IELTS | 20th Jan 2018 | General Training | Answer Key

[Chal koi na]

R9 L8.5 S7 W 6.5

 

[lastwayout]

I don't how what exactly is the effect of being prompted to speak more on the score/band...........It looks like it leads to reduction of 0.5 band score...........I can't say 7.5 is really incorrect score, but I think 8 would have been more justified one in my opinion........If I were to evaluate/estimate my speaking score, I thought it was 8.5 minus 0.5 for being prompted, making it 8

Even though it was my first attempt, I personally think it would be really difficult to get 8 in each section individually...........therefore I am thinking of re-evaluation if I don't have anything to lose (I mean band/scores) while going for revaluation

Really? Well he knows why his score was lower (being prompted to talk), so I think there is no reason to re-evaluate



With listening or reading you have less case because the answers are set in stone. Here people are mostly arguing for Writing or Speaking. Don't waste your 200 bucks for L or R.

 

[mohit2018]

Guys,
May i ask you if any of you could help me understand where i lacked in writing section. I have prepared very well for all the sections and have eventually achieve good band in rest 3(except writing). My score are as follows: L:8.5 R:9 S:8 W: 6.5. My target was CLB10 but i would have been satisfied by CLB9 as well. Now i am not able to understand what did i missed. I showcased the structure, paraphrasing, variety in vocab, complex sentences, collocations and all the parameters we need to showcase. If someone could help me understand the area i need to work on, it would be really helpful.

In order to understand my current situation(as per IELTS comment) i am pasting the remarks i received in result( though i think these would be general and not specific to every individual):

Your scores explained:
Test takers at this band can typically address all parts of the question, some more fully than others. The letter has a generally clear purpose; the tone is sometimes not consistent. Key features and bullet points are covered. The point of view and main ideas are relevant but the conclusion(s) may be unclear. Some details might be irrelevant or wrong. Test takers can arrange their ideas logically, so that the writing has a clear progression from start to finish. They are able to use some linking words well, but others with mistakes. They can paragraph their Task 2 writing, although not always logically. They have enough vocabulary to answer the question. They try to use some less common words. They make some spelling mistakes, but the reader can still understand. They can write a mix of simple and complex sentences. The grammar and punctuation mistakes do not usually cause difficulty for the reader.

How to improve:
Practice writing to give information and make arguments. Make sure you cover all the points that need to be covered, providing supporting ideas and
details. Reread your work and see if you can make your points clearer. Is the ordering of your ideas logical? Sometimes, rearranging them can make things clearer. You can also try joining up or separating sentences, using the right connecting devices, and changing where you divide your paragraphs. Continue to develop your vocabulary. Words can be similar in meaning but differ in formality, in their tone, and in their implications. Focus on learning the best words to use for the writing task, the situation, and what you want to say. Challenge yourself by producing sentences that are more complex. If you make mistakes with them, don't worry too much; just check and see how you can fix them.

 

[mohit2018]

Your "How to Improve" is more relevant to you, as it is not generic.

Let me try to translate this for you:

Make sure you cover all the points that need to be covered, providing supporting ideas and
details. Reread your work and see if you can make your points clearer.

Hint: Write down 2 key positions for an issue and 2 against so you don't just write with the flows. And then see if they make sense and can be linked (I lost points for simply mentioning 2-3 factors without linking them too much said them).

Is the ordering of your ideas logical? Sometimes, rearranging them can make things clearer.

Cause and effect, you have two opposing's and two for's, which of these is the cause, which of these is the effect? Example, less and less people get married before 25 (effect) because things get expensive (cause).

You can also try joining up or separating sentences, using the right connecting devices, and changing where you divide your paragraphs.

Use conjunctions like since or furthermore or moreover when linking, and however or but or understandably so, but when arguing against. I would dedicate one paragraph simply to talk about one main idea that I would have written down pre-writing the essay, and use conjunctions to link to the next paragraph.

Continue to develop your vocabulary. Words can be similar in meaning but differ in formality, in their tone, and in their implications. Focus on learning the best words to use for the writing task, the situation, and what you want to say.

Choosing appropriate tone, don't be friendly to a stranger or when you write an academic essay and don't be too polite when writing to a friend. I scolded people who PM'ed me with "bro" and "hv u" from the start because that means they don't take the time to think of appropriate tone. Example:

"Congratulations for your baby! I am really happy for you guys!" is more appropriate to say to a friend than "I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate William, you, and baby Roger, who I am sure will one day become a fine king". Or if you are applying for a job "I had the privilege to clerk for Byron White" is more formal (and may not be appropriate for the job) than "I worked/clerked for Byron White".

