Positive Image

DonnaMillen(content) Web:http://www.ieltsontrack.
com
Design&layoutbyIELTSBlog.com Web:http://www.ieltsblog.com
IELTSBlog.compresents:
HowtogetahigherIELTSscore
bybuildingapositiveimageintheexaminersmind
ThisseriesoflessonswaspreparedbyDonnaMillenespeciallyforthe
eadersof r IELTSBlog.com.Thelessonsarebrilliantandwilldoamazing
hingsforyourIELTSscoreifyoustudyandimplementthem. t
Youwilllearn:
Lesson#1: ositive,psychologicalimpressiononyour Howtocreateap
IELTSassessors.
Lesson#2:HowtowriteaTask1reportthatwillimpressyourassessors
(AcademicModule).
Lesson#3: rthatwillimpressyourassessors HowtowriteaTask1lette

(GeneralTrainingModule)
Lesson#4: linfluenceyourassessors HowtowriteaTask2essaythatwil

positively(AcademicandGeneral).
esson#5

L : testscoreby HowtoimproveyourSpeaking
connectingwithyourassessor.
Lesson#6:HowtooptimizeyourperformanceintheListeningandReading
tests.
DonnaMillen,coauthoroftheCentreforEnglishLanguageintheUniversity
ofSouthAustraliasIELTSonTrackseriesofbooks(ieltsontrack.com)talks
aboutwhatmaycreateapositivepsychologicalimpressiononassessors
whomaybescoringtheWritingandSpeaking(interview)componentsof
yourIELTStest.
More recommended resources

The following books are a great source of practice material across the four
test skills plus a variety of hints and strategies, and grammar and
vocabulary exercises to help with IELTS Writing.

IELTS On Track Test Practice Academic
(with audio CD)
Visit IELTS on Track website to view details
and order:

http://www.ieltsontrack.com/product.php?category=11

IELTS On Track Test Practice General Training
(with audio CD)
Visit IELTS on Track website to view details
and order:
http://www.ieltsontrack.com/product.php?category=12

To learn more about Donna Millen and her co-author, a former university professor and
IELTS researcher Stephen Slater, visit ieltsontrack.com.
DonnaMillen(content) Web:http://www.ieltsontrack.com
Lesson#1:Howtocreateapositive,psychological
impressiononyourIELTSassessors
ImaginetheseIELTStestsituations:
Situation1
YouaresittingoutsidetheIELTSinterviewroom.Itishot,theairconditioningisnot
orkingproperly,theIELTSassessorhasalreadyinterviewed10candidates,and
ouarenumber11.Youaretiredofwaiting;theintervieweristiredtoo.
w
y
Situation2
YourIELTSWritingTestpaperwithyourresponsesonitisatthebottomofapileof
thers.Thereare20inthepile.Theassessorhasjusthadtospend30minutes
ookingforaparkingspace.
o
l
Situation3
AnIELTSassessorisgivingtestscorestoacandidatetheyhavejustinterviewed.
Theassessorisreadingtheassessmentcriteriabutisstillveryundecidedandis
avinggreatdifficultydecidingwhichwaytojumpontwoofthecriteriagoupto7
rleavethescoresat6?
h
o
AlthoughtheactualIELTSassessmentcriteriaareconfidential,theofficialIELTS
websitedoesgivesomeindicationofwhattheycontain.WhattheofficialIELTS
ebsitedoesntcontain,however,isanysenseofthoseaspectsofacandidatestest w
performancethathavesomeimpactontheassessorpsychologically.
Inotherwords,whatcancandidatesdotomakeanassessorfeelmorepositive
towardsthem.Thismaybeimportant,becauseiftheassessorisinanyserious
oubtaboutyourscore,themorepositivetheyfeeltowardsyoupsychologically,the d
moretheymaychoosethehigherscore.
etstrytoidentifyoneortwopossible,generalfactors. L
IELTSWRITINGTESTTWOgeneralfactors
Handwritingandlayout
Thefirstthingtheassessorseesisyourhandwriting.Ifyourwritingisdifficultto
read,hasmanythingscrossedout,noparagraphsorpunctuationtocreateasenseof
organisationandstructure,thenimmediatelytheassessorknowsthatyourwriting
isgoingtobemorechallengingtoread,andthatyouhavenotshownthatyouvalue
theassessor(yourreader),andhavenotvaluedthereaderwriterrelationship.
Maturityofexpressionandvoice
Thereisadifferencebetweenwritingsimple,clearEnglishandwritingEnglishthat
stoosimple.TheIELTStestrequireswritingthatreflectsamaturewayofthinking, i
soifyourwritingseemsbabyish,thentheassessorcantviewitsopositively.
Whatmakeswritingbabyish?Ofcourse,ifyoudontknowmanyexpressionsand
cantcontrolthegrammarverywellthenthismaybepartoftheproblem.Another
eatureofthisbabyishwriting,however,iswritingwhichisnotverypreciseorwith
deasthatarenotdevelopedenough.
f
i
omparethesesentences:
1) People should do less wor k and spend more ti me wi th thei r fami ly. I t i s
better .

