IELTS Academic

Additional notes PDF

Check the delivery update before booking

These additional notes were checked against official IELTS information on 2 October 2026. Use them beside the preserved test overview. Older descriptions of paper delivery are not a current booking guide.

The IELTS partners announced a move away from fully paper-based tests from mid-2026. Exact change dates vary by market. Check the official provider and test centre for your chosen date and place. The announcement says the assessed skills and interpretation of results remain unchanged. A change in delivery does not mean you must learn a new language skill from the beginning.

In selected markets, Writing on Paper 手写写作 is an option within IELTS on computer. Listening and Reading remain on computer. Writing questions appear on screen, but answers are handwritten. The official option page says it is not available for IELTS for UKVI. It also says a Writing One Skill Retake must use the same Writing delivery mode as the original test. Availability and booking conditions must be confirmed with the centre.

Use official familiarisation material for the booked mode. Practise reading on screen, entering answers and checking them within the available time. If handwriting Writing, practise a readable answer under the same time limit. A beautiful pen cannot revise your argument for you. Keep the joke outside your test answer.

Choose the required test rather than guessing from its name

A receiving organisation 接收机构 is the university, employer or other body that will use your result. Check its exact requirement for your course or purpose before booking. Record test type, permitted delivery, overall band, each skill minimum and submission deadline. A friend's offer may have different conditions from yours.

Academic and General Training have different Reading and Writing Task 1 content. Do not use a General Training letter as practice for describing an Academic chart. Check any UKVI requirement through the relevant official guidance and receiving organisation. A normal Academic booking is not automatically the correct booking for every visa purpose.

IELTS Online and IELTS on computer at a test centre are different delivery choices. The official ways-to-take page says receiving organisations decide whether to accept IELTS Online. UKVI tests must be taken at an official test centre. Do not assume that a familiar score format proves acceptance of every delivery mode.

Requirement record	What to write
Purpose	Exact course, registration or other requirement
Test	Required type and accepted delivery
Scores	Overall requirement and each skill minimum
Timing	Application deadline and time for results to arrive
Evidence	Official page, date checked and any written clarification

This record organises your checks. It does not book a test or establish a real institution's admission decision.

Calculate the overall band and check every separate minimum

The official scoring rule averages the four section bands and rounds to the nearest half band. An average ending in .25 rounds up to the next half band; .75 rounds up to the next whole band. A section below a required minimum is not repaired by a high overall average.

For invented practice scores of Listening 7.5, Reading 7.5, Writing 6.0 and Speaking 7.0:

Suppose a fictional course requires overall 7.0 and at least 6.5 in each skill. The overall requirement is met. The Writing requirement is not met. The scores do not establish that all other admission requirements are met either.

For a separate set of 6.5, 6.5, 6.5 and 7.5:

The reported overall band is 7.0 after rounding. It is not four section scores of 7.0. Always keep the section profile next to the overall number.

IELTS recommends considering results valid for two years. Organisations may accept them for longer. Check the receiving organisation's rule and the relevant date rather than assume an old result always qualifies.

Use practice results to find a specific learning gap

A diagnostic 诊断性练习 helps you find what needs work. It is not an official test result. Record the material, date, time used, raw result and errors. A short worksheet may test only one question type and cannot represent an entire skill band.

Suppose you answer 12 of 20 items correctly in an original classroom exercise. That is 60% on this exercise. It is not automatically IELTS band 6.0. The difficulty, coverage and marking of the exercise may differ from an official test. Official Listening and Reading guidance also describes raw-score conversions as varying slightly between versions. Do not invent a precise band by joining published anchor points with a straight line.

Classify errors before choosing more practice:

Error seen	A useful next action
Misread the word limit	Practise checking instructions before answering
Understood the idea but used the wrong word form	Review the required grammar and answer form
Chose an answer without evidence	Find the supporting sentence or listening cue
Ran out of time	Rehearse a shorter timed section and review pacing
Writing did not answer the task	Plan the required purpose and main position before drafting

Compare repeated practice on suitable new material after working on the cause. Remembering yesterday's answer key is not evidence of a new skill. Use trained feedback and the official criteria for Writing and Speaking; a typed response cannot show pronunciation.

Build a short preparation cycle with a review decision

Start from your target profile and evidence of errors, not a promise to raise a band in fourteen days. Time needed differs between learners. A retake is an assessment opportunity, not a guaranteed improvement.

