IELTS Essentials - All you need to know for your exam

IELTS Essentials

All you need to know for your exam ─

IELTS Reading 3

Essential Information 3

Tips 4

Different Reading Question Types 4

IELTS Listening 15

Essential Information 15

Tips 16

Different Listening Question Types 16

IELTS Speaking 21

Essential Information 21

Part 1 22

Part 2 26

Part 3 29

Writing Task 1 35

Essential Information 35

Marking Criteria 36

Structure 37

Check List 37

Writing Task 2 50

Essential Information 50

5 Steps 51

Marking Criteria 51

Essay Structure 55

Vocabulary 61

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IELTS Reading

Essential Information

1. You will be allowed 1 hour to complete all 3 sections of the Reading test. 2. There are 40 questions in this practice paper. Each question carries one mark. 3. The reading paper will test a number of different skills, including:

● Completing a diagram, table or summary ● Tell the difference between main ideas and supporting details ● Find specific information ● Identify the writer’s opinion ● Follows key arguments ● Identify the writer’s purpose

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Tips

1. Don’t expect to understand every word 2. Remember some of the difficult questions are there to separate band 8 from band 9 3. Read the instructions VERY carefully 4. Improve your vocabulary (Read, Note and Review) 5. Timing is important 6. Improve your reading speed 7. Try to read other materials

Different Reading Question Types

1. Sentence completion

a. Be aware of paraphrasing b. No More Than Two/Three Words from the text c. Numbers are counted as one word d. The answers appear in the same order e. Answers should be grammatically correct f. Read the questions before the text

2. Summary, note, table, flow-chart completion

a. There will be more words in the list than required to fill the gaps (or) there will be no list of words b. Be aware of paraphrasing c. Do not need to read the whole text d. Answers should be grammatically correct (Can predict or eliminate)

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3. Short-answer questions

a. Be aware of paraphrasing b. Word limits c. Ability to skim and scan d. Look at and understand the questions first before you start reading the text. What is the question actually asking? e. Identify keywords (Nouns or Noun Phrases) 4. Diagram label completion

a. Don’t focus too much on the diagram first. Try to understand generally b. Identify the type of word c. Scan the text and identify where the information is located d. The answers do not always come in the same order that the paragraphs are in 5. Multiple choices

a. Read the questions before you read the text b. Identify the keywords and look for it in the text c. Usually has 2 possible answers (What is the difference?) d. Be aware of matching keywords, qualifying words (most, all, always, sometimes) and changing meaning by “but, however, etc..” e. The answers will be in the same order as the text 6. Matching information to paragraph

a. There will normally be more paragraphs than questions b. To skim the reading text to get a general meaning of each paragraph c. Scan for specific words within the paragraphs d. Read very carefully in order to fully understand the meaning e. Answers do not come in order f. Do these questions last 7. Matching headings

a. Answers are not in the same order as the text b. Do this question first c. Don’t look at the heading first d. Read the first one or two sentences and the last sentence of the paragraphs e. Be aware of synonyms f. Find out the difference between the two similar headings Match the two paragraphs with one of the following three headings:

1. How wildlife benefits from big trees 2. Factors that enable trees to grow to significant heights 3. How other plants can cause harm Paragraph 1 - Big trees are incredibly important ecologically. For a start, they sustain countless other species. They provide shelter for many animals, and their trunks and branches can become gardens, hung with green ferns, orchids and …