Listening test

Section 1: About a dinosaur park.
Section 2: About a marine desert students were taking a trip to.
Sections 3, 4: Do not remember, unfortunately.

Reading test

Passage 1: About different measures that were taken by scientists from time to time to check efficiency.
Questions: Diagram labeling.

Passage 2: Different senses of taste.

Passage 3: How active sports was related to our mental faculties, a very descriptive and technical piece.

Writing test

Writing task 1 (a report)
We had a graph about four tourism-related industries and their employment opportunities over a 5 year period

Writing task 2 (an essay)
Why teenage criminals are on the rise world-wide? What are the causes and possible solutions?

Speaking test

Interview
- Do you work / are you a student?
- What kind of training did you have to undergo?
- Do you like vegetables?
- Did you like them when you were younger?
- Is fresh produce readily available where you live?
- Did you love reading as a child?
- Do you like reading now?

Cue card
Talk about sports that is popular in your country, you should say
- how did you first learn about this sport?
- is is easy to play this sport?

Discussion
- Why do some people do dangerous sports?
- Do you find amount of sports shown on TV excessive?
- Should there be a regulation on sports shown on TV?

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Writing test

Writing task 1 (a letter)
You have been invited by your colleague to his farewell party. You are not able to attend the party, write a letter to the friend
- explain the situation,
- say why you are not attending,
- say something about the period you have worked together and his/her work.

Writing task 2 (an essay)
Some parents say that their children are wasting enough time reading entertainment books. Children should spend their time reading serious educational books. What is your opinion? Give relevant examples.

Speaking test (version 1)

Interview
- Are you student or working?
- What did you study?
- Do you watch TV? How many hours?
- Do you think TV is educational?
- Celebration in your country – how do people celebrate?

Cue card
You want to throw a party and invite your relatives. Talk about
- what is the reason for this celebration,
- where it will be held,
- what will you do.

Discussion
- Do you have parties often? Do you like to give a party?
- Do you like to see your friends at parties?
- Do you invite people to your house for a party?

Speaking test (version 2)

Interview
- Where are you from?
- What should I call you?
- Currently where are you living?
- How long have you been living there?
- Which room do you like best? (Why / Why not)?
- What should you do to make your room look its best?
- Do you like outing with friends?
- Do you like going out with 1 or 2 friends or a group of friends? (why /Why Not)?

Cue card
Talk about a change you would like to make in your life, you should say:
- What kind of change it would be?
- When would you like to make it?
- Why?
- What is the main reason for this change?

Discussion
My examiner asked me some questions regarding changes in life, why do people go to foreign countries and more similar questions.

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Speaking test 1

Interview
- What is your name?
- Do you work or study?
- Why did you choose this job?
- Who do you have to communicate at work with?
- What do you write every day?
- Do you prefer working with people or on your own?
- Where do you like to go out? How often?
- Do you prefer to go out with a large group of friends or with just a few?

Cue card
Describe a historic place you visited.

Discussion
- Do people often visit historic places?
- Why do you think people visit historic places?
- Should there be an entrance fee to visit places like that?
- Where people can get to know history from?
- Is it important for directors of movies about history to show the true facts and why?
- Do you know any example of movies where facts were changed a bit?

Speaking test 2

Interview
- What is your name?
- What kind of job do you have?
- What do you like and dislike about this job?
- Why did you chose this job?
- What is included in your job?
- Talk about your daily routine, when do you get up?
- What is your favorite time of the day?
- What would you like to change in your daily routine?

Cue card
Talk about a speech that you heard, you should say
- who the talk was given by,
- where it was,
- what is was about,
why it was interesting to you.

Discussion
- Talk about speeches and talks in general and about different ways of giving talks.
- Why are so many people nervous when speaking in front of grown-ups?
- What is important to remember when making a speech?

Speaking test 3

Interview
- What is your name?
- What do you do? Student or working?
- Why did you choose your subject?
- Why is it interesting?

Cue card
Discuss about your favorite subject at school, you should say:
- Why did you like it?
- How you were taught this subject at school?
- Do you find it helpful now?

Discussion
- What do you think about teaching as a profession?
- What are the characteristics of a good teacher and what are the characteristics of a bad teacher?
- Which one is most beneficial, studying alone or studying in a group? Why?

