IELTS Reading

In the reading section, the problem is the time. You are supposed to read three
passages and to give a total of 40 answers. You have one hour. Therefore you can
devote just 20 minutes for a passage, which is sometimes not enough time. First of
all: use just 20 minutes for each section: if after 20 minutes you do not have some
answers, guess and pass to the next question. Remember: you won't have extra-
time at the end of the hour to transfer the answers to the answer sheet. Therefore
write them on it at once: this is an important difference from the listening section,
where you will be given time to transfer your answers.

Second: read the questions carefully before reading the passage: this is very very
important. If you read the passage without knowing the questions, you will waste
your time. Here is a useful procedure: use 3-4 minutes to read the questions; use
10-12 minutes to read the passage and to answer where you can. In this way you
should be able to find a lot of answers. Use the last minutes to find the answers in
the text that you did not find when you first read the passage. Usually, but not
always, you will find the answers in order.

Third: read the instructions given carefully: if you are asked to answer a question
taking no more than two or three words from the text, then an answer with more
words is definitely wrong. Sometimes you are given a sentence and you have to
write YES if it is true according to the text, NO if it is not, NOT GIVEN if the
information is not in the text. Remember: ACCORDING TO THE TEXT. You have to
be very precise: sometimes just a word in the passage can make you have to
decide between two alternatives.

Other times the text is divided into a number of paragraphs and you are asked to
choose a title for each paragraph from a list of possible titles. In the weeks before
the exam, test when you read an article in a newspaper or in a magazine, try to
give a title to each paragraph. The title is usually the main point of the paragraph.
This will help you very much.

• Tip from Ros (May 2001):

Read the following text and try to answer the question you will find at the bottom.

One day my family and I decided to try windsurfing. We went for a few lessons first
(only 5) which gave us some idea of the techniques to use when trying to windsurf.
After our introductory course we hired a board and off we went for a day at the
sea. Although we were not very good, we knew HOW to practice to improve. We
only knew this because of our introductory lessons. Just watching others do it
would not have been helpful at all, in fact we would have become frustrated and
given up. Reading other peoples model essays is a bit like this. When you read it
you think 'it seems so easy' but when you try you find out that it's exasperatingly,
frustratingly, anxiety provokingly DIFFICULT. Like the poor people who had no
lessons to learn to windsurf, you too feel like giving up. REMEMBER THIS: We only
needed 5 lessons to learn enough to be able to HELP OURSELVES. We will never be
champion windsurfers, just as you will most likely never be able to write English
like me and I will never be able to write Chinese (which I am trying to learn) or any
other language, like you. THE GOOD NEWS IS: you don't have to - you only have to
get through the IELTS test. We didn't aim at being champion windsurfers - we only
wanted to have fun. You, like us, only need to be given some techniques and away
you will go. A WORD OF CAUTION: If I had only one hand, for example, I would not
have been able to learn to windsurf. If you do not have the basics of English you
will be in the same position. However, if you do have the basics all you need is the
techniques to tackle the IELTS. MY VIDEO WILL HELP YOU WITH THIS.

After reading the message decide which of the following would be the best heading
for it:
(a) The IELTS test and wind-surfing are similar.
(b) The best way to succeed in the IELTS is to get some help from an expert.
(c) The IELTS Tutor will help you to do well in the IELTS
Which one is the best heading (a), (b) or (c).

IELTS Listening
The listening part of the test is the first you will encounter. It is divided into four
sections with increasing difficulty. The main problem is that you will be allowed to
listen to the cassette just once. Usually you have to write something you hear (a
telephone number, an address, a name, etc.). Some questions are multiple choice.
The total number of questions you have to answer is 40. More than 30 anwers right
means a good mark, but sometimes you may get an acceptable mark even with 27
or 28 correct answers. The first suggestion is the following: write the answers as
you hear them. Waiting could be a mistake because later you will not to remember
the answer, particularly if you have to write something, and you won't get the
chance to listen to the same piece again. You will have the chance to read the
following questions before listening each section. Use this chance: in this way you
will be able to concentrate your attention just to the part you are interested in. In
fact you do not have to understand everything if you want a good mark. You need
to understand just what answers you have to give. Do not lose time trying to
understand everything. You always have to know what question you are waiting
for: when you hear the answer write it at once or, if you do not understand it, start
reading the next question and waiting for the answer.

At the end of the listening test you will have 10 minutes to transfer your answers
to an answer sheet: use those minutes to complete the answer sheet and try to
write something in all the 40 spaces even if you are not sure of the correct answer.
A wrong answer is as wrong as no answer: so try! You could be lucky!

IELTS material is in some countries difficult to find. To practice your listening I

suggest you to buy or borrow a library Proficiency test. I found the listening part of
Proficiency tests more difficult than IELTS, even though there you can listen to the
pieces twice. If you are used to doing difficult tests, you will find the real exam
easier! Of course try to listen as much as possible to people speaking in English:
films with subtitles are very useful. If you live in England use page 888 of Teletext
on television: most of the programs are subtitled. If you live in Australia you should
watch "Behind the news" on Channel 2. It is very good for Listening practice.

