UWEIES

Our listening test

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Part 1: You’ll hear a conversation between two people (someone making an appointment or booking something).

Part 2: One person speaking about a generic topic (someone describing a library’s layout, for example).

Part 3: A discussion between 2-3 people about an academic topic (an assignment or paper).

Part 4: A lecturer speaking about an academic topic.

The test gets progressively more difficult (part 4 being the most difficult component).

How to prepare for the listening test.
  1. Look at past papers and understand what’s required of you. Download the IELTS Prep App or visit the Road to IELTS site.
  2. Visit credible websites to practice.
  3. Listen to audio and watch TV! Watch TED Talks, watch your favourite TV shows and movies, listen to podcasts.
  4. Familiarise yourself with a range of about the keywords. Read the instructions and questions carefully before you listen to the audio. Underline key words and try to predict the content of the audio.
  5. Beware of ‘distractors’. This is when a speaker says one thing and then changes their mind later on. For example, “Let’s meet at 5PM. Actually, I have a meeting then, let’s do 6PM”.
  6. Tip: the answers are all in order. If you think you’ve missed an answer then just move on.
UWEIES

Our speaking test

You'll be invited to attend a UWE speaking exam if you’ve scored nothing lower than a 5.5 on the listening, reading and writing components.
They usually happen a few days after the written test.
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Describe a museum or art gallery that you have visited.
You should say:

  • Where it is.
  • Why you went there.
  • What you remember about the place.
And explain what you saw there.
Your examiner will:
  1. Begin by asking you questions about yourself (hometown, hobbies, travel experiences, family, etc).
  2. Give you a prompt card and some time to prepare what you’re going to say. You then have 2mins to speak.
  3. Proceed to ask you some follow up questions about part 2.
How to prepare for the speaking test.
  1. Have a broad understanding of common topics. These include:
    -hobbies, hometown, travel, family, work/study, health & fitness, etc.
  2. Look up past questions and practice recording yourself. Listen back to the recording and work out where you could improve.
  3. This isn’t a truth test! If you can’t think of anything to say just try to imagine what a friend/family member might say.
  4. Never give one-word answers unless prompted to.
UWEIES

Our reading test

  • 90mins
  • 40 questions
  • 3 sections
  • 3x 700-800 word texts to read.
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How to prepare for the reading test
  • Understand the test.
  • Read ‘extensively’. This means take opportunities to read things you enjoy. This will enhance your vocabulary and improve your reading speed.
  • Develop your reading skills: skimming, scanning, reading for detail.
  • The reading test tests your knowledge of vocabulary. Before you start reading, read the instructions and questions carefully and highlight important words.
  • Try to predict what words might be used instead of the keywords you’ve highlighted, think of how the question has been paraphrased from information in the text.
  • Fill out the answer sheet as you go.
How to prepare for the reading test
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Previewing

Looking at things like the heading and layout of a text to get an idea of what the text is about before starting to read.

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Predicting content and structure

Using your knowledge of the topic to guess what the text is going to be about.

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Skimming for main ideas

Moving your eyes quickly down the page to find specific words or phrases. This is often used to look for names or numbers.

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Scanning to find key information

Reading a text quite quickly, but we use this reading skill when we want to find a particular fact.

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Intensive reading

Careful study of a text or part of a text. We do this when all the content is important.

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Guessing words from context

Working out the meaning of a word by using the surrounding language and your knowledge of the world.

Reading Tasks

Task type

Description

matching headings
choose which heading best matches a paragraph
matching information
find which paragraph contains some specific information
matching sentence endings
choose the best ending to the first half of a sentence
summary, note-taking, flow chart completion
complete a text, notes or table with information from the text
diagram labelling
fill in the gaps in a diagram
multiple choice
choose the best answer
short answers
answer questions about a text
sentence completion
use a limited number of words to complete a text
identifying the writer’s claims or views
decide whether information is true/ false or not given
UWEIES

Our writing test

60mins
1 essay style question – 250 words minimum.
Types of essay questions:
  1. Advantages vs disadvantages
  2. Opinion
  3. Problem/solution
  4. Double question
  5. Cause and effect
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Planning your essay
Introduction Main Body Conclusion
Here is what the easy is about.
Here is what I think about the question and my main ideas.		 Here are my main ideas.
This is how they answer the question.
Here are some examples to support my main points.		 Here’s a summary of the things I just talked about.

The assessment criteria

So how are these qualities assessed in the IELTS Writing test? Writing is assessed based on these four criteria:

Task Response/achievement

Basically, this means how well you carry out the task. Do you cover all the necessary points? Do you include the key information that is required? Do you develop your ideas effectively and support your ideas or opinions with evidence and examples?

Coherence and Cohesion

This looks at how well you order and present the content of your writing task. Is it organised logically? Is it divided into paragraphs correctly? Do you link ideas or information together so the reader can easily follow you?

Lexical Resource

This concerns vocabulary and whether you use a wide enough range of vocabulary, as well as whether you use it correctly and appropriately.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

This assesses how wide a range of different structures and sentences you use and how effectively you use them. Do you have a good control of grammar and sentence construction? Are there many errors or only a few occasional ones?

Some common mistakes

  • Writing too informally.
  • Not signposting language.
  • Not paraphrasing the question.
  • Not using paragraphs.
  • Not using a range of grammar and vocabulary.
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