What is IELTS?

IELTS (International English Language Testing System) is the worlds most

popular English language test. There are two types of the IELTS test: IELTS
Academic and IELTS General Training. General and Academic have the same
format and content for the Listening and Speaking, but differ in Reading and
Writing. Listening, Reading and Writing tests are conducted on the same day one
after the other, without any breaks in between them.

DESCRIPTION OF READING MODULE

The Academic and general IELTS reading modules take 60 minutes and there are
40 questions to answer. Each question is worth 1 mark. Spend 20 minutes on each
passage. In the actual test, you have 60 minutes to do three readings and, unlike the
listening test, you do not have 10 minutes to transfer your answers at the end. So
spend only 20 minutes on each one and transfer your answers to the answer sheet
in the 20 minutes too. Make sure when you do practice tests you transfer your
answers to a sheet of paper too so that this extra time is always taken into account.

The Academic reading text has 3 longer passages, whereas the General training test
can have 4 or 5 shorter passages. The texts included in the Academic module are
taken from journals, magazines, books and newspapers. In contrast to the academic
reading, texts in the General reading module are taken from advertisements,
notices, booklets, official documents, leaflets etc.

These are the type of questions you can expect to see in the test:

Short- answer questions

Multiple choice
Sentence completion
Summary/Notes/Diagram/Flowchart/Table completion
Choosing a heading for a paragraph
Yes, No, Not given / True, False, Not given
Classification
Matching lists or phrases
Candidates use different methods to approach variety of questions. While some
prefer to read the passage first and then go through the questions, others have a
practice of reading the question initially. However, it can be suggested that instead
of reading the whole passage blindly in the beginning, focus on the questions and
then read the text for a purpose. Answers are in the same order as they appear in
the text. Since there is no negative mark for the wrong answer, if you could not
find the answer, guess it.

Beginners are advised to do the reading slowly, later set the time and try to
complete the whole passage within time. Besides, do not read too quickly. Owing
to the lack of time, students tend to skim the text as fast as possible. But this
probably leads them to reach a wrong answer. On top of all the techniques, practice
is the only solution to get familiar with the question types as well as to manage the
time effectively.

BAND SCORE CALCULATION FOR READING

IELTS General Reading marking schemes

For the general reading test, which contains 40 questions, the approximate band scores can
be calculated using this table.

Band Score 9 8.5 8 7.5 7 6.5 6 5.5 5 4.5 4 3.5 3 2.5

Score / 40 40 39 37-38 36 34-35 32-33 30-31 27-29 23-26 19-22 15-18 12-14 9-11 6-8
IELTS Academic Reading marking schemes
For the academic reading test, which also contains 40 questions, but is more difficult,
the approximate band scores can be calculated using this table.

Band Score 9 8.5 8 7.5 7 6.5 6 5.5 5 4.5 4 3.5 3 2.5

Score / 40 39-40 37-38 35-36 33-34 30-32 27-29 23-26 19-22 15-18 13-14 10-12 8-9 6-7 4-5

General instructions for the candidates

Always read the questions carefully. The instructions differ for each question. And,
pay more attention to the word limit. Take care with spelling and grammar you
will lose the mark if your spelling or grammar is wrong, so make sure you check
these carefully. Besides, move on if you do not know the answer do not spend
too long time on one question. You can always return to that question later if you
have time at the end.

Highlight key words in the text you will need to go back to the reading and scan
it to find information to answer a question. So when you read the text, highlight
such things as proper nouns (e.g. names of people, places, and things). This is
why it can be a good idea to look at the questions before you do the full reading
you will then have an idea of what kinds of things you may need to look for and
therefore what it is a good idea to highlight.

Further, read passages from easy to the difficult one so that after completing the
easiest passage as early as possible, more time can be utilized for the difficult
passage. If the question asks you to complete the note in the.. and the correct
answer is evening just use evening as your answer; note that in the evening
would be incorrect.

READING ANSWER SHEET

Use pencils to write the answers. Even though both upper and lower cases are
accepted to write in the answer sheet, it is better to write all the answers in capital
letters.
.

Varying strategies can be adopted to deal with different question types. Here,
some of them are explained to achieve higher band scores in reading module.