2) I t would perhaps i mpr ove the quali ty of fami ly li fe i f people wi th busy,
emandi ng j obs could fi nd ways to spend mor e of thei r non-wor k ti me wi th
ember s of thei r fami ly, especi ally wi th chi ldr en or elder ly par ents.
d
m
PerhapsitisdifficultforyoutoachievethelevelofEnglishgrammaticalcomplexity
nsentence2underthepressureoftimeinatest,butinIELTSyoumighttryto
nginthatdirectioninordertomakeitseemmoremature.
i
moveyourwriti
Inotherwords,trytomakeyourwritingcontainmoredetailedandmore
preciseexpressionofthoughtsandideas.Thisprecisionandevidenceofthought
arecommunicatedinapsychologicallypositivewaytotheassessor,notjustbecause
ofcorrectgrammarbutalsobecausetheyreflectanadultwayofthinking,away
hatknowsthatunderstandinganddiscussinglifeissuesinthesocialworldis
ansimple.
t
complexratherth
Atthesametime,ifyoucanbemoredetailedandprecise,thenyoucreateyour
ownwrittenvoice,whichmeansyourownuniquestyleofwriting.Thismeans
thattheassessorcanfeelyouasarealindividual,notjustasanotherIELTSanswer.
Thishelpstoconnecttheassessortoyou,andcreatesasignificantrelationship
betweenreaderandwriter,whichisusuallyapositivething.
IELTSInterviewTWOgeneralpoints
Everymeetingbetweentwopeoplecreatesarelationship
Imagineyouareinacoffeeshopandapleasantpersonatthenexttablestartstotalk
toyou.Youwillprobablyseeyourselfasequaltothatotherpersonbecauseyou
arebothinacoffeeshopandbothdrinkingsomething.Thishelpsyourconfidence
ndhelpsyoutofeelincontrolbothofyouremotions,andofwhatyouchooseto
ay.
a
s
WhenyouentertheIELTSinterviewroomitsagoodideaifyoucancreatethat
samefeelingitisameetingandyouhaveanopportunitytoconnectwiththe
assessorasaperson,atthesametimeasdoingtheinterview.Ifyouconnect
withtheassessorandpresentasapleasant,confidentadult,ratherthanasaschool
tudentsittingwithateacher,thishelpstheassessorbothtoseeyoupositivelyas
nequal,andtorelatetoyoumorepositively.
s
a
YouareanequalnotanIELTSvictim.Yourbodylanguageneedstobenatural
andrelaxed,notstiff,youshouldmakeeyecontactpleasantlyandconfidently.You
canchoosetotalkatarelaxedspeed,ratherthantoofast.Youcantrytouse
ntonationtoshowhowyoufeelaboutwhatyouaresayingthiscommunicates
ourpersonality,youruniqueness.
i
y
Youmighttrytofindtherhythmandtimingofeachsectionofthetestandreflectit
backtotheassessorthisshowstheassessoryouarecooperatinginmakingtheir
jobofgettingthroughthetestsectionsin1114minuteseasier,almostlikeyouare
theassessorscoworker.Allthesethingscommunicateyourpersonalityand
createapositivesocialatmosphere.Thismakestheassessorfeelmore
comfortablepsychologicallytoo.
HelptheassessortogetastrongersenseofYOUandyour
personality.
IntheIELTSinterviewtherearemanyopportunitiestotalkaboutyourownlifeand
culture.Eveniftheassessorsquestionsseemabitmechanical,youcanstilltryto
nswerthemasiftheyarepartofafriendlyconversationinwhichyouarehelping
heassessortoknowyouandyourcountryalittlebetter.
a
t
Youcanbeasortofteacher,awindowonyourlifeandculture.Thisshows
confidenceandhelpsyoutoemergeasarealperson,auniqueperson,nota
tereotypicalvoiceofyourownlanguageandculture,repeatingjustasetof
rdinaryanswers.
s
o
Justlikeyou,theassessorishopingtomeetauniqueandmemorable
individual,andhopingtogetasenseofyouruniqueness,eventhoughtheyarealso
formallyassessingyourspokenlanguage.YOUcanhelptheassessortoseeyou
positivelyasapersonandcanhelptheassessortofeelcomfortablewithyou.
Youhavesomecontrolovertherelationshipthatiscreatedinthatsituationandcan
husinfluencethepsychologicalwellbeingoftheassessor.But,itmustfeelandbe
atural,notforced.
t
n
Tosummarise
Lifeisessentiallyasocialexperience.TakingIELTSispartofthatsociallife.Even
thoughitmaynotseemthatway,youareinbriefsocialrelationshipswith
assessorswhenyoudotheIELTSWritingandwhenyouareinterviewedfor
theIELTSSpeakingtest.Itisimportantforyoutomanagethoserelationshipsas
ellasyoucan,inordertoinfluencetheassessorspsychologypositively,evenif
hisisnotofficiallyacomponentofthestatedassessmentcriteria.
w
t
Influencinganassessorpositivelybutgenuinelyandnaturallymayleadto
betterscoreswhenanassessorisindoubtandisweighingupwhethertogive
youahigheroralowerscore.Ifyouareviewedbyyourassessorasamature,
professionaladultwithapleasant,naturalanduniquepersonality,andassomeone
whocaninformtheassessoraboutinterestingthingsinacareful,precisewaythen
thismayleaveapositiveimpressionofyou,incontrasttosomeoftheothertwenty
orsocandidateswithwhomtheassessormayhaveinteractedthatday,andwho
mayhaveeitherfadedquicklyandanonymouslyaway,orworse,lefttheassessor
withafeelingoffrustrationorirritation.
NEXTTIME,IlltalkaboutsomeofthespecificthingsthatmayinfluenceIELTS
assessorswhentheyreadandscoreyouranswertotheTask1reportinthe
IELTSAcademicWritingtest.
2009DonnaMillenandieltsontrack.com
Thisarticleiscopyrighttoieltsontrack.com,andmaynotbereproducedor
copiedwithoutthepermissionofieltsontrack.com
ThedesignandlayoutofthisseriesoflessonsarecopyrighttoIELTSBlog.com
andmaynotbereproducedorcopiedwithoutthepermissionofIELTSBlog.com
Lesson#2:HowtowriteaTask1reportthatwill
impressyourassessors(AcademicModule).
BeforebeginningLesson#2,hereisashortsummaryofwhatwelearnedlastweek.
SummaryofLesson#1.
owerto: IntheIELTSWritingandSpeakingtestsyouhavesomep
i essionthatyoumakeontheassessor
b ychologicalimpressionintheassessorsmindofthesortof
nfluencetheimpr
uildapositive,ps
personYOUare.
IntheIELTSWritingtestyoucanimpresstheassessorby:
wellorganisedway
turelyandwithprecision
presentingyourwritingneatlyandina
writingsentencesthatexpressideasma
avoidingbabyishsimpleexpressions.
IntheIELTSSpeakingtestyoucanimpresstheassessorby:
behavingasanequal
e afriendlyandopenway
t thingsaboutyourlifeandculture
xpressingyourpersonalityin
ellingtheassessorinteresting
(whenitisrelevanttodoso).
owletsmoveontoLesson#2.
Importantbackgroundissues
eforelookingspecificallyatthisweekslessononIELTSAcademicWritingTask1,
etsexploreoneortwoimportantbackgroundissuesintheWritingtest.
B
l
Dontbecomeaclockvictim
TheIELTSAcademicWritingtestputseverycandidateunderagreatdeal
oftimepressure.Candidatesknowthattheyhavetorespondtotwo
tasksbywritinga150word,andthena250wordanswerinonlyone
hour.Undersuchconditions,itiseasyforcandidatestoseethemselves
aspowerlessclockvictims.
WhatisanIELTSclockvictim?
andidateswhospendtoomuchtimeeithercountingwords,clockwatchingorbeingover
nxiousabouttimecanbedescribedasclockvictims.
C
a
Cutdownonwordcounting
Avoidlosingtimebycountingwordstoofrequently.Instead,workouttheapproximate,
averagenumberofwordsyounormallywriteonaline,countthenumberoflinesyouhave
rittenandmultiplythemtogether.AfullIELTSAnswerpagehasabout20lines.Ifyou
ormallywriteabout10wordsoneachlineyouwillwriteabout200wordsonafullpage.
w
n
WhattodotopreventfeelingsoanxiousintheIELTSwritingtest
To youneedto:
canincreaseyourabilitytocontrolthis
helptomanagefeelingsofanxiety
seeyourselfinamorepositivewaysothatyou
challengingwritingtestsituation.
beco ebetteratorganisingyourwrittentext. m
OW? H
CreateasuitabletestpersonafortheIELTSwritingtest
Itisimportantfortesttakerstocreateasuitabletestpersona(asortoftestidentity)with
whichbothtomanagetheirtestperformanceandtobuildtheconfidencetoconnect
positivelywithandmakeapositiveimpressionontheassessor.Beingapanickytesttaker
isnotasuitabletestpersona.
Whatmightbeasuit
maginethiscontext:
abletestpersonafortheIELTSAcademicWritingtest?
Youareworkingwithasenior,universitylectureronsomesocialresearch.This
lecturerhasaskedyoutopresentthemwithabriefreportonsomedataandto
givesomeoutlineviewsonasocialissueasbackgroundmaterialtobetakento
atwoday,academicseminaroverseas.Thelecturerisflyingoverseasforthat
seminaratlunchtime.
Timeisimportantalsointhisimaginarycontext,butitisimportantinthiscasebecauseof
yourcolleaguesschedule,soyouarehelpingsomeone.Alsoanacademiccontextisa
professionalcontextinwhichyouwouldbeexpectedtowriteinamature,considered,
clear,preciseandprofessionalmanner.
Thisprofessionalandacademictestpersonaisamoresuitableoneforyouto
imagineyourselfinthanjustbeingatestcandidate;itestablishesamuchstronger
enseofrelationshipbetweenwriterandreader,andthisgivesyourwritingastronger
ocialpurpose.
s
s
ButImtakinganIELTSlanguagetest,notworkingforauniversity.
erhapsthisiswhatyouarethinkingrightnow.Perhapsyouthinkthisideaofa P
professional,academictestpersonaisalittlebitcrazy.
OK,thenthinkaboutitthisway.Evenifyouarenottryingtodoso,ornotawareofdoing
so,almosteverythingyouwritetoanotherpersoncarriesanimpressionofYOUwithinit.
If,forexample,yourwritingisdisorganised,looksmessy,isoffthepoint,offersinaccurate
information,thenallofthesefeaturestellthereadersomethingnegativeaboutYOU(the
writer)asaperson.
ThereaderstartstoimaginewhatYOUarelikefromhowyouwrite,notjustfrom
whatyourlanguageislikegrammatically.Thismeansyourwritinghasthepowerto
influencetheimpressionyoumakeinmanydifferentways.Soyouneedtotryto
ommunicatepositiveimpressionsofyourselfinyourwriting. c
Howelsecananxietyorpanicbemanaged?
Planningbeforewriting
OftencandidatesreceivetheirIELTSwritingtestpaperandthenbegin
writingtheiranswersalmostimmediately.Why?
Becausetheyaresoscaredoftime.
Aprofessionalperson,incontrast,learnshowtoplanandmanagetimeinthemost
effectivewayinordertoachievethegoalstheyhaveestablishedforwriting.
Planningisessentialtoaprofessionalapproachinworkinglife.Ifyougotomeetabusiness
lientyoupreparethenightbeforesothatyouareclearaboutwhatyouwanttoachieve c
andthebestwaytoachieveit.ThesameistrueinIELTSWriting.
OneofyourprimegoalsistogetabetterIELTSscorebybuildingapositiveimpressionin
theassessorsmind.InIELTS,planningtime(even23minutes)iseffectivebecauseit
elpsyoutodevelopasystematicandwellorganisedanswer,andthiscreatesa
rofessionalimpressionofYOUinthemindoftheassessor.
h
p
Imaginethis:
Let sa twopeopleofthesame
Eng sh
s yyoudidsomeresearchandmadeavideorecordingof
ritingtask1BUT:
planningtheanswer
li levelansweringthesameIELTSW
onepersonspentabout3minutes
theotherspentnotimeplanning.
Myguessisthatwhenyouplaybackthevideooftheonewhodidntplan,itwillshowthat
hiscandidatestopstothink,orstopstocrosssomethingout,moreoftenduringthe
thanthecandidatewithaplan.perhapseven3minutesmore!
t
twentyminutes
Inotherwords,itmaybejusttestanxietywhichcausesyoutothinkthatevery
ossiblesecondhastobeusedaswritingtime.Itmayalsobeamistaketobelievethat
hebestTask1answersarefromcandidateswhohavewrittennonstopfor20minutes.
p
t
areabo
riting
Someonewhoplansandorganiseswellisshowingthattheyc
beingsystematicaboutorganisingthecontentofwhattheyarew
ut:
helpingthereaderoftheirworktoreaditaseasilyaspossible.
hisactofplanningdemonstratesanimportantbasicvalidationofthereaderwriter
elationship,whichisimportanteveninalanguagetestsituation.
T
r
CreatingagoodimpressioninyourWRITING
ACADEMICWritingtask1
AcademicWritingtask1involvesrespondingtoagraph,chart,tableorotherdiagram.The
assumptionisthatyouarewritingasortofsummarisingreportwhichdrawsoutand
compareskeyfeaturesandpresentstheminaclearandprofessionalmanner.
Tobuildapositiveimpressioninthemindoftheassessortherearemanythingsyoucando
whenchoosingthelanguagetousewhilebuildingyourTask1response.
7TipstoWritingaSuccessfulReport
1.Takecarewiththeaccuracyofinformation
Whatever lly
ndlookat ely
thematerialanddatapresentedtoyouinTask1,youneedtostudyitcarefu
eachcategoryornumbercarefullysothatyoureportonthemaccurat
hydoit?Accuracycreatesagoodimpressionofyouasa iter. professionalreportwr
a
W
2.Writeaboutthemostimportantpatternsandtrendsnotabouteverything
hydoit?Anappropriateselectionofkeyinformationshowsevaluationskills,andthisis
professionalstyle.
W
a
3.Avoidshoppinglistwriting,whichmeansjustlistingobviousfiguresoneafter
another.In t stead,trytoidentifykeytrendsandcompareandcontrastpatterns,don
justrepeatlistsoffacts
hydoit?Comparing/contrastingshowsmorematureevaluationofmaterial,whichis W
moreprofessional.
Remember,too,thatlanguageusedtoconnectideasatthebeginningofasentencecan
signalthiscomparativewritingnicely.
Forexample:Similarly,Conversely,Anexceptiontothistrendis,Comparedto,
Thispatternchangedfromto.)
(
4.Dontmakepersonalcommentsaboutthestatisticalmaterial
Whydoit?Beingprofessionalwhenyoureportondatarequiresyoutobefactualand
objective.
5.Useasystematiclayout
Haveanintroductiontoyourreportonthedataandincludeinitperhapsaverygeneral
statementaboutthemostdominanttrendinthedata.Createandarrangeother
paragraphslogically.
Whydoit?Rememberintermsofyourtestpersona,anacademiccolleaguemightnot
aveverymuchtimetoreadyourreportandneedstofindandclassifyreportinformation
asily)
h
e
6.Useaprofessionalwritingstyleandformaltone
ThisisnoteasytoachieveifyourlevelofEnglishisnotveryhigh.Neverthelessitisstill
possibletoshapeyourtone(whichmeansyourattitudetothecontentthatthereadergets
romyourTask1writingandhowappropriatethattoneisbothtothegenre(type)of
riting,andtotheexpectationsthatthereaderhasofareportofthistype.
f
w
Youcantrytoachieveanappropriateformal,professionalreportstyleby:
avoidinglazylanguageexpressions(egetc,orandsoontheyarenot
professional,areusedmoreinspokenlanguage,andsuggestthewriterdoesnt
careenoughtofinishasentence
properly)
avoidinginformalexpressions(egalot,wasOKtheyarenotprofessional
enoughforareports
tyle)
avoidingrepetition(tooboringandmakesthewritersoundverylimited.Use
appropria esynonyms,orreferencinglanguage(egthis,itw ossible)
t hereverp
avoiding(wherepossible)overuseofgeneralexpressionsthatlack
precision(egthing,do,is,big,nice)
7.Reducesimplegrammarmistakes
Ofcourse,anyonetakingtheIELTStestislikelytomakenumerousgrammarmistakes.
However,somemistakescreateamorenegativeimpressionthanotherswhenread
byanativespeaker.Ifyoucanreducethenumberoftheseyoucanhelpapositive
impressiontospreadtootherpartsofyourwriting.
4TypesofGrammarMistakesThatAnnoyanAssessortheMost
MistakeType#1VERBTENSE
a)Talkingaboutthedata
UsuallyIELTSTask1susedatafromparticularyeardates.YoumustusethePASTtense
whendescribinginformationfromthepast.Similarlyiftheinformationisaboutthefuture,
useappropriateFUTUREtenseforms.
b)Talkingabouttheactualgraphordiagramyoucanseeinfrontofyouonthetest
paper
YouusethePRESENTtenseformstosayThegraph/chart/tableshows/indicates/
reportson.becausethegraphitselfisalwaysthesameandalwaysinthepresent.
MistakeType#2SUBECT/VERBagreement
InEnglish,wesay:Thegraphshows;Thestatisticsshow;Thepopulationofthe
hreeAsiancountries t ischanging;ThenumberofpeoplewhositIELTSisincreasing
theheadnounspopulationandnumbercontroltheverbagreement); (
MistakeType#3WORDFORMSAdjective/Noun/Adverb
andidatesneedtocontrolandmanageeffectivelytheEnglishwordformstheyuse. C
Lookatthese4 s: example
eissome Ther oubtful d aboutthed ounform d

