Listening

			takes around 30 minutes
			there are 40 questions
			the first two sections are concerned with social needs
			the final two sections are concerned with situations related more closely to educational or training contexts
			the text is recorded on a tape and is heard once only.

Some hints

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.

Reading

			takes 60 minutes
			there are 40 questions
			there are three sections of increasing difficulty with a total of 2,000 to 2,750 words
			texts are taken from magazines, journals, books and newspapers.

Some hints

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.

Writing

			takes 60 minutes
			task one requires at least 150 words and should take about 20 minutes.
			task two requires at least 250 words and should take about 40 minutes.

Some hints

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.

Speaking

			takes 12 to 15 minutes
			part one focuses on the exchange of everyday information
			part two requires that candidates give a small speech
			part three is a discussion of global issues

Some hints

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.