Understand the IELTS test format: The ultimate guide | TakeIELTS Preparation — Transcript

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1. 0:00get ready to succeed in your Isles test
2. 0:02with our ultimate overview we'll break
3. 0:04down each section into an easy to follow
4. 0:07guide helping you to understand what to
5. 0:09expect on test day whether you're a
6. 0:11beginner or aiming for a high band score
7. 0:14this video has got you
8. 0:15[Music]
9. 0:20covered hello and welcome back my name
10. 0:23is Claire and in this British Council
11. 0:25Isles preparation video we're going to
12. 0:27look at the Isles test format in detail
13. 0:30we'll focus on the layout of the test
14. 0:32the duration of the sections and how you
15. 0:35will be scored before we start let's
16. 0:38quickly take a look at a general
17. 0:40overview of the Isles test Isles tests
18. 0:43your skills in listening Reading Writing
19. 0:45and speaking and takes about 2 hours and
20. 0:4840 minutes to complete you'll take the
21. 0:51first three sections of the test on one
22. 0:53day your speaking test may be on the
23. 0:56same day or either before or after it
24. 1:00after the test you'll receive an Isles
25. 1:02test report form trf for short with your
26. 1:05results you're awarded an is band score
27. 1:07for each section of the test you'll be
28. 1:10graded from 0 to 9 with nine being the
29. 1:13highest and zero being the lowest your
30. 1:16Isles test Report Form will also show
31. 1:18your overall band score which is an
32. 1:20average of your four scores for each
33. 1:23section
34. 1:24combined for more information about
35. 1:26aisle scoring watch this video there are
36. 1:29three different ways you can take the
37. 1:31test the first two are done in a test
38. 1:33center either on paper or on computer
39. 1:36Isles on paper involves using a physical
40. 1:39test booklet to answer questions and
41. 1:41you'll transfer your responses onto an
42. 1:43answer sheet for the listening reading
43. 1:45and writing sections you can also opt
44. 1:48for aisles on computer where questions
45. 1:50for the listening reading and writing
46. 1:52sections are shown on screen and you
47. 1:54type your answers in both options the
48. 1:57speaking test is completed during a face
49. 1:59to-face session with a trained is
50. 2:01examiner in some countries you can also
51. 2:04do is online this means you can take the
52. 2:07test from the comfort of your home or
53. 2:09any private space with a reliable
54. 2:12internet connection the test has the
55. 2:14same format questions timing and marking
56. 2:17criteria as completing Isles at a test
57. 2:19center however at the moment it's only
58. 2:22available for Isles academic the
59. 2:25speaking test is completed via an online
60. 2:28video call with a trained
61. 2:30examiner if you're thinking about taking
62. 2:32Isles online make sure the institution
63. 2:35you'd like to apply to is happy to
64. 2:37accept results from Isles tests that are
65. 2:39taken remotely for more information
66. 2:42check the link in the description it's
67. 2:44important to think carefully about
68. 2:46whether to take Isles academic or Isles
69. 2:48General training Isles General training
70. 2:51is designed for anyone wanting to work
71. 2:53train study below degree level or
72. 2:56migrate to an English-speaking country
73. 2:58whereas Isles academic is for those who
74. 3:00want to study at undergraduate or
75. 3:02postgraduate level both tests evaluate
76. 3:06language skills across listening Reading
77. 3:08Writing and speaking however there is a
78. 3:11key difference in the reading and
79. 3:13writing sections we'll look at this in
80. 3:15more detail later in the video when we
81. 3:17focus on these two test
82. 3:20sections let's start with listening the
83. 3:23is listening section is all about
84. 3:25checking how well you can understand
85. 3:27spoken English in different situations
86. 3:30it's divided into four parts with 40
87. 3:33questions in total and each question is
88. 3:35worth one Mark remember there's no
89. 3:38penalty for wrong answers so take a
90. 3:41shot the listing test takes around 30
91. 3:44minutes with aisles on paper you have 10
92. 3:47minutes at the end to transfer your
93. 3:48answers from the question booklet to the
94. 3:51answer sheet however if you take Isles
95. 3:54on computer there is no need to transfer
