IELTS Test

The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is a test of English language proficiency, developed by the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate. IELTS is now accepted as evidence of a prospective student's level of English by most universities in English speaking countries.

There are two different IELTS tests that you can do: Academic and General. The following information will deal only with the Academic test as this is the test used for university entrance.

IELTS is not a test that you can pass or fail. Your assessment will be reported according to a scale from bands one to nine. You will need to contact the university you wish to enter to find out the IELTS score they require for entry into your chosen course. Band one indicates that you have virtually no English at all. Band nine is native speaker proficiency. Universities in Australia typically require a band score of between 6 and 7.

The test questions and tasks have been designed to reflect the general interests of people from an educated background. You will therefore not be required to have any specialist knowledge.

The test has four components - Reading, Writing, Listening, Speaking. You will receive a band score for each component as well as a global band score.

Reading

The IELTS reading test takes one hour. In this time you are required to read three texts of between 500 and 900 words each. The texts and questions increase in difficulty. There will be around 40 questions to answer and record on the answer sheet within the 60 minutes.

Most students come out of the reading test feeling that there wasn't enough time to complete the exam paper. For this reason it is very important that you take a number of timed practice reading tests before the actual exam day to develop the skills of skimming and scanning and other timesaving strategies.

Writing

The IELTS writing test takes one hour. In this time you are required to complete two tasks: TASK ONE is a report based on some graphic information provided on the question paper. The graphic information will come in one of five forms. You are required to describe the information or the process in a report of 150 words. This task should be completed in 20 minutes. It is important that you are familiar with the language appropriate to report writing generally and to each of the five types of report.

TASK TWO is an essay based on a topic given on the question paper. You should write at least 250 words in 40 minutes.

It is important that you keep within the advised time limits as Task Two carries more weight in your final band score than Task One. Remember that illegible handwriting will reduce your final score.

Listening

The IELTS listening test takes approximately 30 minutes. The listening material is recorded on a cassette tape which you will hear only once. There are four sections in the listening test presented in order of increasing difficulty. The first two sections are on topics of general interest such as a report of a lost bag or an introduction to a public facility. Section one will be in the form of a dialogue, section two will be a monologue. Sections three and four will have an education or training focus. There will be a lecture and a discussion between two and four people.

As you listen you should write your answers on the question booklet. At the end of the recorded material you will be given ten minutes to copy your answers onto the answer sheet.

Most candidates come out of the listening test not feeling very confident of their answers after listening to the recording only once. For this reason it is very important that you take a number of timed practice listening tests before the actual exam day to become familiar with the style of questions asked, the speed of the speech and to develop the skill of recording your answers as you listen.

Speaking

The IELTS speaking test takes between 11 and 14 minutes and is in the form of an oral interview between the candidate and an examiner.

During the interview you will need to answer questions asked by the interviewer, speak at length on a topic selected by the interviewer and give and justify your opinions on a range of issues related to that topic.

The interview has three main parts:

• some general questions about yourself, your life and your interests
• a short talk on a particular topic
• a discussion of issues linked to the talk in part 2

It is important that you relax and speak as confidently as you can. Candidates who are not able to participate fully in the conversation may not achieve their potential band score. This may be because they haven't been able to demonstrate the level of language they are capable of producing.

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Further information

For further information about the test, see the IELTS Handbook available from all test centres and also from UCLES (University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate), IDP Education Australia and from British Council Centres around the world.

Visit the official IELTS website at http://www.ielts.org