IELTS General

Instructions to test takers

You will be given the following instructions in the actual test:

  • You are not supposed to open the question paper until instructed do so
  • You need to write your name and candidate number in the spaces at the top of this page
  • Do listen to the instructions for each and every part of the paper carefully
  • All the questions should be answered
  • While listening, write all your answers on the question paper
  • You will have 10 minutes at the end of the listening test and you will have to copy all your answers onto a separate answer sheet; use a pencil

At the end of the test, you will be asked to hand over the question paper.

Speaking

(Duration- 11-14 minutes, Task- 3)

The Speaking test is a face-to-face interview between the test taker and the examiner. It decides the speaking capacity of the test taker in different ways. Every speaking test is recorded so that it can be utilised for reassessment or re-marking of the test whenever required. You can attempt IELTS Speaking practice tests, record your responses or output and listen to them out in order to analyse your performance, in order to familiarize yourself with this test.               

Part 1- Introduction & Interview 

This section checks the ability to convey ideas and perspective on daily topics, circumstances or common experiences by answering a range of question.

  • In this Section, the Test taker & examiner introduces themselves
  • Here the Examiner asks general questions on topics related to personal interest, work, hometown, studies and family to the test taker.
  • This usually Lasts for 4-5 minutes

Part 2- Long Turn

Ability to speak at length on a given topic using appropriate language

  • In this section, a cue card is given to you
  • 1 minute is given to prepare for the topic provided in the cue card and to note down points if you wish to
  • You then need to speak on that topic or subject for 1-2 minutes
  • This Lasts for 3-4 minutes

Part 3- Discussion

Ability to analyse the topic, express views, justify an opinion, organise and evaluate ideas

  • The examiner will ask questions based on the topic given in Part 2
  • You get an opportunity to express your views in a more conceptual way
  • Lasts for 4-5 minutes

Scoring Criterion

IELTS Speaking Scoring Criteria on which the speaking test is scored relies upon the following factors:

Fluency refers to how well you can speak at a normal speed and that too without hesitation.

Coherence or rationality is framing your sentences and ideas in a logical order.

Lexical Resource evaluates the range of your vocabulary.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy deals with your knowledge and insight about grammar and how precisely you use it while speaking.

Pronunciation points out your ability or capacity to speak.

General Tips

  • Relax, be confident and speak normally and naturally
  • Be spontaneous and talk as fluently as you can
  • Develop your answers. Don’t speak pre-prepared answers
  • Ask for clarification if necessary
  • Express your opinions clearly and plainly.

There are many IELTS speaking mock test available online that make you aware of the type of IELTS Speaking questions and IELTS Speaking topics. Resources available can be used and you can benefit from them. Practise speaking in English with your friends and companions, relatives or colleagues on a daily basis to guarantee better performance.

Writing

(Duration- 60 minutes, Task- 2)

IELTS General Training Writing Test decides your writing potential in different aspects like Letter writing, Essay writing, Grammar and so forth. You are supposed to compose your answers onto the given answer or response sheet. Writing answers in form of notes or bullet points is not permitted. So, you must compose answers in full sentences. The IELTS General Writing practice tests designed by IELTS Tutorials will assist you to acquire a better understanding of this module of the test. You can likewise make notes on the question paper.

Task 1

You are given a situation, in this task. You have to respond to the given situation in form of a formal or informal letter concerning the target audience. For instance, writing a letter to a friend is informal while writing a letter to some government bodies or individuals at high authorities is formal. You are supposed to give all the necessary details, explain the situation, and make a request or suggestion so that the purpose of your letter is clear to the examiner.

Compose at least 150 words in about 20 minutes.

Skills Assessed

  • Ability to decipher the given situation, follow letter-writing conventions, organise and link the information precisely with correct usage of English

Task 2

The essay question for General Training Writing is often easier than Academic Writing. In this task, you are provided with a point of view, argument or problem. The topics usually are of general interest. For example, education, environment, lifestyle and more. You need to write an essay presenting a solution to the problem, express your ideas, present them in an organised manner and justify your opinions with relevant illustrations.

You need to write an essay presenting a solution to the problem, express your ideas, present them in an organised manner and justify your opinions with relevant illustrations.

Write at least 250 words in about 40 minutes.

Skills Assessed

  • Ability to present ideas in proper order, organise and link information appropriately, justify argument with relevant examples

Scoring Criterion

You will be given a number of statements. The question will be: ‘Do the following statements agree with the views/claims of the writer?’. You are required to answer in ‘Yes’, ‘No’ or ‘Not Given’.

