1. Read The Instructions Carefully
This is a very important initial step to answering the questions. Unfortunately, it is also the one aspect that gets neglected the most. Instructions tell you clearly what to do, and what type of answer to write.
A common mistake is when students write answers with more than the maximum words allowed. In this case, your answer may be correct, but alas it will be marked incorrect. So, miss reading the instructions, and you may end up making mistakes which other wise you would not have.
2. Know The Form Of Your Answer
There are basically two types of answers you will be writing down. One is words, and the other is options like A, B, C or numbers such as 1, 2, 3 or roman numerals like i, ii, iii. Your answer must be in the correct format for your answer to be marked correct.
How will you know what to write as your answer? Simple, Tip #1 – Read the instructions. The instructions will give you all the required information.
3. Look At All The Questions In Each Section
You won’t be answering all the questions at once. You will be answering them a section at a time, and before each section begins you will be given some time to look at the questions. During this time, make sure you do look at the all the questions in the section.
If you know what the questions are beforehand, it’s much easier to identify the answers. You don’t have to keep reading the questions each time which helps you to keep you focus on the audio.
4. Predict The Answers
While reading the questions (as mentioned in the previous tip), don’t just read it. You have to understand what the question is asking. If you read but don’t understand, then you will not be able to identify the answer.
While reading the questions try to predict what the answer will be as well. Predict does not necessarily mean to get the actual answer, but rather guess what kind of answer you will be expecting. For example, is it a name of a person, a date, a place, or a noun or a verb, etc.
5. Multitask
Although called ‘listening’, its not just listening that you do in the Listening test. You also have to read and write. Sometimes all three at once.
If you are writing down the answer, you must also continue to listen to the audio otherwise you might miss the next answer. You might be listening and writing the answer, but if you don’t read the next question, once again you might end up missing the answer. So, if you stop doing any one of these, you will surely miss an answer. That’s why the ability to multitask is the key to being able to answer all the questions.
6. Concentration
In order to successfully multitask, the ability to concentrate is vital. Luckily, we are all able to concentrate. But, for how long can you keep up the full concentration? For the Listening test, you have to be able to keep your full concentration level for 30 minutes. If you lose concentration, you miss answers.
Build up your concentration by practicing in places where there are lots of distractions. Like your living room, where somebody might be watching TV, or somebody might be talking.
7. Missed an Answer?
Even while multitasking and having full concentration, you might not get the answers to all of the questions. Do not worry, this happens to nearly everyone. But if you miss an answer then what do you do? The answer is simple. Nothing. Forget about the question you just missed and concentrate on the next question, otherwise you will miss that one as well.
Of course, you should not leave any question blank on your answer sheet. Which means that you should attempt that question, but later. When? See the next tip.
8. Guess
Spelling is very important. You might have got the right answer, but if you spelled it wrong, then your answer will be marked incorrect.
If you’re unsure of the spelling, don’t stop and start to think about it, because if you stop to think then you’ll miss other answers, as we have discussed in previous tips. While the audio is playing, you should write the spelling as what ever you think is correct. After the test is finished and you get 10 minutes extra time to transfer you answer to the answer sheet, that’s the time to correct the spellings.
9. Spelling
You do not lose any points for wrong answers, so even if you missed a question, or were not able to identify the answer, do not leave the answer space blank. Have a guess. If you get it right that’s one extra point, and if you get it wrong you don’t lose anything.
But most importantly, do not guess while the audio is playing. At that time just leave the question and move on to the next one. At the end of each section, they give you some time to check your answers. This is the time to guess. Or at the end when they give you 10 minutes extra time to transfer your answers to the answer sheet.
10. Distractors
The IELTS listening test incorporates ‘distractors’ in order to test whether you listen effectively, and understand the full context of the conversation as opposed to just understanding sentences here and there. The way they do this is by changing information. One speaker may something, and the other might correct that information. So, you hear the same information twice. One is correct, and one is incorrect. If you’re not listening carefully you might end up writing the wrong answer.
For example, in the IELTS Listening Part 1 dialogue below there are several dates given, but only one is the correct answer to the question ‘What date will they leave?’.
- A: Right, so, you need to book some flights, is that right?
- B: Yes, for me and my family. We’re going to Scotland for my sister’s wedding.
- A: Oh, lovely! When’s the wedding?
- B: It’s on 21st July.
- A: That should be wonderful, but I assume you’ll want to fly in earlier? What about the 20th or even the 19th?
- B: It will have to be the 18th. I’ve actually got to attend a special dinner on the 19th.
The answer is, of course, the 18th of July but, if you listened to this under test conditions, you may well write down the first date you hear (21st July) and then start listening for the answer to the next question.
All of the alternative dates are distractors and are designed to test that you really understand the details of what you hear rather than only a word, two or three words and/or a number.