The thefiguresis
at ( n ee ed)
accuracyof
a X doubtn
doubt (Xa oubtful ) djectived needed
Itisdoubtfullythatthefiguresareaccuracy(XXadjectivesdoubtful&
accurateneeded)
increased Thepopulation rapidduring2000 (Xadverbrapidlyneeded)
Insimpleterms,errorsthatrelatetobasicrulesofEnglishgrammarleaveamore
negativeimpressionthanotherkindsofmistakesbecausetheassessormayassume
youlearntaboutthesebasicruleswhenyouwereyoungandhavehadplentyoftime
arntousethemcorr
that
tole ectlysincethattime.
So,ifyoustillmakethesebasicerrorsyougivetheimpressionofbeinglikean
immatureschoolchild,evenifyourownnativelanguagecausesyoutomaketheerrors
becauseitsverbsystemismuchsimplerthantheEnglishverbsystem,oritstranslated
wordformsarelessvariedthanthoseinEnglish.Theassessorformsanimpressionofyou
fromyourwritingandisntinfluencedbysuchcomplexitiesasfirstlanguageinterference.
heIELTStest,remember,isbasedultimatelyoncomparingperformancewithanative
nglishspeakerequivalent.
T
E
MistakeType#4SentenceBOUNDARIESandOMISSIONSfromsentences
Candidatesneedtobuildsentencescarefullyandrespectwhatasentenceisandwhatthe
partsofasentenceare,otherwisethereaderhastokeepreadingandrereadingthe
them.Thisleavesanegativeimpressionontheexaminer sentencestotrytounderstand
because:
a)itisfrustratingandboring,
b)itdamagestherelationshipbetweenwriterandreader.
Lookatthese2examples:
1)Thefiguresshowthefoodpreferencesofmenandwomentheyareintwotables.
. 2)Thetableshowsthepopulation.IntheAsiancountriesrosealotinthetenyearperiod
fteryoureadeachexampleabove,itisdifficultnottorereadeachofthembecausethey
unicateeitherclearlyoreffectively.Nowlookattheseimprovedversions:
A
dontcomm
Example1
otables. Thefiguresshowthefoodpreferencesofmenandwomen.Theyareintw
OR,moresimply,
otables. Thefiguresshowthefoodpreferencesofmenandwomenintw
R,evenmoresimply,
ablesshowthefoodpreferencesofmenandwomen.
O
Thetwot
Example2
ThetableshowsthatthepopulationintheAsiancountriesrosesignificantlyintheten
arperiod.
ye
OR
Accordingtothetable,thepopulationintheAsiancountrieswentupmarkedlyinthe
tenyearperiod.
Remember,alltheseexamplesrepresentjustasmallsampleofpossiblegrammatical
orothererrorsinlanguageuse,buttheyareonesthatmaysignificantlyaffectthe
psychologicalimpressionthatyouranswerhasontheexaminer.
Tosummarise
WiththeIELTSAcademicWritingtestTask1itisimportantto:
trytobeaconfidentmanageroftimenotaclockvictim.
p
c
lanbeforeyouwritetohelpyouranswertobewellorganised.
reateanIELTStestpersonafortheWritingtestthathelpsyoumoreeasilytosee
yourselfaswritingforaprofessionalpurposetoanacademiccolleague,notasapanicky
testcandidate.
YoucanhelptocreateapositiveimpressioninWritingTask1if
goriesofinformation
you:
ticsorcate
skilfully
areaccuratewhenreportingstatis
selectandcomparekeyinformation
resistmakingpersonalcomments
c alstyleandtone
r marmistakesthatassessorsmightthinkarefromyourearlydaysof
reateaprofession
educethosegram
learningEnglish.
Inthenext,shorterlessonIlllookatcreatingapositiveimpressionwhenwriting
yourresponsetoIELTSGeneralTrainingTask1.
opeyoulljoinmeforLesson#3.
Thisarticleiscopyrighttoieltsontrack.com,andmaynotbereproduced
orcopiedwithoutthepermissionofieltsontrack.com
ThedesignandlayoutofthisseriesoflessonsarecopyrighttoIELTS
Blog.comandmaynotbereproducedorcopiedwithoutthepermission
ofIELTSBlog.com
Lesson#3:HowtowriteaTask1letterthatwillimpress
yourassessors(GeneralTrainingModule)
BeforebeginningLesson#3,hereisashortsummaryofwhatwelearnedlastweek.
SummaryofLesson#2.
tsimportantnotbecomeaclockvictimintheIELTSWritingtest. I
Aclockvictimwastestimeby:
toomuchclockwatching
toomuchwordcounting
buildinguptoomuchanxietyabouttime
ly,withoutthinkin
writingimmediate gabouthowtoorganisetheresponse
estsituationby: Thisisnothelpful.Manageyourtimeandyourselfinthet
ofessionaltestpersona constructinganacademicandpr
takingtimetoplanyouranswer
hesegiveyoumorecontrolof,andmorefeelingfor,thereaderwriterrelationship. T
InyourAcademicWritingTask1response,apositiveimpressioncanbemade
ontheassessorby:
ion, ormat
tion,
takingcarewithaccuracyofinf
a focussingonimportantinform
comparingratherthanlisting,
avoidingpersonalcomments
presentingasystematiclayout
Itsalsoimportantto:
elementary
writeinastyleandtonethatisformalandprofessional.
reducethosegrammarmistakesthatassessorsmayconsider
constructsentencesthathaveclearandcorrectboundaries.
NowletsmoveontoLesson#3.
Importantbackgroundissues
ntheIELTSGeneralTraining I WritingTask1youareaskedtowritealetter,andare
skedtoincludeinyourletter3different,listedpiecesofinformation. a
Readthetaskparts
Theassessorwillbeimpressedifyourletteroffersbalancedconsiderationofallthree
artsoftheletter,meaningthatyourparagraphscontainsimilaramountsofinformation
carefully
p
abouteachofthethreepartsoftheletter.
heywillbemuchlessimpressedifyouleaveoutoneofthethreepartsbecauseyouspent
oomuchtimewritingabouttheothertwopartsandcametotheendofyourtime.
T
t
Thinkcarefullyaboutthekeypurposeoftheletter
whentheletteriswritten.Askyourself:WhyamI Makesurethatthispurposeisclear
writingthisletter?DoI:
omethingtobedone?
wantsomeonetodosomething?
daskfors
omething?
wanttocomplainaboutsomethingan
wanttogivereasonswhyIcantdos
wanttoinvitesomeonetoanevent?
hateverthecentralpurposeoftheletter,ithelpsifthatpurposeisclearintheletteryou
rite.
W
w
AtestpersonaforGeneralTrainingWritingTask1
Wehavesuggestedthatatestpersonaisanexpressionreferringtotheimportanceof
avingawritingidentitythatenablesyoutoimaginewritingauthenticallytoarealperson, h
ratherthanseeingyourselfasjustatesttakerwritingtogetascore.
AtestpersonaforTask1ismucheasiertocreateasthetypeofletterimmediatelycreates
aclearwriterreaderrelationship.Thetasktellsyouwhoyouarewritingtoandwhy,so
youcanreallybemoreorlessyourselfandwriterealisticallyasifreallyinthatsituation.
CreatingagoodimpressioninyourWRITING
GENERALTRAININGWritingtask1
Insomewaysaletterisaneasycontextinwhichtowriteandinwhichtoimpressthe
assessorsincethesituationforthecontentandtherelationshipofletterwriterletter
receiverareclear.Alsoyouhavemorefreedomtochoosewhattosaythaninthe
AcademicWritingtask1.Evenso,therearestillnumerouswaysinwhichyoucancreate
anevenbetterimpressionthroughyourwriting:
8TipstoWritinganImpressiveLetter
1.Userealexperiences
oumaybeaskedtowritealettertoafriendtodiscussaholidayoravisit;youmaybe
plainaboutsomeproblemsinyourapartment.
Y
askedtowritetoalandlordtocom
Whateverthenatureoftheletter,trytoconnectittosomeactualexperiencefromyour
ownlife,ifthatispossible.Thishelpsthecontextofthesituationtoseemmorerealand
maymakeyourwrittencommunicationappearmoreconvincingandrealistictothe
ssessor.Italsomeansthatthenyoudontneedtostruggletothinkofsomanynew
deas.
a
i
2.Writeingoodfaith
EventhoughthisisatestofEnglishandyouarenotinfactwritinganactuallettertoareal
person,trynottoturntheletterintoasortofjokeletterbywritingthingslike,Dear
MickeyMouse,orendingyourletterwithsomethinglike,Yourssincerely,Mr.Bean.You
mayfeellikebeingplayfulintheletterbutitsmuchbettertoactingoodfaithby
writingtheletterinastraightforwardandauthenticway.Thisismorelikelytoimpress
heassessor. t
3.Choosetheappropriatetone
YouwillimpresstheassessorifyouareabletochooseastyleofEnglishexpressionthat
fitsthetypeofletterandfitstherelationshipbetweenyou,theletterwriterandthe
receiver.
So,forexample,ifyouarewritingtoanorganisationandtosomeoneyoudontknow
there,yourlanguagewillbeformalnotchatty.Conversely,ifyouarewritingtoaclose
friendyouwillnaturallyuseinformalstylesofEnglishinordertoreflecttheclosenessof
therelationship.Itwouldseemstrangetowritetoafriendincold,formallanguage(For
xample:Similarly,Conversely,Anexceptiontothistrendis,Comparedto,This
atternchangedfromto.)
e
p
4.Usesuitablelanguage.Yourassessorwillbeimpressedifyou:
Chooselan orforma
Example1:Iamwritingtoyoutoreportthelossofmysuitcaseon..(formal)
xample2:Howarethingswithyou?Imwritingtoseeifyouwanttocomeovertomyplace
oradinnerpartyonSaturday.(informal)
guagethatreflectstheappropriatetoneinformal l
E
f
variationinverbtense
enrequireaskilfulmixofverbtenseandmodaluse
Manage
Lettersoft
Example:IwastravellingonyourbusbutIleftmysuitcaseonit..Ishouldbevery
ratefulifyouwouldreturnittome.Icanarrangetocollectitfromyouroffice.Ishall
inthecityonMondayPleaseletmeknowifthisisasuitabletime.
g
be
Usevarietyofsuitablelinkinglanguagebetweenthesentencesinyourletter
Inletters,itisappropriateoccasionallytouseexpressionsthatsuggesttheattitudeor
udgmentofthewriter,especiallyadverbslike,Obviously,Clearly,Fortunately,
ly,
j
Unfortunate
Examples: Unfortunately,Icantcometoyourparty
Obviously,Iexpecttobereimbursedforthedamagecausedtomy.
Fortunately,Ihavebeenabletochangemytravelplans

5.Trynottobetoorepetitive
Aletterisanopportunitytoshowcommandofsynonymandrangeofformalor
informalexpression.Richnessofvocabularyusegivesyourwrittenstylemore
personalityandthisgivesastrongerimpressionofyou(thewriter)toyour
ssessor.Beingoverrepetitivereducesthecolourandtextureofyourletter.
6.Trytouseinterestingexpressionsandvocabulary
Especia authenticEnglishidiomatic
andph
llyininformalletterstofriendsthereisscopeforsome
rasalverbforms.But,itsNOTagoodideato:
translateidiomsfromyourownlanguageintoEnglish
useidiomsunlessyouarereallyconfidentthattheyarecurrentlyused,and
henandhowtheyareused confidentaboutpreciselyw
xamplefromaninformalletter: E
IcantcometotheofficedowithyouonSaturdayasIverunoutofcashandmycars.
nyway,Imtryingtostopbeingsuchapartyanimal. A
7.Giveanyexplanationsinyourlettereconomicallyandclearly
ometimestheletterwillaskyoutoexplainsomethingorgivereasons.Trynottobe
oodetailedincasetheexplanationbecomestoolong,tooconfusingandunclear.
S
t
8.Useanappropriatewayofdrawingthelettertoaclose
Everyletterhastobedrawntoaclosesmoothly.Therearevariousexpressionsthat
anworkwell,butofcourseitdependsnotjustontone(formalorinformal)but
purposeoftheletter
c
alsoonthe
Examples:
Formal
Illlookforwardtohearingfromyou
I trust you will give this matter due consideration and respond at your
earliest convenience
I should be grateful if you would reply to my letter with some urgency.
Informal
Hopetohearfromyousoon