  • Task Response
  • Coherence & Cohesion
  • Lexical Resource
  • Grammatical Range & Accuracy

Task Response refers to covering all the main points, elaborating them and supporting them with suitable examples.

Coherence is linking ideas in a proper sequence and Cohesion is making suitable use of cohesive devices (e.g., connectors, pronouns, conjunctions) to link ideas logically.

Lexical Resource determines your range of vocabulary.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy assess accurate usage and a wide range of complex structures.

General Tips

  • Make use of a sufficient range of Vocabulary
  • Write content relevant to the subject provided
  • Use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms
  • Make correct use of punctuations
  • Pay attention to the number of words required for each task; you will lose marks for fewer words

You can improve your writing skills by taking IELTS General writing practice tests, to know where you are making mistakes.

Reading

(Duration- 60 minutes, Task- 3)

IELTS General Training Reading Test contains three sections. The texts in these sections are taken from notices, advertisements, leaflets, newspapers, instruction manuals, books or magazines. You will discover in IELTS General Reading practice tests that the difficulty level of the text or content increases with each section. 

  • Section 1: In this section, it may consist of two or more short texts. These writings usually contain factual information. For instance, an advertisement for a restaurant or sports centre facilities.
  • Section 2: It may comprise two texts of more complex language than Section 1. These texts are based on workplace survival’. For instance, pay schemes, work conditions or contract.
  • Section 3: It consists of a long text and is generally the toughest among the previous texts or writings. This text revolves around ‘general reading’. For instance, passages are taken from magazines, fictional or non-fictional books.

IELTS Reading General Test comprises 40 questions. Each question is worth 1 mark. These question types differ in order to assess your reading aptitudes. However, these question types are similar to the IELTS General Academic Test.

Question Type 1 – Multiple Choice

You will be given a part of the sentence and will be requested to complete it. Or a complete question will be given for which you are supposed to choose the best suitable answer from the given options. You are required to pick either

  • One answer from four options (A, B, C or D)
  • Two answers from five other alternatives (A, B, C, D or E)
  • Three answers from seven  other Options (A, B, C, D, E, F or G)

The questions asked are in a similar order as the information provided in the passage.

Skills Assessed

  • Ability to comprehend particular points or overall idea of the passage

Question Type 2 – Identifying Information [True/False/Not Given]

In this question pattern, you will be given a set of statements. The question will be: ‘Do the following statements agree with the information in the content? At that point, you need to compose your answer as ‘True’, ‘false’ or ‘Not Given’.

You have to be clear about the difference between ‘False’ and ‘Not Given’.

‘False’ – Passage states the opposite or contrary of the statement.

‘Not Given’ – The information in the statement isn’t mentioned in the passage.

Skills Assessed

  • Ability to perceive the information conveyed in the passage

Question Type 3 – Identifying Writer’s Claims/Views

In this section, you will be given a number of statements. The inquiry will be: ‘Do the following statements agree or concur with the views/claims of the writer?’. You are required to reply in ‘Yes’, ‘No’ or ‘Not Given’.

Be very clear about the difference between ‘No’ and ‘Not Given’.

Skills Assessed

  • Skills to identify the ideas and opinions of the writer.

Question Type 4 – Matching Information

In this question type, you are required to match the information given in the question with the information found in one of the paragraphs in the passage. The passage contains lettered paragraphs or sections (A, B, C, …). So, what you are required to do is compose the letter of the correct paragraph on the answer sheet.

Skills Assessed

  • Ability to scan a text to discover specific information

Question Type 5 – Matching Headings

A list of headings with lowercase Roman numerals (i, ii, iii, …) and a passage with lettered paragraphs (A, B, C, …) is given here. You should match the heading to the correct paragraph. You need to compose proper Roman numerals in the box on the answer sheet. The number of headings will consistently be more than the number of paragraphs.

Skills Assessed

  • Ability to perceive the main idea or theme of a specific paragraph

Question Type 6 – Matching Features

You need to match a set of statements or a piece of information to the list of options given. The options are group of features from the passage, in this question type. For instance, you have to match different events to historical periods. It might be possible that some options will not be used while some may be utilized more than once.

Skills Assessed

  • Aptitude to determine relationships and connections between facts

Question Type 7 – Match Sentence Endings

The first half of the sentence will be given. You have to complete the sentence by choosing the best from a list of possible options provided. The number of options will be more than the number of sentences. The questions are in the same sequence as the information that appears in the text.

Skills Assessed

  • Ability to comprehend the main idea within the sentence

Question Type 8 – Sentence Completion

You are asked to complete the sentence with a specific number of words, in this question Type.  The instructions give you a clear idea about the number of words you need to compose. It might be one word’, ‘two/three words’, ‘no more than three words/a number’ and so on. Read the guidelines carefully before taking note of your answers. If you write more than the required words, you will lose marks.