For the more scientific example for task 2: The word "claim" means you are preparing us for a rebuttal. So if you want to say "professor X says global warming is real" and you are agreeing with said professor, you say "Professor X argues global warming is real" and not "Professor X claims global warming is real".

Challenge yourself by producing sentences that are more complex.

From me to you, read an English written newspaper such as New York Times or WSJ or anything. Not necessarily the ones you agree with, but just to see if you can follow the flow and follow them yourself.

Thanks a lot Patrick.
Being it my first attempt, I dint knew 'How to improve' area is specific.
Many thanks for clarifying it and for the detailed explanation for my improvement areas. I really appreciate your comments and the efforts you put to help me.
Thanks a lot Mate!
Have a good one.

 

[WoundedTiger]

Guys,
May i ask you if any of you could help me understand where i lacked in writing section. I have prepared very well for all the sections and have eventually achieve good band in rest 3(except writing). My score are as follows: L:8.5 R:9 S:8 W: 6.5. My target was CLB10 but i would have been satisfied by CLB9 as well. Now i am not able to understand what did i missed. I showcased the structure, paraphrasing, variety in vocab, complex sentences, collocations and all the parameters we need to showcase. If someone could help me understand the area i need to work on, it would be really helpful.

In order to understand my current situation(as per IELTS comment) i am pasting the remarks i received in result( though i think these would be general and not specific to every individual):

Your scores explained:
Test takers at this band can typically address all parts of the question, some more fully than others. The letter has a generally clear purpose; the tone is sometimes not consistent. Key features and bullet points are covered. The point of view and main ideas are relevant but the conclusion(s) may be unclear. Some details might be irrelevant or wrong. Test takers can arrange their ideas logically, so that the writing has a clear progression from start to finish. They are able to use some linking words well, but others with mistakes. They can paragraph their Task 2 writing, although not always logically. They have enough vocabulary to answer the question. They try to use some less common words. They make some spelling mistakes, but the reader can still understand. They can write a mix of simple and complex sentences. The grammar and punctuation mistakes do not usually cause difficulty for the reader.

How to improve:
Practice writing to give information and make arguments. Make sure you cover all the points that need to be covered, providing supporting ideas and
details. Reread your work and see if you can make your points clearer. Is the ordering of your ideas logical? Sometimes, rearranging them can make things clearer. You can also try joining up or separating sentences, using the right connecting devices, and changing where you divide your paragraphs. Continue to develop your vocabulary. Words can be similar in meaning but differ in formality, in their tone, and in their implications. Focus on learning the best words to use for the writing task, the situation, and what you want to say. Challenge yourself by producing sentences that are more complex. If you make mistakes with them, don't worry too much; just check and see how you can fix them.

Patrick has very well articulated what you can do..Judging by your post, I don't see you having any issue in writing. May I ask you to spend couple of minutes understanding the essay question type..what has been asked- Was your opinion asked or were you to provide just 2 views without taking sides..This is just one area...

Do the essay before the letter.
In letter, small things matter. For instance how you start (addressing someone with name or just sir/madam) and how you end (your sincerely, yours faithfully)...Ieltsliz is one of best sources out there that you may want to check

I am sure you will do really well ..ATB!!

 

[lastwayout]

I actually spoke overtime repeatedly and I got 8.5, so risking all the bandwagon shitting my inbox again, let me say this, being prompted is kind of similar to under-writing in Writing. It was probably justified. Again I am saying this risking my inbox being shitted on again, but if someone who talks a lot (and by then gives the marker more chance to evaluate the speaking) gets an 8.5, why do you think you should not have your 7.5? I am not saying this to trigger some folks here, but just for comparison's sakes. I get the sense they would have preferred you to keep on talking (or writing) even if you had to "waste the time" by saying "oh I don't really have a further opinion about that, but I understand why it is such a divisive issue". It might have meant more that you talked such deflections rather than just saying what was in your mind only.

7.5 is quite high if you don't/didn't live abroad. I lived abroad for 7 years and mingled only with English speaking people and even then the remarks were that I had to listen to the news and see how people respond to questions. When I had my very first IELTS (6.5 Sp, 7.0 Ovr), I also would not know how to talk (let alone being grammatically correct), so I get you that sometimes you just think "i have said what I needed to say, why should my score drop?"