96. 3:57just pop your answers directly into the
97. 3:58computer as you go you do however get 2
98. 4:02minutes at the end of the test to check
99. 4:04your answers as I mentioned the test is
100. 4:07made up of four parts each presenting
101. 4:10different situations part one involves a
102. 4:13conversation between two people in an
103. 4:15everyday situation part two features one
104. 4:19person providing information about a
105. 4:21product location or service in relation
106. 4:24to Everyday social situations part three
107. 4:27consists of a discussion between up to
108. 4:29four people in an educational or
109. 4:32training context part four is a talk
110. 4:35usually by a professor or lecturer on an
111. 4:37academic topic if you want more
112. 4:40information about preparing for the
113. 4:42listening section why not take a look at
114. 4:44this video while the four parts of the
115. 4:47test remain constant the type of
116. 4:50question you may get can look different
117. 4:53there are six question types that may
118. 4:55appear in the is test let's see what
119. 4:58they look like the first is multiple
120. 5:02choice the second question type is
121. 5:05matching the third is labeling this
122. 5:08could be a plan map or diagram the
123. 5:11fourth is form note table flowchart or
124. 5:14summary completion the fifth is sentence
125. 5:18completion and the last is short answer
126. 5:22questions before we move on here are
127. 5:24some of my top tips to take note of
128. 5:27always read through the instructions
129. 5:29carefully before writing an answer in
130. 5:31certain questions you're asked to write
131. 5:33the correct word in a gap sometimes the
132. 5:36question requires you to use no more
133. 5:38than two words and or a number but in
134. 5:42other questions the word count may
135. 5:44change to one or increased three it may
136. 5:47also include or not include a number so
137. 5:50be sure to check the instructions if you
138. 5:53write two many words you will lose marks
139. 5:56you also need to watch out for your
140. 5:57spelling and grammar as these can lose
141. 6:00you marks as well next up is the reading
142. 6:04section the Isles reading test is all
143. 6:06about assessing different reading skills
144. 6:08and is separated into three sections in
145. 6:12the test you'll encounter 40 questions
146. 6:14spread across the three sections you've
147. 6:18got 60 Minutes to tackle all sections so
148. 6:21take your time read carefully and work
149. 6:24your way through the questions as you
150. 6:26have 60 minutes to get through the three
151. 6:28sections here's our recommendation on
152. 6:31how you should divide your time section
153. 6:34one tends to be descriptive making it
154. 6:37less complex also questions generally
155. 6:40focus on factual information allocate
156. 6:43about 15 minutes for this part section
157. 6:46two and three present more challenging
158. 6:48and complex material so Reserve 20 to 23
159. 6:52minutes for each if you have any time
160. 6:55left at the end of the reading test go
161. 6:57back and check your answers that you
162. 6:59weren't sure about the format of this
163. 7:02test will remain the same for both Isles
164. 7:04academic and Isles General training the
165. 7:07difference this time comes from the
166. 7:09material you will see in the academic
167. 7:12reading section of the Isles test the
168. 7:14material may include extracts from books
169. 7:17journals newspapers and professional
170. 7:20magazines these will be more complex and
171. 7:23academic oriented in contrast the
172. 7:26general training reading section gives
173. 7:28test takers a mix of of materials
174. 7:30ranging from books and magazines to
175. 7:32newspapers and
176. 7:34advertisements they are usually from
177. 7:36everyday sources the is reading test has
178. 7:40three sections with 11 question types
179. 7:42that may appear so we need to be
180. 7:44familiar with all of them the question
181. 7:47types are multiple choice identifying
182. 7:50information true false not given
183. 7:52identifying writers views or claims yes
184. 7:55no not given matching information
185. 7:58matching head headings matching features
186. 8:01matching sentence endings completing a
187. 8:04sentence completing a note a table
188. 8:06flowchart or a summary diagram label
189. 8:09completion and short answer
190. 8:12questions we have an excellent video