eendoftheletteryoucanusevarioussuitableoptions
Looking forward to hearing from you
Rightatth
xamples: E
Yourfaithfully,/Yourssincerely, (formal)
Allthebest,/Bestwishes, (informal)
5SimpleRulesforaGoodLookingLetter
Eventhoughthesedaysmostpeoplewritelettersontheircomputers,trytomake
ourletterlookattractiveandneatsothatitseemsalittlelikethelookofa
omputergeneratedletter.Thiscarewithpresentationwillimpresstheassessor.
y
c
How?
1.AfterstartingyourletterwithDear.(plusnameofpersontowhomyouare
writingMr/Ms+familyname,forformalletters;firstnameonly,forfriends)..,
eaveanemptylinebeforestartingthecontentoftheletter.(Remember,youdont
riteanyaddressesintheletter)
l
needtow
xample: E
DearMrsSmith,
Iamwritingtoinformyou
.Useparagraphingclearlysothattheletterhassections,preferablyoneforeach
askpart.Leaveanemptylineaftereachparagraph.
2
t
.Trytowritelinesofaboutthesame,evenlength,likeacomputerdoes. 3
.Leaveonelinespaceaftertheendoftheletterbeforewriting,Yourssincerely
moreformal),orAllthebest(moreinformal)
4
(
5.Leaveanotherlinebeforesigningyourname.Remembertojustuseyourgiven
ameifyouarewritingtoafriend,butuseyourfullnameifyouarewritingtoan
rganizationortosomeoneyoudontknow.
n
o
Tosummarise
WiththeIELTSGeneralTrainingWritingTask1itisimportantto:
readthetaskpartscarefully
thinkaboutthepurposeoftheletter
thinkbeforeyouwritetohelpyouranswertobewellorganised.
YoucanhelptocreateapositiveimpressioninGeneralTraining
WritingTask1,ifyou:
thideasforyourletter userealexperiencesfromyourlifetohelpyouwi
writeingoodfaith
choosetheappropriatetoneforthetypeofletter
ewhichsuccessfullycontrolsvariedverbformsneeded,uses chooseappropriatelanguag
varietyofvocabulary,andoccasionaladverbiallinkingexpressions
dendingstoyourletter
trynottobetoorepetitive
chooseappropriateformalorinformalbeginningsan
setouttheletterneatlyandinawellorganisedway
InthenextlessonIlllookatcreatingapositiveimpressionwhenwritingyour
responsetothelonger250wordIELTSAcademicandGeneralWritingTask2.
HopeyoullcomebackandjoinmeforLesson#4.
ofIELTSBlog.com
L
y
esson#4:HowtowriteaTask2essaythatwillinfluence
ourassessorspositively(AcademicandGeneral)
eforebeginningLesson#4,hereisashortsummaryofwhatwelearnedlastweek.
S
ummaryofLesson#3.
IntheIELTSWritingTask1GeneralTrainingletteritisimportantto
:
readtheletterwritingtaskandthe3requiredpartsoftheletterclearly
ituation
makesureyouestablishaclearpurposeforyourletter
writetheletterrealisticallyandingoodfaithasifyouarereallyinthes
writeaboutthesameamountofinformationforeachofthethreeparts
Youcancreateagoodimpressionontheassessorby:
e usingactualsituationsfromyourownlifeiftheyarerelevantinordertomaketh
u our
letterseemmorereal
setheappropriatelevelofformality(informal,orformal)consistentlyiny
writerandletter letterslanguagetoreflecttherelationshipbetweenletter
receiver.
managethevariationofverbuseasaccuratelyasyoucan
trynottobetoorepetitive;userangeofvocabularytoaddcolourandpersonality
toyourletter
u ningsandendingsforthetypeofletterandthereceiverofit
s partsofyourletterneatlyandclearlyinparagraphsfor
seappropriatebegin
etoutandspacethe
carefulpresentation
CreatingagoodimpressioninyourWRITINGACADEMIC
andGENERALTRAININGWritingtask2
Thesecondtaskinvolveswritingaboutasocialissue.Again,youshouldtrytoseeyourself
inyourprofessionalpersonaasofferingaformalandreasonedviewpointontheissuefor
resentationtoacolleague.Trynottoseeyourselfasjustapersonwhoishavingtotakea
ifficulttest.
p
d
3Stepswhenplanningyourwriting
1.StudythewordsintheIELTSWritingTask2
ThesameissuesapplytoTask2astoTask1.Youneedtoreadthetaskcarefullyandmake
sureyouknowwhatthetopicisandwhatpreciseaspectofthetopicyouhavetogiveyour
viewon.Thiswillhelpyouranswertoberelevant.
EXAMPLE
ImaginethisisanIELTSTask2question:
Manypeoplekeeppetsinsmallapartments.Towhatextentdoyouconsiderthatthisis
cruel?
Thetopiciskeepingpets.Tostayrelevant,youwouldneedtofocusyourdiscussionof
tson: pe
typesofpet(Theexpressionpetscoversmanytypesoflivingcreature,soyoushouldnt
overgeneralise)and,
wherethepetsarekept (specificallyinthisessay,insmallapartments)
howcruelthisisandwhy(Youneedtoofferaclear,precisepointofview)
HowcanIdecideo clear ofview?
ImaginealinewithItscruel________ notcruelattheother
end.
na point
__atoneend,and________Its
Whereonthelinewouldyoustandtoshowyourpointofviewandwhy?
2.Decideuponaclearandprecisepointofview
Thiscanbeachievedbyofferingenoughdetailtoexplainwhyyouhavethatopinion.
IntheTask2essay,havingaclearandprecisepointofviewonthetasktopicenables
heassessortofeelmoreconnectedtothestrengthofyourwritingvoice. t
EXAMPLE
etsusethesameTask2exampleaboutkeepingpets: L
)Anunclearandnotveryprecisepointofviewmightbe:
Itissometimescrueltokeeppetsinapartmentsbutsometimesitisnotcruel.
hispointofviewsoundsasthoughthewriterdoesntclearlyknowwhattheir
ointofviewisaboutcruelty,andsoitislessconvincing,lesspowerful.
T
p
b)Aclearandmoreprecisepointofviewmightbe:
m
Itiscrueltokeeppetsinsmallapartmentsifthepetsarelargeandneedmorespace,
oreattentionoradifferentenvironmentinordertobehappyandhealthy
Thispointofviewgivesamoreprecisepointofviewbecauseitgivestheprecise
onditionsinwhichthewriterthinksitiscruel(thatis,thewritersaysitiscruel,if
etsarelargeandiftheycantbeh
c
p ealthyandhappyinsmallapartments)
Aclearandprecisepointofviewgivesadditionaldirectiontoyouressays
introductionasyouwillbedevelopingthesupportingreasonsforthatpointofview
intheotherparagraphs.Ittellstheassessormore.andsoitgivestheassessora
moredetailedimpressionofyouandofwhattheessaymightcontain.
3.Makeaquickplanoftheparagraphsyouwillwriteandthetopicof
eachparagraph.
Rememberthatthefirstsentenceineachparagraph(oftencalledthetopic
sentence)tellsthereaderwhattheparagraphisaboutsoifthetopicsentenceis
clear,itgivesapositiveimpressiontotheassessor,becauseitmeansthe
ssessorcanpredictthecontentoftheparagraphmoreeasily.Animportant
artofreadingsomeonesessayeasilyisbeingabletopredictwhatwillcomenext.
a
p
InyourTask2plan:
showanintroductionwhichcontainsyourviewpointontheessaytasksstated
opinion,
thenlist2or3paragraphheadingseachwithakeyreasonconnectedtoyourown
iewpoint,whichyouwilldiscussineachparagraph,plusoneortwoexamplesto v
supportthatreason
shown. andshowaconcludingparagraphthatwillsummarisewhatyouressayhas
IfyouwritetheplanintheIELTSAnswerbook,justputalinethroughitand
nderlineittoshowthatitisnotpartofyouractualanswer.Thenbegintheactual
ssay.
u
e
Remember
WhatwesaidaboutTask1AcademicinLesson2isalsoimportanthere.Afew
minutesspentplanningyourTask2responsewillhelpyoutowritemore
systematicallyandmoresmoothly,andinclearerparagraphs;itisnotwastedtime.
3tipsfororganisingyourwriting
1.Trytodevelopeachparagraphbydevelopingeachpointthatsupportsthetopic
entence.(Dontjuststateonepointandthenmoveontoanentirelynewpointasthis
eemsmechanicalandpreventsyoufromdevelopingapointinmoredetail)
s
s
2.Trytouseavarietyoflinkingwordsbetweensentences,ratherthanjustthesimpler
shoppingliststylelinkssuchas:firstly,secondly,thirdly,finally
.Makesureyouleavealinebetweeneachofyourparagraphwhenyouwriteyouressay,
othattheassessorcanseethewayyouressayisorganised
3
s
EXAMPLE
eadthisminiparagraph:
Keepingpetssuchaslargedogsinsmallapartmentscaneasilyleadtounintended
cruelty.Anobviousexampleofthisisthatlimitedspacemakeslargeanimals
frustratedbecausetheycantuseenoughoftheirphysicalenergy.Thismayresultin
possibleaggression.Linkedtothislackofexerciseistheissueofhealth.Adogthathas
insufficientspaceandlacksexercisecaneasilybecomeobesewhich,inturn,may
shortenadogslife.
Thelinkingwordsinboldtypeshowhowwritersdirecttheirthoughtsandexpress
relationshipsbetweenthecontentastheymovefromsentencetosentence.Thisalsohelps
theassessortoconnectwithapointofviewthatisdeveloping,whichbuildsapositive
impressionofsophisticatedthought.Testcandidateswhojustlistonepointafteranother
withoutanydevelopment,andwithoutanysubtlelinkingexpressionsmayseemless
naturalandlessmatureinthemindoftheassessor.
8rulesforappropriatelanguage
1.Avoidgeneralisationsthataretoosimplistic
simplisticgeneralisationsseemtoounsubtle,andtoostrong;theydontreflectamature
pproachtothetopic)
(
a
EXAMPLE
mparethegeneralisationsbelow,whicharewritteninpairs: C
o
1)Alldogslikepeople.
2)Mostdogsaresociableandseemtoenjoyhumancompanionship,iftheyarelookedafter
withcareandkindness.
1)
)Thosewholivealoneinapartments,particularlytheelderly,maybenefitfromasuitable
etwhichisabletooffercompanionshipandagreatersenseofsecurity.
2
p
Itisgoodtohavepetsinanapartmentandtheystoploneliness.
W d hichviewpointineachpairislesssimplistican moreconsidered?
Theansweris:theSECONDsentenceineachpair.
ablyneedstobeexpressedinasentencethatis: So,amoreconsideredviewprob
longer
moregrammaticallycomplex.
moredetailedandthereforemoreprecise
writtenwithcautiouslanguageforms(e.g.may,possibly,perhaps,seem)
.Avoidusingidiomsorsayingswhicheitherstatetheobviousorseemoutofplaceinan
reaformalviewpointisbeingsystematicallydeveloped.
2
essaywhe
xamples: Everycoinhastwosides. Everycloudhasasilverlining. E
3.Avoid
xample: Withmostpets,whatyouseeiswhatyouget.
usingclichs,astheycancommunicatetoomuchinformality.
4.Avoidusinginformalexpressionsinthisformaltypeofwriting.
Examples:
Lessformal Moreformal
Keepingpetsisaveryhottopic Keepingpetsisasignificantissue
P
etroldrivencarsarepasttheirsellbydate arefastbecomingobsolete
.Avoidusinglazyexpressionstocompletesentences,especiallyonesthatbelong
okenconversation.
5
moretosp
xamples: etc;andsoon;andthingslikethat;thatsortofthing E
6.Avoidimprecisegeneralexpressionsthatm
Example:Comparetheseexpressionsina)andb)
akeviewssoundtoosimple.
a)Walkingadogisagoodthingand
b)Walkingadogisanecessarydailyactivityand.
iningwhatthe walkingdogs? Whichoneismorepreciseinexpla writerthinksabout
Exampleb)offersmoreprecision(necessary,daily)thanexamplea)(good)
7.Cometosomeconclusionaboutyourpointofviewinaconcludingparagrap
thelpstoroundoffyouranswerifyoucanofferashortconclusion,withsentence
eginningslike:
h
I
b
Itcanbeconcludedfromthepointofviewpresentedinthisresponsethat.
Or,moresimply:
Overallthen,thepointofviewdevelopedinthisresponseisthat..
Or,foradifferenttypeofessayquestion,
Tosumup,thesolutiontothisproblemmightbestinvolve.
(Therearemanyotherwaysofstartingaconclusionsorememberthattheseare
justafewsuggestions)
8.Makeaquickcheckofyourgrammar
Thelastminuteortwowillbewellspentifyoureadyouressayquicklyandtryto
essasses
uldbePetsare);
findthoseelementarygrammarmistakeswhichdonotimpr sors
(Forexample:Petare(shouldbePetsare...)or,Petsis(sho
Keeppetsinsmallapartmentsissometimecruelty.(shouldbeKeepingpetsin
smallapartmentsissometimescruel)
Tosummarise
T
G
obuildagoodimpressionintheassessorsmindinbothAcademicand
eneralTrainingWritingtask2:
Beforewriting
readthetaskcarefullyandestablishyourownclearpointofview(tomakesure
yourwritingisrelevant)
2or3paragraph
dviewpoint
planbeforewritingbywritingaclearoverallpointofviewand
headingseachwithadifferent,mainreasontosupportyourstate
