Dear IELTS Doctor, how can I listen and write at the same time in the listening paper? The speaker is too fast!

Many people feel that the listening paper (and listening to English in general) is difficult because the speaker is fast. This is actually a common misconception: in the IELTS test you have to listen to ‘fast’ or rather ‘normal’ speech and also answer questions. But you do not need superhero hearing or writing to do this – all you need is to know how to listen efficiently.

Here are the three golden rules for doing listening tests:

You do not need to listen to every word.

In a stream of speech there will only be one or two phrases which you will need in order to answer the question. You just have to locate them. A good tip is that important words are often stressed and repeated.

You need to know why you are listening.

We always have a reason for listening. In the IELTS the reasons is the question – so read the question carefully and try to pick out the key words.

You should try to predict the answer.

Once you have identified the key words, you are ready to have a guess at the correct answer. If you predict the answer before listening, you will listen in a more focused way. Remember, you only listen once in the IELTS, so do not waste your chance!

You will need to use these three strategies together in order to succeed in the listening test.

You can find advice on how to develop listening skills for IELTS at the official IELTS website

Dear IELTS Doctor, how many paragraphs should I write in the writing task 2 – discursive essay?

This is a good question. You should start with the introduction, and end with the conclusion.
The other paragraphs in between will depend on how many points you wish to make. Remember that each paragraph should have only one main idea. The next paragraph will introduce a new idea. You should link the paragraphs using expressions like ‘On the other hand’ (if the new paragraph is in contrast to the first one) or ‘Furthermore’ (if the new paragraph is a new idea which agrees with the first one).

Let’s look at a typical question and suggested paragraph plan:
In Britain, when someone gets old they often go to live in a home with other older people where there are nurses to look after them. Sometimes the government has to pay for this care.

Who do you think should pay for this care, the government or the family?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your experience.

Plan

:
Introduction                       
Re-phrase the question to introduce the topic and state your opinion ‘I believe that the government should pay for this care – but not for all’.

Paragraph 1
First reason – every old person should get the same chance regardless of their income or the income of their family.

Paragraph 2
Second reason – we work all our lives and pay taxes so that in our old age when we cannot work, we do not have to worry about supporting ourselves.

Paragraph 3
Contrasting point – if a family is very rich, they should not be able to get money from the government to care for elderly relatives.

Conclusion  
Restate your opinion and the reasons. Final (personal) line about how you intend to care for your elderly relatives in the future.  

Remember, each paragraph should be linked and have only one main idea. You should develop each idea with supporting details, for example: evidence, personal experience, explanation f the point.

For more tips on General and Academic writing task , visit the official IELTS website

Dear IELTS Doctor, can you help me with ‘yes, no, not given’ questions in the reading paper?

This is one of the trickiest IELTS reading tasks. Candidates often get confused about the difference between ‘no/false’ and ‘not given’. ‘No’ or ‘false’ means that there is something in the text which explicitly contradicts the statement. ‘Not given’ means that there is nothing in the text to contradict or confirm the statement. Be careful not to use your knowledge of the topic to answer this question – you must base your answer only on what is written in the text.

Here is an example.

Look at the paragraph above and the three statements below. Do the statements agree with the information given in the paragraph?

Write:
True if the statement agrees with the information
False if the statement contradicts the information
Not given if there is no information on this

1. ‘No’ and ‘false’ mean the same thing.
2. Many IELTS candidates fail this part of the test.
3. ‘Not given’ means that you should use your own ideas.

Answers to exercise above:
1. True    2. Not given   3. False      

How did you do this task? Did you underline key words and phrases in each statement? Did you look for these words and phrases in the text? A good tip for this type of question is to think about how you answered the question – this will help you develop strategies for future questions like this.

You can find lots of practice for the reading test at the official IELTS website

Dear IELTS Doctor, what should I do if I do not know anything about the topic in part two of the speaking test?

Do not worry about this – it probably will not happen. The topics for this part are chosen because they are of general interest. Everyone can say something about the environment!

Some tips for part two:

• Take a minute to think and plan what you will say (your speaking will be much better as a result)
• Use the bullet points on the task card to structure your contribution
• Try to relax, do not speak too fast.
• Finally, you can easily prepare for this part by brainstorming your ideas for different common topics (family, work, holidays, festivals, etc.). You can join with friends to have discussions on these kinds of topics. This will definitely make you less nervous on the day of the examination.

You can find more advice, as well as a recording of a part two task, at the IELTS website