If you are intending to study abroad or move to another English-speaking country to work or live, you might be asked to demonstrate your English language proficiency with the IELTS test.
The test is jointly managed by the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES), The British Council. And the International Development Program (IDP) Education, Australia. It was introduced internationally in 1990 and 10 years later in 251 test centres in over 105 countries.
The IELTS test consists of two modules, the Academic Module and the General Training module. As the name suggests, the academic module is designed for those seeking admissions in undergraduate and post-graduate courses, and so was chosen as the focus of the present study. This module assesses all four macro-skills through various tasks designed to stimulate general study tasks within the constraints of a 3-hour test. Therefore, IELTS is intended to have a positive washback effect, in the sense of encouraging candidates to develop their language proficiency in ways that will assist their study through the medium of English. Individual performances in speaking and writing are rated according to the description of acceptable performance at each level. The results of each of the skill areas are reported as band descriptors on a scale of 0-9(non-user through expert-user) and an overall band score is calculated.
1. LISTENING:
IELTS listening is designed to reflect some of those real-world listening situations. The level of difficulty increases through the paper and there is a range of topics and tasks which test your comprehension skills, comprehending the essence, and the speaker’s opinion. The listening test has four sections. Sections 1 and 2 will be on everyday social context and there will be monologues (one speaker) and sections 3 and 4 will be academic or scientific with multiple speakers.
Listening Test Format:
Section 1: a conversation between two speakers in a social or semi-social context.
Section 2: a talk by a single speaker based on a non-academic situation
Section 3: a conversation with up to four speakers based on academic topics or course-related situations.
Section 4: a university-style lecture or talk.
The listening test is the first part of the IELTS exam and takes place at the beginning of the day. It consists of four recorded sections, each consisting of a different type of language and context. There are ten questions in each section and each section carries one mark.
As you hear the recording once only, it is very important to understand what you’re being asked to do in each question. You’re given time to read the questions in each part before you listen. The questions vary; for example, some questions involve completing a form, chart, or diagram, others may require you to complete some notes or match some things in a list to what you hear about them. In addition, there are note-taking exercises and multiple-choice questions.
You write all your answers on the question paper as you listen. The listening part of the test takes about 30 minutes. After the recording has finished, you have ten minutes to transfer the answer on your answer sheet.
2. READING
IELTS Reading tests a variety of reading skills, and although the question formats are the same, the text styles are different for Academic and General Training. You will be given around 60 minutes to answer 40 questions, and there are 3 different reading texts to read.
The types of questions you receive in the Academic exam are the same as the question types you get in the General Training exam. However, the passages of text that you must read are different.
General Training students will have to read a combination of long and short texts of both a general and work-specific nature. In comparison, Academic students must interact with three long texts of an academic nature.
The types of questions would be short question answers, multiple-choice questions, summary completion, matching sentence endings, sentence completion, true/false/not given, matching headings, labelling a diagram, and matching information to paragraphs.
3. WRITING
The IELTS Writing modules test your ability to produce two quite different pieces of writing in a fairly short time. Before applying to sit the test, you need to decide whether to take the Academic or the General Training module. Each module is divided into two parts and you have only one hour to complete both pieces of writing.
● Writing task 1 (IELTS academic test)
The Writing Task 1 of the IELTS Academic test requires you to write a summary of at least 150 words in response to a particular graph (bar, line, or pie graph), table, chart, or process (how something works, how something is done). This task tests your ability to select and report the main features, to describe and compare data, identify significance and trends in factual information, or describe a process.
● Writing task 2 (IELTS academic test)
IELTS Writing Task 2 requires you to write at least 250 words. You will be presented with a topic and will be tested on your ability to respond by giving and justifying an opinion, discussing the topic, summarizing details, outlining problems, identifying possible solutions, and supporting what you write with reasons, arguments, and relevant examples from your knowledge or experience.
● Writing task 1 (IELTS general test)
IELTS General test, In Task 1, candidates are asked to respond to a given problem with a letter requesting information or explaining a situation. It is suggested that about 20 minutes is spent on Task 1, which requires candidates to write at least 150 words. Depending on the task suggested, candidates are assessed on their ability to:
– engage in personal correspondence
– elicit and provide general factual information
– express needs, wants, likes, and dislikes
– express opinions (views, complaints, etc.)
● Writing task 2 (IELTS general test)
IELTS Writing Task 2 requires you to write at least 250 words. You will be presented with a topic and will be tested on your ability to respond by giving and justifying an opinion, discussing the topic, summarizing details, outlining problems, identifying possible solutions, and supporting what you write with reasons, arguments, and relevant examples from your knowledge or experience.
