Introduction to IELTS get to know the format overview compiled by Kate Elliott for use at Mongol Aspiration Laboratory School, Ulaanbaatar September 2013

IELTS (the International English Language Testing System) is designed to assess language ability in the key areas of: speaking, listening, reading and academic writing. An IELTS exam is a pre-requisite for university entrance into university studies in Australia, Canada, Ireland, the UK, the USA and New Zealand. Every year, over 1.4 million people take an IELTS test. They come in two forms: ‘academic’ and ‘general training’. All candidates sit the same listening and speaking tests. Once candidates’ exams have been assessed, they receive an overall score, from 0 to 9. Universities tend to require an IELTS score of between 6 and 7 as a minimum entrance requirement; some universities set a minimum score in each of the four sections of the exam. The four sections are as follows: Listening - 4 sections, 40 questions, 30 minutes Speaking - 15 minutes allocated (interview format) Reading (academic/general training) 3 sections, 40 questions, 1 hour Writing (academic/general training) 2 pieces of writing, 1 hour Explanation of IELTS band scores: http://www.examenglish.com/IELTS/IELTS_Band_Scores.html IELTS band score calculator: http://www.examenglish.com/IELTS/IELTS_Band_Score_Calculator.html How IELTS compares with other international English exams: www.examenglish.com/examscomparison.php

SECTION 1 of ‘Listening’ Questions 1-3 MCQs – choose one correct answer out of 4 possible answers Questions 4-6 Write no more than three words for each answer Questions 7-8 Circle two (2) answer categories (e.g. A and B) out of five (5) Question 9-10 Circle two (2) answer categories (e.g. C and E) out of five (5) SECTION 2 of ‘Listening’ Questions 11-13 Circle three (3) answer categories (e.g. A, C and D) out of five (5) Questions 14-15 Respond to each of two questions with no more than three (3) words per question Questions 16-20 Fill in the spaces (one space per row of five rows) with a number (e.g. 3) or no more than three (3) words Listening 40 q’s 30 mins 6 – 25-28 6.5 – 29-31 7 – 32-33 7.5 - 34-35 8 - 36-37 8.5 – 38-39 9 - 40

Listening (continued) Section 3 – ‘Listening’ Questions 21-25 MCQs - choose the one (1) correct answer out of three (3) possible answers Questions 26-30 Complete notes (5 gaps on the one topic) with no more than three (3) words per line Section 4 – ‘Listening’ Questions 31-35 Complete each sentence with no more than three (3) words Questions 36-40 Fill each space (one space per row for five rows) in a table with a number (e.g. 3) or no more than three (3) words

IELTS Listening – exam tips Before listening to the tape, reading the instructions and questions with care Ask yourself, who are the speakers? Where are they located? What is the purpose of their speaking? Remember to listen, read and write at the same time: you will only hear the audio recording once. Listen for signpost words (e.g. ‘however’, ‘finally’ and ‘although’) as they will help you to anticipate what the speaker is about to say

Listening part 1 www. examenglish. com/ielts/ielts_listening_part1 Listening part 1 www.examenglish.com/ielts/ielts_listening_part1.html Listening part 2 www.examenglish.com/ielts/ielts_listening.html Listening part 3 www.examenglish.com/ielts/ielts_listening_part3.html Listening part 4 www.examenglish.com/ielts/ielts_listening_part4.html Listening test 2 part 1 www.examenglish.com/ielts/ielts_listening_test2_part1.html Listening test 2 part 2 www.examenglish.com/ielts/ielts_listening_part2.html Listening test 2 part 3 www.examenglish.com/ielts/ielts_listening_test2_part3.html Listening test 2 part 4 www.examenglish.com/ielts/ielts_listening_test2_part4.html Listening test 3 part 1 IELTS Listening iTunes app www.examenglish.com/ielts/ielts_listening_iphone_app.html Practise Tests

Academic Reading Reading passage 1: questions 1-15 40 q’s 60 mins 6.5 - 38-30 7 – 31-33 7.5 - 34-35 8 – 36-37 8.5 – 38-39 9 - 40 Reading passage 1: questions 1-15 Reading passage 2: questions 16-27 Reading passage 3: questions 28-40

IELTS Reading – exam tips Skim each text to achieve a basic understanding of what it is about and who the intended audience is Read the title and any sub-headings with care Think: what is the main purpose of each paragraph? Each paragraph has one main idea. The questions will focus on these. Remember that the questions appear in the same order as the text (big hint!)

