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2022

IELTS test in Iran – November 2022 (Academic Module)

The questions below were kindly shared by N. who recently took IELTS in Iran:

Writing test

Writing task 1 (a report)

The bar chart below describes the gross domestic spending on Research and Development in five countries between 2001 and 2011.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

IELTS Writing Task 1 Bar Chart of spending on Research and Development in five countries between 2001 and 2011

* Note: this isn’t the actual chart given in the test, it was recreated for demonstration purposes.

Writing task 2 (an essay)

These days more and more people spend their free time doing dangerous activities. Why is this happening? Are there more positive or negative effects to this trend?

Speaking test

Part 1 (Interview)

– What is your full name?
– Do you work or study?
– How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
– How are birthdays celebrated in your country?
– Do you think birthdays are important? Why?
– Can you remember a special birthday you enjoyed as a child?
– Are birthdays more important to children or adults?

Part 2 (Cue Card)

Talk about a book that you have recently read. Please say

– what book it was
– who encouraged you to read it
– what the book was about
– and explain whether or not you enjoyed reading this book, and why.

Part 3 (Discussion)

– Do people in your country prefer books written by local authors? Why?
– How can a book affect people’s thoughts?
– Can a novel written by a writer from one country be useful to people living in another country?
– Is it possible to learn how people of a certain country think from their writers’ novels and books?
– Why do some books become popular world-wide?

IELTS essay, topic: Newspapers have a significant influence on people’s ideas and opinions (reasons and solutions)

This essay topic was seen in a recent IELTS test in India

Newspapers have a significant influence on people’s ideas and opinions. Why is this happening? Is it a positive or negative situation?

Sample Band 8 Essay

Many people believe that newspapers play a pivotal role in shaping the way we think. There are numerous ways in which this affects our society, and I believe that this influence is mostly negative.

Newspapers have long been a source of valuable information that has kept societies abreast of the latest happenings in the world. Since the average citizen has minimal knowledge about the information in expert analysis articles, well-established newspapers are powerfully poised to form public opinion through attention-grabbing images and carefully worded commentary. This leaves the reader no choice but to trust the accuracy of what they have read.

Sadly, unbiased objectivity, which used to be the core idea behind journalism, seems to be a thing of the past. The arrival and spread of social media platforms has caused a gradual decline in print media subscriptions and their circulation, since readers tend to favor the internet and social media to stay informed about current affairs. This gave rise to a worrying trend of newspapers using sensationalist and controversial tactics to improve their sales. As a result, the constant barrage of bad news has led to a society that sees itself as more vulnerable and powerless than ever. To make matters worse, there are plenty of well-documented instances where newspapers have been used to spread false propaganda which is usually politically motivated.

All in all, although newspapers are our lifeline to the world around us, the recent trend of publishing misinformation has had a mostly negative impact on readers. It is my hope that newspapers will go back to publishing impartial accounts of the latest news in the future.

Click here to see more IELTS essays of Band 8