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Recent IELTS exams

Real students tell about their recent IELTS exams: IELTS questions, topics, tasks, answers.

Update from a General IELTS exam, Melbourne, Australia

This update from a General IELTS exam came from Melbourne, Australia – thank you, R.C!

Listening test

The format of the listening exam was exactly the same as it in the Cambridge book 6, the second listening test.

Section 1. The admission form of a child ( fill in the gaps).

Section 2. Some city exhibition, the task was to fill in the gaps dates and activities.

Section 3. Discussion of the advantages of changing the subject and suggestions. Fill in the gaps.

Section 4. Success at work and company strategy. 4 multiple choice questions and the rest was ‘fill in the gaps’.

Reading test

I felt it was a piece of cake but a bit lengthy (may be the credit goes to my hard work – I had practiced for 1.5 months religiously)

Passage 1. The text was about different venues such as marriage halls and car parking places.
Questions: Match sentences to small paragraphs.

Passage 2. A single-page text about a car parking lot.
Questions: True, false, not given.

Passage 3. About different levels of certificates, diploma courses.
Questions: match a sentence to one of the given statements.

Passage 4. The most lovely part was the last one which I am usually unhappy about. It was about New Zealand famous folk plant which they use to make their traditional skirts and baskets, how it transformed to new products, methods how they made it soft texture and how captain Cook exported it to Europe.
Questions: True/False/NG and fill in the gaps, and the last one was to match headings.

Writing test

I salute to your website – my topic came from the list of the exams that different candidates listed.

Writing Task 1 (a letter)

Write a letter to an employment company and say:

– Which type of job you are looking for,
– What kind of company you are interested to be hired by,
– Reasons why you want to work abroad.

Writing Task 2 (an essay)

Some people think cars should be banned from the city center, do you agree or disagree?

Speaking test

My speaking was fairly good but I was very dehydrated and very cold in 3 hours after my exam. Sitting system wasn’t decent enough, they let us sit in the open and cold for 3 hours which made me bored to death. I believe the cold affected me.

My speaking was all about chores I perform at home, family functions, marriages in my culture and a one minute talk was on my favorite event.

Previously I sat the IELTS exam in Dubai at British council and trust me it was much harder in comparison to this exam.

Update from an Academic IELTS exam, New Zealand

This update from an Academic IELTS exam came from New Zealand – many thanks, Rebecca!

Listening test

Section 1. A discussion about a fridge and freezer, questions: filling in gaps on an order form, fill in the address, etc.
Section 2. A discussion between two students about a presentation.
Section 3. A speech about electrical cars which was very fast and difficult to follow.
Section 4. Don’t remember.

Reading test

Passage 1. A text about archeology, the history of trading and what they have found.
Passage 2. About the history of laughing.
Passage 3. This difficult passage was about rare species of birds, about a woodpecker and a rescue project.
The tasks have been difficult, lots of T/F/NG, matching headings, multiple choice, summary completion and filling in gaps.

Writing test

Writing Task 1 (a report)

We were given a graph about working hours and a table with holiday days, 2 graphs in one task.

Writing Task 2 (an essay)

Some people think that scientific work on plants and food is good while others deny its usefulness. Discuss both sides of the argument, give your own opinion and examples.

Speaking test

Interview

Questions about me

Cue Card

A place were I have studied, like a school, a university or work.

Discussion

Questions about books, whether or not I have read a lot in my childhood, do I think that books are good presents, do children read today? Questions on housework, differences between New Zealand and my country, kids and Housework.