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1. Introduction to IELTS
*Test Format
*Score Interpreter
*Test Results
*Inclusion of Half band scores
*Benefit of Half band scores
*content focus
2. Listening section
*Test Description
*To improve the listening skills
*A glance on question types
*Accents
*Importance of checking written answers
*summary of listening strategies
3.Reading Section
*Introduction
*Question types
*An overview of question types
*Techniques for reading section
*Suggested exam time plan for reading section.
*Ideas for developing reading skills.
Introduction to IELTS
The International English language testing system (IELTS) is widely recognized as a reliable
means of assessing whether candidates are ready to study or train or work in the medium of
English.
The test is owned by the University of Cambridge, The British Council and IDP Australia.
The test consists of four modules. All candidates have to take the same listening and speaking
modules.Whereas, there is a choice of modules of reading and writing based on the candidates’
requirement whether they need an Academic or General version. All sections must be formal,
communicative and informative in English. One who has to achieve a good band score in these
tests, an effective time management is mandatory.
Overall, there are two versions of IELTS.
*For students whishing to study in a English *For getting migration or vocational work permit
–speaking university or college or training programs not at a degree level
* for work for their professions like *For admission to secondary school
Doctors,Nurses,Pharmacists,Dentists and
physiotherapists including pursuing
research in their own fields in any English
speaking nations.
Reading module contains three reading passages for academic as well as general version. It
lasts for an hour for both versions.Totally,There are forty questions equivalent to 9 Band.
Writing Module is having two tasks lasting for an hour in which the task 1 requires at least 150
words and have to write within 20 minutes.Whereas,Task 2 is considerably has more score and
It needs at least 250 words in formal writing within 40 minutes.
Speaking module will be lasting for 11 to 14 minutes. It consists of three parts. The test requires
face to face interview. Candidates are evaluated on their use of spoken English to answer short
questions, to speak at a length on a familiar topic, and to interact with the examiner from the
extraction of part 2 as well.
The overall time consumption for the IELTS is 2 hours and 45 minutes.
Score Interpreter
IELTS results are reported on a nine band skill for each of the four skills (listening, reading,
writing and speaking) and an overall band.
All scores are reported on the Test Report Form (TRF) along with details of the candidates’
nationality, first language and date of birth.
The nine bands and the descriptive statements are as follows
8 Very good user Has fully operation command of the language with only
occasional unsystematic inaccuracies and
inappropriacies.Misunderstanding may occur in unfamiliar
situation. Handles complex detailed argumentation well.
The candidates will usually receive their results in about two weeks after taking
the tests and the results are valid for two years but different institution may not accept the
results as being current if the candidate can not prove ongoing English studies. Check
with the institution that they are applying to study at.
The IELTS management team has always reported in whole and half band for the
listening and reading module as well as for the overall band score.
Following extensive consultation with receiving organization, the IELST
management teams are extending whole and half band score reporting to the writing and
speaking modules also as of 1st July 2007.
For example, where test taker in writing or speaking might once have received a
score of either 6.0 or 7.0, they may now receive the score of 6.0, 6.5 or 7.0.
Organizations that recognize this test will be able to obtain more precise
information on the speaking and writing ability of candidates.
For candidates, their report form will give them a much more exact understanding
of their language skills. Because all of the parts of the test will be reported in the same
way, it will also be easier to understand.
Content Focus
The IELTS test assesses all four skills both functionally and structurally and
requires candidates to demonstrate their ability to understand, produce and manipulate
discourse. To meet these needs, this course focuses on learning and communication
strategies which will assist the students in the development of productive skills of writing
and speaking and the receptive skills of reading and listening. These strategies are
continually emphasized and developed throughout the course.
LISTENING SECTION
Test Description
Section 3(3-4minutes)
A group discussion among more than two speakers on related to education.
For example, tutorial discussion about a topic.
The whole test outlasts about 30 minutes including instructions given about the test,
reading the questions, and listening while writing answers in the question booklet. At
the end of the listening test you will be given 10 minutes is to transfer your answers
from the question booklet to an answer sheet. All Candidates are allowed to check their
answers before and after the section.