(tomakeyourwritingmorerelevant,organisedandsystematic)
InyourwrittenresponsetoTask2:
developideasinseparateparagraphswhichsupportandlinktoreasonsforthe
mainpointofviewinyourintroduction
tencestoshow
.
buildyourparagraphswithconnectingexpressionsbetweensen
howyourviewpointisbeingsupportedanddeveloped;dontjustlistyourpoints
writeashort,concludingparagraphtoroundoffyourresponse
precise showmaturityofthought;dontjustmakelistsofseparatepointsorim
ions
oversimplifiedopinions.
writeinaformaltoneandavoidclichs,idioms,andlazyexpress
avoidovergeneralvocabularyexpressions
searchyouressayattheendforanyelementarygrammarerrors
HopeyoullcomebackandjoinmeforLesson#5.
WelltakealookathowyoucansinganddancetothemusicoftheSpeakingtest
andhowyoucanbecomeagooddancepartnerwhoimpressestheassessorand
akesagoodcooperativeconnectionasyoubothmovethrougheachsectionofthat
est.
m
t
ofIELTSBlog.com
Lesson#5:HowtoimproveyourSpeakingtestscoreby
connectingwithyourassessor
S
ummaryofLesson#4.
TobuildagoodimpressionintheassessorsmindinbothAcademicand
eneralTraining G Writingtask2,itsimportantto:
Beforewriting
elevant readthetaskcarefullyandestablishyourown,clearopinion,onewhichisr
b
towhatthequestionasksyoutodo
rtingit
eforewriting,makeaplanstatingyouroverallopinionclearly,and2or3
paragraphheadings,eachwithareasonforyouropinion+examplessuppo
thismakesyourtaskresponsemorerelevant,organisedandsystematic.
Whenyouwrite
developideasinseparateparagraphswhichsupportandlinktoreasonsforyour
opinion;leavealinespacebetweeneachparagraph.
buildyourparagraphswithconnectingexpressionsbetweensentencestoshow
howyouropinionisbeingsupportedanddeveloped;dontjustlistyourpoints.
w ithyourstatedopiniontoroundoffyourresponse
precise
riteashort,conclusionw
showmaturityofthought;dontjustmakelistsofseparatepointsorim
ions
oversimplifiedopinions.
writeinaformaltoneandavoidclichs,idioms,andlazyexpress
avoidovergeneralvocabularyexpressions
searchyouressayattheendforanyelementarygrammarerrors
Backgroundissues
HowdoestheassessorviewtheSpeakingtest?
TheIELTSSpeakingtestlastsfor1114minutesandisinthree,clearsections.The
assessorhastomanagethetestsectionsbyaskingsetquestions,givingthe
followupdiscussion.Allthishastobe candidateatopictotalkabout,andsteeringa
doneinsideastrictsequenceoftiming:
45minutesforsection1(setquestions),
34minutesforsection2(talkonatopic)
45minutesforsection3.(discussionofissues)
Imaginethis:
Letsimagineyourassessorhasonly6monthsexperienceasanIELTSassessor,but
nthatsixmonthshasalreadyinterviewedover100candidatesbeforeyoucome
nto e
i
i
th room.Howdoesthatassessorprobablyfeel?
) theassessorprobablyfeelspartofapatternoftimed,programmed 1
interaction,andexpectsyou,thenextcandidate,tofollowthispattern.
2) theassessorfeelsalittlebitmechanicalbecauseeachtesthastobedonein
astandardwayandtheassessordoesnthavemuchroomforpersonal
commentorreactionorfornormalinteraction.
3) Theassessorhastobeaclockwatcherbecauseeachinterviewhastofollow
keptto.
stricttiming.Sotheassessorcangetanxiousifthetestrhythmisnot
4) Iftheassessorisassessing10candidates,tirednessisboundtooccur
towardstheendoftheassessorscandidatelist.
5) heassessorfeelskeentomakeitapleasantenoughtimeforyoutodoyour
estsheorheisonyourside!
T
b
Howdoesth theSpeakingtest? etesttakerview
herearetwobasictypesofIELTStesttaker: T
1) Firsttimers
Firsttimetesttakersareusuallymorenervousbecauseeverythingfeelsunknown.
Nervousnessisapersonalfeelingbutitmakesitmoredifficultforthespeakingtest
xperiencetofeelrelaxedandshared.Theassessorcanusuallysenseboth
ervousnessand,occasionally,itsoppositeoverconfidence!
e
n
2) Oldtimers
Testtakerswhohavetakenthetestseveraltimesarelessnervousaboutthegeneral
situationbutareoftencaughtupinanxietyaboutparticularaspectsoftheir
performanceandtheirwishtoimproveonknownweaknessesfromtheirprevious
tests,ortoimprovepreviousscores.Theycanbecomealittledistantor
preoccupiedasaresult.
Thebasicsocialtask
ThemainsocialtaskintheIELTSspeakingtestistobringboththeassessorand
candidateclosertogether,inasenseofcooperativeconnection.Thismeansthat
eachshouldtrytohelptheothertomakethesituationacomfortable,friendly,
sharedexperience,wherethecandidatecanfeelallrightandcanthereforedotheir
est,andtheassessorcanmanagethespeakingtestsectionscorrectly,withoutany
dditionalstressbeingcausedbythecandidate.
b
a
So,theSpeakingtestisalittlelikeasonganddanceroutine.
ohelptodescribethisprocessofcooperativeconnectionalittlemore,letsuse
heanalogyofsinginganddancing.
T
t
ThesongoftheSpeakingtestsingingthesamesong
heassessorisgoingtofeelmorecomfortable,themoreyouareabletomakeyour
languagethatnativespeakersareusedto
T
spokenEnglishlikethemusicofthe
unds goodstressontherightso
low nottoofast,nottoos
appropriatepausing
rrection verylittlehesitationorselfco
neithertooloudnortoosoft
goodrhythmandflowofsound
clearandaccurate,individualsounds
goodgroupingofchunksofmeaning.
tryingtomirrorthemusicoftheassessorsspeechalittle(byusingasimilar
speakingspeed,similarvolumeandsimilarfeelingoffriendlinessinthenotes)
SilenceisNOTgolden!
lishthatsays,Silenceisgolden.IntheIELTSSpeakingtest hereisasayinginEng T
SilenceisNOTgolden.Why?
Silencecausesstrainfortheassessorandbreaksflowandconnection.
I understand tisasignofeither:troublefindingtherightword,ortroubletryingto
whatisrequired,ortroubletryingtoexplainsomethingsuccessfully.
I cedasmorethreateningthanitisin nwesterncultures,silenceisoftenexperien
someculturesAsiancultures,forexample.
S ilencetakesupalotoftimesoitmayputpressureontheassessortotrytofittoo
manyquestionsintoasmallamountofremainingtime,especiallyinthefirstpart
oftheSpeakingtest.
IntheSpeakingtest,youcantgetagoodscoreforwhatyoudontsay!
ThedanceoftheSpeakingtestIttakestwototango!
heinterviewerknowsthe3sectiondanceoftheSpeakingtestbetterthanyoudo
ut
T
b
youcanhelpyourassessorbybeingagooddancepartner.How?
ime, movingthrougheachsectionofthetestandeachquestioninappropriatet
beingresponsivetoyourassessor,whilebeingtakenthroughthedances
sectionsorwhenreceivinginstructions
showingyourselfinapositivelight,thus
makingyourassessorhappythatyouaretheir1114minutedancepartner.
Asadancepartneryouneedtoberesponsive,whichmeansnottryingto
ominateyourpartnerbutbeingacooperativeequal;itmeansnotchangingthe
anceorthemusic,butkeepinginstepandstayingintime.
d
d
Findinganappropriateandactivewayofrelatingtotheassessor
AnotherimportantaspectofcooperativeconnectioninthisshortSpeakingtestis
tofeedthebriefrelationshipbetweenyourselfandtheassessor,sothatitisfriendly,
balanced,productive,mutuallyappropriateandmutuallyrespectful.Youcanplaya
argepartinthisyoudonthavetobepassiveinthisrelationalaspectofthe
ncounter.
l
e
Forthe1114minuteswiththeassessor,youshouldactlikean
equalwhois:
offeringyourselfasamemorable,uniqueandinterestingperson
informingaboutyourlifeandculturewitharealinterestindoingso
u ontacttocommunicateinterestandconnectionbut singbodylanguageandeyec
notfrustrationoraggression
charm,pride,respectandfriendliness treatingtherelationshipwithsensitivity,
tryingtomaketheassessorstaskeasier
u ooinformal) singlanguagethatisnottoodistant(tooformal)nortoofamiliar(t
soyouraimistouselanguagethatispolitebutfriendlyatalltimes.
listeningcarefullyandpolitelytoeverythingtheassessortellsyouorasksyou.
reactingandrespondingwithgoodenergy,andasenseofmotivatedinvolvement
Howtoconnectwiththeassessorateachstageofthe
SpeakingTest
ConnectingduringtheIntroductiontotheSpeakingtest
Whentheassessorinvitesyouintotheroom,mak esureyouputyourpassportor
testIDonthetablesothatitisready.
nd Donttrytosaymuchwhileyougettingseated,justsmileandlookpleasanta
respondtoanythingtheassessorasksorsays
(Sometimestestcandidatestrytochattotheassessorbysayingthingslike,How
theassessorjustwantstogetonwiththe areyoutoday?atthispointbutreally
interviewefficiently).
Theassessorisntapoliceofficer,sowhenyousayyourname,sayitina
Ifyournameisreallydifficultfor repeat friendlyway. assessorstoidentifyor
properly,givethemashortorsimplefirstnametocallyouduringtheinterview.
Whileseated,lookinterestedandconnected,notnervousortired.Makeeye
contactandbepolitewhenaskedforyourpassport,andwhenitisreturnedtoyou.
ConnectinginPART1oftheSpeakingtest:DosandDonts
Part1oftheSpeakingtestconsistsofthreegeneraltopicsfromeverydaylife.Each
opichasabout4or5questionseachofwhichtheassessorreadsoutfromasortof
nterviewscript.Youhavetoanswereachquestion.
t
i
1.Keepinstep;keepintime
naverageabout15secondsisanappropriatelengthforeachofyouranswersin O
ordertokeepinstepwiththerhythmofthissection.
Ifyoutakealongtimeanswering(eitherbecauseofhesitationorgoingintotoo
me muchdetail)thentheassessorfeelsthepressurebecausethereisnotenoughti
toaskallthequestions.
Similarly,ifyouranswersaretooshort,theassessorwillgettotheendofthe
uestionsbeforetheminimumtimeisupforthe3topics(4minutes).
Bykeepinginstepwiththetimeboundariesofthissectionyouwillmakethe
assessormorecomfortable
2.Dontusememorisedmaterialatanystage.
answersandtrytousetheminthispartofthetest Sometimescandidatesmemorise
Thisisnotagoodidea.Whynot?
Itisveryeasyfortheassessorto
chtime theyoftentakeuptoomu
recognisememorisedanswers.Also:
frustratetheassessor
createabadimpression.
tthesametimeyouarenotinteractinginarealway,youarebeingfalse.
3.Dontbefrightenedtoaskforaquestiontoberepeated
Theassessorhastoreadthequestionsfromaprintedpagesoifyoudont
nderstandthequestiontheassessorcantexplainittoyou.Youcanaskforthe
erepeated,however.Thisismuchbetterthanremainingsilent.
u
questiontob
oucansay: Y
Sorry,Ididntquitecatchthat.Couldyourepeatthequestion,please?
Ifyoustilldontunderstandthequestionafteritisreadtoyouagain,justbepolite
andsay:
ImsorrybutIstilldontquitefollowthequestion.
heassessorwillsimplymoveontothenextquestion. T
4.Trytoextendyouranswersalittleuntilyouhaveusedabout15seconds.
Why?Thismakesyouseemmoreinteresting,morefriendly,lessrobotic,lesslikea
testtakingmachine.Beforethetest,practicewithawatchtogainasenseofwhat
15secondtimeintervalfeelslike,andoftherhythmofaquestion+a15second a
response.
Remember,though,15secondsisjustanaveragelengthforaresponseinPart
1,andgivesyouasenseofasafeQuestion/Answertimeintervalrelativetothe
totalnumberofquestionsandoveralltimeavailableforthissectionofthetestyou
donthavetopracticeuntilyouareaprecise,15secondrobot!Studythisexample:
Example:
Assessors :Wereyouagoodstudentatschool? question
AnswerA:YesIwasagoodstudent.atschoolyes
Comment:Thisansweristoobrief,repeatsthequestionwords,andhasanunusual
patternofminipauses
AnswerB:MostofthetimeIwas,yes,especiallyatprimaryschool,..butathigh
schoolIhadaperiodwhenIwasabitrebelliousandoccasionallyIgotintotrouble
fornotdoingmyhomeworkandarrivinglate.
Comment:Thisanswerismuchbetterasitsoundsnatural,isextendedfluently,is
personalised,isinchunks(thatisblocksofmeaningeachwithatinypausebefore
henextblock),isinpolite,conversationalstyleandisabout15secondslong t
5.Singthesamesong
Asnativespeakers,assessorswillprobablysingthesongofEnglishbyusingrising
