers
Questions 4-6
Write no more than three words for each answer
Questions 7-8
Circle two (2) answer categories (e.g. A and B) out of five (5)
Question 9-10
Circle two (2) answer categories (e.g. C and E) out of five (5)
SECTION 2 of ‘Listening’
Questions 11-13
Circle three (3) answer categories (e.g. A, C and D) out of five (5)
Questions 14-15
Respond to each of two questions with no more than three (3) words per
question
Questions 16-20
Fill in the spaces (one space per row of five rows) with a number (e.g. 3) or
no more than three (3) words
Listening (continued)
Section 3 – ‘Listening’
Questions 21-25
MCQs - choose the one (1) correct answer out of three (3) possible answers
Questions 26-30
Complete notes (5 gaps on the one topic) with no more than three (3) words per line
Section 4 – ‘Listening’
Questions 31-35
Complete each sentence with no more than three (3) words
Questions 36-40
Fill each space (one space per row for five rows) in a table with a number (e.g. 3) or no more than three
(3) words
IELTS Listening – exam tips
•
Before listening to the tape, reading the instructions and questions with care
•
Ask yourself, who are the speakers? Where are they located? What is the purpose of
their speaking?
•
Remember to listen, read and write at the same time: you will only hear the audio
recording once.
•
Listen for signpost words (e.g. ‘however’, ‘finally’ and ‘although’) as they will help you to
anticipate what the speaker is about to say
Listening part 1 www.examenglish.com/ielts/ielts_listening_part1.html
Listening part 2 www.examenglish.com/ielts/ielts_listening.html
Listening part 3 www.examenglish.com/ielts/ielts_listening_part3.html
Listening part 4 www.examenglish.com/ielts/ielts_listening_part4.html
Listening test 2 part 1
www.examenglish.com/ielts/ielts_listening_test2_part1.html
Listening test 2 part 2
www.examenglish.com/ielts/ielts_listening_part2.html
Listening test 2 part 3
www.examenglish.com/ielts/ielts_listening_test2_part3.html
Listening test 2 part 4
www.examenglish.com/ielts/ielts_listening_test2_part4.html
Listening test 3 part 1
www.examenglish.com/ielts/ielts_listening_test2_part1.html
IELTS Listening iTunes app
www.examenglish.com/ielts/ielts_listening_iphone_app.html
Academic Reading
40 q’s
60 mins
6.5 - 38-30
7 – 31-33
7.5 - 34-35
8 – 36-37
8.5 – 38-39
9 - 40
Reading passage 1: questions 1-15
Reading passage 2: questions 16-27
Reading passage 3: questions 28-40
IELTS Reading – exam tips
•
Skim each text to achieve a basic understanding of what it is about and who the
intended audience is
•
Read the title and any sub-headings with care
•
Think: what is the main purpose of each paragraph? Each paragraph has one main
idea. The questions will focus on these.
•
Remember that the questions appear in the same order as the text (big hint!)
Academic Reading (continued)
SECTION 1 – ‘Academic Reading’ (20 mins)
7 paragraphs of text (one A4 page)
Questions 1-7
Identify whether statements 1-7 agree ‘yes’ or disagree ‘no’ with the reading passage. If no information is given,
write ‘not given’
Questions 8-13
Complete a summary (6 words) by filling in the gaps using words provided from a box of 9 words. There are
more words provided than there are spaces.
Questions 14-15
Identify which paragraphs state the information summarised by each of the two sentences provided. Write
down the name (e.g. ‘G’) of the appropriate paragraph.
Section 2 (20 mins)
Questions 16-24
Classify nine (9) statements as each referring to one (1) of three (3) people
Questions 25-27
MCQs: choose the best answer of four (4)
Academic Reading (continued)
Section 3 (20 mins)
Questions 28-30
MCQs: identify the best two (2) answers of five (5) provided
Questions 31-36
Classify six (6) opinions as belonging to one of five (5) people
Questions 37-40
Complete a paragraph based on information provided in the passage using one (1)
or two (2) words from passage three for each answer.
