IELTS Writing

The first task was to write a report based on a given diagram. Students had to write at least 150 words in less than 20 minutes.

Writing task 2 (an essay)

While some secondary schools provide general education in a range of traditional subjects, others offer specialized training in a few subjects. Which approach is better for children and why?

Speaking test

The following questions were asked on an IELTS speaking test recently held in Russia.

Interview

Where are you coming from?
Are you coming from a rural or an urban area?
What do you like or dislike about your place of living?
What are the advantages or disadvantages of living in that area?
Do you like dancing?
Have ever wanted to learn dancing? Why?
What languages do you speak?
What languages would you like to learn? Why?

Cue Card

Test takers were asked to speak about their favorite TV program. A cue card was given with the following questions.

When do you watch that program?
Why do you watch it?
What do you find interesting about that program?

Discussion

Do you think people spend a lot of time watching TV?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of watching TV programs?
What do you think about famous TV personalities?
Do you think they are really talented or just popular?

The following questions were asked during a  real IELTS exam. Practice answering them and try to frame questions of similar kind.

Interview

What is your name?

Are you working or studying?

Do you live in a city or a small town?

Can you tell me something about the recent changes in your home town?

Do you like the city you live in?

What, in your opinion, are the advantages of living in a city?

What is the meaning of your name?

Who gave you this name?

Who names children in your country?

Is there a special naming ceremony in your country?

How may I address you?

Cue card

The second part of the speaking test is a speech. A cue card will be given with a few questions. Test takers will be given 1 minute to prepare a speech that answers all of the questions given in the cue card.

Question

Speak about the happiest event in your life.

Follow up questions

What events make people happy?

What events make elderly people happy?

Do you think that rich people are happy?

Source: Office for National Statistics on behalf of the Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office.

Model Answer

The chart given above shows the average number of minutes per day British men and women spend in doing domestic tasks. In short, women spend about four hours in doing household tasks while men spend less than two and half hours.

The tasks that are more likely to be done by women than men include cooking, cleaning, washing and child care. While women spend 74 minutes in doing tasks like cooking, baking and washing up, men spend just 30 minutes. Women are also far more active than men when it comes to doing tasks like cleaning and house tidying (58 minutes per day for women as opposed to just 13 minutes for men). The areas where men are more active than women are gardening, pet care and odd maintenance jobs around the house. On an average, men spend 49.5 minutes per day in gardening and pet care whereas women spend 21 minutes on these tasks.

Women spend twice as much time as men on childcare. They also account for nearly all the time spend on tasks like washing, ironing and sewing (25 minutes for women as opposed to just 2 minutes for men).

Overall, the chart shows that routine domestic chores are mainly done by women, while men prefer doing tasks like household maintenance, gardening and pet care.

Interview
What is your full name?
Are you living in a big city?
What do you like about your house?
Is there anything you don’t like about your house?
Is there anything you would like to change about your house?
Do you like your name?
Have you ever wanted to change your name?

Speech

The second part of the IELTS speaking test is a speech. Test takers were asked to speak about their regular walks. A cue card was given with the following questions.

Where do you go for a walk?
Who do you walk with?
Describe what you see on the way
Why do you regularly go for a walk?

Discussion

The topic for discussion was related to the topic for speech. The following questions were discussed during the test.

Why walking makes people healthier?
Why do people like to go for a walk in the morning?
Do you think people of different ages exercise in different ways?
What activities are better than walking for staying healthy?

Interview

Are you working or studying?
Tell me something about your job?
Do you like your job?
Were you good at science subjects? Did you like your science classes at school?
Is there anything you didn’t like about your science classes?
What is the importance of science in our day-to-day life?
Do you like to go to musical concerts? Why?
Do you think concerts are the best for enjoying music?
What about other options?

Speech

Test takers were asked to talk about an apartment or a house they would like to live in.

A cue card was given with the following questions.

Describe that house / apartment in a few sentences
Say why you like it
Say where the house /apartment should be

Discussion

The topic for discussion was related to the topic for speech. The following questions were discussed.

Where would you like to live – in a city or in a rural area?
What are the differences between life in a village and life in a city?
What will be the future trends in lifestyle?
Do you think that governments will eventually ban large cities?
What are the advantages of living in a city?
What are the advantages of living in a village?

