An Introduction to the IELTS Exam

Everybody now for those of you who are very comfortable with the I outs exam format you may want to skip this lecture or if you’ve seen the task to video on an introduction to eyeless then you can definitely skip this lecture also. But if you are not aware of it or if you’re not comfortable with the exam format this lecture is designed to show you how the exam is set up it’s specific regulations and requirements and what you can do with the exam in future. So what is ials. First of all all else is an anagram which stands for International English language testing system. Put those letters together you come up with islands. It is the world’s most popular English language proficiency test over two million tests taken every year and this is a number which continues to grow. It assesses all of your English skills listening reading writing and speaking and it is accepted by schools universities employers and immigration authorities. Now how is it structured. Here follows a quick walk through of the exam itself. Now the exam is separated into two modules and you get to choose which module you do the academic module is more about universities academic careers and things like that. Whereas the general training module is more for visa applications or nonacademic careers. Make sure that you find out which module you are supposed to take. By looking at the requirements of your institution for example your university or employer now the exam is separated as I mentioned into four sections the listening to reading the writing and the speaking. I would recommend pausing the video here to have a look through each of those sections in the middle of the screen. But we’re going to be focusing on the writing part in this video Kools. Now the writing part is separated into two sections. Section 1. Task 1 and Task 2. You have 1 hour for this part of the exam and in task one which we’re focusing on here. You are permitted to 20 minutes so you are advised to take 20 minutes on this part of the exam. There is a word count a minimum word count of 150 words in this part of the test as well. Now there is a slight difference between the two modules between the academic and the general training module. When it comes to the writing task one portion. So in the academic module you are asked to describe a graph or diagram or macro process or is in the general training Modu in task when you are asked to write a letter or perhaps an informal letter or a formal letter. So those are the two differences there. This video course is focusing on the academic module so you’ll be talking about how you can respond to graft tasks process tasks map tasks and so forth. There is no pass or fail in ials you are graded in each component. And the average gives you your score. For example if you get a band six in this thing a band 7 in reading a band six in writing and a band seven in speaking your overall school will be 6.5. Your Iowa schools are valid for two years after certification. If you know you’ll see for school this will be a good indicator of what current ials level you are currently at. So if you know that you’re an upper intermediate user or a competent user and that you’re operating at a B2 level you’re likely to get somewhere between six maybe six point five in your iOS exam. Now how can these schools be used in your future Well if you get a five point five or six. You can usually gain entry to University Foundation course if you want to do a bachelor’s degree course. You usually need between a six and a six point five for a master’s degree course. The school rises you’re looking more at around about a 7. And if you want to work in English speaking countries and professions such as medicine law accounting or academic research you’re likely to need at least about seven and a lot of the time above this school a lot of people want visas for Australia. Most of the time you’re looking at a list of band seven in this regard as well. But regardless of the score make sure that you look into the specific requirements requested by your employer or by your academic institution or by the government of the country you’re trying to enter so that you’re aware of the school you need before he began preparing for the exam. So this was just a quick walk through the aisles exam. Have you found it useful. And I will see you in the next lecture.