IELTS

Task Types:

• Multiple Choice
• Identifying Information (T/F/ NG)
• Identifying the writer’s views/ claims (Y/N/NG)
• Matching Information
• Matching Headings
• Matching Features
• Matching Sentence Endings
• Sentence Completion
• Notes / Summary / Table / Flow – Chart completion
• Labelling a Diagram
• Short – Answer Questions

Assessment: Each question is worth one mark.

IELTS Academic Reading Tips:

1. Focus on the whole idea of each paragraph, do not try to match the words in words in the headings to words in the passage.
2. For any questions where you need to write words from the passage, a hyphenated word counts as one word.
3. For the matching features task, questions will not be in the same sequence of passage. The aforementioned people can be seen in many different sections, which you need to carefully scan the entire path. Some people may be distractors in the list, and you may not need to use all the letters.
4. Make sure to note any plurals in the questions. There may be parts of the passage that refer to only one of the things mentioned, so you need to find the paragraph that has more than one.
5. Remember that you are being tested on your ability to understand the information you read in the passage. So you should ignore anything you already know about the topic.
6. Use the title of the summary to help you find the part of the passage you need to read in detail to find your answer.

WRITING IELTS

The writing component of the IELTS exam is structured in such a way that it helps in assessing as how one describes the response appropriately, generates ideas, and uses a hand full of vocabulary as well as grammar accurately. This consists of the two tasks along with which the candidates are provided with 60 minutes to answer them.

For Task 1

Candidates should write their responses in at least 150 words to describe, summarize or explain some visual information such as graphs, tables, charts or diagrams, using their own words. On the other hand, Task 2 is able to the candidates to the argument or the problem through a consideration of the relevant issues. Responses should be relevant but not general.Likewise another three components, one will be marked for its band score for the writing test as well, combined with an overall band score.

1. Be aware of the word count

Task 1 should contain at least 150 words as its written response, while Task 2 must contain at least 250 words. One must write above the word count else will lose marks. The risk of losing marks will also be there even if just a few words are below the word count.The Alpine India Recommends: The student must target writing between 160 to 180 for Task 1, and 260 to 280 for Task 2. This will make sure that you do not lose unnecessary marks for the writing section also ensuring that you aren’t adding much additional information.

Pro tip: Target for quality and not quantity.

Count the words by lines instead of the individual words. This saves time during the real test.

2. Manage your time wisely

Complete your response for Task 1 within 20 minutes while for Task 2 contribute double-time as it’s mandatory to ensure that one must have at least 40 minutes left for this. Planning as well as checking both is required for the tasks, so it would be easy to factor in four minutes or less before and after answering each task. Do not enter the exam hall without practicing time management beforehand. Remember, practice is the key to good time management.

3. Understand the requirements of both tasks

• Task achievement (25 percent);
• Coherent and cohesion (25 percent);
• Lexical Resources (25 percent); and
• Grammatical range and accuracy (25 percent)

The student’s final score depends upon the average of the four criteria above.

What is task response/achievement?

• In the writing test, 25% of the score depends upon the task response. It refers to the completion of the particular task including all the minute details that are being specified in the question.
• In order to score well for task response, the following factors have to be marked up and these points are necessary to be followed.
• One should understand the particular provided question properly in order to decide what are the main knowledge as well as ideas behind the question as well as the main theme of the essay.

Coherence

Simply, coherence means “structure” (especially paragraph and essay structure).To get the high grade in Coherence and Cohesion, the essay and paragraph should follow the below provided structure:

Cohesion 

Cohesion means flow. As one builds the paragraph, the ideas must be related to each other and should be logically linked with the referencing and linking words. Referencing words refers to the pronouns, like this, these, it, etc. One can use these words to link the ideas in one particular sentence to an idea with the previous sentence. The other way to wire up the ideas is too able the linking words. These words include however, therefore, etc. But be careful! To score above 7, one should not include more than two of these kinds of words in the paragraph. Overusing these can bring coherence and cohesion band score certainly down.

What is Lexical Resource?