For an invented five-session plan:

1. Complete a suitable timed sample and record error types.
2. Practise the weakest identified process, such as checking instructions or supporting a claim.
3. Produce a new answer or recording and review it against appropriate criteria.
4. Repeat a similar skill on fresh material under a time limit.
5. Compare errors, timing and feedback; choose the next focus.

Keep maintenance practice for the other skills too. A high Reading score does not mean Reading can be ignored forever. Use manageable work periods and a realistic schedule around school commitments. Decide whether the evidence supports further practice, feedback or considering a booking. Do not treat one improved classroom score as a promise of the same official result.

Plan Writing time so both tasks receive an answer

The Academic Writing test lasts 60 minutes. Task 2 carries twice the weight of Task 1. A 20-minute/40-minute split is a useful practice plan, not two separately enforced timers. Include planning and checking in that time.

For example, use Task 1's 20 minutes as 3 planning, 14 drafting and 3 checking. Use Task 2's 40 minutes as 5 planning, 30 drafting and 5 checking. These are teaching suggestions. Change them if practice evidence shows a better workable split. Both tasks still need relevant answers. Do not deliberately leave one blank because it has less weight.

If Task 1 has already taken 25 minutes, only 35 remain for Task 2. Make a brief plan, write a relevant response and use a short final check. Do not spend the remaining time polishing the first introduction. The purpose of pacing is to support complete, relevant responses rather than only neat opening sentences.

Check One Skill Retake eligibility and acceptance separately

Official IELTS information lists a full IELTS on computer test at an offering centre, completion of the retake within 60 days, and one retake per original test. Check actual availability and any access arrangements with the centre. Do not assume every location offers the same service.

A new result form includes the retaken skill and the original other three skills. The official page says you may choose the original or new form. It also advises checking whether the receiving organisation accepts One Skill Retake before booking. Eligibility to sit it is not the same as acceptance for your particular purpose.

For a fictional applicant with one low skill, ask three separate questions:

• Does the original test and centre meet the current eligibility conditions?
• Can the retake be completed within the deadline and the application schedule?
• Does the receiving organisation accept this result for the required purpose?

Then compare further preparation, a full retake or another accepted route. Fees and available dates need a current provider check; these notes do not quote them. No result improvement or admission outcome is guaranteed.

Practice and explained answers

1. Why should a candidate check the current centre rather than rely on an old paper-test comparison?
2. Distinguish Writing on Paper from a fully paper-based Listening, Reading and Writing test.
3. A friend says every university accepts IELTS Online. What evidence is needed before relying on that claim?
4. Calculate the overall average for 7.5, 7.5, 6.0 and 7.0. Does it meet the fictional 7.0/6.5 profile?
5. Calculate the reported overall band for 6.5, 6.5, 6.5 and 7.5. Are all four skill bands now 7.0?
6. Explain why 12 correct answers out of 20 classroom items cannot simply be called IELTS band 6.
7. Give a next practice action for repeatedly exceeding the answer word limit.
8. Task 1 used 25 minutes of a 60-minute Writing session. How much remains, and what should happen next?
9. A candidate is eligible for One Skill Retake. Why is that not enough to choose it for an application?
10. Outline a preparation review that could change your next learning step without promising a band increase.

Explained answers

Answer 1. Official delivery changed from mid-2026, with exact dates varying by market. The booked place, date and provider determine what is available. Old preparation notes may describe an earlier arrangement.

Answer 2. Writing on Paper is an option within the computer test in selected markets. Listening and Reading stay on computer; Writing questions appear on screen and the answer is handwritten. The official option page excludes UKVI and specifies matching Writing delivery for its Writing retake.

Answer 3. Check the exact receiving organisation's requirement for that course or purpose. The official delivery page says organisations decide whether to accept IELTS Online. A friend's experience is not universal evidence.

Answer 4. The average is 7.0. It meets the fictional overall requirement, but Writing 6.0 is below 6.5. It therefore does not meet the complete stated score profile.

Answer 5. The average is 6.75 and the overall report rounds to 7.0. The section scores remain 6.5, 6.5, 6.5 and 7.5.

Answer 6. The raw classroom result is 60% on those items. Their coverage and difficulty do not establish an official conversion. Use errors to guide practice, not invent a band.

Answer 7. Check the instruction before answering, practise the permitted answer form, then verify length. Review fresh examples to see whether the same error has reduced.

Answer 8. Thirty-five minutes remain. Make a brief Task 2 plan, draft a relevant answer and check it. Do not use all remaining time polishing Task 1.

Answer 9. The organisation must accept the retake for the exact purpose, and the result must arrive in time. Centre eligibility alone proves neither. Preparation and costs still need consideration.

