Отправлено: 19.09.09 21:33. Заголовок: Hints for IELTS

любая полезная информация для сдающих экзамен IELTS

 Отправлено: 19.09.09 21:34. Заголовок: Speaking DOs and DON..

Speaking DOs and DON'Ts


Talk to the examiner – you’ll feel more involved in the conversation.


Listen carefully to the questions you’re asked so that your answers are relevant.


Answer the questions you’re asked with some detail so that your answers are long enough.


Practise speaking for 2 minutes for the long turn in Part 2.


Use the preparation time in Part 2 to think about what is written on the card.


Use the instructions and prompts on the card in Part 2 to help you to organise your long turn.


Practise ways of delaying answers to give yourself time to think in Part 3.


Explain your opinions and give examples to support them.



Don't learn answers by heart.


Don't give very short answers except when the examiner interrupts you at the end of the 2 minutes in Part 2. At this point the examiner needs to move on to Part 3 of the test and only expects a short answer to his/her questions.


Don't talk about something different from what’s on the card in Part 2.


Don’t worry if the examiner stops you in Part 2. It means you have spoken enough, and s/he has to keep to the timing of the test.


Don’t worry if you can’t think of a word, try to paraphrase and get round it.


Don’t write on the task card.


Don’t worry if you realise you’ve made a mistake. It’s OK to correct yourself. If you can't correct yourself, forget it and carry on.


Don’t ask the examiner if what you say is correct.

 Отправлено: 19.09.09 21:34. Заголовок: Listening DOs and DO..

Listening DOs and DON'Ts


Listen carefully to the introduction to each section. This will give you useful information about the situation and the speakers.


Use the time at the beginning of each section (and in the middle of Sections 1 – 3) to look through the questions and think about the topic.


Read the instructions for each task carefully. Remember to check the maximum number of words allowed.


Write all your answers as you listen – remember you won’t hear the recording a second time.


Check that what you write makes sense in the context.


Answer all the questions even if you don’t feel sure about an answer – you may have understood more than you think.


Wait until the end of the test to transfer your answers. You have ten minutes for this which is plenty of time.


Write clearly when you transfer your answers. If an answer isn’t clear on your answer sheet, you will lose the mark.


Check your spelling (and grammar where necessary).



Don't worry if you have to cross out or change an answer.


Don't panic if you miss one question. Look ahead and concentrate on the next one.


Don't try to rephrase what you hear. Write down the words you hear which fit the question.


Don’t write more than the maximum number of words or letters allowed for each answer.


Don’t copy any words that were printed on the Question Paper when you transfer your answers to the Answer Sheet.

 Отправлено: 19.09.09 21:35. Заголовок: General Training Wri..

General Training Writing DOs and DON'Ts


Read the instructions carefully.


Plan before writing – thinking about why you are writing (purpose) and who you are writing to (audience).


Order your information in the sequence that is common in English letters and essays.


Include all the information you are required to.


Write your answer on the answer sheet.


Link your ideas and paragraphs.


Keep to the timing.


Check your writing once you have finished – for style, completeness, linking, logical structure and accuracy of language.


Support arguments in Task 2 with examples and evidence.



Don't copy from other people’s work.


Don't write less than the required number of words.


Don't repeat task instructions in your writing.


Don’t write any addresses in the letter in Task 1.


Don’t use note form or bullet points.


Don’t leave out any required information.


Don’t waste your time learning essays by heart to use in the exam. You will be penalised for this and you will waste valuable time that could be spent developing good writing skills.

 Отправлено: 19.09.09 21:36. Заголовок: Academic Writing DOs..

Academic Writing DOs and DON'Ts

Make sure that you read all of the information in the questions very carefully and respond appropriately.

Make sure that you follow all instructions including the number of words that you need to write.

Make sure that you stop Writing Task 1 after 20 minutes to allow enough time to answer Writing Task 2.

Remember that Writing Task 2 carries more marks, so you need plenty of time to answer it.

Make sure that, for Task 1, you use figures or data from the question paper accurately.

Make sure that you plan your ideas before you begin to write. For Writing Task 1, stop to locate and select the most important pieces of information. For Writing Task 2, take time to organise your ideas and argument.

Be sure to provide supporting evidence for any of your claims or views in Writing Task 2.

Leave time to check your answer for careless mistakes at the end. Try to check for spelling mistakes, verb and subject agreement, singular/plural nouns, tense mistakes and problems of fluency.

Make sure that all of your ideas are relevant to the question.

Try to avoid repeating the same words, phrases and ideas too often. Try to use a range of vocabulary. Try to make sure that you do not repeat the same idea too often, make sure you explore different ideas to provide a well-balanced response.

Make sure you write as clearly as possible.

Make sure that you produce organised and linked paragraphs and that the style of your language is academic.


Don't copy from other people’s work.