Lexical resource generally is the ability of using a range of vocabulary eminently (without any exception and in the proper context) within the written responses. The main target is to introduce with good vocabulary enough to properly paraphrase the information one examines in the IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 and Task 2. This goes without including that studying vocabulary regularly will help improve most in this area

GRA = Grammatical Range and Accuracy

• This refers to the ones way of utilizing the grammar, including:
• Does one use a variety of grammatical forms?
• Does one create in the mixture of writing short and complex phrases?
• Does one avoid too many grammatical mistakes?
• The best technique to improvise the IELTS Writing score is to learn the new techniques for paragraphing, paraphrasing, and linking.

4. Practice, practice, practice

Practice makes the man perfect. These aren’t things one can cram the night before so best sharpen up the skills for each as much as possible before taking the test. More the mistakes one makes, the lower the score will be, so best is to ensure make as little as possible. The basic paragraph structure of the Task 1 usually is simple compared below through the 3 points

1. Introduction: Explain the criteria of the graph(s), table(s), or diagram(s) being used in the section.
2. Overview: In general terms, this makes the genuine tell that what main/interesting features are.
3. Body 1/2: Explain these features in detail. If one has numbers, this is a good field to include them. Use two body paragraphs if one includes two graphs/tables/diagrams.( Minimum two paragraphs should be there)

IELTS Academic Writing Tips:

1. Each time you come across any form of graph, chart or table, study it carefully and practice picking out the major changes that the figure shows. Imagine that you are explaining to someone else what you have noticed from the graph.
2. Get an old map of your own town center and write about some of the changes that have happened.
3. Make sure that you leave time at the end to check your writing. You need to make sure that your facts and your language are both accurate.
4. Remember that to achieve a high score for writing task 1, you need to select and report on the main features and make comparisons where relevant.
5. Try to get the estimate that, how much space 150 of your words take on a page. This can save you from counting the word repeatedly. Make sure your handwriting is neat and legible.
6. Remember, you need to identify the most important information in only one or two minutes. To help plan your answer, write the different verbs you will use to describe each stage on the diagram itself. This will make sure you don’t miss out any important steps in your description.
7. Remember, your answer for writing Task 1 will be marked against specific criteria. One of these is Lexical Resource. To get a good score, you need to use a wide range of vocabulary and use vocabulary accurately.
8. Try drawing your own diagram of an everyday machine in your home. Divide the process up into different stages and describe it.
9. You will be assessed on the type of information you write about, as well as the language that you use. If you give information that is incorrect or inaccurate, then you will receive a lower score.
10. Your answer must accurately describe the information presented in the visual. Don’t draw conclusions that are not supported by the information you are given.

5 Steps to Score 7.0 Band in IELTS Writing in the Task 2

1. Understand the question.

One must understand the question before attempting to answer it. This way, will know exactly what the examiner is looking for. One of the biggest mistakes students make is not answering the question appropriately, which enables them from scoring a score higher than a Band of 5. To recognize the question, one must first identify the question type, then the keywords in the question and finally the instructions words.

2. Plan your answer.

The students who score the highest marks in Writing Task 2 always plan their answers for up to 10 minutes. Planning helps you calculate your ideas and present the essay before being written, saving time and helping one generate a clear and to-the-point essay.

3. Write an introduction.

The introduction indicates the examiner regarding what the essay is about and then the answer to the question directly. This pops up the examiner know that the student does straight away and helps write the main body paragraphs.

4. Write the main body paragraphs.

• This is where you give the examiner more details. One does this by stating the main points and supporting it with explanations along with the relevant examples.

Paragraph Structure

        Each paragraph must contain one central idea

• Introduce the central idea
• Explain the central idea
• Show up an example to describe the main idea
• Summarize the central idea

5. Write a conclusion.

• In the conclusion, one should provide a summary of what has been already concluded in the rest of the essay.

LISTENING IELTS

The listening paper is the same in both the Academic and the General Training modules of the IELTS test. The duration of this test is approximately 30 minutes and you are given 10 minutes to write the answers on a separate answer sheet.