Skills Assessed

  • Skill to locate specific information from the passage

 

Question Type 9 – Summary, Note, Table, Flowchart Completion

In this question type, you have to fill in the gap in the summary, note, table or flowchart in context to the passage. You either need to choose your answer from a list of options or pick words from the passage. It is not necessary that the answers appear in a similar order as given in the passage.

Skills Assessed

  • Aptitude to identify the main idea of the passage and the type of words that fits into the gap

Question Type 10 – Diagram Label Completion

A labelled diagram with respect to the description in the content will be provided. You are supposed to complete those labels. The diagram may be some type of machine, parts of the building or other objects that can be easily represented pictorially.

Skills Assessed

  • Skill to relate the information in the content to the labels in the diagram

Question Type 11 – Short-Answer Questions

In this question type, you have to answer questions regarding the details mentioned in the passage. The details mainly relate to some factual information. You should write your answers on the answer sheet in words/numbers as per the given instructions.

Skills Assessed

  • Aptitude to comprehend and find the information given in the passage

General Tips

  • You need to pay attention to the number of words you can use in your answer
  • Skimming and Scanning is an unquestionable skill to score well in IELTS General Training Reading. 
  • Grab keywords to make out the right answer.
  • Increase your scope of Vocabulary
  • Make the correct use of Grammar & Spelling while taking note of the answers on the answer sheet

IELTS General reading practice test can give you an interface about the type of questions asked in the actual IELTS Test. Practise thoroughly and acquire success!

Listening

(Duration-40 minutes, Task- 4 parts)
The IELTS Listening test will take about 30 minutes, and you will have an additional 10 minutes to transfer your answers to the answer sheet. The four parts of this practice Listening test are presented over four separate web pages. Make sure you progress swiftly from one page to the next in order that your practice is as realistic as possible.

Question Type 1 – Multiple Choice

Ability to grasp the main points covered in the recording

You will be given a question with three feasible answers, or a beginning of the sentence followed by three possible ways to complete it. You are advised to choose one correct answer – A, B or C.

Sometimes, you have designated a long list of possible answers and are asked to choose more than one answer. You need to read the given instructions carefully, in such question types.

Question Type 2 – Matching

Ability to identify the connection between the facts with respect to the recording

In this question pattern, a list of options will be stated on the question paper. You need to match these options with the list of items in the recording and then have to write the correct letter (A, B, C or D) on the answer sheet.

Question Type 3 – Map, Plan or Diagram Labelling

Ability to understand the description of an image (Map, Plan or Diagram) and relates it to visual representation

A map, plan or diagram with labels are going to be given and you are expected to complete those labels with either of the following ways:

  • Choose the answer from the list of options on the question paper and then write the correct letter on the answer sheet.
  • Select appropriate words that fit in the label from the recording.

Question Type 4 – Form, Table, Flowchart, Note or Summary Completion

Ability to note down the main points while listening to the recording

In this question format, you have to fill in the gaps provided in the form, table, flowchart, note or summary in context to the recording. You need to either select your answer from the list of options given on the question paper and note down the correct letter on the answer sheet or identify the missing words from the recording. You do not have to amend the words (i.e. write the word as it is) if selected from the recording.

Question Type 5 – Sentence Completion

Ability to analyse the main idea of the listening text and identify or spot important information from the recording

A set of sentences that encapsulate important information from the recording is given. You have to fill in the gap in each sentence using the information provided in the recording. Before noting down the answers, read the instructions very carefully

Question Type 6 – Short-Answer Questions

Ability to listen to the factual information included in the recording

In this question type, you are supposed to read the given question and answer it shortly with the assistance of information in the recording. Sometimes, you might be asked to put in writing, two or three different answers for the same question.

You must read the instructions very carefully. For instance, sometimes it may be ‘answer in one/two words’ or occasionally it might be ‘answer in no more than a word/number’.

General Tips

  • You must practice to – read the question, listen to the recording and take a note of the answer – all at the same time
  • Be careful about the spelling of your answer. You will lose marks if it’s spelt wrong,
  • Study the instructions very carefully to identify what you are asked to write – ‘word’ or ‘letter’, ‘no more than two words’ or ‘number’ and so on.
  • Do not waste time, if you miss an answer, proceed to the next question
  • You will be hearing the recording only once. So, don’t lose your focus

Attempt free IELTS listening practice tests available online and boost your IELTS test preparation. IELTS listening practice are often of great help.

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