I don't think this is equivalent to underwriting ..........if that was the case, then they would not have prompted in the first place...........I understand that because they had to prompt, there will be some minor reduction..........i have seen someone who was prompted more than once and still got 8.5.........also they were too many questions asked during speaking, some of them requiring a long detailed explanation, so I think there was enough of speaking material to judge/evaluate

Anyways, if I decide to apply for Canada PR, then this re-evaluation is not required. I need to make this decision quickly.

 

[WoundedTiger]

Here is what surprises you, none of the advice above really really apply to real world sense. Nobody cares about yours faithfully or yours sincerely nor even anyone reads the closing statement. Be polite and be frank about what you want to say/happen and people won't lose respect (aka "marks") because you used the wrong "sincerely" stuff, studying for IELTS was the first time I heard that this matters. Then again, let's just all follow the rules . I wish markers would take this into consideration.

I do-like I said above-lose respect if you wrote me a letter full of abbreviations and bro's, and anyone would.

precisely..the real world is different and one wouldn't care or loose sleep over a sincerely or a faithfully...but this is an exam where you are being marked under certain guidelines...The guy did well in other sections so I am amazed why he wouldn't get a higher score in writing...those are just the pointers that might help...I had issues when I started writing for IELTS but realized soon that if you follow/give them what they need..you are good...

 

[sbahugun]

I also thought that the feedback provided in "How to improve" section is only applicable to me however, it is not. I got the same feedback, word-to-word for my 6.5 score in writing.

Your "How to Improve" is more relevant to you, as it is not generic.

 

[mohit2018]

precisely..the real world is different and one wouldn't care or loose sleep over a sincerely or a faithfully...but this is an exam where you are being marked under certain guidelines...The guy did well in other sections so I am amazed why he wouldn't get a higher score in writing...those are just the pointers that might help...I had issues when I started writing for IELTS but realized soon that if you follow/give them what they need..you are good...

Thanks WoundedTiger and Patrick
i see your points valid and really helpful. just one point.. i did prepare for the different types of essays (i mean the structure with each body paras with main idea, its reason and example and then short conclusion) Which i thought would be good enough to score at least 7.5 or 7 in writing, but eventually it wasn't
I have prepared using ieltsliz and E2 Learning(youtube) for writing.
I am not really that bad at writing(if not very good), neither my handwriting is poor which could have made the things illegible. That's why i was a bit surprised to see the results and was a bit confused about where exactly did i messed up and hence asked for your help. Which you guys did.
Ii think now i understand that perhaps re-arranging the ideas would have been the key.
Thanks for your help guys. Really appreciated.
Good to have you people here.
Have a good day!

 

[Tech_girl123]

I don't how what exactly is the effect of being prompted to speak more on the score/band...........It looks like it leads to reduction of 0.5 band score...........I can't say 7.5 is really incorrect score, but I think 8 would have been more justified one in my opinion........If I were to evaluate/estimate my speaking score, I thought it was 8.5 minus 0.5 for being prompted, making it 8

Even though it was my first attempt, I personally think it would be really difficult to get 8 in each section individually...........therefore I am thinking of re-evaluation if I don't have anything to lose (I mean band/scores) while going for revaluation

Yes the .5 was because you took a pause. Happened with me last time (my first attempt). I spoke well most of the time just that i had taken a pause in that 1 min cue card session since I was thinking and the examiner had to prompt me to speak more. Got 7.5 too .. This time i was well prepared and did not stop at all and answered it well... so got 8.

 

[Ishug]

Guys,
May i ask you if any of you could help me understand where i lacked in writing section. I have prepared very well for all the sections and have eventually achieve good band in rest 3(except writing). My score are as follows: L:8.5 R:9 S:8 W: 6.5. My target was CLB10 but i would have been satisfied by CLB9 as well. Now i am not able to understand what did i missed. I showcased the structure, paraphrasing, variety in vocab, complex sentences, collocations and all the parameters we need to showcase. If someone could help me understand the area i need to work on, it would be really helpful.