Sections:

This consists of four separate sections and a total of 40 questions. Sections 1 and 2 are set in a social context and section 3 and 4 are set in an academic context. In the IELTS listening, you will hear the text once only.

What kind of text will I hear?

• A conversation between two people about a general topic with a transactional purpose like finding out information about travel.
• A monologue or prompted monologue on a general topic with a transactional purpose like giving information about events in the community.
• A conversation between two or three people in an academic context like a student and a student and a tutor discussing an academic problem.
• A monologue in an academic context like a lecture.

There are 10 questions for each section in the listening test. Below are the task types that you may find in any section. You may have between one and three different tasks per section.

Task Type:

• Notes / Summary / Table / Flow – Chart Completion
• Multiple Choice
• Short Answer Questions
• Sentence Completion
• Labelling a diagram, plan or map
• Classification
• Matching

IELTS Listening Tips:

1. Always check your spelling. If you make a spelling mistake in the IELTS Listening paper, your Answer will be marked Wrong.
2. Before you do each section, you will be given 30 – 45 Seconds to look at the questions. Use this time to study the questions and try to predict what you might hear.
3. Don’t be worried if you see technical terms in the listening questions. These will usually be explained to you.
4. For labeling a map or plan in IELTS, you may need t follow directions, or you may hear a description of a location.
5. For most questions in the listening paper, you will hear two or more potential answers to each question, but only one will correct. The incorrect answers are called distractors.
6. In the IELTS listening paper, sections 1 and 3 are conversations between two or three people. Sections 2 and 4 are monologues with only one main speaker introducing the talk or asking questions.
7. Pay attention to the number of words you need to write. No more than two words means that you may need to write one word or two words only.
8. The distractors for this type of task might be extra buildings marked on the map, or they might be extra options in a list of possible answers.
9. You may need to follow directions to locate a place on the map or plan. Marking the way directly on the map can be helpful.
10. You should study the map or plan carefully before you listen. Having a clear image in your mind will help you understand what you hear.

SPEAKING IELTS

IELTS Speaking Tips

This test consists of an interview with a trained examiner. The interview is recorded. The test has three different parts and the examiner will use a script. This helps to make sure that the speaking tests all follow the same pattern.

Part 1:

Time: 4 to 5 minutes

Question Type: Questions on a familiar topics like Hobbies, likes and dislikes etc.

Part 2:

Time: 3 to 4 minutes

Question Type: you will be given a booklet with a topic (i.e. Describe a good friend) and some suggestions. You need to talk about the topic for 1 to 2 minutes. You have about one minute to write notes before you begin.

Part 3:

Time: 4 to 5 minutes

Question Type: the examiner will ask you more detailed and more abstract questions about the topic in part 2; like how important is friendship?

Assessment: You will be assessed on the following criteria:

• Fluency and Coherence
• Lexical Resource
• Grammatical range and accuracy
• Pronunciation

IELTS Speaking Tips:

1. As you talk, you should only look at your notes briefly. Don’t read Directly from your Notes. Notice how each of the candidates in the videos keeps eye contact with the examiner.
2. Don’t be afraid to disagree with the opinions the examiner expresses. These are not necessarily what the examiner thinks or believes. It is simply a chance for you to showcase your language and Ideas.
3. For Part 3, it is important to have your own opinion to read newspapers and watch the news to kee up with current issues.
4. If you run out of ideas after one minute, give yourself a fresh start by looking at the task in the booklet again.
5. It’s important to listen carefully to the examiner’s questions so that you can answer in the correct tense. When answering yes / no questions, it is important to answer the questions and then give reasons for your answer. Don’t simply answer Yes or No.
6. Make good Eye contact with the examiner from the moment you enter the room, and answer in a polite and friendly way. Your body language plays an important role in communication.
7. Listen carefully to the examiner’s questions to make sure that you answer them fully and appropriately.
8. Make sure you arrive early for your test, so that you are not hurrying and have time to relax. If possible, visit the test centre before the day of your test, so that you are familiar with where you need to go.

The Speaking Test should be a natural conversation. If you try to give a prepared speech, the examiner will interrupt you and ask you a different question.