Don't write less than the required number of words.

Don't repeat task instructions in your writing.

Don’t use note form or bullet points.

Don’t leave out any required information.

Don’t waste your time learning essays by heart to use in the exam. You will be penalised for this and you will waste valuable time that could be spent developing good writing skills.

Don’t simply copy words and phrases from the question paper, try to use your own words at all times by paraphrasing the question.

 Отправлено: 19.09.09 21:37. Заголовок: General Training Rea..

General Training Reading DOs and DON'Ts


Keep an eye on the time: it will probably seem to pass very quickly, so take care not to spend too much time on any one passage or question. Remember that you only have 60 minutes to answer the questions and to transfer your answers to your Answer Sheet.


Start at the beginning and work through. If you cannot do a particular question leave it and go on to the next. You can then return to that question later if you have time. Put a mark next to this question on the Question Paper so that you can find it again quickly.


Answer as many questions as you can.


Look carefully at the title of the passage and any subtitles and illustrations it may have. You can get a quick idea of what the passage is about from these.


Read the instructions for each set of questions very carefully: it is important to do exactly what you are asked to do.


Remember to skim the questions before reading the passage so that you have a purpose for reading.


Make sure you give the passage a quick read through so that you are familiar with the topic and how it is developed in the passage. An understanding of the text structure can be very helpful in answering the questions.


Use the glossary, if there is one provided, to help you understand unfamiliar words.


Pay attention to any examples that are provided.


Make sure that your answers keep to the word limit: if you are asked for ‘NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS’, for example, then do not write more.


Make sure that you copy words accurately from the text: spelling mistakes will mean that you will lose the mark for that question.


Make sure that where you have to write an answer yourself (e.g. Short-answer Questions, Sentence Completion, Summary Completion), your answer is grammatically correct.



Don't waste time reading the whole passage each time for each set of questions. Remember that many types of questions ask you to locate or check details in the text. In cases like this you need to skim quickly through the passage rather than read the whole thing carefully.


Don't go back to the beginning of the passage for each question when you know from the task type that the answers will come in the order of the information in the passage.


Don't forget that questions can come before the reading passage as well as after.


Don’t become anxious if there are questions you cannot answer. Leave them and move onto the next questions. You can always come back to the ones you couldn’t answer if you have time.


Don’t worry if you don’t understand every word. It may not be necessary to understand all the words in order to answer the questions correctly.


Don’t forget that you must write your answers on your Answer Sheet.


Don’t write more than one word or answer when only one word or answer is required; even if one of your answers is correct, you will not receive a mark.

 Отправлено: 19.09.09 21:37. Заголовок: Academic Reading DOs..

Academic Reading DOs and DON'Ts


Keep an eye on the time: it will probably seem to pass very quickly, so take care not to spend too much time on any one passage or question. Remember that you only have 60 minutes to answer the questions and to transfer your answers to your Answer Sheet.


Start at the beginning of the test and work through it. If you cannot do a particular question, leave it and go on to the next. You can then return to that question later if you have time. Put a mark next to this question on the Question Paper so that you can find it again quickly.


Answer as many questions as you can.


Look carefully at the title of the passage and any subtitles and illustrations it may have. You can get a quick idea of what the passage is about from these.


Read the instructions for each set of questions very carefully: it is important to do exactly what you are asked to do


Where appropriate remember to skim the questions before reading the passage so that you have a purpose for reading.


Make sure you give the passage a quick read through so that you are familiar with the topic and how it is developed in the passage. An understanding of the text structure can be very helpful in answering the questions.


Use the glossary, if there is one provided, to help you understand unfamiliar words.


Pay attention to any examples that are provided.


Make sure that your answers keep to the word limit asked for: if you are asked for ‘NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS’, for example, then do not write more.


Make sure that you copy words accurately from the text: spelling mistakes will mean that you will lose the mark for that question.


Make sure that where you have to write an answer yourself, your answer is grammatically correct, (e.g. Short-answer Questions, Sentence Completion, Summary Completion).



Don't waste time reading the whole passage each time for each set of questions. Remember that many task types ask you to locate or check details in the text. In cases like this you need to skim quickly through the passage rather than read it all carefully.


Don't go back to the beginning of the passage for each question when you know from the task type that the answers will come in the order of the information in the passage.


Don’t forget that questions can come before the reading passage as well as after.


Don't become anxious if there are questions you cannot answer. Leave them and move onto the next questions. You can always come back to the ones you couldn’t answer at the end of the test if you have time.


Don’t worry if you don’t understand every word. It may not be necessary to understand all the words in order to answer the questions correctly.


Don’t forget that you must write your answers on your Answer Sheet. You will not be given extra time to do this at the end of the test.


Don’t write more than one answer when only one is required; even if one of your answers is correct, you will not receive a mark.