True , False , Not Given

Most of the candidates find it as a tedious task to choose the right answer. Quite
oftenly NO and NOT GIVEN are written wrongly.

Following the given 10 tips will help you to solve the problem easily.

1. The question follows the order of the text. Do not waste time going back.
Keep on reading
2. Ignore anything you already know about the topic and do not make any
assumptions. Base your answers on the text only
3. Read the question carefully to make sure you fully understand what it is
saying
4. Scan the text to find where the answer is using keywords from the question
5. When you find where the answer is , read the text carefully to identify
whether your findings are correct
6. The questions will probably use synonyms rather than the words in the text
 7. Instead of matching the keywords, try to match the meaning of the
statements.
8. Look out for controlling words such as only, all , never, always ,often,
some, mainly etc.For example, if the fact in the question says some and
the fact in the text says all then it is false.
9. Do not spend a long time looking for the answer to one question; it is
probably not given, if you cannot find it.
10.Make sure you use the correct code : Yes ,No, Not Given / True, False,
Not given

SENTENCE COMPLETION

Compared to other question types, filling the gaps with suitable words is much
easier.

Try to predict the answer before you look at the options. This will help you
to spot the correct answer.
Look for synonyms and paraphrases in the text rather than words that
directly match.
If you get a list of words, eliminate those words which do not match
grammatically.

IELTS introduction
The International English Language Testing System (IELTS)
measures the language proficiency of people who want to study
or work where English is used as a language of communication.
IELTS IS ONE OF THE MAJOR ENGLISH-LANGUAGE TESTS IN THE WORLD,
OTHERS BEING THE TOEFL, TOEIC, AND OPI/OPI C. IELTS IS THE ONLY
SECURE ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEST APPROVED BY UK VISAS AND
IMMIGRATION (UKVI) FOR VISA CUSTOMERS APPLYING BOTH OUTSIDE AND
INSIDE THE UK. IT IS ALSO A REQUIREMENT FOR IMMIGRATION TO
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND. IN CANADA, IELTS, TEF, OR CELPIP ARE
ACCEPTED BY THE IMMIGRATION AUTHORITY. IT IS JOINTLY MANAGED BY
THE BRITISH COUNCIL, IDP: IELTS A USTRALIA AND CAMBRIDGE ENGLISH
LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT AND WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1989.

It uses a nine-band scale to clearly identify levels of proficiency,

from non-user (band score 1) through to expert (band score 9).

AN IELTS RESULT OR TEST REPORT FORM IS ISSUED TO ALL TEST TAKERS

WITH A score from "band 1" ("non-user") to "band 9" ("expert
user") and each institution sets a different threshold. There is also
a "band 0" score for those who did not attempt the test.
Institutions are advised not to consider a report older than two
years to be valid, unless the user proves that they have worked to
maintain their level.[8][9]

IELTS for UKVI is a UK government-approved Secure English

Language Test (SELT), as is the new test, IELTS Life Skills.
An IELTS for UKVI score can be used to prove your English
language abilities in support of a UK Visas and Immigration
(UKVI) application.

IETS exams are the same worldwide, it doesnt matter who

supervises the test, the British council or IDP. We have seen many
times that in two different countries people have got the same
questions and topics.

IELTS was designed by the University of Cambridge, British

Council and IDP together. Motive behind was that certain
countries the British Council is in charge of IELTS exams and in
other countries IDP runs IELTS exams, and then there are
countries where both the British Council and IDP offer IELTS
exams, which people find confusing and are not sure where to go.

Accents may be differed in both British council and IDP Australia.

In listening and speaking you will get range of accents in both.

IELTS Academic or IELTS General Training

IELTS is available in two test versions: Academic - for people

applying for higher education or professional registration,
and General Training for those migrating to Australia, Canada
and the UK, or applying for secondary education, training
programmes and work experience in an English-speaking
environment. Both versions provide a valid and accurate
assessment of the four language skills: listening, reading, writing
and speaking.