191. 8:14that goes into detail on these questions
192. 8:17why not take a look just like in the
193. 8:19listening test you should be extremely
194. 8:21careful when reading the instructions
195. 8:23before you begin make sure to write the
196. 8:26correct number of words or numbers or
197. 8:28you'll lose mark
198. 8:30hyphenated words such as mother-in-law
199. 8:32or exm are counted as a single word and
200. 8:36any bad grammar or misspell words can
201. 8:38lose you marks so make sure to double
202. 8:40check your answers the is writing test
203. 8:43assesses a test taker's ability to
204. 8:45communicate effectively in written
205. 8:47English you must complete two tasks and
206. 8:51you have a total of 60 minutes we
207. 8:53suggest you spend around 20 minutes on
208. 8:56task one and the remaining 40 minutes on
209. 8:58task too writing answers should be
210. 9:01written straight on the answer sheet
211. 9:04although you are allowed to make notes
212. 9:05on the question paper in task one you
213. 9:08need to write a minimum of 150 words
214. 9:12however what you'll be writing about
215. 9:13will depend if you're taking Isles
216. 9:15academic or Isles General training in is
217. 9:18academic you'll need to describe some
218. 9:20visual information in your own words
219. 9:23this could be a graph a table a chart or
220. 9:26a diagram in Isles General training
221. 9:29you'll be writing a letter this could be
222. 9:32either a formal letter to someone in a
223. 9:34position of authority that you don't
224. 9:36know semiformal to someone you know but
225. 9:39perhaps aren't very close to or personal
226. 9:42someone you are close to most likely a
227. 9:46friend watch this video for more tips to
228. 9:49help you prepare for the is writing
229. 9:51section task two is an essay it will
230. 9:55appear in both is academic and Isles
231. 9:57General training you must must write at
232. 10:00least 250 words keep in mind that task
233. 10:04two contributes twice as much as task
234. 10:07one to your writing score so make sure
235. 10:09you're dividing your 60 Minutes
236. 10:11accordingly The Isle speaking section is
237. 10:14all about checking how well you can
238. 10:15converse in English during a friendly
239. 10:18face-to-face interview with a certified
240. 10:20is examiner there are three parts to
241. 10:23your speaking test that will last
242. 10:25between 11 and 14
243. 10:27minutes I know you might feel a tad
244. 10:30nervous before beginning but remember
245. 10:32first impressions are important make
246. 10:34sure to greet your examiner and
247. 10:36introduce yourself when prompted have
248. 10:38your identification handy so it's ready
249. 10:40and available when the examiner asks for
250. 10:42it for more information about how to
251. 10:45introduce yourself during the speaking
252. 10:46test watch this video part one is an
253. 10:50interview style where you will talk
254. 10:52about yourself in relation to Everyday
255. 10:55topics it will take between four and 5
256. 10:58minutes part two involves speaking on
257. 11:01your own you will receive a task card
258. 11:03from The Examiner and you will have 1
259. 11:05minute to prepare your answer then
260. 11:08you'll need to speak about a particular
261. 11:09topic for 1 to two minutes part three is
262. 11:13a discussion between you and the
263. 11:15examiner this will be on General topics
264. 11:17that go beyond your personal experience
265. 11:20and will be connected to part two it
266. 11:22will last around four to 5 minutes and
267. 11:26there you have it a comprehensive Guide
268. 11:28to the Isles test format with this
269. 11:30knowledge all about the listening
270. 11:32Reading Writing and speaking sections
271. 11:34you're closer to getting the score you
272. 11:36need remember to practice often
273. 11:38familiarize yourself with various
274. 11:40question types and stay confident you
275. 11:43got this speaking of practice why not
276. 11:46sign up for some free mock tests Isles
277. 11:48ready you'll also find valuable tips to
278. 11:51assist you in your Isles test along with
279. 11:52the chance to enhance your vocabulary
280. 11:54through extra activities you can find
281. 11:57the link in the description thanks for
282. 12:00watching let us know in the comments
283. 12:02when you're thinking of taking Isles and
284. 12:04don't forget to subscribe see you next
285. 12:06time