The candidates should listen to a gist of English as often possible using various
media such as Radio, TV, and other English broadcasting channels like Australia
network as well as BBC.
A glance on question types
Question type Skills required Test strategies
*Listening for specific information *Firstly have a glance to know about the list
Matching *Understanding cause and effect. of question before listen to
*as you listen, match the option to *rephrase each of the options in your own
the questions. words.
Accents
The Candidates will hear male and female voices from different parts of the
English domain in the world. For example U.K, Canada, Australia and or U.S.However,
they will always be clear and easy to perceive.
Importance of checking written answers
Spelling should be correct and hand writing must be legible.
Both British and American spellings are acceptable.e.g.Programme or
program, color or color, but candidates should not use abbreviations at all.
Check the word you have chosen fit grammatically, and should it be
singular or plural
If you are asked to write an answer using a certain number of words and or
numbers, you will be penalized if you exceed the instruction.
For example, If a question specifies an answer using NO MORE THAN
THREE WORDS and the correct answer is ‘Black leather coat’, the
answer ‘coat of black leather’ is incorrect.
In questions, where you are expected to complete a gap, you should only
transfer the necessary missing words onto the answer sheet.
For example, to complete ‘in the ___ __ ___’, where the correct answer is
morning, the answer ‘in the morning’ is incorrect.
All standards alternatives for numbers, dates and currencies are
acceptable.
SUMMARY OF LISTENING STRATEGIES
Check where you have to write your answer, and in what form of answers such as
a name, a number, a phrase, circle the right answer...)
Anticipate the words and phrases you are most likely to hear.
‘Translate’ any pictures into words, to anticipate hearing them in the listening
passage.
Predict possible answers to the questions, to prepare yourself to hear the answer.
Concentrate!!!
Don’t worry if you do not understand every word when listening for the overall
meaning or gist.
Write an answer for every question: marks are not deducted for wrong answers
and sometimes your guesses are accurate: your ears hear more than you think!
Do not accept the first answer that seems correct: Subsequent information may
change it.
At the end of the test, transfer your answers with care to the Listening
Answer Sheet.
READING SECTION
Introduction
The reading module is the second test you do on the test day. Candidates will
receive a question booklet and an answer sheet. There is no time, unlike in the
listening test, at the end to transfer answers so they have to write their answers
directly on to the answer sheet during the 60-minute test. The test instructions
indicate how much time you should spend on each section of the test.
The test is divided into three sections. There are forty questions based on three
reading passages with a total of 2000 to 2750 words. Both the academic and
general training reading have the same format.
ACADEMIC READING
Texts are taken from magazines, journals, books and newspapers and they have
been written for a non-specialist audience.
At least one text contains a detailed logical argument and it may contain non
verbal materials such as diagrams, graphs or illustrations. If texts contain
technical terms then a simple glossary is provided.
The second section, ‘Training survival’, focuses on the training contexts, for
example on the training program itself or on welfare needs. This section involves
a text or texts of more complex language with some precise or elaborated
expression.
The third section, ‘General reading’, involves reading more extended prose with
a more complex structure but with the emphasis on descriptive and instructive
rather than argumentative texts, in a general contexts relevant to the wide range of
candidates involved.
QUESTION TYPES
1. Multiple choice
2. Yes,No,Not given
3. True,False,Not given
4. Sentence completion with box or not
5. Paragraph heading
6. Global multiple choice
7. Classification
8. Short answer questions
9. labeling a diagram
10. Summary/Notes completion with box or not
11. Matching
12. Pick from a list
AN OVERVIEW OF QUESTION TYPES
Read the instructions Skim all the questions and Highlight key words.
carefully and Check how the answers quickly. Eliminate unlikely
Multiple choice many letters you need to Scanning for specific answers.
circle. (usually factual)
information.
These questions will usually Skim all the questions Use techniques to find
Short answer tell you to write your answer quickly. answers to how, what,
questions NO MORE THAN THREE Scanning for specific when, where questions.
Type1.Questions WORDS. However, This is information. Highlight signpost
Type2.Lists not always the case, so check words in questions and
the rubric carefully. search for these key
words or synonyms in
the passage
.