Academic Reading (continued) SECTION 1 – ‘Academic Reading’ (20 mins) 7 paragraphs of text (one A4 page) Questions 1-7 Identify whether statements 1-7 agree ‘yes’ or disagree ‘no’ with the reading passage. If no information is given, write ‘not given’ Questions 8-13 Complete a summary (6 words) by filling in the gaps using words provided from a box of 9 words. There are more words provided than there are spaces. Questions 14-15 Identify which paragraphs state the information summarised by each of the two sentences provided. Write down the name (e.g. ‘G’) of the appropriate paragraph. Section 2 (20 mins) Questions 16-24 Classify nine (9) statements as each referring to one (1) of three (3) people Questions 25-27 MCQs: choose the best answer of four (4)

Academic Reading (continued) Section 3 (20 mins) Questions 28-30 MCQs: identify the best two (2) answers of five (5) provided Questions 31-36 Classify six (6) opinions as belonging to one of five (5) people Questions 37-40 Complete a paragraph based on information provided in the passage using one (1) or two (2) words from passage three for each answer.

Academic Writing 1 hour Writing Task 1 - 20 minutes Read the graph provided. Write a report for a university lecturer to describe the information conveyed by the graph. Write at least 150 words. Writing Task 2 – 40 minutes Present an argument/case to an educated reader with no specialist knowledge on a given topic. A topic is stated (approx. 30 words), then a question is posed, e.g. ‘to what extent would you support or reject this idea?’. Write at least 250 words that show evidence of your own ideas, knowledge and experience. Support your lines of argument with examples and relevant evidence.

Speaking Part 1: General information (e.g. topic: family) Is it large or small? What do they do? When were you last all together? What did you do? What do you do together on special occasions? Is there a member you are especially close to? Why? Part 2: Talk on a topic for 1 or 2 minutes (e.g. describe a holiday recently taken) Tell me about: where you went and why, who you went with, what you did, say what made the trip memorable to you Had you been on a trip like this before? Do you think travel broadens the mind? Why or why not? Part 3: Discussion topics (e.g. travel, environmental and other problems) - describe how the tourist industry has developed in your area/other areas -describe what things your area offers tourists -evaluate the type of tourists that come to you area How has tourism changed in your area? Evaluate how tourism is good for a country’s economy Speculate about the benefits that tourism can bring to a country

Tape-script (samples) From: Milton J., Bell H and Neville P 2006, ‘IELTS: Practice Tests 1’, Express Publishing: Berkshire, UK.

Student essays (samples) From: Milton J., Bell H and Neville P 2006, ‘IELTS: Practice Tests 1’, Express Publishing: Berkshire, UK.

Student sample essays (continued) From: Milton J., Bell H and Neville P 2006, ‘IELTS: Practice Tests 1’, Express Publishing: Berkshire, UK.

Suggested answers (spoken) From: Milton J., Bell H and Neville P 2006, ‘IELTS: Practice Tests 1’, Express Publishing: Berkshire, UK.

Suggested answers (spoken) – continued From: Milton J., Bell H and Neville P 2006, ‘IELTS: Practice Tests 1’, Express Publishing: Berkshire, UK.

Practise tests: IELTS listening practice (Youtube): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcazMrxUI6U (work, over 50s) IELTS listening practice – exercise and TV http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScwRdRyLtaE http://www.examenglish.com/IELTS/IELTS_listening.html Online grammar testing: http://www.examenglish.com/IELTS/ielts_grammar_test.htm Online vocabulary testing: http://www.examenglish.com/IELTS/IELTS_vocabulary.htm IELTS study support: IELTS – secret to writing faster and higher-quality http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoL5nDUMqvU IELTS listening test strategy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCqhhQYeL6E Writing introductions and paragraphs: http://www.examenglish.com/IELTS/ielts_writing_task2_Introductions_and_Conclusions.htm The 570 most-commonly used words in academic IELTS tests: http://www.examenglish.com/vocabulary/academic_wordlist.html

Useful links Tips on taking IELTS exams: http://www.examenglish.com/IELTS/?gclid=COzukL6vs7kCFU1f3god2ycA0g Online practise test: http://olpt.s3.amazonaws.com/online-practice-ket/index.html Phrasal verbs (Cambridge App): https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=air.org.cambridge.Phrasalverbs&hl=en Vocabulary for essays: http://free.ebooks6.com/Vocabulary-for-essays-pdf-e1251.pdf IELTS: http://free.ebooks6.com/INTERNATIONAL-ENGLISH-LANGUAGE-TESTING-SYSTEM-pdf- e1240.pdf Implicit Memory: how it works and why we need it: http://free.ebooks6.com/Implicit-Memory- How-It-Works-and-Why-We-Need-It-pdf-e10111.pdf New insight into IELTS: http://free.ebooks6.com/New-Insight-into-IELTS-download-w1261.pdf How to prepare for IELTS: http://free.ebooks6.com/How-to-prepare-for-IELTS-pdf-e1254.pdf

Happy Studying!