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Category: IELTS

IELTS : Reading Introduction

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How to approach the reading test

 

It is important to go through the texts quickly, being aware of your time limitations.

There will be three separate texts from which you will need to answer questions.

The reading test differs, depending on if you are doing the IELTS ACADEMIC, or the IELTS GENERAL test.

 

What does the reading test demonstrate?

IELTS reading is designed to allow you to show that you understand complex text and can answer questions that show a broad understanding of written English.
  • give a overall sense of the text
  • show a complete understanding
  • find details
  • show you understand references and implications
  • understand the writers intentions and arguments
  • can see the writers broader opinions

These key assessments are the same for both general and academic IELTS reading.

 

Time management

 

The exam lasts 60 minutes in total.

All answers must be written first time on your answer sheet, there is no time to make notes and transfer these.

Each section must be timed by you, the examiner will not tell you when to begin a new part.

The parts

 

There will be 3 separate parts to read. There will be 40 questions in total. Expect to read between 2000 – 3000 words in total.

 

IELTS Academic Reading test

 

Academic reading texts are taken from journals, magazines and newspapers. They are not specialist in nature, but they are academic topics.

The topics might be a discussion, or an opinion piece or an interview, they will most often be accompanied by graphs, diagrams and illustrations.

 

IELTS General Reading test

 

Texts are usually from magazines, newspapers, advertisements blogs or websites.

Part 1 : Two or three smaller texts of a factual nature. One of these might be split into 6-8 sections with shorter texts, such as advertisements or comments. These will be regarding general life.

Part 2 : This will include 2 texts, usually regarding work. Typical topics are job interviews, company contracts, employment rights, work place opportunities, and training.

Part 3 : Will be a larger text, with a more developed theme, again regarding an everyday topic.

 

Types of question

 

In total there will be 40 questions.

  • gap fill in a text with missing parts
  • link the correct heading with the the correct text
  • finish sentences
  • answer questions regarding the texts general meaning
  • choose from a multiple selection of answers

Sometimes your answer will be a word, a sentence or a number.

Remember :

 

Read the question very carefully, there may be tricks that are intended to catch out the unsuspecting.

 

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IELTS : SPEAKING INTRODUCTION

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IELTS : Speaking :

 

IELTS speaking is the last part of the exam conducted at the end of the day. Usually the exam lasts between 10 – 15 minutes and consists of an interview between the examiner and the student.

IELTS speaking is known to have 5 main parts, which we have outlined below.

Introduction.

The examiner will ask the candidate to introduce themselves, this is seen as an ice-breaker. The questions will be simple ones regarding home life, work and interests.

Further conversation

The student will be asked to discuss a new topic at length. This could be regarding their culture, place of work or study, country or hometown. This involves much greater levels of description and narration.

Stimulation

Students are given a cue card. This will contain a topic and some basic information. The student must use the card to elicit information and to use it as a basis for discussion. Marks will be awarded for those who demonstrate a broad understanding of vocabulary and understanding of the topic. You will be expected to discuss the topic for 4-5 minutes with the examiner.

Attitudes and viewpoints

Students are asked about their plans for further study or they may be asked to elaborate on a topic that was discussed earlier giving an opinion on a particular standpoint.

Conclusion

The interview is concluded with final comments from both examiner and student.

Phase 1—Introduction
Introduce yourself clearly into the microphone. Remember to bring all of your ID and documentation.

Phase 2—About Yourself
Present yourself in a clear friendly manner. Try to give the examiner something to work with, the more interesting information you can give the examiner the more details they will have to use in the following sections, it will elicit more advanced conversation which will give you a higher mark. Try to avoid ‘yes – no’ answers, remember you are being tested on your ability to communicate.

Phase 3—Asking Questions

After being given the cue card you will have a minute to make sense of it. Your role will be to discuss the topic with the examiner using the information presented.

The cue card will resemble something like this :

Example : Talk about a famous person

You should think about:

Who he/she is?

Why is he/she famous?

What you know about the person?

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