• Tip from Ros (April 2001):

Between questions you, as the test candidate, are given 30 seconds (1) to check
the answers to the section just completed and (2) 30 seconds to read the section
which you are about to do. Since time is given at the end of the test to check all
your answers, I suggest that you use all 60 seconds to read the next section. Do
not waste time checking your answers at this point. One of the biggest difficulties
of the IELTS listening test is that you have to read and listen at the same time. Try
to read as much as you can during the 60 second break as this will help you
to listen for the specific information you need to answer the questions.

IELTS Writing
There are two writing tasks and you can use an hour to write both. The first is an
analysis of a chart, a graph, a table or something similar. The second is a
composition about an argument of general interest. It is suggested that you spend
20 minutes on the first task and 40 on the second. I always used more than 20
minutes for the first and about 30 for the second, but you have to decide on your
own strategy on the basis of your abilities. Use your time in an intelligent way:
remember you have to compose two different tasks and you can't devote too much
time to the first (or the second). You can decide to start with the analysis or with
the composition. It's up to you. However, remember to read both titles before you
start writing. In this way your subconscious will start thinking about the second
task while you are writing the first.

Now let me give you some suggestions about the tasks. First of all you have to
write at least 150 words. This doesn't mean you have to count the words. The best
thing to do is the following: when you write as practice before taking the real test,
count the words. In other words, you have to know how long a text you write is.
Don't write less than 150 words. However, a composition of 200 words will be
perfect; a composition of 300 will be too long and boring for the examiner. In this
task you have to present the data shown in a graph (or somewhere else) in a
formal way. Try to understand the main points and write about them. In addition,
try to explain the reasons of the trend shown: for example if the graph shows that
in the last decades the use of cars has increased and the use of bycicles has
decreased, you should say something about the possible reasons of this
phenomenon. A possible organisation of the work could be the following: devote a
paragraph to the introduction (say what you are going to write about); write a
second paragraph describing the graph; use a third paragraph to explain the
trends. Of course, this is just an example. The point is: you have to organize your
work before writing. When you start writing you already have to know what you are
going to write.

The suggestions about the number of the words and the organization are valid for
the second task as well. The difference is that you have to write at least 250 words
for this task. Use the first minutes to think about what you are going to write.
Remember: ORGANISATION. You can decide your own way to write the
composition; the following is an example: an introduction to write something
general about the argument; a first paragraph to write the arguments of those who
support a position; a second paragraph to write the opposite arguments. A
conclusion with your own ideas about the problem. Try to avoid mistakes in
grammar and make a composition in order: the paragraphs have to be clear. Leave
a line between them.

IELTS Speaking
The speaking part is usually a conversation about you, your plans for the future,
your past studies, the reason for which you are taking the IELTS, your country,
your town. Therefore be prepared for these subjects. You should prepare
something to say about them. In addition, the examiner will show you a card with
an argument you are supposed to discuss. The thing you have to remember is: use
easy words and expressions if you are not very confident and everything will go
well. To be able to comunicate what you think is far more important than doing it
with a perfect English accent. Therefore, don't worry if your pronunciation is not
exactly a British one. That's not the main point. Your understanding of what the
examiner says and the ability to comunicate without grammatical mistakes is more
important. The conversation usually lasts 15-20 minutes and will be recorded.
Don't panic about that!

The Speaking part of the test have been changed on July 1, 2001. It is now made
up of three parts (this is the description of the test taken from the official IELTS
website):

In Part 1 the candidate answers general questions about themselves, their homes/
families, their jobs/studies, their interests, and a range of similar familiar topic
areas. This part lasts between four and five minutes.

In Part 2 the candidate is given a verbal prompt on a card and is asked to talk on a
particular topic. The candidate has one minute to prepare before speaking at
length, for between one and two minutes. The examiner then asks one or two
rounding-off questions.

In Part 3 the examiner and candidate engage in a discussion of more abstract

issues and concepts which are thematically linked to the topic prompt in Part 2.
The discussion lasts between four and five minutes.

• Tip from Ros (March 2001):

In the speaking section of the test you are often asked for your opinion about
something. For example, if you are a student studying in Australia, the examiner
may say; ‘What do you think of Australia?’ Most students would have an opinion
about this but they often wouldn’t know where to begin. REMEMBER whenever you
are asked for your OPINION about ANYTHING you can always give both the
‘positive’ and the ‘negative’ aspects of the subject in question. So your answer
would go something like: ‘Well, I like Australia because the people are friendly and
the pace of life is slow, HOWEVER I don’t like the hot weather and shopping hours
are too short.

You will get a better score because you have made a COMPARISON about what is
good about Australia and what is bad. Also you have opened the way for the
examiner to ask you about the weather or shopping in your country.