Month: September 2015

Multiple-Choice Task # Strategies

We have already talked about how to answer the completion tasks of IELTS reading section. This time let us talk about the strategies for solving multiple-choice tasks.
Multiple choice task are used to test a varied range of your reading skills. Some of them may require you to comprehend (understand) the main point or a specific point. You are given four options and you may be asked either to select only one or more than one options.
Note- The questions are given in the same order as the information in the passage.
How to answer such questions correctly and quickly?

Elimination is important
The first thing you need to do is, remove the options you think are logically incorrect. Next, remove the ones which although might be right grammatically but are not correct meaning wise. In the end, you will be left with the correct answer.
Find the reason
Once you have found the right answer, make sure it fits in well grammatically i.e. either completes the sentence perfectly or gives an appropriate reason or explanation. Once you have found the correct answer, make sure to check that other options are wrong.

If you are unable to find the answer, do not waste time. Remember you have got only 40 minutes to answer three passages (in case of academic and five or six in case of general) and each question is of only one mark. But make sure you mark an answer as there is no negative marking for wrong answers.
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Completion Task Strategies

Reading section of IELTS has different question types. Although I am sure that you are familiar with the strategies for reading section, in case you are not, click here.

This time we are not talking about the general strategies for solving the reading section, instead the focus is now on the specific questions that are asked in the reading section.
Let us begin.

COMPLETION TASK

This task includes within itself sentence completion or note/summary/flow chart/table completion or short answer type questions or the diagram labelling.
How should you answer such questions?

Answer Properly
Make sure your answer includes the words essential to answering the questions correctly. Correct answers can contain fewer than the maximum number of words as stated in the question.
Don’t change anything
These are the question types in which you need to make sure that you use the exact same words as in the passage. You cannot even change the structure of the words. For instance, if in the passage the answer is in present continuous, you cannot even make it present perfect.
How to find the answer?
While answering these questions, before you read the passage, just read the question and try to make a guess of what could be the possible answer. Then, skim the text and find out the paragraph from where the question has been taken. While skimming, look for synonyms and paraphrases. And while answering keep in mind both the grammar and the spelling.
Focus on meaning than grammar
In some completion task, you are provided with options. When answering make sure to read the options properly. The options are set is so that they all fit grammatically with the statement in the question. You need to rather find out the one that fits perfectly according to the meaning.

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Know The Numbers

Numbers are a very important part of the listening section. You will hear them a lot and most importantly they will be of different types. For example, sometime you will hear a phone number or the other times a date or a price or a decimal fraction. So, let us understand what these numbers are and make sure that the exam does not gives you creeps.

Telephone numbers
There are different ways of speaking a telephone number.

  1. They are spoken as individual numbers. For instance, 23489 will be spoken as “ two three four eight nine”.
  2. The numbers even get grouped. For example, if the number is a seven digit number, they get grouped in two groups, one of three and the other of four. So, 234569 will be said as “ two three four…..(pause) five six nine”.
  3. They even get grouped into larger numbers usually when there are zeroes in it. For instance, 234500 will be said as “two three four five hundred”.
  4. Zero often gets pronounced as “o” as in go.
  5. Terms such as triple and double are used if there are more than one digit. For example, the phone number 2349992 will be spoken as “two three four….. triple nine six”.
Know The Numbers

Know The Numbers

Decimal numbers
If you have already learnt math, you won’t have difficulty understanding it. Either ways, it is neither too tough. A decimal such as 23.34 is spoken in two parts. The first part i.e. before the point is pronounced in its entirety i.e. twenty three. Next comes a dot, which is pronounced as “point” and the digits after point are read as single numbers. As in, three four. So, the entire number is spoken as, twenty three point three four.
Fractions
Apart from half (1/2), quarter (1/4) and a third (1/3), every other fraction is spoken with a ‘th’ at the end. For example- 4/5 is spoken as “four-fifth”.
Dates
There are two ways of expressing dates-

  1. In Britain English, the day comes before the month and periods are often used to separate elements. For example, July 3 1994 will be written as 3.07.1994.
  2. In American English, the month comes before the day and slashes are used to separate elements. For example – December 9 1995 will be written as 09/03/1995.

However, in IELTS, you either write date as – 3 July. If it is compulsory to add the year, you must write, 3 July 1994.

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Listening Strategies # After and During

Once you have read the instructions properly and you are aware of the different questions and the main idea of the audio, the next thing to do is face it. Yes, with full confidence move towards hearing the audio and answering properly. Some of the strategies that will help you are –

WHILE YOU LISTEN

Look out for clues
Listen attentively for the clues in the question. This is the place where your vocabulary becomes important because they don’t use words which are already present in the question.
Answer properly
Now this is something that is very important. You may be able to find the correct answer but until you answer it properly there is no use of it. For example, if the question asks you to answer in no more than three words but you answer it in four words, the answer will be regarded as incorrect. Even more, make sure that you tick the right number of options. For instance if the question asks you to tick the two right answer but you only tick one correct answer or vice versa you may lose marks.
Listening Strategies

Listening Strategies

Do not panic
Often it so happens that you miss out on a question, what if you start panicking. First you are not able to answer the question properly, next you may even lose out some information required for the next question. So, keep calm and do the test properly.

AFTER YOU LISTEN

Answer every question
It might be possible that you miss out on some question and even after trying too hard you are not able to answer it. What to do?? Relax. You are not given negative marks if you answer any question wrong so try to make a knowledgeable guess and answer the most appropriate option according to you.
Make sure you make sense
After you have answered the question, read the answer again and make sure that whatever you have written makes complete sense. They should be grammatically correct as well as, the spelling must be right.
Don’t be a copy cat
Make sure whatever you write in the answer sheet is what you have written yourself and not something that was printed in the question paper.

Don’t just read these strategies, I say go, take a print out of it and for the initial times when you are practicing listening, make sure you first read them and try to imbibe them in your practice.
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