Writing
The IELTS writing test has two tasks – Task 1 is to write a letter or a report of 150 words. Task 2 is to write an essay of 250 words.
Task 1
You are moving to another city to pursue a short term course. Write a letter to a friend asking him to do the same course with you.
In your letter you should say:
Why you want your friend to do the course
What the benefits of the course are
How joining the course will improve the career prospects of your friend

Writing Task 2 (an essay)
Many historical buildings around the world have been destroyed or damaged. What are the reasons for this? How can you prevent this?

Speaking test
The Speaking test takes about 15 minutes. It has three parts – an interview, a short speech and a discussion.
The following questions were asked during the interview.
What is your name?
What is your full name?
Are you working or studying?
Do you enjoy your work?
Is there anything you don’t like about your work?
Do you want to change jobs?

Do you like your name?
Who names children in your country?

Speech
A cue card was given with the following questions:
How would you spend a day off?
Where would you like to go?
What would you like to do?
Whom would you like to go with?

Here are some questions that were asked in an IELTS test held recently.

Interview

What is your full name?
Are you working or studying?
Do you like your job?
Why do you like your job?
Is there anything that you don’t like about your job?
Where do you study?
Which is your favourite subject?
Do you like science subjects?
How do you travel to your college?
Is it a good college?
Do you like pets?
Do you think pets are important in our life? Why?
Do you think people should protect animals? Why?

Cue Card
Talk about a neighbor you know very well. Please say:
Who he / she is?
What do you like about him / her?
How did you meet him / her?

Discussion
The topic for discussion was related to neighbors. The points that needed to be discussed were:

1. Why do we need neighbors?
2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of having neighbors?
3. How often do you meet your neighbors?
4. Are your neighbors involved with social work of some sort?

Example questions are:

Can you tell me your full name?

Can you tell me something about the town / city you live in?

Please tell me something about your apartment?

Do you have a hobby?

Have you got many friends?

Do you like the city you live in?

What do you like about your city?

Is there anything you don’t like about your city?

Do you like your name?

Have you ever wanted to change your name?

Do you enjoy studying English?

Why are you taking your IELTS exam?

While answering avoid monosyllabic answers like ‘yes’ or ‘no’.  Instead give full answers.

Examples are:

Question: Tell me a little about where you come from?

Answer: I am from Mumbai. It is a port city situated on the western coast of India. Mumbai is the financial capital of India. It is also known for its busy streets and cultural monuments.

Question: Do you enjoy studying English?

Answer: Oh yes! My knowledge of English helps me communicate with people all over the world. And knowing English also means that I have access to all the information on the internet. I also enjoy watching English films.

The IELTS test has two modules – an Academic Module and a General Training Module: The Academic Module is taken by students seeking admission to universities and colleges of higher learning. The General Training Module is taken by candidates who want to pursue non-academic training or gain work experience.

The IELTS tests a student’s listening, reading, writing and speaking skills in English. The test consists of four modules.

Listening – 4 sections, 40 questions, 30 minutes

The listening section has four subsections. During the listening module, candidates are required to listen to pre-recorded tapes and answer questions based on what they hear. The listening module lasts for 30 minutes. Candidates are allowed 20 minutes to listen to the tapes and another 10 minutes to transfer their answers to the Answer Sheet. While listening they are allowed to take notes.

Speaking – interview, 15 minutes

The speaking module lasts for 15 minutes. There will usually be a personal interview, a little speech and a discussion.

Reading – 3 sections, 40 questions, 60 minutes

The reading module has three sections. It lasts for 60 minutes. Passages are given for reading and candidates are required to answer 40 questions based on the given passages. Note that the reading module is different for academic and general training. The reading test may also consist of other kinds of assignments.

Writing – 2 tasks, 60 minutes

The writing test lasts for 1 hour. There will be two tasks. Candidates are given 20 minutes to write a letter or report and 40 minutes to write an essay. The writing module is different for academic and general training.

Score

The IELTS test is rated on a score of 1 to 9. Candidates can also get half scores such as 6.5 or 7.5. Prestigious universities usually demand a score of 6 or above. Many universities also specify a minimum score in each of the 4 sections.

Where do I take the test?

Accredited IELTS test centers are available throughout the world. Up to 48 test dates are available in a year. Some test centers allow students to take the computer-based version of IELTS.