Many people feel that the listening paper (and listening to English in general) is difficult because the speaker is fast. This is actually a common misconception: in the IELTS test you have to listen to ‘fast’ or rather ‘normal’ speech and also answer questions. But you do not need superhero hearing or writing to do this – all you need is to know how to listen efficiently.

HERE ARE THE THREE GOLDEN RULES FOR DOING LISTENING TESTS:

You do not need to listen to every word.

In a stream of speech there will only be one or two phrases which you will need in order to answer the question. You just have to locate them. A good tip is that important words are often stressed and repeated.

You need to know why you are listening.

We always have a reason for listening. In the IELTS the reasons is the question – so read the question carefully and try to pick out the key words.

You should try to predict the answer.

Once you have identified the key words, you are ready to have a guess at the correct answer. If you predict the answer before listening, you will listen in a more focused way. Remember, you only listen once in the IELTS, so do not waste your chance!

You will need to use these three strategies together in order to succeed in the listening test.

Please find further advice on how to develop listening skills for IELTS at the official Cambridge ESOL website and on Learn English by the British Council.

You should start with the introduction, and end with the conclusion.

The other paragraphs in between will depend on how many points you wish to make. Remember that each paragraph should have only one main idea. The next paragraph will introduce a new idea. You should link the paragraphs using expressions like ‘On the other hand’ (if the new paragraph is in contrast to the first one) or ‘Furthermore’ (if the new paragraph is a new idea which agrees with the first one).

Let’s look at a typical question and suggested paragraph plan:

In Britain, when someone gets old they often go to live in a home with other older people where there are nurses to look after them. Sometimes the government has to pay for this care.

Who do you think should pay for this care, the government or the family?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your experience.

Plan:

Introduction                       

Re-phrase the question to introduce the topic and state your opinion ‘I believe that the government should pay for this care – but not for all’.

Paragraph 1

First reason – every old person should get the same chance regardless of their income or the income of their family.

Paragraph 2

Second reason – we work all our lives and pay taxes so that in our old age when we cannot work, we do not have to worry about supporting ourselves.

Paragraph 3

Contrasting point – if a family is very rich, they should not be able to get money from the government to care for elderly relatives.

Conclusion  

Restate your opinion and the reasons. Final (personal) line about how you intend to care for your elderly relatives in the future.  

Remember, each paragraph should be linked and have only one main idea. You should develop each idea with supporting details, for example: evidence, personal experience, explanation f the point.

For more tips on General and Academic writing task , please visit the IELTS Writing free online resources on the Cambridge ESOL website.

This is one of the trickiest IELTS reading tasks. Candidates often get confused about the difference between ‘no/false’ and ‘not given’. ‘No’ or ‘false’ means that there is something in the text which explicitly contradicts the statement. ‘Not given’ means that there is nothing in the text to contradict or confirm the statement. Be careful not to use your knowledge of the topic to answer this question – you must base your answer only on what is written in the text.

Here is an example.

Look at the paragraph above and the three statements below. Do the statements agree with the information given in the paragraph?

Write:

True if the statement agrees with the information

False if the statement contradicts the information

Not given if there is no information on this

1. ‘No’ and ‘false’ mean the same thing.

2. Many IELTS candidates fail this part of the test.

3. ‘Not given’ means that you should use your own ideas.

Answers to exercise above:

1. True    2. Not given   3. False      

How did you do this task? Did you underline key words and phrases in each statement? Did you look for these words and phrases in the text? A good tip for this type of question is to think about how you answered the question – this will help you develop strategies for future questions like this.

You can find lots of practice for the reading test at the official Cambridge ESOL website and on Learn English by the British Council where you can download some mock papers.

Do not worry about this – it probably will not happen. The topics for this part are chosen because they are of general interest. Everyone can say something about the environment!

Some tips for part two:

Take a minute to think and plan what you will say (your speaking will be much better as a result)

Use the bullet points on the task card to structure your contribution

Try to relax, do not speak too fast.

Finally, you can easily prepare for this part by brainstorming your ideas for different common topics (family, work, holidays, festivals, etc.). You can join with friends to have discussions on these kinds of topics. This will definitely make you less nervous on the day of the examination.

You can find more advice at the Cambridge ESOL website

1. Read instructions carefully, don’t just glance at them. They are not always the same as in practise or previous tests.
2. Often the speaker will give you an answer and then correct themselves-watch out for this. It’s a common trick.
3. Try and anticipate what the speaker will say. This requires concentration-easy in your own language, but more difficult in English.
4. Remember if you want a high score you should aim to get all questions in parts one and two correct. Don’t make any careless mistakes in the easier sections.
5. Although there are not that many IELTS books on the market other Cambridge exam preparation materials can provide valuable practise such as FCE and CAE preparation books.
6. Small errors can lead to low score such as spelling, omitting 's' or incomplete times.
7. Don’t  panic if you think the topic is too difficult or the speaker is too fast. Relax and tune in.
8. Read, write and listen at the same time. Tricky but practise!!
9. Don’t leave blanks, you might as well guess you won’t be penalised.

1. Leave a question if you can’t answer. To spend a long time on one answer is disastrous. Go back later if you have time and guess if you have too.
2. Don’t panic if you don’t know anything about the passage. All the answers are in the passage and you don’t need any specialist knowledge.
3. Remember you have no extra time to transfer your answers, many candidates think because they have extra time in listening they are able to do this in reading too. You can’t.
4. Before the exam read as widely as possible e.g. Newspapers, magazines, journals. Don’t limit yourself to one type of text and read articles with an academic style where possible.
5. Look at ways paragraphs are organised.
6. Try and predict content of paragraph from the opening sentence.
7. Give a paragraph you read an imaginary heading.
8. Don’t concentrate on words you don’t know. It is fatal and wastes valuable time.
9. Careless mistakes cost many marks. Copy the answer correctly if it is in the passage.
10. Check spelling.
11. Only give one answer if that is all that’s needed.
12. Be careful with singular/plural.

1. Highlight/circle key words.
2. Clearly divide paragraphs.
3. Don’t repeat ideas in a different way.
4. Stick to the topic.
5. Careful with timing-don’t rush Task 2, it’s longer and carries more weight.
6. Paragraph simply with one idea in each paragraph.
7. Avoid informal language.
8. Learn to recognise how long 150 words is in your handwriting. You don’t really have time to count.
9. Get used to always spending several minutes re-reading and correcting your essays.
10. Don’t memorise model answers, they won’t fit the question and you will make more careless mistakes.

1. It tests your ability to communicate effectively not just your grammatical accuracy.
2. Don’t learn chunks of answers. The examiner is trained to spot this and will change the question.
3. Develop your answers as much as possible.
4. Speak more than the examiner.
5. Ask for clarification if necessary.
6. Remember it is not a test of knowledge and there is no single answer, but ensure that you give your opinion. Don’t worry if you feel it is not sophisticated enough.
7. The areas covered are fairly predictable and not infinite so practise at home recording ideas onto a tape recorder.

View also some IELTS interview skills videos showcasing British humour and fairly sound advice.

  Good luck!