Academic Writing
1 hour
Writing Task 1 - 20 minutes
Read the graph provided. Write a report for a university lecturer to describe the
information conveyed by the graph. Write at least 150 words.
Writing Task 2 – 40 minutes
Present an argument/case to an educated reader with no specialist knowledge on a
given topic. A topic is stated (approx. 30 words), then a question is posed, e.g. ‘to
what extent would you support or reject this idea?’. Write at least 250 words that
show evidence of your own ideas, knowledge and experience. Support your lines of
argument with examples and relevant evidence.
Speaking
Part 1: General information
(e.g. topic: family)
Part 2: Talk on a topic for 1 or 2
minutes
(e.g. describe a holiday recently
taken)
-Is it large or small?
-What do they do?
-When were you last all
Tell me about: where you went
together? What did you do?
and why, who you went with,
-What do you do together on what you did, say what made
special occasions?
the trip memorable to you
-Is there a member you are
-Had you been on a trip like this
especially close to? Why?
before? Do you think travel
broadens the mind? Why or why
not?
Part 3: Discussion topics
(e.g. travel, environmental
and other problems)
-- describe how the tourist
industry has developed in your
area/other areas
--describe what things your
area offers tourists
--evaluate the type of tourists
that come to you area
-How has tourism changed in
your area?
-Evaluate how tourism is good
for a country’s economy
-Speculate about the benefits
that tourism can bring to a
country
Tape-script (samples)
From: Milton J., Bell H and Neville P 2006, ‘IELTS:
Practice Tests 1’, Express Publishing: Berkshire, UK.
Student essays (samples)
From: Milton J., Bell H and Neville P 2006, ‘IELTS:
Practice Tests 1’, Express Publishing: Berkshire, UK.
Student sample essays (continued)
From: Milton J., Bell H and Neville P 2006, ‘IELTS:
Practice Tests 1’, Express Publishing: Berkshire, UK.
Suggested answers (spoken)
From: Milton J., Bell H and Neville P 2006, ‘IELTS:
Practice Tests 1’, Express Publishing: Berkshire, UK.
Suggested answers (spoken) – continued
From: Milton J., Bell H and Neville P 2006, ‘IELTS:
Practice Tests 1’, Express Publishing: Berkshire, UK.
Practise tests:
•
IELTS listening practice (Youtube): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcazMrxUI6U (work, over 50s)
•
IELTS listening practice – exercise and TV http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScwRdRyLtaE
http://www.examenglish.com/IELTS/IELTS_listening.html
•
Online grammar testing: http://www.examenglish.com/IELTS/ielts_grammar_test.htm
•
Online vocabulary testing: http://www.examenglish.com/IELTS/IELTS_vocabulary.htm
IELTS study support:
•
IELTS – secret to writing faster and higher-quality http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoL5nDUMqvU
•
IELTS listening test strategy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCqhhQYeL6E
•
Writing introductions and paragraphs:
http://www.examenglish.com/IELTS/ielts_writing_task2_Introductions_and_Conclusions.htm
•
The 570 most-commonly used words in academic IELTS tests:
http://www.examenglish.com/vocabulary/academic_wordlist.html
Useful links
Tips on taking IELTS exams:
http://www.examenglish.com/IELTS/?gclid=COzukL6vs7kCFU1f3god2ycA0g
Online practise test: http://olpt.s3.amazonaws.com/online-practice-ket/index.html
Phrasal verbs (Cambridge App):
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=air.org.cambridge.Phrasalverbs&hl=en
Vocabulary for essays: http://free.ebooks6.com/Vocabulary-for-essays-pdf-e1251.pdf
IELTS: http://free.ebooks6.com/INTERNATIONAL-ENGLISH-LANGUAGE-TESTING-SYSTEM-pdfe1240.pdf
Implicit Memory: how it works and why we need it: http://free.ebooks6.com/Implicit-MemoryHow-It-Works-and-Why-We-Need-It-pdf-e10111.pdf
New insight into IELTS: http://free.ebooks6.com/New-Insight-into-IELTS-download-w1261.pdf
How to prepare for IELTS: http://free.ebooks6.com/How-to-prepare-for-IELTS-pdf-e1254.pdf
Happy Studying!