IELTS GT READING

IELTS General training (GT) reading test is of one hour period. There is no extra time given for transferring your answers to a separate answer sheet. This test consists of three different sections and a total of 40 questions.

The texts are about more general topics or related to work. There are three sections in general training reading paper, The difficulty level increases with each secti

on. The sections are organized as follows:

• Section 1 contains two or three short texts to read or several shorter once like advertisements.
• Section 2 contains two texts to read, related to the workplace like information for Staff.
• Section 3 contains one long discursive text to read.

The general training reading paper has a total of 40 questions.

Section one has 14 items, sections two and three each have 13 Items.

Task Type:

• Multiple choice
• Identifying information (T/F/NG)
• Identifying the writer’s view/ claims (Y/N/NG)
• Matching information
• Matching headings
• Matching features
• Matching sentence endings
• Sentence completion
• Notes / summary / table/ flow – chart completion
• Labeling a diagram
• Short answer questions
• Multiple matching

Assessment: Each question is worth one mark.

IELTS General Reading Tips:

1. If you are asked to choose one word only from the passage, make sure you do not add extra information such as adjectives or adverbs. If you write more than one word, your answer will be marked as wrong.
2. Remember that you are being tested on your ability to understand the information you read in the passage so you should ignore anything you already know about the topic.
3. Quickly read the whole passage to get a general idea before you begin answering questions. This will help to give you an overall understanding of the passage and will help you to locate relevant parts of the text more quickly.
4. Try to spend no more than 15 to 20 minutes on Section 1, so that you have enough time for the more difficult and questions in Section 2 and 3. Aim to spend less than 20 minutes on each section so you have time to check your answers at the end.
5. When answering short–answer questions you do not need to write full sentences or join words together.

IELTS GT WRITING

The Duration of IELTS GT-General Training Writing test is one hour. This test consists of two separate writing tasks. You must answer both tasks.

Writing task 1:

Duration: 20 Minutes   Word Limit: 150 words

In this task you need to write a letter in response to a given situation

Writing task 2:

Duration: 40 Minutes Word Limit: 250 words

In this task, you need to write a discursive essay. You will be given an opinion, problem or issue that you need to discuss. You can be asked to compare and contrast different ideas, provide solutions, challenge an idea or evaluate a problem.

Assessment: You will be assessed on the following criteria:

• Task Response
• Coherence and cohesion
• Lexical Resource
• Grammatical Range and accuracy

N.B. Writing Task 2 is worth twice as many marks as Writing Task 1.

IELTS GT Writing Tips:

1. You need to manage your time well, In the GT Writing test. You won’t be allowed to take your mobile phone into the exam room, so take a reliable watch into the exam with you.
2. Just like Writing Task 1 your writing Task 2 answer will be assessed based on the lexical resources or vocabulary you use. This means that you need to avoid repeating words from the question and use as wide a variety of words and phrases to discuss the topic as you can.
3. Leave at least three minutes at the end to check your writing. Check your spelling, punctuation and grammar.
4. The examiner will assess the coherence and cohesion of your answer. They will judge how your ideas are organized and how you link information. Planning before you write is the best way to make sure your ideas are organized in a logical way.
5. The examiner will assess the grammatical Accuracy of your answer. They will judge how accurate your sentence structures are, and also whether you have shown a range of structures and not limited yourself to basic ones. Make sure you vary your sentences in the exam.
6. The score you get for Writing Task 2 is two thirds of your total writing score, so it is very important that you spend a full full 40 minutes on this part of the IELTS writing paper. You are given more time than for Writing Task 1 because you need to write 250 words, and also Because you have to use your own ideas. Spend at least four or five minutes planning your Ideas before you start writing.
7. Writing an essay like this is a formal situation and so your language must be formal or neutral as well. Never use notes or bullet points. You will lose marks if you use abbreviations or language that is too casual.
8. You will lose marks if you copy words from the question. Make sure to prepare the Ideas.

Your answer will also be marked on coherence. You need to make sure your Ideas are organized into separate paragraphs.