Answer 10. Compare new timed work with the recorded error types and appropriate feedback. Choose the next focus from persistent problems. Do not promise a particular score or improvement time.

Additional notes PDF

Listen for evidence, not a shortcut

You hear three possible days for a visit. Which one is the answer? The answer depends on the actual question and the speaker's meaning. The first day mentioned might be accepted, rejected or simply compared with another day. A word such as actually can help you follow a change. It cannot choose the answer alone.

These additional notes keep the original Listening handout beside new worked practice. The passages, places and people below are invented classroom examples. They are not official IELTS questions. Read the question before using the passage. In listening practice, let a teacher read each passage once. Keep the passage hidden until you check your answers. Reading it yourself practises analysis, not listening.

The official format includes four parts and 40 questions. Recordings are heard once, with different accents. Everyday situations come before study-related material. Question order follows information order in the recording. That does not mean a map route must always travel clockwise or from north to south. Prepare for the booked delivery. The separate overview update explains why old paper-transfer descriptions need checking.

Prepare the answer before the recording starts

Read the instruction, the question and any answer choices. A word limit 字数限制 controls the permitted answer length. A correct idea can still exceed that limit. Check whether you need one letter, two letters, words, numbers or a combination. Do not write a whole sentence when the task asks for a short answer.

For a gap, predict a possible answer type. This is preparation, not an answer you may invent.

Gap	Likely answer type
The visit starts at ___	Time
Bring two ___	Plural noun
The entrance is beside the ___	Place or object
The speaker chose it because it was ___	Description

Use meaning and grammar together. A place can contain more than one word. Words such as two can help you notice a plural, but the recording must support the answer. Follow the next question when one answer is missed. Return to it in the available checking time. Do not let a long search for one lost answer prevent you hearing three new ones.

Complete a form with names, dates and corrected facts

For this invented booking form, use no more than two words and/or a number for each answer.

1. Family name: ___
2. Visit day: ___
3. Group size: ___
4. Item to bring: ___

Classroom passage.

“Good morning. I am booking the school garden visit. My family name is Vale: V-A-L-E. I first asked about Tuesday, but our bus is available on Thursday, so please book Thursday. There are 18 students. Two teachers will come too, making 20 people in all. Every student should bring a water bottle. We provide gloves at the garden.”

Worked answers.

1. Vale. Use the spelled family name, not an invented spelling.
2. Thursday. Tuesday was the earlier request. The final booking is Thursday.
3. 20. The question asks for the group, including the two teachers.
4. water bottle. This is the required item. A water bottle has three words and exceeds this task's limit.

If the question instead asked for the number of students, its answer would be 18. The same recording can support different answers to different questions. A correction is useful evidence only when it concerns the detail the question asks about.

Complete notes, a table and a sequence

A note or table has fewer words than the recording. Find which detail each gap needs. The heading and row labels can help you separate time, place, purpose and equipment.

For these gaps, use no more than two words and/or a number for each answer.

Workshop information	Answer
Starting time	1 ___
Room	2 ___
Equipment provided	3 ___

Classroom passage.

“The recording workshop begins at 9:30 in Room 4. We supply headphones, so leave yours at home. First, choose a short text. Next, record it in a quiet room. Then replay the recording. Finally, write one note about a word that needs clearer pronunciation.”

The table answers are 9:30, 4 and headphones. The room number belongs in the row that already says Room. Do not replace the provided equipment with a different item that seems useful.

The same passage supports this teaching sequence:

Choose a short text → record it → replay it → write a note.

For a flow-chart gap between record it and write a note, replay it is the supported step. A flow chart 流程图 shows order. It does not give permission to add a step absent from the recording. The words first, next, then and finally organise this passage. Other passages may show order without using exactly these words.

Complete a sentence and answer a short question

For these invented tasks, use no more than two words for each answer.

1. The museum's display cases must stay away from ___ .
2. Why was the new room chosen?

Classroom passage.

“Direct sunlight can damage some objects, so we place the display cases away from it. The old room was large, but visitors found it noisy. The new room was chosen for its quiet location.”

The first answer is direct sunlight. It names the thing from which the cases must stay away. The second answer is quiet location. It gives the stated reason, within the two-word limit. Writing because it is quiet would exceed the limit and change the required answer form.

A sentence-completion answer must fit the gap's meaning and grammar. A short-answer task asks you to supply the requested information directly. Use the recording's words when the task requires words from the recording. Do not replace a supported phrase with an attractive synonym 同义词 of your own.

