Announcements and academic talks — take the outline, not the words
Listen to an Announcement
- One speaker giving practical information: a change of room, a new deadline, a procedure.
- Listen for what has changed and what the listener must do. Those are the questions.
- Dates, times, rooms and names are the details asked about. Write them as you hear them.
Listen to an Academic Talk
- A lecture-style talk on a study topic, with one main speaker.
- Do not write everything. Write the shape: the topic, then each new point on its own line, with a dash for its example.
- Your notes should look like the talk's outline, not like its transcript.
During an academic talk, what should your notes look like?
Writing everything means understanding nothing — your hand cannot keep up and your ears stop working. The outline is what the questions are about.
Lecturers announce their own structure
- Today I want to look at, there are three reasons, the first of these, which brings me to, so to summarise.
- Those phrases are the outline, spoken aloud. When you hear one, start a new line.
- A change of direction is always signalled: actually, but, the thing is, having said that.
You hear 'which brings me to the second factor'. What do you do?
Lecturers speak their own outline aloud. A signpost is a free instruction about how to lay out your page.
Attitude is asked about too
- Surprisingly, of course, it is often claimed, and a change of tone all tell you what the speaker thinks.
- Some questions ask exactly that, and the facts alone will not answer them.
- An example supports a point. If you catch the example but not the point, ask: what is this an example of?
Recording only the facts is enough to answer every question about a talk.
Some questions ask what the speaker thinks. Words like 'surprisingly' and 'it is often claimed' are the evidence for those, and they are easy to miss while writing.
The habit that costs most marks
- Dwelling. You miss one detail, keep thinking about it, and miss the next thirty seconds too.
- One missed item is one mark. Thirty seconds of not listening is five.
- Let it go, mark the item, guess, and stay with the speaker.
- Format facts checked on the ETS website on 13 September 2026.
You miss a detail in the middle of a talk. What is the cheapest response?
One missed item costs one mark. Thirty seconds of not listening costs about five. Dwelling is the single most expensive habit in this section.