Match a list of opinions to Take the names of the Be aware that the
Matching lists and sources mentioned in the sources one by one and find sources may be referred
phrases text. The texts contain a them in the text and to in more than one
number of different people’s underline them. place in the text.
opinions. Remember that the text is The opinions in the
not likely to use the same tasks are not listed in
words as the questions, so the same order as they
look for synonyms and appear in the text.
parallel expressions. Phrases like ‘he said’ or
‘in his opinion’ should
help you locate the
arguments.
.
TYPE 1 if they are opinions, Quickly read through all the Once you have found
Identifying view whether they are Yes, No or statements to get an idea the relevant section,
points, facts Not given in the text. about the topic. read it carefully. For
,opinions TYPE 2 if they are facts, Read the first statement type 1, if the statement
whether they are True, False more carefully. Underline disagrees with the
or Not given in the text. the key words so you writer’s opinion, then
The questions will be in the understand the main point. select ‘No’ and the
same order in the text. Search for the section of the author doesn’t give an
text which deals with the opinion, select ‘Not
idea or fact. Given’. For type 2,if the
statement is the opposite
to the information in the
text, then select ‘False’
and if there is no
mention of it, select
‘Not Given’.
Classifying Classifications are often The questions will not Use a highlighter to
according to the writer’s necessarily be in the same identify the character of
opinion or according to a order as the text and the different categories in
period of time or place. wording will probably be the text.
Make sure you know how different in the text so look Don’t leave any
many classifications there are for synonyms and parallel statements without a
and what letters you have to expressions letter.
use. (E.g. US, J,G & UK)
Completing TYPE 1. With a selection of Search the place where the Contractions are not
sentences,tables,flow possible answers. information should be in the used when word limits
Charts/summaries, TYPE 2. Without a choice of text and read it carefully. are given (eg.They’ve).
etc. possible answers. Think about the grammatical Don’t use more than the
ground as well as the number of words
vocabulary that should allotted.
follow immediately from the Check the question to
Questions. see if it asks for your
own words or words
from the text.
TECHNIQUES FOR READING SECTION
Preview (about 2 minutes for each passages)
* Note headings, titles, illustrations, Diagrams and any print in bold type or italics.
* Highlight key points of the passage and paragraph by skimming
* Read instructions carefully and ensure that what is required and in what form
* Recognize what type of question you have to answer (Multiple choices, gap filling.etc.)
* Whether or not the question requires a specific or general answer
* What form the answer should take (Number,Date,Reason,etc)
Scanning the Text for the correct answer(about 1 minute for one question)
* Find key words in the question and Search them in the text.
* The sentence around these key words is most likely to contain the answers that need.
* In case of unsure answer, make a sensible guess in the appropriate form.
0.00 Begin Passage 1-starts by glancing at the title, diagram, pictures, headings, etc.
Then, read the questions and answer as many as possible.
0.15 Guess remainder of questions that relate to passage 1,but put a question mark beside these to remind
Yourself later that you have guessed these answers.
0.16 Begin passage 2, Read the questions and answers as many as possible.
0.31 Guess reminders of questions that relate to passage 2 but again, put the question mark beside these to remind
yourself later.
0.32 Begin passage 2 –read the questions and answer as many as possible.
0.55 Transfer all questions carefully but quickly to the answer sheet.
0.58 Use the remaining time to double-check any answers to the last few questions in Reading passage 3 that you
guessed earlier.
Allow 15 minutes each for passages 1 and 2 but give yourself 18 minutes to complete passage 3.
Ideas For Developing Reading Skills:
1 .www.ap.com
2. www.reuters.com
3. www.news.com.au
4. www.cnn.com
5. www.bbc.co.uk
WRITING SECTION
Introduction:
The writing module takes 60 minutes. There are two tasks in both the academic and
general training writing modules. In each module,20 minutes is spent on task 1 which
requires candidates to write at least 150 words and 40 minutes for task 2 which requires
at least 250 words.
Answers must be given on the answer sheet and must be written in full notes or bullets
points in whole or in part are not acceptable as answers. Candidates should note that
scripts under the required minimum word limit will be penalized.