Some questions require more than one answer. Read how many are requested and where to enter them. Count words in the completed answer, not in the surrounding printed sentence. Official instructions treat a hyphenated word such as check-in as one word. This is a word-count rule, not a reason to join separate words with invented hyphens.

Choose one answer or the requested number of answers

A distractor 干扰项 is an option that may seem suitable but is not supported for this question. An option can be mentioned without being accepted. It can also be accepted when mentioned first.

For the first question, choose one letter.

Why does Mei choose the morning workshop?

• A. It costs less.
• B. It fits her timetable.
• C. Her friend attends it.

Classroom passage.

“The morning workshop costs the same as the afternoon one. My friend chose the afternoon session. I have science class then, so the morning session is the one I can attend.”

The answer is B. Mei's timetable explains her choice. A is rejected by costs the same. C refers to her friend's different session. The right answer need not copy the option's exact words. Link the meaning to evidence.

For the next question, choose two letters.

Which two items are included in the workshop fee?

• A. lunch
• B. headphones
• C. printed notes
• D. a bus ticket
• E. a notebook

Classroom passage.

“Headphones and printed notes are included. Bring your own notebook. Lunch and the bus journey are paid for separately.”

The answers are B and C. Both included items have direct support. Choosing only B leaves one requested answer missing. Adding E includes an item you must bring yourself. This classroom answer allows B/C in either order. Follow the actual test's answer-entry instructions.

Match each item to the correct information

Matching connects each named item with an option. Keep track of whose information you are hearing. Read whether options may be reused; do not invent a reuse rule.

For this classroom task, each option may be used once.

• A. outdoor work
• B. handling digital files
• C. welcoming visitors
• D. repairing tools

Match each student to the activity they chose:

1. Rui ___
2. Sam ___
3. Hana ___

Classroom passage.

“Rui considered helping at reception, but chose to organise the photo files instead. Sam enjoys fixing things, yet this week he will work with the garden team outside. Hana will greet people when they arrive. The tool repair role is still empty.”

The answers are 1 B, 2 A, 3 C. Rui's choice concerns files, despite the earlier reception idea. Sam's hobby is not his chosen role this week. Hana's greeting role matches welcoming visitors. D is not used. An unused option is possible because there are more options than students here.

Write a small evidence note during review: photo files, garden team outside, greet people. The note helps you explain why a match is supported. Do not write this extra note in an answer box.

Use a plan without losing your direction

A landmark 地标 is a named feature that helps you locate another place. Before listening, find the starting point and the direction from which the person enters. North on a plan and your left while walking are different ideas.

For this classroom plan, choose one room letter for each answer.

1. Reading room ___
2. Workshop ___
3. Office ___

Classroom passage.

“Enter from the south and walk north along the main corridor. The reading room is the first room on your left. Continue north to the next pair of rooms. The workshop is on your right there. The office is opposite the workshop.”

The answers are 1 A, 2 D, 3 C. At the lower pair, your left is west, so the first room on the left is A. At the upper pair, the right room is D. The room across the corridor from D is C.

Do not mark the room nearest the word north just because north was mentioned. Follow the starting point, movement and relationship together. If you miss one location, use the next named landmark and question to recover. This plan is a classroom example, not a rule that every map uses the same route.

Label a diagram by following the described process

A diagram can show a process instead of a walking route. Identify its arrows and the positions of the blank labels before listening.

For this classroom diagram, choose one letter for each blank. Each option may be used once.

• A. tank
• B. screen
• C. bottle
• D. pump

Classroom passage.

“In this small classroom model, water first passes through a screen that holds back large pieces. It then collects in a tank. Finally, we collect a sample in a bottle for observation.”

The answers are 1 B, 2 A, 3 C. The three described stages match the left-to-right arrows. D is unused because no pump is named in the passage. This is a language exercise, not a claim that this process makes water safe to drink. Do not add a plausible machine part simply because you know it from science. Use the spoken description and the visual together.

Review errors and practise listening honestly

Record the answer, evidence and cause of an error before choosing more practice.

Error	Next focused action
Chose an earlier rejected detail	Follow the final relevant meaning
Wrote too many words	Check the limit and practise answer form
Matched the wrong speaker	Track the person and the chosen action
Turned the wrong way on a plan	Fix start, facing direction and landmarks
Missed spelling or a plural	Review the sound and the gap's grammar

For learning, replay a difficult part after the first attempt and compare it with the transcript. A transcript 录音文字稿 is the written record of the spoken passage. Slow or repeated study can help you find a problem. It is different from a once-only timed attempt. For a test-style practice attempt, use fresh audio once without pausing or reading its transcript. Try suitable materials with different accents. Do not judge a speaker's ability from their accent.

