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4 INTRODUCTION
IELTS TESTBUILDER
The IELTS Testbuilder is more than a book of Practice Tests. It is designed not only to enable you to
practise doing tests of exactly the kind you will encounter in the exam itself, but also to provide you with
valuable further practice, guidance and explanation. This will enable you to prepare thoroughly for the
exam and increase your ability to perform well in it. The IELTS Testbuilder has been developed for students
who are aiming to achieve a minimum of Grade 6 in the academic component of the IELTS exam.
Four complete Practice Tests for the academic version of the International English
Language Testing System
These tests closely reflect the level and types of question to be found in the exam.
For the READING AND LISTENING TESTS, the Further Practice and Guidance pages contain exercises,
questions, advice and tips directly related to each paper or section. They encourage you to reach your own
decisions as to what the answers in the tests should be. Their step-by-step approach enables you to
develop and apply the appropriate processes when answering the questions in the exam.
For the WRITING TEST, they contain language development exercises, help with planning and a range of
authentic sample answers for you to assess.
For the SPEAKING TEST, there are examples of possible question areas, guidance in topic development
and suggestions for useful language.
INTRODUCTION 5
• complete one part of a paper, perhaps under exam conditions, and then
either
• do the Further Practice and Guidance pages relating to that part. You then check the answers to the
questions in those pages and review the answers given to the questions in the test in the light of what
has been learnt from doing the Further Practice and Guidance pages. After that, you can check the
answers to the questions in the test and go through the explanations.
Or
• check the answers to the questions in the test and go through the explanations if there are no Further
Practice and Guidance pages and
then
Note that in some cases it is necessary to do the Further Practice section before completing the relevant
section of the paper.
You may wish to do some of the Further Practice and Guidance pages before answering the questions in
the test that they relate to.
Alternatively, teachers may wish to do the Further Practice and Guidance pages as discussion or pairwork,
or ask students to prepare them before class.
6 INTRODUCTION
There are four separate The first two sections are of a The question types may
sections which you hear only general, social nature. There include:
once. will be a conversation
between two people and then • multiple-choice questions
There are usually 40 usually a monologue or an • sentence completion
questions. You have time to interview. • short answer questions
read the questions and time at • completion of
tables/charts/
the end to transfer your In the third and fourth
summaries/notes
answers to the answer sheet. sections, the contexts are of an
educational or training • labelling a diagram
As the test progresses, the nature. There will be a • matching.
difficulty of the questions, conversation of up to four
tasks and text increases. speakers and then a
talk/lecture of general
academic interest.
There are three reading The texts are of the type you The question types may
passages with a total of 1,500 find in magazines, journals, include:
to 2,500 words. textbooks and newspapers.
• multiple-choice questions
There are usually 40 The topics are not specific to • sentence completion
questions. You must write any one discipline. They are • short answer questions
your answers on the answer all accessible to candidates • completion of tables/
charts/summaries/notes
sheet within the 60 minutes. who are entering
undergraduate or • choosing headings
As the test progresses, the postgraduate courses. • identification of a writer’s
views or attitudes
difficulty of the questions,
(Yes/No/Not Given)
tasks and text increases. There is at least one article
which contains detailed • classification
logical argument. • matching lists
• matching phrases.
INTRODUCTION 7
There are three sections: The examiner will introduce In all parts of the speaking
himself/herself, check your module, you will be assessed
Part 1 (4–5 minutes) identification and then ask on your:
Introduction and interview you questions about yourself,
your home, interests etc. • fluency and coherence
• vocabulary
Part 2 (3–4 minutes) You will be given a card with • grammatical range and
accuracy
Individual long turn a subject on which you will be
asked to prepare a short talk • pronunciation.
of 1–2 minutes. You will be
given a pencil and paper to
make notes.