Two types of IELTS test

The IELTS test has four parts[edit]

Listening: 30 minutes (plus 10 minutes' transfer time) [13]

Reading: 60 minutes

Writing: 60 minutes

Speaking: 1114 minutes

The test total time is: 2 hours and 55 minutes.[11]

Listening, Reading and Writing are completed in one sitting. The

Speaking test may be taken on the same day or up to seven days
before or after the other tests.

All test takers take the same Listening and Speaking tests, while
the Reading and Writing tests differ depending on whether the
test taker is taking the Academic or General Training versions
of the test.
There are two types of the IELTS test: IELTS Academic and IELTS
General Training. Listening and Speaking are the same for both
tests, but the subject matter of the Reading and Writing
components differs depending on which test you take.

The Listening, Reading and Writing components of all IELTS tests

are completed on the same day, with no breaks in between them.

The Speaking component, however, can be completed up to a

week before or after the other tests. Your test centre will advise.

The total test time is 2 hours and 45 minutes.

IELTS results are designed to be simple and easy to understand.

They are reported as band scores on a scale from 1 (the lowest) to
9 (the highest).
The IELTS scale

Ban
d
Skill level Description
scor
e

The test taker has fully operational command of the

language. Their use of English is appropriate,
9 Expert user
accurate and fluent, and shows complete
understanding.

The test taker has fully operational command of the

language with only occasional unsystematic
Very good inaccuracies and inappropriate usage. They may
8
user misunderstand some things in unfamiliar situations.
They handle complex and detailed argumentation
well.

The test taker has operational command of the

language, though with occasional inaccuracies,
7 Good user inappropriate usage and misunderstandings in
some situations. They generally handle complex
language well and understand detailed reasoning.

The test taker has an effective command of the

language despite some inaccuracies, inappropriate
Competent
6 usage and misunderstandings. They can use and
user
understand fairly complex language, particularly in
familiar situations.

The test taker has a partial command of the

language and copes with overall meaning in most
Modest
5 situations, although they are likely to make many
user
mistakes. They should be able to handle basic
communication in their own field.
Ban
d
Skill level Description
scor
e

The test taker's basic competence is limited to

Limited familiar situations. They frequently show problems
4
user in understanding and expression. They are not able
to use complex language.

The test taker conveys and understands only

Extremely
3 general meaning in very familiar situations. There
limited user
are frequent breakdowns in communication.

Intermitten The test taker has great difficulty understanding

2
t user spoken and written English.

The test taker has no ability to use the language

1 Non-user
except a few isolated words.

Did not
0 attempt The test taker did not answer the questions.
the test

Calculating the overall band score

A score is given for each test component Listening, Reading,

Writing and Speaking. These individual scores are then averaged
and rounded to produce an overall band score.

IELTS results validity period

While it is up to each organisation to set a validity period

that works for their purposes, the IELTS partners recommend
a 2-year validity period for IELTS test results based upon the
well-documented phenomenon of second language loss or
'attrition.
 About test result.

About exams.conducted 4 times in a month.

WHEN SHOULD I ARRIVE?

We recommend you arrive by 11:30 am to give you enough time

to get settled.

Unfortunately, if you arrive after the start of the test you will not
be allowed to take the test on that day.

WHAT IDENTIFICATION DOCUMENT DO I NEED TO BRING WITH

ME?

You need to bring along your original and valid passport. Driving
licences and student IDs are not accepted as identification.

Unfortunately, candidates without valid ID will not be allowed to

sit the test.

WHY DO YOU TAKE MY PHOTOGRAPH?

Security at IELTS tests is important to us. As an added measure,

our exams services staff take a passport-style photograph of
candidates on the test day. The photograph appears on your
results (also known as your Test Report Form). This procedure is
mandatory.

Candidates under 18 years of age must have a consent form

signed by a parent or legal guardian so that we can take the
photograph.

WHAT AM I PERMITTED TO TAKE INTO THE TEST ROOM?

In the test room you are allowed to have:

 YOUR IDENTIFICATION DOCUMENT

A pencil and a pen (a pencil will be needed for Listening and

Reading)

An eraser

A bottle of water which should be transparent without any writing

or labels on it.

You will not be able to take anything else into the test room.

SHOULD I VERIFY MY INFORMATION ON THE DAY OF THE TEST?