4. SPEAKING
IELTS Speaking is a face-to-face, informal discussion with an IELTS examiner, and is the same for both Academic and General Training. The test is divided into 3 parts and is designed to test your pronunciation, fluency, grammar, and vocabulary.
● Part 1:
Speaking part 1 is all about you. The examiner will ask you familiar, everyday questions about your life. This will last around 4-5 minutes.
● Part 2:
Part 2 is sometimes called the ‘long turn’. It is the cue-card part. You will be given a cue card and you will have 1 minute to prepare your answer. You will then be asked to speak for 1 to 2 minutes.
● Part 3:
Part 3 is more abstract. This is your opportunity to develop your answers and discuss the issues brought up by the examiner. The topic will be linked to the topic you discussed in Part 2, and this will last 4-5 minutes.
IELTS SCORING:
The IELTS exam has a band scale starting from the lowest band of 1 to the highest band scale of 9 bands. The test-takers may get their results in the full band (e.g. 6.0) or half band (e.g. 7.5).
The marking scheme for IELTS(Academic) will be:
Listening
| Band score | Raw score out of 40 |
|---|---|
| 5 | 16 |
| 6 | 23 |
| 7 | 30 |
| 8 | 35 |
| 9 | 39 |
Academic
| Band score | Raw score out of 40 |
|---|---|
| 5 | 15 |
| 6 | 23 |
| 7 | 30 |
| 8 | 35 |
| 9 | 39 |
General
| Band score | Raw score out of 40 |
|---|---|
| 4 | 15 |
| 5 | 23 |
| 6 | 30 |
| 7 | 34 |
| 8 | 38 |
| 9 | 40 |
VALIDITY FOR IELTS:
Whenever you have taken the IELTS, you will get a copy of the results 13 days after your written test. Do remember that the results of IELTS that you’ll acquire will be valid for 2 years. In the case that you get a lower score than the one you required; you can take the test again anytime.
IELTS TIPS AND TRICKS:
IELTS tests an ‘English’ with nonpartisan and decontextualized vocabulary, and with the key philosophical and psychological components of syntactic accuracy, spontaneity and flexibility.
Accuracy is greatly stressed, and inaccuracy penalized: ‘you will be expected to know the spellings of common words and names. An answer wrongly spelt will be marked incorrect, so get plenty of practice before the exam. Moreover, grammatical accuracy and range are part of the marking criteria for the IELTS Writing and Speaking papers. Grammatical accuracy is important in the IELTS Listening and Reading papers. Regarding spontaneity and flexibility, students are reminded that it is very important that they do not memorise entire sentences or answers. IELTS examiners are trained to spot this and will change the topic if they think you are repeating memorised answers.
IELTS PREPARATION IN KARACHI:
Click5 IELTS preparation program provides all the information, tips, and skills you need for each of the four modules of IELTS with certainty that you can accomplish the band score you desire.
Click5 has amassed enormous power over the lives of thousands of students, with considerable ethical ramifications. Our program suggests implementable solutions to enable IELTS test-takers to become more democratic and proficient in their test, imbued with learning potential, gaining practical tips, comprehending the know-how, and learning how to avoid costly mistakes.
In every one of the four courses you’ll discover:
● An insight into an actual IELTS test and what you need to do to accomplish a decent band score.
● The evaluation rules let you know what your examiner is searching for.
● Test strategies to help you tackle a wide range of exam questions.
● Tips and techniques for effective test preparation and for improving your English capability.
● Practice tests to help you realize what’s in store on your exam day.
At click5 IELTS preparation program, the test seeker will learn:
1. IELTS SPEAKING
● The most effective method to offer full and fluent responses to the examiner’s questions.
● Instructions to improve your confidence when communicating in English.
● Arranging a short talk in English
● Discovering enough to say.
● Enhancing your pronunciation.
● The grammar accuracy you need for the test.
2. IELTS READING
● Procedures like skimming and scanning to improve your test reading score.
● Reading out about new topics in English.
● Improving your vocabulary and managing complex words.
● Adapting to time pressure.
3. IELTS WRITING
● Understanding and depicting data and information.
● Writing on patterns.
● Brainstorming an essay.
● The lexical resources you need.
4. IELTS LISTENING
● Listening to test procedures.
● Extending your listening boundary.
● Keep focused when you listen.
● Paying attention to conversations in English.