IELTS exam in the UK- March 2009 (Academic Module)

Today our friend K. is reporting from the UK about his Academic IELTS exam. He’s got quite a bit of bad luck, read on:

Reading test

Reading was difficult, because I started with the last passage (about NASA and information) and spent too much time on it. The reason why I got stuck on that passage was my watch – it stopped during the exam, and in the two following passages I had to guess and give random answers, almost no time was left.

Writing test

Writing task 1 (report)
The graph was about the number of people playing four different sports in European countries (the graph was quite complicated). I just tried to pick up on the most noticeable trends.

Writing task 2 (essay)
Some people think that using traditions as attractions for money-making will destroy our culture, but others think that there is nothing wrong with attracting tourists that way. Discuss, what is your opinion?

Speaking test

Interview
The questions were about my job, what do I want to do after finishing my studies, about gardens in my country and about my favorite food.

Cue card
Tell me something about the person you like spending time with the most, you should say
- How do you know this person?
- How much time do you spend together?
- What do you normally talk about?

Note: the same topic as in India!

The follow up questions were about communication and free time. The examiner seemed to be very interested and our conversation was flowing.