On the day of the test you should verify your information provided
at the time of registering on the candidate data sheet as this
information will be printed on your Test Report Form.

WHAT DO I DO WITH MY OTHER BELONGINGS, SUCH AS MY BAG?

There will be an area where you will need to leave all your
belongings. The British Council is not responsible for loss or
damage to your personal belongings at the test venue. Therefore,
we strongly recommend leaving valuables, such as mobile phones
and computers, at home.

Courses and resources

Road to IELTS

Prepare for your test day

On the day of your test

IELTS Videos
Ielts answer sheet.Candidates take the listening, reading and
writing tests all on the same day one after the other, without any
breaks in between them

C3 T 1
The chart compares how many tourists in Japan travelled
abroad over a 10 year period and Australias share of
marketing for Japanese tourists.

It can be clearly seen that there was upward trend in the

number of tourists along the whole period shown. It is also
noticeable that Australia witnessed a dramatic increase in
the number of people who tended to travel to this country.

Between 1985 and 1989, Japanese people travelling abroad

increased dramatically from around 5 million to
approximately 11 million. After which, there was no
remarkable change, just nearly 1 million growth during
next three years. But, at the end of the period figures
reached a peak of approximately 15 milllion,which was
three times bigger than in 1985.

As regards Australia, the proportion of the people started

at 2 million in 1985 and by 1987 it almost rose to 4 milllion
which was twice as much as 1985.Duing the following four
years, figures fluctuated around between 4 and 5 milllion
and after 1991 they begun to went up steadily reaching to
their peak level in1993.

C9 T2
The bar graph shows the combined time spent in billions of
minutes, on three different kinds of phone call in the United
Kingdom, from 1995-2002.

Overall, local calls were the most popular over the whole
period, with national and international calls and calls on
mobiles second and third respectively. However, the number
of minutes spent on international and national calls and
mobiles both increased over the period; with mobile minutes
increasing dramatically, thus narrowing the gap between the
three categories by 2002.

Minutes spent on local calls fluctuated over the time period,

with just over 70 billion minutes in 1995, peaking at
approximately 90 billion in 1999 and then steadily decreasing
to just over 70 billion minutes in 2002.

National and international calls increased steadily year on

year, from just under 40 billion minutes in 1995 to a peak of
just over 60 billion in 2002. Mobile minutes increased at a
very rapid pace from approximately 3 billion in 1995 to
around 45 billion in 2002. Mobile phone usage nearly doubled
from approximately 22 billion minutes in 2000 to 40 billion in
2001.
The diagrams illustrate the phases and apparatus to make
cement and how cement is utilized in the production of concrete
for construction.

The production of cement involves 5 stages, linear process that

begins with the mixing of raw materials and culminates in the
packaging of new cement. Making concrete is a simpler process
that involves mixing four ingredients in a concrete mixer.

Limestone and clay are crushed and the resulting powder is then
mixed before being passed through a rotating heater. Once
heated this mixture travels over a conveyor belt and is ground
through a grinder. Now that the cement has been produced, it is
packaged and transported to a building site where it can be used
to make concrete.

Concrete is made up of half gravel, quarter sand, 10% water and

15% cement. All of these are added together in a cylindrical drum
and rotated until concrete is yielded.

(151 words)

The pie charts compare the proportions of Italian and Yemeni

citizens in three age groups in 2000 and projections for 2050.
It is clear that Yemen had the younger population in the year
2000, and the same is predicted for the year 2050. The
populations of both countries are predicted to get older over
the 50 year period.

In 2000 just over half the Yemeni population were under 14,
compared to just over 14% of Italians in the same age group.
Only a very small percentage of people in Yemen were over
60 at 3.6%, in contrast to nearly a quarter of the Italian
population. The two largest groups for both Italy and Yemen
fell into the 15-59 age group with just over 60% and 46.3%
respectively.

Yemens average age is set to increase with the proportion of

over 60s increasing by just over 2% and the middle group
rising by 11%, leaving the youngest group with a decrease of
nearly 13%. It is envisaged that by 2050 the number of people
in Italy over 60 will jump to 42.3%, the percentage of those in
the youngest bracket will drop to 11.5% and the share in the
middle category will decrease to 46.2%.