Check whether the same error reduces on new material. A remembered answer does not prove improved listening. Keep the raw score as a result on that practice set. Do not invent an official band from it. The tiny passages in this supplement cannot establish readiness for a full 40-question test.

Practice and explained answers

Attempt these decisions before checking the answers. Use the earlier passages as evidence.

1. In the garden booking, why is 18 wrong for group size but right for number of students?
2. Does water bottle meet a two-word limit? Does a water bottle meet it?
3. In the workshop table, why should 4 be enough when the printed row already says Room?
4. Which step belongs after recording and before writing a note in the workshop sequence?
5. Explain why large room does not answer the question about choosing the new museum room.
6. A candidate chooses B only when asked for two included workshop items. What is missing?
7. Why does Sam match outdoor work rather than repairing tools?
8. On the centre plan, where does a visitor face when entering from the south and walking north?
9. If the workshop is D, why is the opposite office C rather than B?
10. Why is pump not a supported label in the water-study diagram?
11. A candidate says every first-mentioned option is wrong. Give a reason this is an unsafe rule.
12. How can replaying help learning without making a replayed result a once-only test-style score?

Explained answers

Answer 1. The 18 counts students only. Two teachers make the complete group 20. Read which group the question asks you to count.

Answer 2. Water bottle has two words and fits. A water bottle has three and exceeds the stated limit. The required item is unchanged, but the answer form affects validity.

Answer 3. The printed label supplies Room. The number 4 supplies the missing information. Do not add a new room number or unrelated location.

Answer 4. Replay the recording. The passage gives this step before writing the pronunciation note. A flow chart follows the stated order rather than your preferred order.

Answer 5. Large describes the old room. The new room was chosen for its quiet location. The requested reason and the relevant room must both match.

Answer 6. C, printed notes, is also required. B and C are the two stated included items. Check the number of answers requested as well as each option's meaning.

Answer 7. Sam's interest in fixing things is background information. His choice this week is working outside with the garden team, so A is the supported match.

Answer 8. North. Facing north, the visitor's left is west and right is east. Changing the starting direction could change those relationships.

Answer 9. C is across the corridor from D at the same upper position. B is lower on the same side as D, so it is not opposite D.

Answer 10. The passage names a screen, tank and bottle in order. It does not name a pump. A possible real-world component is not automatically the answer to this language question.

Answer 11. An early option may be accepted, compared or rejected. Position alone does not establish its meaning. Use the question and the relevant evidence, including any actual change of decision.

Answer 12. Replay after the attempt to locate a sound, word or meaning you missed. Label that work as review. Use fresh audio once for a new test-style attempt.

Additional notes PDF

Read for the requested evidence

A library advert says, “A useful service for everyone.” Does it prove that every visitor used the service? No. An attractive sentence is not a record of what people did. Your Reading answer needs the relevant text.

This supplement adds worked tasks to the existing Reading notes. All passages and questions here are original. They are short classroom tasks, not a complete official test or a source of band scores. Read each instruction before choosing an answer. Keep the question number beside your answer. A highlighter can make the page yellow. It cannot choose an answer for you.

Use a qualifier 限定词 such as some, all, only or main carefully. It changes what a claim says. “One reason” does not prove “the main reason”. However, it does not automatically prove that the reason was not the main one either. You need evidence of agreement or contradiction. Without either, the information may be Not Given.

The eleven official task families below require related skills, but their instructions differ. Some answers follow text order. Summary and diagram answers may not do so. Matching tasks can require searching across paragraphs. Reuse an option only when the instruction allows it.

Read an original library passage

Read the four paragraphs. Their letters help you practise matching tasks.

Paragraph A

The town library opened a small tool-lending service in May. The aim was to help residents with occasional repairs. Many people need a drill for one job but do not want to buy one. The service did not lend large machines. The trial lasted twelve weeks. Membership was free during it. Members still paid a deposit before taking a tool home. The deposit was returned when the tool came back undamaged.

Paragraph B

At first, tools were arranged by their brand names. Visitors found this difficult. Staff changed the shelves so that tools for the same job stood together. Picture cards showed what each tool did. A visitor could find tools for hanging a shelf without knowing the name of a particular drill. Staff also gave a short safety briefing before the first loan. The briefing did not replace the printed safety instructions.

