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Recent IELTS exams

Real students tell about their recent IELTS exams: IELTS questions, topics, tasks, answers.

IELTS exam in Chicago, USA – March 2009 (General Training)

I don’t get many updates from USA (which is quite surprising, considering the number of IELTS candidates there), but today I was lucky – here is what J remembers about his General Training exam in Chicago, Illinois.

Writing test

Writing Task 1 (letter)
You are planing to study in an English-speaking country and would be interested in a part time job. Ask your friend to help you find out about a job.

Writing Task 2 (essay)
In some countries historical buildings are destroyed to make room for new buildings. Discuss, what is your opinion?

Speaking Test

Interview
General questions:
– What is your name
– What your husband doing,
– What you are doing during the day, etc
– What kind of sports facilities are available in your country?
– What sport would like to play in future?

Cue card
Talk about toy you had as a child, you should say
– Why its important?
– What toy was that?
– How much time you spent playing with that toy?

Discussion
– What are the outdoor sports of your country?
– Are electronic and computer games available in your country?
– Do you believe that some kids have too many toys?
– Are board games popular in your country?
and more questions related to toys.

IELTS exam in the UK- March 2009 (Academic Module)

Today our friend K. is reporting from the UK about his Academic IELTS exam. He’s got quite a bit of bad luck, read on:

Reading test

Reading was difficult, because I started with the last passage (about NASA and information) and spent too much time on it. The reason why I got stuck on that passage was my watch – it stopped during the exam, and in the two following passages I had to guess and give random answers, almost no time was left.

Writing test

Writing task 1 (report)
The graph was about the number of people playing four different sports in European countries (the graph was quite complicated). I just tried to pick up on the most noticeable trends.

Writing task 2 (essay)
Some people think that using traditions as attractions for money-making will destroy our culture, but others think that there is nothing wrong with attracting tourists that way. Discuss, what is your opinion?

Speaking test

Interview
The questions were about my job, what do I want to do after finishing my studies, about gardens in my country and about my favorite food.

Cue card
Tell me something about the person you like spending time with the most, you should say
– How do you know this person?
– How much time do you spend together?
– What do you normally talk about?

Note: the same topic as in India!

The follow up questions were about communication and free time. The examiner seemed to be very interested and our conversation was flowing.