Rocketed/soared plunged
Increases plummeted leveled off
Upward trend downward trend remain stable
Rise decrease remain constant
Climb fall remain unchanged
Grew up dip even out
Rose fell back plateau
Went up decline
Go up drops off
go down
Steep fall
Drop
LANGUAGE OF COMPARISON
1. less/fewer/smaller
2. more/greater/larger/higher/bigger
3. lowest/longest/largest/highest
4. Describing one part of the pie chart
E.g., The most popular newspaper is “The Hindu”
The second most common newspaper is “The Indian Express”
5. Comparing two parts of the pie chart
E.g., “The Indian Express” is substantially less popular than “The Hindu”
considerably
a lot
far
much more common
somewhat
significantly
slightly
fractionally
OR
White is about twice as common as red
Three times popular
6. Two ways of incorporating data: by using
*brackets ( )
*a relative clause (which + appropriate verb: is, makes up, constitutes, and
accounts for)
Eg, white, which constitute 3.12%, are considerably less popular than blue
(12.72%).
Red, which is 28.05%, is considerably more common than blue, which
makes up 12.72%
7. If things are the same, you can say:
the same as
equal to/with
identical to/with
8. You can show how close to being the same things are:
X is absolutely the same as Y
just, exactly, precisely
almost, nearly, practically
more or less
about
not quite
9. The phrases to show by what degree X is greater than Y. Start from the biggest
difference and work to the smallest. In some cases two phrases may be almost the
same
hardly a great deal very much infinitely
much slightly a little many times
Scarcely a lot not very much far
barely
CONCLUSION SENTENCES
To signal your conclusion you may start using the following terms
In summary,
To sum up,
In conclusion,
To conclude,
Thus,
Overall,
To summaries,
Statistical figures prove that,
CHECKLIST
*Have I answered the question?
What are the topic words?
What are the task words?
*Have I organized my information?
*Is my work arranged in paragraphs?
*Have I used a variety of sentence types?
*Have I written in the correct register?
*Is my vocabulary appropriate and interesting?
*Is my spelling accurate?
DESCRIBING A PROCESS
To describe a process, you need to think about things happening one after another.
Phrases to put things in order:
first, second, third (and so on)
before, prior to
at the same time, simultaneously, as, while, during
meanwhile
then, after, following, subsequently
Eventually, finally.
PERSONAL LETTERS
General Format:
The writer’s address
The date
The salutation: Dear……
A greeting, for example: I hope you are well, and the orientation of the letter, indicating
what the letter is about.
The signature.
A personal letter is a letter to someone you know relatively well. The letter should be
informal in tone and register.
A letter usually begins with a greeting or salutation, like Dear…., Dearest…, My
Darling…..
A personal letter often ends with good wishes to the reader, or a polite request.
It could end Love, Best wishes, Yours sincerely, Affectionately, Hugs and Kisses, Lots of
love, With love…
BUSINESS LETTERS
General Format
The Writer’s address
The date
The salutation:
The end of the letter (there should be no new information in the last paragraph)
The signature.
The printed name and title of the person who is signing the letter.
CHECKLIST:
* Are the salutations appropriate?
• Is the tone of the letter appropriate?
• How can you tell it’s a letter to a friend/company?
• Are the subject/verb agreements correct?
Making a complaint:
A good letter of complaint will:
Explain what is wrong
Give details
Ask for help to fix the problem
Or
Ask what the person receiving the letter will do to fix the problem.
Typically the instruction will probably be: ‘present a written argument or case to an
educated reader with no specialist knowledge of the following topic’. It implies that the
audience is educated, but has no specialist knowledge .So the writing should be clear and
avoid jargon or technical terms and it should be self explanatory.Moreover, the writing
should be formal and impersonal.
The instructions may conclude: ‘you should use your own ideas, knowledge and
experience and support your arguments with examples and relevant evidence’. These
ideas should be presented formally.
STRUCTURE OF AN ESSAY:
Introduction
Topic
Resources and research and development
Task words
Government does to encourage company spending.
General statement
Research and development is expensive: company tries to avoid spending on it.