IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 outline

For writing Task 1, you have 20 minutes to write the essay and you must write at least 150 words. 

 The essay is marked on four categories:

1.       Task Achievement

2.       Coherence and Cohesion

3.       Lexical Resource (vocabulary)

4.       Grammatical Range and Accuracy

Let’s explore these in a little bit more detail.

1.       Task Achievement: Did you address the task, did you answer all parts of the questions, did you write 150 words, and is your essay set out in paragraphs with a clear introduction, body paragraphs and a clear conclusion.  Is there a clear overview of the main trends? 

2.       Coherence & Cohesion: Your information must be set out logically and that your ideas connect (using a range of connectors) and flow, clearly stating which direction your essay is going.

3.       Lexical Resource: Here is your ability to use a wide range of vocabulary to explain exactly what you mean.  You should be able to use a good range of vocabulary without having to repeat your vocabulary over and over again, for example: number, figure, percentage.

4.       Grammatical Range and Accuracy: You have to be able to demonstrate your grammatical ability by using simple and complex grammatical structures and your sentences as error-free as possible.

Before you even start writing consider the following:

Strategies for the Academic IELTS Reading passage

IELTS Academic Reading Tips:

1. Order: Generally the Reading section questions are in order of the reading passage.

For example, in the True/False/Not Given, Yes/No/Not Given question types, there are often paragraph or idea summaries. This means you will not find the answer later in the reading, but will have to decide whether or not the question is true based on a general understanding of the paragraph or idea as a whole.

1. The IELTS reading passages are not there for pleasure reading and you do not necessarily need to understand the whole passage – there is no time to read the passage in detail.
2. Scanning and Skimming: skimming and scanning techniques should be used for all passages. Practice how to skim read (speed reading).
3. Time: Do not spend more than a minute on a difficult question. If you cannot find the answer, make a guess, narrow it down to 50-50 (if it is a multiple choice question type), make a note, and if you have time later, you can come back and spend more time on it. Remember that there are 40 questions in the Reading module and just 60 minutes.
4. Read the Question First: Reading the question(s) before reading is a vital key to reducing the amount of time spent reading. You can often skim and find an answer without reading the whole text, but if you don’t read the questions first, it is difficult to skim and find the answer.
5. Key Words: Always underline key words in the question and in answer choices. Look for key words in the passage, but do not answer questions based solely on finding a key word and understand the idea(s) presented. Key words that are proper nouns (place names) and numbers and dates (July 10, $5 billion) are the easiest to find.
6. Synonyms/Antonyms: Make sure you know the exact meaning of the work you are looking for before looking for synonyms/antonyms such as: novel (noun) meaning – a long printed story as opposed to novel (adjective) meaning – new and original.
7. 50-50 chance: If you have a Multiple Choice question and are not sure of the answer, try to eliminate one or two of the possibilities, thus giving yourself a better chance of guessing the answer.
8. If you do not know the answer to a True/False/Not Given or Yes/No/Not Given answer, make an educated and logical guess.
9. Running out of time?: If you are running out of time, leave all of the questions that can be guessed on until the very end. For example, Fill in the Blank and Sentence Completion answers can’t be guessed; you need to find the right word in the passage. However, True/False/Not Given and Matching Headings questions can be guessed, often with good accuracy.
10. Guess: Do not leave any questions blank. If you run out of time at the end of the test, just guess. You may get a couple more correct answers. Remember you do not get penalised for incorrect answers.

LISTENING SECTION 4

First of all apologies for not posting sooner, as we are getting prepared for our free IELTS Workshops at Istanbul IELTS on Saturday 12 January 2013.  If you would like to take part, please contact: www.istanbulielts.com and reserve your place!

For most people, probably the most difficult section of the IELTS Listening test is passage 4.  This is usually a university lecture or a talk.  There are NO pauses in the middle of IELTS Section 4 of the listening as with the first 3 sections.  So you need to be able to go through the ten questions before the listening starts, underline key words, understand the topic and look for what kind of information you need to be listening out for.  

How can I understand what I hear in passage 4? 

You need to be listening for signpost words.  So, what are signpost words?  Signpost words direct our listening, they tell us what is coming and what kind of information this could be.  There are six directions that the listener can take with signpost words such as: a) stating an opposite; b) introducing an example (especially if it is something technical); c) giving a reason; d) giving extra information; e) setting the stages of a talk – first, second etc.; f) an explanation.

Let’s recap what to expect in IELTS listening:

1)      You only hear the recording once

2)      You have time to read the questions before the start of each section

3)      There is no break in passage 4.

4)      There are ten questions in every section

5)      Spelling must be correct

6)      At the end of the listening test, you have TEN minutes to complete the answer sheet

IELTS Listening Section 3

LISTENING PART 3

In Section 3 of the IELTS Listening test you will have to follow a conversation with between two to four people.  It is vital that you can distinguish the different speakers early on, as well as follow their arguments. The subject is connected to academic life such as a tutorial or a discussion of an assignment.  

There are usually three different question types: sentence completion; multiple choice; diagram/table completion; matching information etc.  There is usually a pause after the first set of question types or the first 2 set of question types depending on how the question format is laid out for the Listening Section. 

REMEMBER when you have time to read through the questions UNDERLINE keywords which will help you guide your listening. 

Please be patient as I will go through the individual question types in due course!

IELTS Listening section 2

In the IELTS listening section 2, you will hear a talk, announcement, recorded message, description of a place and so on, usually given by one speaker and at times the introduction by a presenter.  The topic of course is of general interest such as a museum, aquarium, community project etc. and there are usually two different question types for example: sentence completion, table completion, multiple choice, map/diagram completion etc.
 

There are ten questions to answer and in the middle there is a short pause.  

At the start of passage 2 there is an introduction to the subject, and then it will state “first you have some time to look at questions 11 – 15”.  Use this time to read through questions 11-15, underline any key words.  Do not worry about questions 16-20 at this stage.

When this part of the listening is finished there will be a pause and the stated message will be “before you hear the rest of the talk you have some time to look at questions 16-20”.  Use the time to read through the questions and underline any keywords to help you guide your listening.

When part 2 of the listening section finishes, the recording will say that “now you have some time to check your answers” – PLEASE, PLEASE use this time to check your answers, as you will be given time to read through the questions for section 3.

This section of the IELTS listening tests your ability to understand specific factual information and selecting appropriate information from what you have heard.