andfallingintonationtoaddinterestandshowapositiveattitude.
Remembertotrytomirrororechothisbyusingrisingandfallingintonation
inanaturalandappropriatewaytoshowhowyoufeelabouttheanswersyouare
ffering.Ifyouaretalkingaboutsomethingexcitingorinterestingletyour
ntonationshowthis.Ifyouaresurpris
o
i ed,showthis.
Addpersonalitytoyourlanguage.FlatnessofspokenEnglishsuggeststothe
ssessorthatyouarenotinterested,andm
a aybenotinteresting!
Dontspeaktooquietly,nortooloudly.Trytomirrortheassessorwhenyou
speak,intermsbothofthevolumeofyourvoice(nottooquiet,nottooloud)andof
theuseofgentleeyecontact(tomaintainrelationshipandconnection)thesehelp
theirattentionandinterestinwhatyouare assessorstofeelcomfortable,andkeep
saying.
6.Beyourself
TheinterviewistestingyourabilityatspokenEnglishbutthatEnglishisspokenby
YOU,sodontforgettobeyourselfandnotbetoofrightenedortoohidden.
7tipsforconnectinginPART2oftheSpeakingtest
Aspart1finishes,yourassessorwillgiveyouatopiccardandyouhaveoneminute
toplanyourshort12minutetalkonthattopic.
uringtheoneminuteplanning/notemakingt
1.Whenyoureceivethetopiccard,makesureyougothroughALLthepoints
listed.Usethelistedpointstostructureyournotes(orthoughts).
ime
2.Ifyouwanttostartbeforetheoneminutehasfinishedjustpolitelysay,
IthinkImreadytostartnow
Duringthetalk
3.Whenyougiveyourtalktrytotalkabouteachofthepointsonthetopiccard
manytalkslackstructureandarenotorganisedandthecandidatejustendsup
tryingtofillthetimeoftenbecomingrepetitiveorgoingoffthepoint.Ifyouplan
ystematicallyyoucanusuallyavoidthis.Beingsystematicconnectswiththe
s essorsexpectations.
s
a s
4.Trytomakeyourtalkfluent,personalandvaried
Again,yourtalkisachanceforconnection,notjustusingEnglish.Connectionis
mprovedbyaddingvarietyandbyTrytocommunicateandconnectwiththe
ssessor,byusingyourvoicetoaddinterest.
i
a
5.Useeyecontacttoconnect
helittletalkisagreatopportunitytoconnectwithyoureyesandtobuildthe
tseemsabitrudeorshy.
T
relationshipwiththeassessor.Dontstareatyournotesi
6.Ifyouhavefinishedbeforethetwominuteperiodisup,signalthattothe
ssessorwithasimplephraselike,IthinkthatsallorThatstheendofmytalk.
oubt.
a
Dontletsilencecreated
7.Theassessorwillaskaroundingoffquestionconnectedtoyourtalk,just
answerthisfairlybrieflyastheassessorwillwanttomoveintothefinalpartof
theinterview.Dontgoonfortoolongortheassessormaygetalittleimpatient
9ideasforconnectinginPART3oftheSpeakingtest
heassessorwillmovethetestintothe T finalstagebystartingtodiscussgeneral
uestionsconnectedbroadlytothetopicofyourtalk. q
1.Youshouldseethispartasamorenaturaltypeofinteractionbecausethe
assessormayreacttoyourresponsesandsharethediscussionalittle,notjustmove
fromonequestiontothenextlikeinpart1oftheSpeakingtest;however,the
ssessorwillbecarefulnottotakeuptoomuchtimetalkingastheaimistoassess
ourspokenabilitiesinthispart.
a
y
2.Seeyourselfasanequal.
Trytoimaginethatyouarehavingadiscussioninacoffeeshopwithacolleague
whoisinterestedinyourdetailedviewsoncertainthings.
3.Trytodevelopyouranswersusingvariedsentenceconnectorstobuildflow;
trynottotalkinshort,staccatosentencesasthisgivestheimpressionthatyou
ontwanttobuildarelationshiporenjoyadiscussion,butjustwanttofinishthe
estasquicklyasyoucan.
d
t
EXAMPLE
Assessorsquestion:Doyouthinkweddingsarereallynecessaryinthemodern
world?
AnswerA:(tooshort,notfluent)Weddingsarenecessary.Weddingsareatradition;
theymakeparentshappy.
AnswerB(longer,butstilltoostaccato);Yes.Theyarenecessary.Yourfamily
needstofollowtraditions.Itisabadthingnottogetmarried.Itbringsshame.It
showsyouarenotseriousaboutyourlife.Youneedtopleaseyourparents.Weddings
helpyoudothis.
AnswerC(longerandmorefluent):Theyseemtobeimportanteventhoughthey
maynotbecompletelynecessarythesedays,because,forastart,theyenablea
coupletoshowapubliccommitmenttoeachotherinfrontoftheirfamilyandfriends,
whichhelpsthemtofeelsupportedwhenmakingsuchabigdecision,and
furthermore,thecouplecanfeeltheyarepartofalongandhonourabletraditionin
theirsociety,whileatthesametime,ofcourse,pleasingtheirparents.
.Ifyoucantquicklythinkofaresponsetoaquestion,therearevarious
orethinkingtime:
4
strategiesyoucanusetogiveyourselfm
youcanuseholdingexpressionslike,Mmthatsaninterestingquestionbutnot
asytoanswerquicklyorTherearedifferentwaysofrespondingtothat e
questionanditdependsverymuchonyour.
youcanasktheassessortoparaphrasethequestionbyseekingclarification,as
n;Doyoumean,areweddingslegallynecessaryorjustsociallynecessary?Imnot
ureexactlywhatthatquestionisgettingat.
i
s
5
occasiona
Example
.Itcanbeusefulandaddsvarietytogiveexamplesfromyourownlife
llyifthatmakesiteasierforyoutocommunicateyourviewpoint.
Illgiveyouanexamplefrommyownexperience.Oneofmyclosefriendsandhis
partnerarenotmarriedandhaveneverhadawedding,andbecauseofthis,Idont
thinktheyfeelasconnectedtotheirfamily.
Occasionalexamplesfromyourlife,cultureandcountrywillmakeyoumore
onfidentandmaybeinterestingfortheassessor.Amusingexamplesareawayto
ddtothesenseofconnectionwiththeassessorbuttheymustfeelnatural.
c
a
6.Trynottobeeithertooformalortooinformalduringthispartofthe
interview.Youshouldbealittlemorerelaxedbecauseyouknowtheassessorjusta
littlebetter.Itsthepartofthetestinwhichyoucanbealittlemorefriendlyand
allowyourfluencyandintonationtocommunicatethis.Avoidlongsilencesorlong
hesitations.
7.Trytobuildprecisionintoyourexplanationsofwordsorideas.How?
rich Displayvarietyinyouruseofsentencetypesandinvocabularyusetoen
itsprecision
explanations.
Avoidrepetitionasthisrarelyaddssomethingnewandlim
Buildprecisionalsobyusingexpressionswhichintroduceopportunitiesfor
toparaphraseandextendanideaorviewpoint. you
Example:
Imabitantiweddings.BysayingthisIsupposeImeanthatIveseenmanyofmy
friendsmarriagesfailandthishasmademealittlepessimisticaboutexpensive,
showyceremoniesandwhattheyhavecometorepresent.Inotherwords,today
thereseemstomymindtobetoomuchemphasisondisplayandperhapsnotenough
ttentiontodeepmeaning. a
.But,itsalsoOKtousevaguelanguageveryoccasionallyasthiscansound
ral.
8
morenatu
Examples
i)thatsortofthing;andthingslikethat;
(Theseareusedattheendofsentencesandshouldonlybeusedveryoccasionally)
ii)Shessomesortof..;Imnotsureexactly,butIthinkhes;Ihaveafeeling
thatitssomethingtodowith;Ikindofsensethatinthefuture.willbecome
moreorless.
(Theseareusedatthefrontendofsentencesandcanbeusedalittlemoreoften)
.Ifyourassessoroffersacomment,respondtoit(i
naturalandincreasesthesenseofconnection.
nanappropriateway)
9
asthisis
Example
Assessor; soundsasthoughyoudontreallytrusttheideaofmarriage. It
Candidate:Doesit?Maybeyoureright.Ithinkitsdefinitelytruethatmarriage
seemsmoreriskythesedays,asinthistypeofsocietypeoplearemoreselfish,more
independentandlessrespectfuloftraditionandsotheymaynotfeelsodeeply
connectedtoanypromisestheymake.
DISconnectingattheendoftheSpeakingtest
Whentheintervi ewends,justthanktheassessorandsaygoodbyepolitely
andbriefly.
Dontbetoopoliteasthismaynotseemgenuine(ietheinterviewermaysense
thatyouaredoingittogainafavourableimpression,ratherthanbecauseyoumean
it)So,bepolite,butgenuine.
Bebriefbecauseassessorsarebusy,andundertimepressuretogetthroughtheir
listofcandidates.
Dontaskquestionsaboutyourperformanceaftertheinterviewisfinished
Theassessorcannotdiscussthisandwillnotbeimpressedbyyourquestion,but
mbarrassedasitseemsinappropriate.Itmaydamagethecooperativeconnection
ouhavebuiltupintheprevious1114minutes.
e
y
Tosummarise
TobuildagoodimpressionintheassessorsmindintheSpeakingtest
Thinkabout:
d makingacooperativeconnectionwithyourassessorbyworkingtogetheran
elationship
ingthefeaturesofnativespeakerspeech
buildingafriendlyr
singingthesongofthetestbyecho
asmuchasyoucan
beingactivesilenceisnotgolden!
dancingthedanceoftheSpeakingtestbyfollowingtherhythmofeachpartofthe
testandbeingsensitivetothetimepressuresthattheassessorhastomanageand
howyoumightaddtothispressure.
relatingtotheassessorinafriendly,politebutmutuallyrespectfulway
ToimpressandconnectwiththeassessorduringtheSpeakingtest:
Atthebeginning
GetyourpassportortestIDready.
Dontsaymuchunlessasked;justsmileandlookpleasant.
netouse
Lookinterestedandconnected,nottired.
Ifyourfirstnameisdifficulttosay,offertheassessorasimplero
Befriendlyandpolite,whenaskedforyournameandpassport.
InPart1
Keepinstepwiththetime(max.15secondsperanswer)andrhythmofyour
responsetoeachquestiontomaketheassessorfeelcomfortable.
Dontusememorisedanswerstheyareeasytospotanddontsoundnatural
Dontbefrightenedtoaskforaquestiontoberepeatedifyoudontunderstandit
andmirrorthevolumeandmusicoftheassessorsvoice
dontjustechothewordsinthequestioninabriefreply
Putlifeintoyourvoice
Extendyourresponses
Benatural,beyourself
InPart2
Usethelistedpointsonthetopiccardtostructureyournotes(orthoughts).
Besystematicbytalkingabouteachofthepointsonthetopiccardtheassessor
expectsthis.
Makeyourtalkfluent,personalandvaried;useyourvoiceandeyeswellconnect!
Ifyoufinishbeforethetwominuteperiodisup,signalthistotheassessor
Respondtotheroundingoffquestionfairlybrieflysotheassessordoesntfeel
timepressurebeforePart3.
InPart3
heassessor Seeyourselfasanequalanduseanaturalstyleofinteractionbecauset
mayrespondtoyourresponsesandsharethediscussionalittle
Developyouranswersusingvariedsentenceconnectorstobuildflow.
youarentinterested
uropinionsfluently
Dontdiscussinshort,staccatosentencesitsoundslike
youtoextendyo Useexamplesfromyourownlifeiftheyhelp
Beneithertooformalnortooinformal,butstayfriendly
Avoidlongsilencesorconstanthesitations.
Buildprecisionintoyourexplanationsofwordsorideas.
ns.
al.
Useopportunitiestoparaphraseandextendyourideasoropinio
Usevaguelanguageveryoccasionallyitcansoundmorenatur
Ifyourassessoroffersacomment,befriendlyandrespondtoit.
Attheend
Justthanktheassessorandsaygoodbyepolitelyandbriefly.
Dontbetoopoliteitmayseemfalse
Bebrief,becauseassessorsarebusyandundertimepressure.
Dontaskquestionsaboutyourperformanceaftertheinterviewisfinished.
AreyoustartingtofeelmoreincontrolofyourIELTSsituationnow?Ireallyhopeso!
ComebacknexttimeandjoinmeforourfinalLesson#6.Together,welltakealook
atafewlittletipsandtrickswhichmaymakeasignificantdifferencetoyourIELTS
cores,especiallyintheotherpartsoftheIELTStestListeningandReading. s
ofIELTSBlog.com
Lesson#6:Howtooptimizeyourperformanceinthe
ListeningandReadingtests
SummaryofLesson#5.
TobuildagoodimpressionintheassessorsmindintheSpeakingtest
Thinkabout:
onwithyourassessor makingacooperativeconnecti
singingthesongofthetest(mirrortheassessorsspokenstyle)
ivetoassessorstimepressures
beingactive;avoidingsilence.
dancingthedanceofthetestbybeingsensit
beingfriendly,politebutmutuallyrespectful
AtthebeginningoftheSpeakingtest:
GetyourpassportortestIDready.
Dontsaymuchunlessasked;justsmileandlookpleasantandinterested
Ifyourfirstnameisdifficulttosay,offertheassessorasimpleronetouse
InPart1(theinterview)
toeachquestion Keepinstepwiththetimeandrhythmofyourresponse
wers Dontusememorisedans
Dontbefrightenedtoaskforaquestiontoberepeated
oyourvoice
hresponse(average15secondsorso)notjustYesorNo
Putlifeint
Extendeac
Benatural
InPart2(thetalk)