Paragraph C

Three researchers studied different parts of the trial. Chen counted loans and compared busy and quiet weeks. Malik asked users to describe their experience. Several said the picture cards helped them choose tools. Rosa watched the return desk. She recorded how long staff spent checking tools and whether items were damaged. The researchers used these different methods because one total could not explain how the service worked.

Paragraph D

The trial recorded 240 loans, but this did not mean that 240 different people used it. Some members borrowed more than once. The report did not compare the service with another library. It recommended clearer advice about returning tools. It also said that a longer study was needed before deciding on a permanent service. The library had not yet made that decision when the report was written.

Read with a purpose

• Skim once to locate purpose, shelf changes, research methods and limits.
• Scan for a named detail when a question asks for it.
• Read the relevant sentence and nearby context carefully before answering.

The passage is shorter and simpler than a full Academic Reading text. A high score here cannot show how you manage three long texts under the complete test clock.

Choose one answer or the requested number

For question 1, choose one letter.

1. Why did the library start the tool service?

• A To help people with occasional repairs.
• B To replace every local tool shop.
• C To lend large machines to businesses.
• D To sell drills to library members.

Worked answer: A. Paragraph A states this aim. The other options add unsupported purposes. “Drill” appears in the passage, but option D changes lending into selling. A repeated word can be useful evidence or part of a wrong option. Check its meaning in the whole option.

For question 2, choose two letters.

2. Which TWO changes are described in paragraph B?

• A Staff removed every written safety instruction.
• B Tools were grouped by their use.
• C Picture cards showed what tools did.
• D Tool brands became the only way to search.
• E Members could borrow without any safety briefing.

Worked answers: B and C. Both changes are stated. A conflicts with the continued printed instructions. D describes the old problem as the new solution. E conflicts with the briefing. Choosing only B leaves one requested answer missing. For this classroom task, B and C may be entered in either order. Follow the actual answer-entry instructions in other practice.

Separate True, False and Not Given

For questions 3-6, write TRUE, FALSE or NOT GIVEN. Use only the library passage. Do not use your knowledge of real libraries.

3. Members paid nothing to join during the trial.

Answer: TRUE. Free membership states that joining had no charge during the trial. The deposit is a separate requirement for borrowing. Do not turn it into a membership fee.

4. The deposit was kept even when a tool came back undamaged.

Answer: FALSE. Paragraph A says it was returned in that situation. This is a contradiction 矛盾, not merely a missing detail.

5. Exactly 240 different people borrowed tools during the trial.

Answer: FALSE. Paragraph D distinguishes loans from people and states that some borrowed more than once. The 240 loans therefore cannot represent 240 different users.

6. Most users lived within one kilometre of the library.

Answer: NOT GIVEN. The passage gives no home-distance information. It does not say that most users lived nearby or that they did not.

Build an evidence 证据 note during review: claim, relevant sentence, relationship. Keep that note out of an answer box that asks only for TRUE, FALSE or NOT GIVEN. If you cannot find support, search for a contradiction before deciding that the claim is false.

Separate writer views from reported facts

Read this separate original opinion passage.

Writer's view: A tool-lending service can be useful, but a high loan count alone does not prove success. I believe a library should check whether users can borrow safely and return tools easily. The trial gives a promising start. It does not justify an immediate permanent commitment. A longer review would help staff find problems that a short trial misses. I have not compared the running costs of tool lending with book lending.

For questions 7-9, write YES, NO or NOT GIVEN according to this writer's view.

7. A large loan total is enough by itself to prove success.

Answer: NO. The writer explicitly rejects that claim.

8. Safety and easy returns should be checked.

Answer: YES. The writer says the library should check both.

9. Tool lending costs less to run than book lending.

Answer: NOT GIVEN. The writer says no cost comparison has been made. Do not turn “has not compared” into a claim that one service must cost more.

Use the response labels requested by the task. Factual agreement uses True/False; writer-view agreement uses Yes/No. Both require the text, but the question tells you what to judge.

Match a specific detail to its paragraph

Return to the four-paragraph library passage. For questions 10-12, write A, B, C or D. You may use a letter more than once in this classroom task.

10. A method for checking the time needed to process returns.

Answer: C. Rosa recorded checking time at the return desk.

11. A warning that a total does not equal the number of individual people.

Answer: D. The report separates 240 loans from the number of users.

12. A statement that another library was not used for comparison.

Answer: D. Paragraph D explicitly states this limit.