In order to understand my current situation(as per IELTS comment) i am pasting the remarks i received in result( though i think these would be general and not specific to every individual):

Your scores explained:
Test takers at this band can typically address all parts of the question, some more fully than others. The letter has a generally clear purpose; the tone is sometimes not consistent. Key features and bullet points are covered. The point of view and main ideas are relevant but the conclusion(s) may be unclear. Some details might be irrelevant or wrong. Test takers can arrange their ideas logically, so that the writing has a clear progression from start to finish. They are able to use some linking words well, but others with mistakes. They can paragraph their Task 2 writing, although not always logically. They have enough vocabulary to answer the question. They try to use some less common words. They make some spelling mistakes, but the reader can still understand. They can write a mix of simple and complex sentences. The grammar and punctuation mistakes do not usually cause difficulty for the reader.

How to improve:
Practice writing to give information and make arguments. Make sure you cover all the points that need to be covered, providing supporting ideas and
details. Reread your work and see if you can make your points clearer. Is the ordering of your ideas logical? Sometimes, rearranging them can make things clearer. You can also try joining up or separating sentences, using the right connecting devices, and changing where you divide your paragraphs. Continue to develop your vocabulary. Words can be similar in meaning but differ in formality, in their tone, and in their implications. Focus on learning the best words to use for the writing task, the situation, and what you want to say. Challenge yourself by producing sentences that are more complex. If you make mistakes with them, don't worry too much; just check and see how you can fix them.

Guys,
May i ask you if any of you could help me understand where i lacked in writing section. I have prepared very well for all the sections and have eventually achieve good band in rest 3(except writing). My score are as follows: L:8.5 R:9 S:8 W: 6.5. My target was CLB10 but i would have been satisfied by CLB9 as well. Now i am not able to understand what did i missed. I showcased the structure, paraphrasing, variety in vocab, complex sentences, collocations and all the parameters we need to showcase. If someone could help me understand the area i need to work on, it would be really helpful.

In order to understand my current situation(as per IELTS comment) i am pasting the remarks i received in result( though i think these would be general and not specific to every individual):

Your scores explained:
Test takers at this band can typically address all parts of the question, some more fully than others. The letter has a generally clear purpose; the tone is sometimes not consistent. Key features and bullet points are covered. The point of view and main ideas are relevant but the conclusion(s) may be unclear. Some details might be irrelevant or wrong. Test takers can arrange their ideas logically, so that the writing has a clear progression from start to finish. They are able to use some linking words well, but others with mistakes. They can paragraph their Task 2 writing, although not always logically. They have enough vocabulary to answer the question. They try to use some less common words. They make some spelling mistakes, but the reader can still understand. They can write a mix of simple and complex sentences. The grammar and punctuation mistakes do not usually cause difficulty for the reader.

How to improve:
Practice writing to give information and make arguments. Make sure you cover all the points that need to be covered, providing supporting ideas and
details. Reread your work and see if you can make your points clearer. Is the ordering of your ideas logical? Sometimes, rearranging them can make things clearer. You can also try joining up or separating sentences, using the right connecting devices, and changing where you divide your paragraphs. Continue to develop your vocabulary. Words can be similar in meaning but differ in formality, in their tone, and in their implications. Focus on learning the best words to use for the writing task, the situation, and what you want to say. Challenge yourself by producing sentences that are more complex. If you make mistakes with them, don't worry too much; just check and see how you can fix them.

Are these remarks mentioned in trf ?

 

[mohit2018]

Are these remarks mentioned in trf ?

No. Sorry for the confusion. These were on the result page right below the score table.
Hope this helps.

 

[Ishug]

No. Sorry for the confusion. These were on the result page right below the score table.
Hope this helps.

Thanks . I am planning for reevaluation as I lost 0.5 in writing for clb 9 but there is difference of 2 bands between listening score(8.5) and writing score (6.5) so I doubt if my results were already considered for re-assessment as there was a delay in publishing . Also want to mention that my essay meets equal or little less of band 7 descriptors. Someone pls suggest is going for eor a good option ?

 

[Remmade]

Hello dear, If you insist CELPIP is what you wanna do fine and I wish you all the best although deep down I wished you could still give IELTS a shot.
Any way I havent entered the pool yet, my WES evaluation is stalled because NASU is on strike here in Nigeria.
Please pray for me .
Have a great weekend.

Hi Guiterlife, thanks for your concern, i have also requested for my transcript since December from my school and WES is yet to receive it, would have loved to write IELTS but the closest date available to me is May and thats too far.It is well my brother. We will both testify very soon

 

[Guitarlife]

Hi Guiterlife, thanks for your concern, i have also requested for my transcript since December from my school and WES is yet to receive it, would have loved to write IELTS but the closest date available to me is May and thats too far.It is well my brother. We will both testify very soon

Yeah which school is that ?