Usethelistedpointsonthetopiccardtostructureandorganiseyourtalk
Besystematictalkabouteachofthepointsonthetopiccard
Makeyourtalkfluent,personalandvaried;useyourvoiceandeyeswellconnect!
Ifyoufinishearly,signalthistotheassessor
Respondtotheassessorsroundingoffquestionbriefly
InPart3(thediscussion)
Seeyourselfasanequal;useanaturalstyleofinteraction
ow.
ested
Developyouranswersusingvariedsentenceconnectorstobuildfl
rentinter
sfluently
Dontuseshort,staccatosentencesitsoundslikeyoua
uropinion Useexamplesfromyourownlifetoextendyo
Beneithertooformalnortooinformal,butstayfriendly
tions. Avoidlongsilencesandconstanthesita
Buildprecisionintotheexpressionofideasandopinions.
renatural.
Paraphraseandextendyouropinions.
Usevaguelanguageveryoccasionallyitcansoundmo
Ifyourassessoroffersacomment,respondtoitpolitely
Whenthetesthasfinished
Justthanktheassessorandsaygoodbyepolitelyandbriefly.
Dontbetoopoliteitmayseemfalse
Dontaskquestionsaboutyourperformance
TipsfortheLISTENINGTEST
Backgroundconsiderations
YoulistenonlyONCEtotherecordingsintheIELTSListeningTest.Youhavetoanswer40
questionsinfo espeakerswhoarein
ifferentsituat nisedandnottopanic.
ursections,andeachsectioninvolvesone,twoormor
ions.Thisputspressureonyoutobesystematic,orga d
Keyquestion:Howcanyoumanageyourtestperformancecalmly?
PartofthepressureoftheListeningtestisthatyouhavetounderstandeachlisteningtask
fromwrittenwordsandthencompletethetaskwhilelisteningtospokenEnglish.Thisisa
cognitivelycomplextask(Mostnormallisteningsituationsinanylanguagedontrequire
ualskil suchd lcomplexity).
eyquestion:Howcanyoureducethepressureofhavingtoreadandlistenatthesame K
time?
LetstrytofindafewanswersBEFORElistening,WHILElistening,and
WHENtransferringyouranswerstotheAnswerSheet.
7tipsforgettingreadybeforeyoulisten.
Getreadytolistentotherecording.Youaregivensometime(15to20seconds)tolook
teachgroupofaround4or5questionsbeforelisteningtoeachcorrespondingpartofthe
e ording.Usethistimewell.
a
r c
1.Makesureyoutrytoworkoutinwhatsituationthespeakerswillbetalking(egIs
itagroupofstudentsinaclassroom,someonetalkingtoanofficialinanoffice,alecture?)
andtheirpossiblerelationship(strangers?,friends?colleagues?).Relationshipaffects
tyleoflanguagechosen(moreformalorlessformal)andthismayhelpyoutoexpect
ssibletypesofs onym(moreconversationaloridiomaticperhaps,ormoretechnical)
s
po yn
2Checkthetask.
Areyouexpectedtocompleteaform?,fillinsomemissingwords?Choosefrom3multiple
choiceoptionsA/B/C,selectwordsoritemsfromalist?
Makesureyouareclearabouttherulesofthetaskegmaximumnumberofwords
youanwrite,whichboxorcolumntofocuson,whatkindsofwordwillfitinanyanswer
space(adjective,verb,noun?),whattypeofinformationisbeingrequestednumber?,
easurementofsomesort?weight?(Becarefultonoteanyunitsofmeasurement
e uiredinananswer gkilos,metr
m
r q e es,dollars)
3.Lookforkeywordsorheadingsthatmightbeexpressedwithasynonymonthe
recording(usingdifferentwordsofsimilarmeaningisoneofthemostcommonwaysof
ritingtestquestionsasitstopsthewrittentextfromjustrepeatingthespokeninput,
ichistooeasy.
w
wh
4.Makesureyouareclearaboutcategoriesandheadingsinanytable,mapordiagram.
fitisamapbeclearaboutwhereyouaresituatedatthebeginning(beforetherecording
syouwheretomovetoonthemap)
I
tell
.Beclearaboutwhatthetaskrequiresandanytaskrules(forexamplethemaximum. 5
numberofwordsyoucanuseforananswer)
.Lookatanyexamplesthatmaybegivenassampleanswersandremindyourselfnotto
oosethesameanswerasanexampleanswerforanyofthetestquestions
6
ch
7Decidewhichanswerslookmorelikelythanothersbeforelistening,ifthetaskasks
neanswerfromseveralpossibilities,inamultiplechoicetypetask,oratask
ofpossibleanswers,forexample.
youtochooseo
typewithalist
Tosummarise;yourmainmanagementjobinthetimeBEFORElisteningtoeach
sectionistoreduceuncertaintyabouteachanswertasktypeanditsrequirementsin
asmanywaysasyoucansothattheaudioinputisnotoverwhelmingandyouarealready
c
s
arryingpredictiveshapesintermsofwhattolistenoutforspecificallyandwhatthe
peakersmightbelikelytotalkaboutinwhatwayandwithwhatlevelofformality.
WHILEListening2KEYHINTS
HINT1.Stayontask
Asyoulistentotheaudiorecordingforeachsection,remainactivebuttrytolistenout
forkeyexpressions;donttrytofolloweveryword.Remember,eveninyournative
anguagelisteningisalwaysaprocessofselectionandsamplingofinput.Inother
dingtoourlisteningpurpose.
l
words,wealwayslistenaccor
onsiderthesetwoexamples: C
Example1
Youareinaliftandthereisatickingbombonthefloor.Youphoneforhelp.Abombexpert
ayshewillgiveyouprecise,stepbystepinstructionsforhowtomakethebombsafe.
isteningpurpose?Survival!Youlistentoalmosteverything!
s
L
Example2
Aparentisgivingyoualongtalkabouthowtosucceedinlife,howtofindagoodlife
partner,howtoimproveyourattitudes,andhowtoimproveyouruniversitygrades.
Listeningpurpose?Escapefromthespeaker!Whiletheparentistalking(unlessyouare
averyspecialsonordaughter!)youjustmightbethinkingofsomethingelseandperhaps
notlisteningtomuchoftheinput,especiallyifyouvehearditallbefore!
IntheIELTSlistening,yourpurposeisalwaysandonlylinkedtotaskcompletion,
nothingelse.Dontbesidetrackedtoomuchbythingsontherecordingthatarent
connectedtotheparticularneedsofparticulartestquestionsandtheanswerrequired.
HINT2.Dontgetleftbehind.
hisisagoldenruleofthe T IELTSListeningtest.Keepupwiththerecording!
Howdocandidatesgetleftbehindandwhatarethesolutions?
ProblemA andidatesspendtoomu .C chtimeontheanswertoatrickyquestion
SOLUTION:Leaveaholdinganswerormaybetwopossibleanswersonthequestion
paperandmarkthequestionformoreattentionlater.Youcancomebacktoitattheendof
thesectionand/orattheendofthetest,whenyouhavetimetotransferanswerstothe
AnswerSheet.Remembertomanagethesituation,dontjustpanicandlosecontrol.Try
nottoleaveanansweremptyifyoucanavoidititsbettertoputtwopossibleanswers
toreturntolaterforafinalchoice.
ProblemB.Candidatesallowthemselvestobederailed,andswitchfromlistening
foranswerstothinkingaboutsomethingtoospecific.
Perhapsaparticularexpressionintherecordingorinthequestiontextisnotquite
heard/understood,oronlyhalfrecalled,andcandidatesgetcaughtupintryingtoworkout
whatthisparticularitemwasorwhatitmeans.Then,suddenlytheyrealisethatthe
recordinghasmovedonbuttheyarenolongerinsynchwiththewrittenquestionsand
therecording.
SOLUTIONS#1:Focusonwhatthequestionsrequire.Practicemorebeforethetestso
thatyougetusedtolinkingwhatyouhearontherecordingtotaskcompletionandthen
youwillbecomemoreandmoreconfidenttoletsomewordspassby,evenifyouare
baffledorintriguedbythem.Becausetheydontseemtolinktowhatsspecificallyneeded
fortheactualtask,theywillseemlessrelevanttoyourspecific,listeningpurposes.
SOLUTION#2:FindtherhythmoftheIELTSListeningtest.Afteronequestionskey
informationhasbeenheardontherecording,thereisusuallysometimebeforethenext
questionskeyinputisheard,soyouknowthatkeywords/expressionsneededfortwoor
threeconsecutiveanswerswillnotusuallybeheardallatoncethereareregular,time
gapsbetweenkeyanswerwordsforonequestionandthenext,eventhoughthevoiceson
he ecordingmaybetalkingmostofthetime. t
YoucantescapePRACTICE
4tipsforgettingfitforthetest
TheonlyrealwaytogetbetteratIELTSListeningistopractice.Evenanativespeaker
wouldhavesomedifficultywiththeIELTSListeningtestiftheysatdownwithabsolutely
oideaofhowitworksorofthetasktypesandhowtheyfunction.SO,asanonnative
peaker,youneedto:
n
s
.Practiceeverylisteningtasktypesothatyouknowexactlyhoweachtasktype
peratesan howtorespon
1
o d dtoeachtypeoptimally
2.Practicecompletetestssothatyoulearnhowtobeflexibleandhowtodealwith
unexpectedsituationscalmlyacrossacompletetestevent.Panicistheenemyof
performanceintheListeningtest.Itsoftenagoodideatodothesamepracticetest
severaltimeswithadayortwoinbetweenrepeats.Thisrepeatingoftestsreducesinput
pressure(iepressureoftheamountanddifficultyofspokeninputontherecording)and
nablesyoutofocusonotheraspectsoftestperformance.(egtasktypesandtesttricks,
uildingyourtestmanagementst
e
b rategies)
.PracticeIELTStrickspotting.TheIELTSListeningtestoftencontainslittlespoken
catchyouout.Acommonexampleistheadjustingorcorrectingofinformation.
3
tricksto
Example:
Thelisteningtaskmightinvolvecompletinganapplicationform,andonequestionmight
requireyoutowriteaphonenumber.Therecordingmightsay:
Myphonenumberis85403519,erm..oh,sorryImean15,soits ttheend,not9.
5
3515a
Youwouldhavetospotthistrickandrespondbywriting8540351 asyouranswer.
Practiceenablesyoutoidentifyandthenspotthetricksquicklyandbecomemoreaware
fanychangesinthespeakersvoicetone,pitchoremphasis,whichcanhelpyou
o atethe nswerinformation.Practic
o
l c a eenablesyoutobelessandlessconfused.
4.Practicebuildingpredictiveskills.Listeningusuallyinvolvespredictingwhatmightbe
saidnext,basedonwhatyouhavealreadyheardandwhatyouhavecometoexpectfrom
yourpreviousexperienceofwhatissaidinsimilarsituations.Themoreyoucaneffectively
predictwhatthespeakerwillsaynextorhowtheconversationwilldevelop,themore
relaxedyouareasyousampleaudioinput,andthemoreyoucancomfortablyconnect
writtentaskneedstotheinputlanguageyouhear.
WHENtransferringyouranswers
10minutesforAnswerTransfer
Youhave10minutesafterthefinalpartoftheListeningtestrecordinghasendedto
transferyouranswersfromtheQuestionpapertoaspecialAnswerSheet.Youneedtostay
focusedandbesystematicduringthisstage,eventhoughitistemptingtorelaxandlet
ourmindwanderafterthestressoftheactualtest.Remember,youareyouranswer y
manager!
ImpressingyourassessorisnotpossibleintheIELTSListeningandReadingtestsforthe
simplereasonthatthesetestsareclericallymarked.Thismeansthattheyaremarkedby
speciallytrainedclericalworkerswhohaveananswersheetandareinstructedprecisely
boutwhattheycanandcantacceptasacorrectanswer.
o,akeyquestionbecomes:HowcanIimpressmymarker?
a
S
2BIGISSUEStoWATCHOUTFOR!
1.Avoidtheworstdisaster!
Theworstdisasteriswhenyoutransferyouranswersfromthequestionpapertothe
AnswerSheetbutputyouranswersnexttothewrongquestionnumberwithoutrealising
it!Soalwayscheckthattheanswerisbeingtransferredtothecorrectquestion
numberontheAnswerSheet.Oftenanemptyanswercausesthisproblemofanswerin
thewrongplacesothatiswhyhavingananswerofsomesorttoeachofthe40questionsis
helpfulatthisfinalstage.
hatshouldIdoifIgettotheendoftransferringmyanswersandsuddenlyfindthatsome
fmyansw
W
o
ersareinthewrongplace?
Dontpanic!Dontstartcrossingthingsoutandmakingamess!
Drawanarrowfromtheanswertothecorrectnumbersothatitisclearthatthe
answerispointingtothequestionnumberyouwantittobelongto.
2.MindtheGap(s)!
ntheMetrostationsinLondonyouoftenseeasignwhichsaysMindtheGap.Thismeans I
dontfallinthegapbetweentheplatformandthetrain.
InIELTSListening,wecouldreasonablysay,MindtheGaps!inthecontextoftheIELTS
ListeningorReadingtestthismeansthatduringthetransferringofanswersyoumust
trytofillinanyanswersthatyouleftundecidedorblankwhileyouwereactually
listeningtotherecording.Dontleaveemptyanswers.Evenaguesshasmorechance
thananemptyspace.Alsoifyouhavelefttwopossibleanswersonyourquestionpaper,
youhaveto ndtoolongonthisfinaldecision
making.W
decidewhichonetochoose.Dontspe