This task asks for a particular detail, not the main idea of the paragraph. The two D answers are allowed because the instruction permits reuse. Do not assume the same rule in every matching task.

Match a heading to the main idea

Match each paragraph A-D to one heading below. Write its Roman numeral. Use each heading at most once. One heading is unused.

• i Ways to study a new service.
• ii A final decision to keep the service forever.
• iii Why the service began and how borrowing worked.
• iv Making the tools easier to choose.
• v Results that still leave questions open.

Worked matches: A-iii; B-iv; C-i; D-v.

Paragraph A combines the aim with membership, deposit and borrowing rules. Paragraph B explains the improved shelf arrangement and cards. Its main idea is easier selection. Paragraph C explains different research methods. Paragraph D gives results and limits before any permanent decision.

Heading ii is unused. It sounds related to D, but changes an undecided future into a final commitment. A heading 标题 should cover the paragraph's main idea, not one attractive word. Read beyond the first sentence when later sentences change or develop the point.

Match features and sentence endings

For questions 13-15, match the activity with a researcher. Write A Chen, B Malik or C Rosa using the letter only. You may use a letter more than once here.

13. Collected users' descriptions of their experience.

Answer: B. Malik asked users about their experience.

14. Compared the number of loans across weeks.

Answer: A. Chen counted and compared loans.

15. Recorded whether returned items were damaged.

Answer: C. Rosa watched the return desk and recorded damage.

Keep each name connected to its own action. A nearby name is not enough. Now match these sentence beginnings to one ending each. Use each ending at most once.

16. Members could borrow during the trial only after they...

17. The shelf changes helped visitors who...

18. The longer study was needed before staff...

• A knew the brand name of every tool.
• B paid the deposit.
• C decided on a permanent service.
• D did not know a tool's particular name.

Worked answers: 16-B; 17-D; 18-C. Grammar helps reject an unsuitable ending, but several endings may be grammatical. The full meaning must agree with the passage. These beginnings follow the passage's information order.

Complete sentences and answer short questions

For questions 19-22, use NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the library passage. Do not use a synonym 同义词 of your own in place of the text phrase.

19. The trial continued for ____.

Answer: twelve weeks. This gives the duration and fits the limit. “Twelve-week trial” does not fit the sentence as a duration phrase.

20. Before the first loan, staff gave a short ____.

Answer: safety briefing. These are the passage's two words, and they complete the grammar. “A safety briefing” has three words and repeats an article the printed sentence already supplies.

21. What was arranged by brand name at first?

Answer: tools. This short question asks for the items, not the later shelf policy.

22. How many loans did the trial record?

Answer: 240. This asks for loans, so do not answer with an unknown number of people.

Read the gap's grammar, but use it with the meaning. A noun that fits the sentence can still be wrong. Write only the requested answer. A long explanation may break the word limit. Numbers can be written as figures or words where instructions permit them. A normal hyphenated word counts as one; joining unrelated words with a new hyphen does not rescue an answer.

Complete summaries, notes, tables and a flow chart

A summary 摘要 condenses part of a passage. It may present information in a different order. Find the relevant part, then check every gap against the original meaning.

Choose words from the text

Use NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from paragraph B for each gap.

Summary: Staff explained safety in a short 23 ____. To make selection easier, they added 24 ____ and grouped tools by their job.

Answers: 23 safety briefing; 24 picture cards. The summary moves the safety detail before the shelf detail. Do not force the answers into paragraph order. Both phrases fit the summary and the limit.

Note: Initial shelf system: tools arranged by 25 ____.

Answer: brand names. It names the earlier arrangement.

Researcher	Place observed	Details recorded
Rosa	26 ____	Checking time and damage

Answer: return desk. The row asks where, not what she counted.

Answer: returned. This completes the last step with one word from paragraph A. The flow chart shows the described borrowing process. Do not add a stage the text does not state.

Choose from supplied options

Choose one letter for each gap in this separate summary.

• A totals.
• B methods.
• C final.
• D damaged.

Summary: The researchers used different 28 ____. The report did not make a 29 ____ decision about keeping the service.

Answers: 28-B; 29-C. The option methods fits both the grammar and paragraph C. The decision remained open in D. For this option-based task, use the supplied letters. Do not copy an unrelated text word simply because another task required words from the passage.

Label a diagram from its description

Read this original classroom description. It describes a simple observation device, not drinking-water treatment.

Description: The bottle is at the bottom, where it receives the sample. Above it, a mesh holds back large pieces. At the top, a wide tray catches water. Water moves downward through these three parts. The device does not measure water safety.

