What do IELTS mean by “you don’t lose points for incorrect answers” in the listening/reading test?

[MickeyMoore05]

At the beginning of the listening/reading test the examiner reads out a bunch of rules, including “you don’t lose points for incorrect answers.”

Yet when the result comes out you lose points even though you answered every question and used correct spelling/grammar.

What exactly do they mean by that? Where do all the points go?

 

[Hessam]

At the beginning of the listening/reading test the examiner reads out a bunch of rules, including “you don’t lose points for incorrect answers.”

Yet when the result comes out you lose points even though you answered every question and used correct spelling/grammar.

What exactly do they mean by that? Where do all the points go?

Case1:
1) Apple
2) Univercity
3)___________

Case2:
1) Apple
2) University
3)___________

Case3:
1) Apple
2) University
3) Gender

Case4:
1) Apple
2) University
3) Male and Women
--------------------
let's assume the correct answers were apple, university, Male and Women
in case 1 you'll get 1 correct answer out of 3 - UNIVERSITY NOT UNIVERCITY
in case 2 you'll get 2 out 3 - because you haven't answered question 3
in case 3. again you'll get 2 out 3- because Gender was not the right answer. Maybe you GUESSED or heard the wrong thing. But, it is still better than leaving it without an answer! Sometimes, guessing helps!
---------
Case 4 - 3/3 . you have answered all correctly!
As long as your answer is Correct ( NO SPELLING or GRAMMATICAL ERROR), you will get a full mark. Regardless if you're 100% sure or 1% sure. They only mark the correct answers and BLANKS or WRONG answers still considered the same. ZERO POINT.

 

[MickeyMoore05]

Case1:
1) Apple
2) Univercity
3)___________

Case2:
1) Apple
2) University
3)___________

Case3:
1) Apple
2) University
3) Gender

Case4:
1) Apple
2) University
3) Male and Women
--------------------
let's assume the correct answers were apple, university, Male and Women
in case 1 you'll get 1 correct answer out of 3 - UNIVERSITY NOT UNIVERCITY
in case 2 you'll get 2 out 3 - because you haven't answered question 3
in case 3. again you'll get 2 out 3- because Gender was not the right answer. Maybe you GUESSED or heard the wrong thing. But, it is still better than leaving it without an answer! Sometimes, guessing helps!
---------
Case 4 - 3/3 . you have answered all correctly!
As long as your answer is Correct ( NO SPELLING or GRAMMATICAL ERROR), you will get a full mark. Regardless if you're 100% sure or 1% sure. They only mark the correct answers and BLANKS or WRONG answers still considered the same. ZERO POINT.

Thank you for your reply. This is clear to see. But my inquiry is WHY DO THEY SAY YOU DON’T LOSE POINTS FOR INCORRECT ANSWERS WHEN IN REALITY YOU LOSE POINTS FOR INCORRECT ANSWERS?

 

[Hessam]

Thank you for your reply. This is clear to see. But my inquiry is WHY DO THEY SAY YOU DON’T LOSE POINTS FOR INCORRECT ANSWERS WHEN IN REALITY YOU LOSE POINTS FOR INCORRECT ANSWERS?

In some tests, there are negative points for wrong answers just to stop exam takers from guessing, meaning that 1 wrong answer is worse than 1 unanswered!
But in IELTS, you will get mark only for correct answers. If your answer is wrong or if you decided to leave the question unanswered you will get 0 in both. No minus point.
let's say for the Listening section. There are 40 questions. If you answer 39+, you will get 9. if you answer 35, you will get 8 and so on so forth. They only count correct answers. If you answer 30 questions CORRECTLY, you will get 7. They don't care if you have attempted 40 questions, 35 or 30! or if you've made guess, was not sure, didn't deserve or .......
Listening band 7 means you got 30-31 Correct answers. One candidate can score 7, with only answering 30 questions. But, the point is, you can guess, write something down and still get a mark if you're lucky! Sometimes you miss the recording, but you can guess! Sometimes you feel 50-50, between two options! Then it's damn right to guess! And sometimes you're more inclined towards one option! Why should one leave that quesiton? So just do it! In case you chose the wrong answer, you'll not get punished.
You don't lose for wrong answers, literally means that marks will no be deducted for that particular incorrect answer. But, It is still ZERO!
Wrong Spelling------->ZERO
Wrong ANSWER-----> ZERO
No Answer--------> ZERO
Writing more than the instruction limit (sometimes more than one word sometimes more than 2 and sometimes more than 3. I don't remember any case we were required to write 4 words!!!) ----------> ZERO
Forget to put plural S---------> ZERO
Forget to put articles (a/the) if required grammatically ----------> ZERO
Sometimes you can miss the/a or even plural S and still get 1 point. This is true only when your answer doesn't change the meaning and doesn't affect the sentence in terms of grammar.
--------------
And finally..
Correct Answer----------> 1 point

 

[MickeyMoore05]

In some tests, there are negative points for wrong answers just to stop exam takers from guessing, meaning that 1 wrong answer is worse than 1 unanswered!
But in IELTS, you will get mark only for correct answers. If your answer is wrong or if you decided to leave the question unanswered you will get 0 in both. No minus point.
let's say for the Listening section. There are 40 questions. If you answer 39+, you will get 9. if you answer 35, you will get 8 and so on so forth. They only count correct answers. If you answer 30 questions CORRECTLY, you will get 7. They don't care if you have attempted 40 questions, 35 or 30! or if you've made guess, was not sure, didn't deserve or .......
Listening band 7 means you got 30-31 Correct answers. One candidate can score 7, with only answering 30 questions. But, the point is, you can guess, write something down and still get a mark if you're lucky! Sometimes you miss the recording, but you can guess! Sometimes you feel 50-50, between two options! Then it's damn right to guess! And sometimes you're more inclined towards one option! Why should one leave that quesiton? So just do it! In case you chose the wrong answer, you'll not get punished.
You don't lose for wrong answers, literally means that marks will no be deducted for that particular incorrect answer. But, It is still ZERO!
Wrong Spelling------->ZERO
Wrong ANSWER-----> ZERO
No Answer--------> ZERO
Writing more than the instruction limit (sometimes more than one word sometimes more than 2 and sometimes more than 3. I don't remember any case we were required to write 4 words!!!) ----------> ZERO
Forget to put plural S---------> ZERO
Forget to put articles (a/the) if required grammatically ----------> ZERO
Sometimes you can miss the/a or even plural S and still get 1 point. This is true only when your answer doesn't change the meaning and doesn't affect the sentence in terms of grammar.
--------------
And finally..
Correct Answer----------> 1 point

Thanks. I understand now.

 

[Hannan Khan]

You don't gain points but you don't lose them either. In other words there is no negative marking for an incorrect answer.