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Simone Braverman

Simone Braverman is the founder of IELTS-Blog.com and the author of several renowned IELTS preparation books, including Ace the IELTS, Target Band 7, the High Scorer's Choice practice test series, and IELTS Success Formula. Since 2005, Simone has been committed to making IELTS preparation accessible and effective through her books and online resources. Her work has helped 100,000's of students worldwide achieve their target scores and live their dream lives. When Simone isn't working on her next IELTS book, video lesson, or coaching, she enjoys playing the guitar or rollerblading.

IELTS exam in Sri Lanka – May 2009 (Academic Module)

Thanks to our Sri Lankan friends, here are the topics and questions from a recent Academic IELTS exam there:

Listening test

Section 1: a telephone conversation with a delivery company.
Section 2: a student was in an iron village for 6 months, the questions were multiple choice, we needed to select one of 3 answers.
Section 3: about synaesthesia
Section 4: about a scientific student group research

Reading test

Passage 1, 2 – don’t remember
Passage 3: Ben & Jerry’s industry development

Writing test

Writing task 1 (report)
There was a table of age groups of Internet users in percentages in the UK and the reasons why they use the Internet.

Writing task 2 (essay)
In the present age, it is no longer necessary to use animal-derived products, for example food, clothes or medicine. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Speaking test

Interview
– What is your name
– Do you work or study
– What do you study
– Why did you chose this course
– Do you like swimming
– Are there places where you can go to swim near your home

Cue card
Describe a newspaper article you recently read, you should say:
– What news paper was it in
– What was it about
– Why you remembered this article

Discussion
– Do you think that journalists twist the facts to make the story more interesting?
– Why do you think people buy magazines?
– Do you find the information in magazines relevant to your age group?

Online registration in India: a word of caution

A while ago I wrote about how impressed I was with what the British Council in India is doing for IELTS candidates.

Well, it turns out that sometimes things don’t work the way they are supposed to. A student from Chandigarh, India sent me an angry email describing his bad experience trying to register for the exam at British Council via the online registration process.

Here is what happened: he registered and received an SMS to his mobile phone with a confirmation, the same came in an email. However, no further details followed, and when after a week he called the help line in New Delhi, they told him that all of the details are in a letter that hasn’t been posted yet. Oh yes, and that he needed to call again and remind them to send it 🙂

After a couple of days he called again and then they gave him his candidate number and the time and location of his exam. As for the promised free reading material, he never received it. When he called the BC and complained, they suggested that he should buy something and pay out of pocket. He (rightfully) insisted on getting the promised free materials and then found out that it’s out of stock and their offer is only good while the stock lasts. The consultant did promise to send him a copy from the new stock when it arrives in 3 working days – but till this day he didn’t receive it.

The way I see it, this set of problems was time-related. Having booked the closest date, in 10 days from the registration day, our Indian friend needed a timely response and and couldn’t afford losing time, waiting for the letter and for the materials. If he had a month, these delays would still be irritating but wouldn’t have affected his preparation as much.

To sum up, if you’re in a hurry to book your IELTS exam in India – keep this scenario in mind.