WHAT IS IELTS?
International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is a standardized test jointly conducted by The British Council, Cambridge English Language Assessment and IDP Education. The test was established in 1989 to test and certify the proficiency of the non-native English speakers. IELTS is a very popular English language proficiency test accepted by most universities across the world.
Reading
The Reading paper has three sections and texts totalling 2,150-2,750 words. There will be a variety of question types, such as multiple choice, short-answer questions, identifying information, identifying writer's views, labelling diagrams, completing a summary using words taken from the text and matching information/headings/features in the text/sentence endings. Test takers should be careful when writing down their answers as they will lose marks for incorrect spelling and grammar.
Listening
The module comprises four sections, with ten questions in each section. It takes 40 minutes: 30 - for testing, plus 10 for transferring the answers to an answer sheet. Each section begins with a short introduction telling the test taker about the situation and the speakers. Then they have some time to look through the questions. The questions are in the same order as the information in the recording, so the answer to the first question will be before the answer to the second question, and so on. The first three sections have a break in the middle allowing test takers to look at the remaining questions. Each section is heard only once. At the end of the test students are given 10 minutes to transfer their answers to an answer sheet. Test takers will lose marks for incorrect spelling and grammar.
Writing
The Writing paper has two tasks which must both be completed. In task 1 test takers write at least 150 words in about 20 minutes. In task 2 test takers write at least 250 words in about 40 minutes. Test takers will be penalised if their answer is too short or does not relate to the topic. Answers should be written in full sentences (test takers must not use notes or bullet points).
Speaking
The speaking test is a face-to-face interview between the test taker and an examiner. The speaking test contains three sections
Section 1: Introduction and interview (4–5 minutes). Test takers may be asked about their home, family, work, studies, hobbies, interests, reasons for taking IELTS exam as well as other general topics such as clothing, free time, computers and the Internet.
Section 2: Long turn (3–4 minutes). Test takers are given a task card about a particular topic. Test takers have one minute to prepare to talk about this topic. The task card states the points that should be included in the talk and one aspect of the topic which must be explained during the talk. Test takers are then expected to talk about the topic for 2 minutes, after which the examiner may ask one or two questions.
Section 3: Discussions (4–5 minutes). The third section involves a discussion between the examiner and the test taker, generally on questions relating to the theme which they have already spoken about in Section 2.
0-9 band is used in the manual scoring pattern of IELTS.
The IELTS Test Report Form is posted in 13 calendar days after the test.
An IELTS examiner evaluates the speaking abilities of the candidates by making live conversation, which indeed is recorded in some recording device. The IELTS being completely pen-paper based uses diagrams, graphs or charts for the writing section.