The graph compares the GDP per capita, cost of a Toyota

Camry and approximate length of time it takes for 1 citizen
to purchase that mode of transport in eight Asian
countries.

Despite having the second lowest average yearly income,

it costs more to buy this car in Vietnam than in all but one
other Asian nation. It also takes significantly longer for
a standard person to buy an automobile in Vietnam than in
any other state in Asia. On the other end of the scale,
Singaporeans have to pay nearly three times more for
their cars than the Vietnamese and it takes them the least
amount of time to afford a motor vehicle.

It costs $49,944 to buy a Toyota Camry in Vietnam, but

this dwarfs the average yearly income per person at just
$1,910. It would therefore take a normal man or woman
26.1 years to save up for that particular car.

This is in contrast to Singapore where it costs $126,245

for that model of motorcar, however the average salary is
much greater at $55,182. This means that it generally
takes just over 2 years for a typical individual from
Singapore to acquire this vehicle.

(200 words)
The line graph shows energy consumption by fuel type in the
United States from 1980-2008, with projected use until 2030.

Overall, fossil fuels have been the dominant type and will continue
this trend in to the future. Nuclear and renewable energy sources
have represented a small but significant proportion of total energy
use and despite small projected gains; it is projected that they will
continue doing so.

Petrol and Oil command the biggest share with 35 quadrillion

units (35q) in 1980, rising to approximately 40q in 2008 and this
trend is set to continue with a projected value of nearly 50q in
2030. In 1980 natural gas and coal came in second and third, with
around 16q and 20q respectively. However, coal overtook natural
gas in 1990 and despite some fluctuation, is set to be the second
most used fuel in 2030 with just over 30q. It is predicted that
natural gas will level off and remain relatively constant at about
25q.

Nuclear and the renewable energies all represented around 4q in

1980 and fluctuated up until 2008. It is speculated that nuclear
energy will reach 10q by 2030 and solar/wind around 5q, with
hydropower dropping and then remaining constant at
approximately 2q.
The chart below shows the percentage change in the share
of international students among university graduates in
different Canadian provinces between 2001 and 2006.

Save
The bar graph compares the percentage of overseas students
who graduated from universities in Canada over a five year period
from 2001 to 2006.

Overall, the number of graduations by international students rose

significantly in the 5-year period, with all universities seeing an
increase, with the exception of Alberta. The most significant
change in British Columbia was which saw their numbers
increase by over a factor of 2.

Between 2001 and 2006, New Brunswick rose by around five

percent from approximately 7% to just under 12%. Nova Scotia
followed a similar trend growing from just over 6% to
approximately 10%. However, the most significant change was in
British Columbia which began at around 4.5% and finished the
period slightly over 10%.

In contrast, the rest of the universities in Canada experienced a

small rise of between 2% to 3%, with the exception of Alberta,
which witnessed a slight decrease by about 2% from just under
6% in 2001 to just over 4% in 2006.

C10 T 2
The given tables provide sales information on coffee and bananas which
had Fair-trade labels attached to them and had been sold in five different
countries in Europe in 1999 and 2004. The sales prices are given in
millions of Euros and the fairtrade coffee and bananas indicate that the
farmers who produced these products are from developing countries and
have been paid a decent price for their production.

As a general trend, the UK was the largest market for Fairtrade labelled
coffee while Swiss people preferred bananas of this category in 2004.

As the table data demonstrates, the market for Fairtrade labelled coffee
and bananas witnessed a dramatic increase in 2004 than that of 5 years
ago. With regards to coffee sales, the highest amount of sales could be
observed in Switzerland in 1999 with exactly 3 million Euro sale volumes.
The sale in the UK in this year was half of that and the lowest sale was
recorded in Sweden with less than 1 million Euros. After 5 years, the sales
of coffee in these countries increase with a remarkable improvement in the
UK. The sales went up to 20 million Euros in the UK in 2004 with was
almost double than the combined sales amount in the remaining four
countries.

For the banana sales, Switzerland was the largest market in both years.
Sales amount in the rest of the countries summed to just over 4 million
while it was 15 million alone in Switzerland. The sales up surged
significantly and went up to 47 million while it decreased in Denmark.