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Listening test

Section 1: A phone call, Patrick was asking about taking part in Sahara race.
Questions: Multiple choice questions and fill in the blanks.

Section 2: A talk about a pre-school co-operative.
Questions: Fill in the blanks.

Section 3: Asian honey bees in Australia
Questions: Multiple choice.

Section 4: Australian railway.
Questions: Fill in the blanks, multiple choice questions.

Reading test

Passage 1: Seaweed in New Zealand.
Questions: Matching headings, fill a flow chart.

Passage 2: Scientific theories about communication / teaching process of ants.
Questions: Matching statements to a person named in the text, True / False / Not given.

Passage 3: About an Arctic explorer and about an author who wrote a book about the explorer.
Questions: Multiple choice, summary completion, matching paragraphs to statements.

Writing test

Writing task 1 (a report)
There was a 4-line graph about development of new homes in a specific region in the UK between 2000 and 2008, plus a prediction about 2010.

Writing task 2 (an essay)
Influence of advertisements on children: parents object to the pressure, while advertisers say that they also give some useful information in their spots. Discuss both sides and state your opinion.

Speaking questions that P. and K. remembered will be published tomorrow.

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Winners are able to share their techniques, which feels very nice, if you love sharing. And everyone else gets to benefit from our collective experience. This is what makes IELTS-Blog so great – we all help each other, and a success of one person helps others do better. Let’s keep this good thing going, submit your results, become a winner, share your tips.

And now allow me to introduce our winners in October 2009:

Khan Ihsan from Pakistan, Band 8.0 in Academic module

Sarbjeet Kaur from India, Band 8.0 in Academic module

Coleen Jones from the UK, Band 8.5 in General Training module

Well done, I am proud of you and happy for you, I wish you all the best with your future plans. May you have the same success in everything you do!

Your results are right on top of our winners page and according to our tradition, your very own special certificates are on their way to your Inboxes.

My dear winners, don’t miss your chance to give something back. We all are waiting for you to share your best tips and secrets of success. Please send me an email and answer this question: “What does it take to get a high score in IELTS?”. Your answers will be published to give everyone a chance to learn from the high achievers.

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Listening Test

The only thing S. remembered was many questions of “fill in the blanks” type, using one – three words, and a few of multiple choice questions.

Reading Test

Passage 1: A tour package.

Passage 2: Medical policy for university students.

Passage 3: Studies about differences between men & women throughout history.

Questions: Filling in the gaps (one,two or three words), Multiple choices (a,b or c), Matching headings to paragraphs.

Writing Test

Writing task 1 (a letter)
Write a letter to the head of the department of education to show your appreciation of a course you attended. In you letter
- explain about the course,
- how have the course benefited you in your life/work.

Writing task 2 (an essay)
Machines have taken over domestic jobs that used to be done by hand. What are the advantages and disadvantages of this? Give examples from your own experience.

strong>Speaking Test

Interview
- What is your name?
- May I see your ID?
- Where do you live?
- Why did you choose to live there?

Cue Card
Talk about the climate in your country, you should say:
- How hot or cold is the climate?
- How much rain do you get?

Discussion
- Do you think your friends will like the weather here, in Australia?
- Compare the Australian weather to the one of your home country.
- What kind of weather do you like and why?
- How do you think weather affects economy?

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IELTS Writing – General tips.

Key points – Write in pencil if possible (easier to erase for corrections), and carry a good stock of words to avoid constant sharpening. Use a good stock of words, and minimise spelling mistakes.

1. I carried a red pen with me for annotation, but decided to WRITE THE LETTER AND ESSAY IN PENCIL, as it is easier to erase a line. Carry a good supply of pencils and erasers to avoid having to sharpen them. I took the ones with ‘press-down tips’, basically a long piece of graphite inside a plastic coating, which is clicked to enable a nib to emerge each time it erodes.

2. Needless to say, have a good stock of words and minimise spelling mistakes (click here to read how).

3. What are the factors that make a person look beautiful? These will be the same elements that will make your letter and essay appear beautiful. The four components are :

(a) skeleton (structure)

(b) muscles / fat (content)

(c) skin (wrapping)

(d) balance (harmony)

If any one factor weakens, the overall appeal falls. Someone with lustrous skin may lose attraction if they are too thin or large. A muscular person will have less charm with sagging skin.