hy?
youonlyhave10minutestransfertime
byreturningtothinkaboutquestionsandanswersforanextendedperiodyou
mayloseconcentrationandfocusfortransferringanswersaccuratelyalongside
thecorrectnumberandplaceontheAnswerSheet.
9hintsfortransferringyouranswersaccurately
1.Writeclearly.
Oftenanswersrequirelettersofthealphabet.Itcansometimesbedifficultformarkersto
tellthedifferencebetweenanAandanHifthetopoftheAisnotjoinedtogether.D
andOcansometimesbeconfused,orevenCandE,iflowercasecandeareused
insteadofuppercase(capitalletters).Numbers1and7canoccasionallybedifficultto
distinguish.
2.Changeanswerscleanlyandclearly
Ifyoudecidetochangeananswerdoitclearly,erasetheansweryounolongerwantand
writethenewanswerclearly.Avoidanymessycrossingoutwhichmayleavedoubtabout
whichansweristheoneyouwant,orwhichwordsareactuallypartoftheanswer.
3.Dontuseabbreviationsiftheyarenotcommonones
wskgor$butsomeabbreviatedformsarenotwellknownand
sacorrectanswer.Becautiousandusefullformsifindoubt.
Nearlyeverybodykno
maynotbeaccepteda
Spellthemcorrectly.
4.Usecorrectwordforms
Itisveryeasyeithertowriteasingularwhenapluralisneededintheanswerorviceversa,
ortowriteaverbformwithoutans.Sometimestheproblemisjusttheresultof
carelessness;sometimesitisbecausethecandidatedidnthearthefinalssoundonthe
ecording.Beclearaboutwhethertheanswerrequiresyoutowritethenoun,gerundive,
djectivaloradverbialformofaword
r
a
E
a
xam ssibleco utthefo require swer pleofpo nfusionabo rmofaword dinanan
ccess(noun),accessing(gerund),accessible(adjective),accessibly(adverb)
Solution:Ifyouareindoubt,useyourcommonsenseorgrammaticalknowledgeinorder
tocometoadecision.
Comparethese3examplesofwordformproblemslinkedtofinals
ExampleA
)GlobalWarming2)GlobalWarmings(warmingisnotusuallyacountnounsonos;
nswer1iscorrect)
1
A
ExampleB
)Threetrend2)Threetrends(pluralnumberused,sosneeded;Answer2isprobably
orrect)
1
c
ExampleC
1)Plantingtree2)Plantingtrees(usuallytreeplantingmeansplantingmanytrees;alsoif
ct) itwereonetreeitwouldbePlantingatree,sosprobablyneeded;Answer2iscorre
venifyoudidnthearthewordclearlyontherecordingyoucanstillcometoagood
ecisiononfinalforms
E
d
5.Usecorrectwordorder
putanswersrequiring2ormorewordsinthecorrectorderasmeaningcan Becarefulto
changewhenwordorderchanges
Examples
Compareanswerkey(listofanswers)_withkeyanswer(mainanswer)
managementstyle(astyleorapproachusedformanagingemployees)with
stylemanagement(themanagementofstyle)
6.Checkthemaximumnumberofwordsyoucanuseinananswer.
IfthequestionsaysNOMORETHAN3WORDSorWITHAWORDTAKENFROMTHE
PASSAGE(usedsometimesinthereadingtest)youranswershouldrespecttheserules.If
youwritefourwordsyouwontgetapoint;ifyouusewordsfromyourhead,notfromthe
Passage,youwontscoreapoint.
7.Spellcorrectly
Incorrectspellingcansometimescauselossofmarks.ThegoodnewsisthatAmerican
spellingformsareusuallyaccepted,aswellasBritishformsofspelling.
Confusingsoundofwordswithsightofwordcanleadtospellinginaccuracywhensound
differencesareslight.
Examples
a)PrincesStreet/PrincessStreet
b)wild/wide;sheep/ship;key/keen;launch/lunch
different Evensimilarsoundingwords(homophones)canhavedifferentspellingand
meaning,asin:
c)vein/vain;reel/real;meat/meet;Iscream/Icecream;tale/tail
Whatsthesolutiontospellingproblems?
Thereisnoeasysolutiontothistypeofproblemotherthancheckingspellingsinyour
answerscarefullyanddecidingifthewordyouhavewrittenasyouranswermakesgood
senseinthecontextofthetopicbeingtalkedabout.
8.Copywordsaccurately
Ifyouusewordsinyouranswerthatalsoappearinthequestion,copythemaccurately.If
youarefocusedonthetask,thereisnoexcusereallyforinaccuratecopyingofawordthat
isprovided.
9.Keepaneyeonthetime.
ifyouarenotsystematicorget
donaparticular
10minutestotransferyouranswersseemsgenerousbut
sidetrackedfortoolongbyconstantlychangingyourmin answer
youmayhaveaproblem.So,keepaneyeonthetimeandonlyallowyourselfaset,
maximumtimeformakingfinaldecisionsaboutparticularanswers.Dontbeforced
intoapanicscenario,asforexamplewhenyouspend5minutesdecidingonacoupleof
answersandthenfindyouhaveonlyoneminutelefttotransferanother20answers.Panic
causeserrorsandinaccuracy.
TipsfortheReadingTest
ManyofthetipsfortheIELTSListeningtestapplyalsototheIELTSReadingTest,
speciallytheneedtopracticeandtobecomefamiliarwithallthedifferenttypesof e
taskthatareusedwithinthe40questions.
ItisalsoimportanttorealisethatintheReadingTestyoudonthaveanextra10minutes
ortransferringyouranswerstotheAnswerSheetsothishastobedonecarefullyduring
he60minutesavailableforthetestoverall.
f
t
2differencesbetweentheIELTSReadingandListeningtests
1.YouhavemorecontrolintheReadingtestandcanmakemorepersonaldecisions
abouthowtodealwiththetestmaterial.TheReadingtests(AcademicorGeneral
Training)involvethreesections(GeneralTraining)orthreepassages(Academic).Forthe
eneralTrainingReadingtestthelevelofdifficultyincreasesasyoumovethroughthe G
sectionsandtheindividualtextsforreadingbecomelongerandmorecomplex.
ortheAcademicReadingtestthethreepassagesareondifferenttopicsandarebroadlyof
imilarlengthssodifferencesofdifficultyarelesseasytoestablish.
F
s
Youhavecontroloftheorderinwhichyouanswer
ThereisnothingtopreventcandidatesfromattemptingPassage2beforePassage1or
passage3beforeeither2or1ifpreferred.Acandidatewithgoodknowledgeononeofthe
passagetopicsmightprefertodothatfirst,evenifitisPassage3,becauseitmaybe
ssumedthatgreaterfamiliaritymaymeaneasierunderstanding.Thisisoneexampleof a
theincreasedcontrolthatacandidatehas.
Similarlyacandidatecanstartbyansweringaneasiertypeoftasktypebeforeamore
difficultoneeveniftheyareinadifferentorder.Italldependsonhowconfidenteach
candidateisattakingcontrolofthesituationandhoweachcandidatebelievestheycan
mosteffectivelyincreasetheirfinalscore.
2.Allthematerial(textsandquestions)isinwrittenformintheReadingTestso
thereisnoproblemofmovingtoandfrofromspokentowrittentext.Theonlyproblemcan
bethatthequestionsandtextwillbeondifferentpagessothereissomeneedtomove
etweenpagesefficiently.Itmayhelptomarkthecontentsofthepassageifthathelpsto
ocateandrelocateparticularareasoftextmoreeffectively.
b
l
7Tipsforbecomingagoodmanagerofyour60minute
Readingtest
1.Haveyourowntimemanagementplanforthetest
Itspoorstrategytojustgowiththeflowinthereadingtest.Youneedatimemanagement
plan.ManycandidatesdontfinishtheIELTSReadingtestwhichisevidenceofhow
itis. challenging
are5 n: thingsyoucandotoformatimemanagementplan.Youneedtodecideo
s
Here
amaximumtimeforquicklyoverviewingthewholepaper23minute
perhaps
aperiodoftimetospendoneachtestsectionoroneachpassage.Some
can eoftimeallocation,suchas: didatespreferaslidingscal
o 1516minutes(Section1)
ThisslidingscaleseemstosuittheGeneralTrainingReadingtestmorethanthe
AcademicReadingtest.
atimestrategyfortrickyquestions.Perhapsyoumightoptfornomorethan2
toa minutesonanytrickyquestion(Rememberyoumaybeabletocomeback
trickyquestionifyoucantmakeagoodchoiceinsidethetime)
anamountoftimetosaveattheendtoquickchecktheaccuracyofyour
answersontheAnswerSheet(12minutesperhaps).
anemergencystrategyifyougetintodifficulties(forexample,5minutesleftbut
10questionsstilltoanswer).Iftherearetwotypesofquestionstilltodo,you
mightchoosetoanswer,say,themultiplechoicequestionsratherthan
paragraphheadingquestions,asyoucanoftencompletemultiplechoicetype
questionsmorequickly.Youwillthenhavetoputguessesfortheremaining
paragraphheadingtypequestionsbyquickskimmingtopicsentencesofeach
paragraph.
2.Overviewtheoveralltestcontentseachsetofquestionsandeachtext
Overviewingherebasicallymeansgettingageneralimpression.Itspartofthe
progressivebuildupofmeaningasyougofromgeneralunderstandingtospecific
meanings.Ithelpstoknowwhatthetopicsareforeachtext,thesubtopicsofparagraphs
andthetypeandfocusofeachquestiongroup.Thisisdonebyaformofquickreading
calledskimminglettingtheeyesrunquicklyoverparticularlocationsintextsand
questions.
3.Startwiththequestionsthenmovetothetext
AswiththeListeningtestyouneedtostayontask.Thereisnotimetoreadthepassages
slowlyandthoroughlywithoutaclearpurpose,soyouneedtoknowinadvancewhatyou
aretryingtofindinthepassageinordertoanswerthequestions.Byreadingthequestions
beforegettingtoodeeplyintothepassage,youbecomemoreawareofwhatyouneedto
searchfor.
4.Analysethestructureofeachtextorpassage
Asyoubeg
youneedt
intomovetoandfrofromquestiontotextandfromtexttoquestion,
otakecontrolofthepassagebyanalysingitormarkingit.How?
ces bydividingthepassageintosectionsbasedonparagraphsandtopicsenten
(usuallythefirstsentenceineachparagraph)
bycirclingpeoplesnames,numbers,keywords(wordsthatappearinthe
questionsandthepassage)
scanningthepassageforsynonyms(rememberthattestquestionsareoften
devisedbyusingoneexpressioninthequestionbutadifferentexpressioninthe
passagewhichisasynonym(hasasimilarmeaning)
5.Remembercommontestpatterns
Itisquitecommonforthefinaltestquestionsonapassagetorelatetomateriallocatedin
thelatterpartsofthetext,andforearlierquestionstorelatetomaterialintheearlier
paragraphsofthetext.Beingaw eofpossiblepatternscansaveyouscanningtime ar
6.Guessmeaningfromcontext
Guessingisnecessarywhenreadingcomplextexts.Dontbethrownbywordsthatyou
dontknow.Iftheyarelocatedinzonesyouneedtofocusonforparticularanswers,use
surroundingwordstohelpyourguesses.
7.Leavenoemptyanswers
Ifyouarerunningoutoftimeandcanseethatyouwontfinish.Allthe40questions,leave
oneoreventwominutesattheendtomakequickguesses.Youwillhavetojudgewhich
useoftimehasthebestchanceofincreasingyourscore,butlogicsuggeststhatempty
nswersscorenopointsbydefinition,whilequickguessesatleasthaveachanceofbeing
orrect.Maximiseyourchances.
a
c
FitnesstrainingfortheIELTSReadingtest
AswiththeListeningtest,practicebeforethetestisreallyimportant.
Heresanexampleofaquick,intensiveweeklyprogramforbusytesttakers:
Days1,2,3
Academicor Chooseonedifferentpassageorsectionfrom1complete,practiceIELTS
GeneralReadingtestdailyforthreedays.
Checkthetimeittooktofinishthepassageeachtime(max.20minutes).
Checktheanswerseachtimeandworkoutwhyanyanswerwasincorrect.
Day4
Onday4repeatwiththetextyouusedonDay1butcompletethereadingin5minutesless
timethanwhenyoudiditforthefirsttime.Thisrepeatedpracticehelpsyoutogetthe
eelingofdoingatestsectionfasterandmoreeasily;youneedtofeelthisasitwillmotivate
ouandincreaseconfidencetocompletethingsundertimepressure.
f
y
ays5and6
ndays5and6repeatpassages(orsections)2and3fromdays2and3.
D
O
Day7
Onday7dothewholeReadingtest,60minutesmaximumeitherSections1,2and3of
heGeneralTrainingtest,orPassages1,2and3oftheAcademictestyouhavebeenusing
ndays16.
t
i
Anotherweek
Startanewsequenceofpracticewithnewtestmaterialandgraduallyremovetherepeat
lementuntilfinallyyoudoacompleteReadingtestpreviouslyunseenin60minuteswith e
nobreak.
Makesureyoupractiseallthemajorreadingtasktypes.MostIELTStestpracticebooks
IELTSonTrackforexample)willincludeexamplesofmostofthese.Workouthoweach
asktypefunctions,whateachtasktypedemandsanditsdifficultaspects.
(
t
Letsbrieflysummarisethisfinallesson:
HintsfortheIELTSListeningtest
ouneedtodealwiththistestcalmlyandinanorganisedway
Beforelisteningtoanysection
herethespeakers Readthelisteningtaskforagroupofquestionsinordertoestablishw
havesynonymsintherecording,
areandtheirrelationship
dsthatmight
equirements
beclearaboutkeywor
r
checkheadings,task
lookatanyexamples
spotlikelyanswers.
Whilelisteningtoeachsection
Stayontask
Dontgetleftbehinddontgetsidetrackedbyparticularwordsyoudontunderstand
Findtherhythmofthetest(iethetimegapbetweenkeywordsneededforeachanswer)
WhentransferringanswerstotheAnswerSheet
ptyanswergapsevenaguesshasachance
toitscorrectnumber
Dontleaveem
Makesureyouputeachanswernext
Writeclearly.
andclearly
iftheyarenotcommonones
Changeanswerscleanly
Dontuseabbreviations
Usecorrectwordforms
berofwordsyoucanuseinananswer.
Usecorrectwordorder
Checkthemaximumnum
Copywordsaccurately
Keepaneyeonthetime.
practice: ningtest,
tasktype
BeforetheListe
everylistening
completetests
trickspotting
predictiveskills
HintsfortheIELTSReadingtest
tening YoucantakemorecontrolofwhatyoudoandinwhatorderthanwithLis
Readingtest Haveyourowntimemanagementplanforthe
Overviewtheoveralltestcontentseachsetofquestionsandeachtext
tothetext
rpassageparagraphsandtopicsentences
Startwiththequestionsthenmove
texto
rns
Analysethestructureofeach
atte
ext
Remembercommontestp
Guessmeaningfromcont
Leavenoemptyanswers
PracticebeforetakingtheIELTSRead
Becomefamiliarwitheverytasktype
Startwithsinglepassages
Repeatthesamepassage+questionsseveraldayslatertobuildspeedandconfidence
Thenpracticewholetests
ingtest
Wellthisistheendofoursixthlessontogether.Idohopethattheselessonshave
madeyoufeelmoreconnectedtotheIELTStestsituationandmoreempoweredto
achieveahighscore.Ihopeespeciallythatyounowunderstandmorefullythe
perspectiveoftheassessorandhowyoucanbecomeacollaboratorinthetest
situation,andaprofessionalmanagerofyourtestperformance,notatestvictim.
Knowthetest,increaseyoursenseofyourownpower,takeresponsibility,practice
andyouwillincreaseyourscore!Goodluck!Hopetoseeyouagainwithsomeother
lessons.Letmeknowwhatothertypesoflessonwouldhelpyou.
Bestwishes,
DonnaMillen
ofIELTSBlog.com

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