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How to take IELTS?

 

 

IELTS format in each skill:

1: Listening

In this section, you will listen to four audio files which were recorded by native speakers in English, then you will have to answer to 40 questions, these four audio files are divided in four parts:

The first audio file: this part is a dialogue.

 The second audio file: It is an audio file of a person talking in which someone is speaking about specific subject, and according to his/her speech you should answer to questions. Subjects are about society issues and social needs.

The third audio file: It is a common conversation between two to four people about educational issues (such as essays, articles) and you are given some information about the subject and you should choose the best answer for the questions.

The fourth audio file: It is a monologue about academic or scientific subject, you should listen and answers the questions.

Audio files are set from easy to hard one and last part is the hardest one which takes more time.

 

 

Listening part specification:

Type of audio files: dialogue or monologue. audio files played just once.

Time of exam: approximately 30 minutes

Score: each question has one mark.

Time duration in Listing part: 30 for answering and 10 minutes for transferring answers to the answer sheet and review.

Type of question: Form, note, table, flowchart, summery completion, plan, map, diagram labeling, matching, multiple choice.

 Reading section - Academic

This section has 40 questions which evaluates your skills in reading English context, vocabulary knowledge and comprehension skill; you are asked to read articles and then reply to questions, you don’t have much time to read the text word by word in this section, but you should understand the passage so you can answer to questions or choose the best answer for multiple choices questions and manage your time as well.

Reading part specification:

Types of exam: paper-based- separated articles

Time of test: 60 minutes

Type of questions:  matching headings, True/False/not given, yes/no/not given Matching paragraph information, summery completion, sentences completion, Multiple choice, list selection, choosing a title, Matching sentence endings

Sources:  newspapers, educational articles and university articles, essay in undergraduate and graduate degree

Review time: there is no time to review in this section, you should answer and review all questions at the same time.

Score: each question has one mark.

 Reading- General

All the general segmentation that is said in the Reading test(Academic) in this section is also true. This section includes 40 questions and 60 minutes of time.

The difference between General reading and Academic IELTS is about the subject of reading, in academic IELTS, articles are chosen from university articles, charts, diagrams, university essays and so on, but in general test, articles are about general subjects in society like advertising, history, sport and etc.

Writing –Academic IELTS

This section consists of two tasks, in the first one, you see some kinds of chart, diagram, bar chart or a process and you should be able to interpret data and analyze the information by yourself.

In the second task, you will be asked to give your own opinion about a specific subject. Some points such as the method of writing, spelling errors, grammatical points, vocabulary knowledge and use of idioms are the criteria which the examiner will score you upon them.

The first task should be written by at least 150 words and second task should be written by minimum 250 words. you have 60 minutes for both tasks, notice that task 2 is worth more score than task 1.

 

Writing – General IELTS

In writing General test, you have to write a letter with the content of complaint, invitation, request, sympathy or congratulation and in the second task, you should write an essay and give your opinion about subject. You will be given 60 minutes for both tasks. Some points such as the method of writing, spelling errors, grammatical points, vocabulary knowledge and use of idioms, etc. are the criteria which the examiner will score you upon them. The first task should be written by at least 150 words and second task should be written by250 words. You have 60 minutes for both tasks.

Speaking:

The verbal part of the test evaluates your verbal skills and your speaking ability, your voices are also recorded for next reviewing and according to your vocabulary information, your time management, grammatical mistakes, your fluency and using of idioms, you will get score.

 

The IELTS speaking Test section

Part I: The experimenter asks your personal questions, such as the introduction of yourself and your family, your profession and your education. You should be able to talk about yourself. The duration of the conversation is two minutes.

 

 

Part II:

You will be given a cue card in which a particular subject is written, you will be given a minute to get ready for your speaking, and then you should be able to think about it and talk about it in two minutes. After you talk, the examiner will be asked one or two questions about what you have said.

Part III: Related to the topic in the second section, the examiner will ask you some detailed questions, related to the previous part and you should be able to talk about it in about 4 or 5 minutes.

The total duration of speaking is 11-14 minutes.

IELTS SCORE CALCULATOR:

IELTS Listening marking table

For the listening test, which contains 40 questions, the approximate band scores can be calculated using this table.

Band Score

9

8.5

8

7.5

7

6.5

6

5.5

5

4.5

4

3.5

3

2.5

Score / 40

39-40

37-38

35-36

32-34

30-31

26-29

23-25

18-22

16-17

13-15

10-12

8-10

6-7

4-5

 

IELTS General Reading marking table

For the general reading test, which contains 40 questions, the approximate band scores can be calculated using this table.

Band Score

9

8.5

8

7.5

7

6.5

6

5.5

5

4.5

4

3.5

3

2.5

Score / 40

40

39

37-38

36

34-35

32-33

30-31

27-29

23-26

19-22

15-18

12-14

9-11

6-8

 

IELTS Academic Reading marking table

For the academic reading test, which also contains 40 questions, but is more difficult, the approximate band scores can be calculated using this table.

Band Score

9

8.5

8

7.5

7

6.5

6

5.5

5

4.5

4

3.5

3

2.5

Score / 40

39-40

37-38

35-36

33-34

30-32

27-29

23-26

19-22

15-18

13-14

10-12

8-9

6-7

4-5