Finally, individually beautiful parts that fail to integrate will make your construction appear piece-meal, like a Picasso painting, or someone with flawless Nordic skin on one half of her face and beautiful Mediterranean skin on the other!!

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I carried a red pen with me, which was invaluable.

Key points – Scan the ‘reading sections’ and ‘questions’, and decide the sections you will answer first. After picking a section, read the questions relating to it in detail, then read the section in detail. While reading, underline and annotate them with key words in bold red for easy reference. Quick referencing is vital.

1. We received 4 reading sections. I rapidly scanned through all 4 sections and questions to identify the easier sections, and then tackled them in that order.

2. After selecting a section, I read it’s questions in detail, underlying key words in a red pen, and summarising it in 2-3 words in bold red next to it. For e.g. if the question was “how many times did the explorer Captain Scott return to England after his first trip”, I would write next to it in red “RETURN UK > 1st ?”. This helps in quick referral to the question when studying the main body.

3. I then went back to the reading section, studying it in detail, and annotating it with my red pen. For e.g., if there were ten paragraphs, I would write in bold red what the paragraph related to right next to it. This assists in quickly determining the likely paragraph a question relates to. I further underlined the possible answers, a task made easy as I could rapidly and readily read questions from their red summary in 3.2.

OVERALL – I found this module easy, as though I did not get time to practice, I am accustomed to reading large reports. I finished half-way through, and then proceeded to check my answers, twice. I noted with satisfaction that I did not need to change a single answer on revision. I got grade 9.

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Key points – you must be highly alert for this module. Watch out for questions that involve intentional deviations from the most obvious answer.

1. The key skill to master here is ATTENTIVENESS. You cannot allow your concentration to falter for even a second. I did not find time to practice this, and experienced momentary lapses on two occasions.

Four topics were played out to us, each with about 4 questions. I found that in each topic, I was alert for the first two questions but became distracted by the 3rd one. As soon as I realised this, I would snap into attention for the 4th question. Other students narrated similar tales of woe, so I would recommend being particularly vigilant about the 3rd question.

2. Another exam ploy is DEVIATION FROM THE MOST OBVIOUS ANSWER. For e.g., the CD may play “the new tap was placed on the top shelf”. If the question is “where is the kitchen tap?” with possible answers “kitchen sink, chair, shelf, car”, an inattentive brain may attract you to the obvious but incorrect answer of “kitchen sink”.

OVERALL – This exam is otherwise easy. Questions are read out in order of answers, so you do not need to search up and down. My attention faltered twice, both times on 3rd questions, and I filled these in from imperfect memory. I got grade 9, so I don’t know if I was lucky with those 2 questions, or they award a perfect grade even if you make an error or two.

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5. Minimise spelling mistakes as far as possible. While individual mistakes are not catastrophic, a growing body of errors not only haemorrhages marks, it irritates the marker.

I am weak in this as I constantly use a computer spell-checker, so I googled “200 common spelling mistakes” and studied them, employing ‘memory techniques’ as necessary.

For e.g., harass and embarrass are commonly misspelled. I visualised J-Lo being allowed to bring her donkey to the Oscars (her ass : as there is only one ‘r’ in ‘her’, the correct spelling is harass). However, I was barred (two ‘r’s) from doing so, thus two r’s in “embarrass”.

Privilege is often misspelled as privilege, so I remembered “it is a privilege to have “both LEGs”, thus priviLEGe !! A trite technique, but effective.

A note from Simone: Don’t forget that both British and American versions of spelling are allowed.

6. If, like me, you have not sat for exams for a while, your level of concentration will be lower than that of a 20 year old student, so actively and consciously focus.

Further, if you use keyboards to type, using a pen / pencil in the one hour writing exam may strain your fingers, so try writing out a few pages beforehand.

7. Be fresh, have a good night’s sleep, and don’t drink too much before the exam as centres may not permit visits to facilities during exam hours. If you are naturally nervous, carry an arsenal of toffees in with you.

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