Y-Linc Academy

How to take the test?

Anyone who is in the process of either going abroad on permanent basis or for study needs to take the test. There is no academic qualification required to take the test except the suffice knowledge of English language. The other thing you require is your passport. You can register online or send the form to the offices of British Council or IDP Australia. The fee for the test is RS 7200 and subject to change any time. You can download the form and all other information from the site www.ielts.org .The test is of two types Academic and General Training. Those who go for further study take Academic and those who go for PR or work, appear for General Training. There is a little difference between the two and that is the later one is relatively easier.

Structure of the test

The test consist of four modules; Reading, Listening, Speaking and Writing.

Reading and Writing tests are different for general and academic students. General Reading is comparatively easy than the Academic one. In Writing test, students of General Training have to write letter whereas students of Academic mode have to write graph. The Speaking and Listening tests are same.

Test day

On the test day you reach the centre at Test Centre 1hr. earlier to test and you are given listening test first. They give you headphones and play some recording and ask you about any problem in voice and quality. After everything is OK they give you listening test sheets and start the test recording. You have to listen to the recording and write the answers on the question paper. It takes 30-35 minutes and you are given 10 minutes extra to transfer your answers on the answer sheet. Next is the Reading test and no extra time is given to transfer the answers on your answer sheet. So you have to write the answers on the answer sheet within the stipulated period of one hour only. After your reading test is over you are given writing test..The time of your Speaking Test is mentioned in your letter or you may be informed by SMS or phone call.

How your test is evaluated

Unlike other examinations IELTS is evaluated in 9 bands system. All IELTS marking takes place at the Test Centre by trained markers and examiners. Examiners for the Writing and Speaking modules are recruited and trained in line with agreed standards. They are required to demonstrate that they are marking to standard frequently in addition to on-going monitoring of their performance.

Candidates receive scores on a Band Scale from 1 to 9. A score is reported for each skill module of the test. The four individual module scores are averaged and rounded to produce an Overall Band Score. Overall Band Scores and Listening and Reading scores are presented as whole or half bands; Writing and Speaking band scores are reported in whole bands only.

Overall Band Score

Candidates receive a Test Report Form setting out their Overall Band Score and their scores on each of the four modules, Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking. Each of the module scores is equally weighed. The Overall Band Score is calculated by taking the mean of the total of the four individual module scores.

Overall Band Scores are reported to the nearest whole or half band. For the avoidance of doubt, the following rounding convention applies; if the average across the four skills ends in .25, it is rounded off to the next half band, and if it ends in .75, it is rounded off to the next whole band.

Thus a candidate achieving 6.5 for Listening, 6.5 for Reading, 5.0 for Writing and 7.0 for Speaking would be awarded an Overall Band Score of 6.5 (25/4 = 6.25 = Band 6.5).

Likewise a candidate achieving 4.0 for Listening, 3.5 for Reading, 4.0 for Writing and 4.0 for Speaking would be awarded an Overall Band Score of 4.0 (15.5/ 4 = 3.875 = Band 4.0).

On the other hand, a candidate achieving 6.5 for Listening, 6.0 for Reading, 6.0 for Writing and 6.0 for Speaking would be awarded band 6 (24.5/ 4 = 6.125 = Band 6).

Listening and Reading

The Reading and Listening tests are of 40 questions and the scores are given on the basis of one mark for each question. But it doesn't mean that half correct attempt will fetch 4.5 bands out of 9 bands rather the raw score for 5 bands is 15 in case of Academic Reading and 23 in case of General Training Reading.

So it becomes essential to understand the difference between the Academic and General Training tests. Although they are graded on same scale but the former is a bit complex in terms of vocabulary and sentence structure. You have to attempt greater number of questions to score 5 bands in General Training Test than in Academic Test.

Writing and Speaking

When marking the Writing and Speaking modules examiners use detailed performance descriptors which describe written and spoken performance at each of the 9 IELTS bands.

Writing

The scoring is based upon the following criteria: Task Achievement (for Task 1), Task Response (for Task 2), Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource and Grammatical Range and Accuracy. The four criteria are equally weighed.

Speaking

Each of these four criteria weighed equally for awarding the score: Fluency and Coherence, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range and Accuracy and Pronunciation.

Academic Reading
Band Score	Raw score out of 40
5	16
6	23
7	30
8	35

General Training Reading
Band Score	Raw score out of 40
5	16
6	23
7	30
8	35

Reading	one hour	40 questions	3 Sections
Listening	30-35 minutes	40 questions	4 Sections
Writing	one hour	1 essay	-------------------
		1 graph/letter	-------------------
Speaking	11-15 minutes	------------------	--------------------