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September 2006

Update from a General IELTS exam, India

Thanks to Chikur from India I can share with you this update, enjoy!

Listening test:

The only thing I remember – it was too fast. I had to sneeze and missed 2 answers!

Reading:

Reading was a bit tough this time. In the General Training IELTS, the first 20 questions are usually easy. But this time I found the first 10
questions about a long passage. Actually that passage was all about “answers” and we were supposed to match the “questions” to them, so it took longer. Two more reading passages came with questions of True/False/Not Given type and I had to fill in the gaps in a summary.

Writing test

Writing Task 1 (a letter)

Write a letter to a college Principal, where you attended a one day computer course and are unhappy about the way it was conducted. Explain what was the type of the course, what happened and what can be done to make sure this problem never occurs again.

Writing Task 2 (an essay)

In many countries, children are getting more overweight and less fit day by day. What is your opinion about this development?

Speaking test

Interview

I was asked questions about my hometown such as describe it, etc.

Cue Card

Describe 2 people from the same family with their similarities.

Discussion

Change in trends of family types and about the respect of elders in my family and my country.

Update from an Academic IELTS exam, Argentina

This incredible material was brought by an IELTS candidate who wished to remain anonymous.

Listening test

Section 1. A phone call with a representative of “Mobility Company”. A man asked directions to their showroom, and made some inquiries about the products he could get or install for his father, who had a weak back.

Section 2. A recorded message on the phone, providing tourist information about some caves in Great Britain. (At the end there was a quite long phone number, out of 15 people taking the exam, I couldn’t find anyone who was sure about the numbers he/she had written.
There were too many numbers, no repetitions, spoken too fast.

Section 3. A girl was talking to a student adviser. She asked about the Science and Biology oriented undergraduate courses, if those were part time, full time or flexible; if there were any scholarships available or not.

Section 4. Students were giving a lecture about white rite, a mineral, which is a source of barium, and the main natural resource of their town.

Reading test

Passage 1. Math classes in Japan.
Passage 2. About penology and amateur contributions to scientific research.
Passage 3. About archeology on Easter Island.

Writing test

Writing Task 1 (a report)

We were given a line graph describing the production of vehicles in 1998-2002. The graph had the number of hours required to manufacture a vehicle in four US based factories: Nissan, General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler.

Writing Task 2 (an essay)

Some people think that there are benefits to going to private secondary schools. Others feel that private secondary schools can have a negative effect on the society as a whole. What is your opinion? Support it with examples according to your knowledge or experience.

Speaking test

Interview

– Greeting, Name and ID.
– Do you live in a village, a town or a city?
– Is it a nice place to live?
– Why do you like living there?
– Is it a good place to live for young people?
– Do you like flowers?
– Do flowers have a particular meaning in your country?
– Do people give flowers to each other as a present?
– Do you know any other languages?
– What other language would you like to learn?
– What do you like about learning different languages?
– Why is it important?

Cue Card

Talk about a time when you helped someone (I’m sure I’ve seen it somewhere, either online or in some book).

Discussion

– Do you like helping people out? Why?
– Do you think people help each other more now or before?
– Is it normal in your country to see people helping others, even strangers?
– Does your government help poor people, or people in need? How?
– Do you think it had to provide more help before than it has to provide now?