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March 2009

IELTS exam in UAE – March 2009 (Academic Module)

A friend from UAE is telling about his Academic IELTS exam. Thanks, M!

Reading test

The three passages were easy to read and understand but the questions were very difficult and it was hard to extract the answers. Most questions were filling gaps and multiple choice. Around ten questions were about people’s opinions.

Writing test

Writing task 1 (report)
There were two tables, the first one was about the percentage of different groups of people who are interested in reading real books. The other table was about the same groups but interested in electronic reading.

Writing Task 2 (essay)
Every year many animal species disappear. Some people say that it is important to save them, others say that we must solve the problems of humans instead. Discuss.

Speaking test

First the examiner asked me about my house and about travel, then he moved to the second section.

Cue card
Talk about a speech you heard by a famous person. You should say:
– When was it
– Where was it
– What was said

Discussion
The third section was a bit difficult. The questions were related to the second section but they were difficult to understand.

IELTS exam in India – March 2009 (Academic Module)

A friend from India is telling about his recent Academic IELTS exam:

Reading test
Reading was difficult, the time wasn’t sufficient. The topics that I remember were about a popular engineer and cosmetics.

Writing test

Writing Task 1 (report)
We had a graph about car manufacturing, what proportion of time was spent by 4 U.S based car companies in 1998-2002 on each car.

Writing task 2 (essay)
Schools arrange for students to be engaged in an unpaid work in some institutions and companies for a short period, do you think it is beneficial as a part of work experience?

Speaking test

Interview
– Questions about personal details
– Whether I work or study
– What are my future plans
– What do you do to be healthy?
– Is being healthy necessary?
– What do you think about birthdays?
– What do you do on your birthday?
– What should everyone do on their birthdays?
– Is birthday something only young children need to celebrate?

Cue card
Describe a book you recently read, you should say
– What book was it
– What it was about
– What you liked about it
– What you disliked about it

Discussion
– What kind of books young children like?
– Should only teachers be the ones making children read or should the parents do it as well?
– If so, how parents can make reading appeal to children?
– What is the effect of modern technology on books?
– What is the effect reading on adults?