Use NO MORE THAN ONE WORD from the description for each numbered label.

Answers: 30 tray; 31 mesh; 32 bottle. The description names the bottle first, but label 30 is the top part. Read position and function together. “Wide tray” exceeds this one-word limit. “Filter” may seem reasonable, but it is not a word from this description. A diagram organises the parts; it cannot supply a label that the text does not support.

Use a clock and an error record

The full Academic Reading test has three sections, forty questions and a sixty-minute limit. These short tasks teach decisions; they cannot reproduce that reading load. Use suitable full-length practice to check pacing and stamina.

Twenty minutes per passage is a starting plan, not an instruction for every question or a guarantee of difficulty. Check progress, move past a question that has stalled, and return if time remains. Keep answer entry within the test time. Follow the actual screen or answer-sheet instructions for your test.

After practice, label each error by its cause:

• Evidence: a wrong person, time, quantity or unsupported inference.
• Task: a main idea confused with a detail, or an option reused without permission.
• Answer form: the wrong response labels, too many words or incorrect spelling.
• Time: too long on one item, or unfinished answer entry.

Choose a specific next exercise for that cause. Repeating a known answer tests memory more than new reading. A dictionary can help during review; a fresh timed attempt serves a different purpose.

Practice and explained answers

Use the passages and tasks above. Explain each decision before reading its answer.

1. A classmate says free membership means no deposit was needed. Is that supported?
2. Does “one reason” alone prove that a reason was not the main one?
3. Can 240 loans be treated as 240 different users in this passage?
4. Why is the one-kilometre claim Not Given rather than False?
5. Why does writer-view question 7 require NO rather than FALSE?
6. May D be used for both information-matching questions 11 and 12?
7. Why does heading ii fail for paragraph D?
8. Could a grammatical sentence ending still be wrong?
9. Why does “a safety briefing” fail question 20?
10. Must the summary answers follow the paragraph's order?
11. Why is the first diagram label not bottle?
12. Can this thirty-two-question classroom pack establish an official band?

Explained answers

1. No. Joining was free, but borrowing still required a deposit. They are different requirements.
2. No. It gives no ranking by itself. Check for agreement or contradiction; otherwise consider Not Given.
3. No. Some people borrowed more than once. The passage explicitly separates loans from users.
4. No distance evidence supports or contradicts it. Lack of support is not a stated opposite.
5. The task asks about the writer's view and requires Yes/No/Not Given labels.
6. Yes, because this task explicitly permits reuse. Check the instruction for each new task.
7. It claims a final commitment, but D says the decision had not yet been made.
8. Yes. Grammar checks sentence form; the passage must also support its meaning.
9. It has three words and repeats the article already present. The limit permits two words.
10. No. This summary changes the order. Match meaning, not a fixed search direction.
11. Label 30 is at the top. The description puts the tray there, although it mentions the bottle first.
12. No. It is original, short and uncalibrated. Use it to learn from raw answers and reasons.

Additional notes PDF

Write something the reader can check

A club poster says, “Our membership has grown by 20%.” It began with 50 members. Does it now have 70? No. Twenty per cent of 50 is 10, so it has 60. Good Writing starts with this kind of care: say what the information actually supports. A longer word cannot repair a wrong number.

This supplement adds original worked tasks to the existing Academic Writing notes. It does not replace them. The sample responses are teaching examples, not officially rated scripts. No example here promises a band score. General Training letter writing is a different Task 1.

Use the task rules and scoring carefully

Academic Writing has two tasks within 60 minutes. Write at least 150 words for Task 1 and 250 for Task 2. Task 2 has twice Task 1's weight. A 20-minute and 40-minute split is useful planning guidance. Write connected paragraphs, not an answer made of notes or bullet points. Our planning tables below are learning tools, not the format to submit in the test.

Each task uses four equally weighted criteria: completing the task, organising ideas, vocabulary and grammar. Task 1 requires accurate selected features. An overview 概述 summarises the main pattern or stages. Task 2 requires relevant developed ideas and a clear answer to the prompt. These features work together across the whole response.

Read the older notes' fixed band claims cautiously. A short response needs correction, but do not calculate an automatic one-band deduction from its length. An unsupported cause, a missing part or an unclear position can damage an answer. One sentence does not let you determine the complete script's band here. A concession, two corrected errors or five minutes of planning do not guarantee a score increase. Practise the improvement, then review the entire answer against the actual criteria.

Select evidence from a chart and table

This original classroom task reports the number of members in three clubs. All figures are invented for learning. They are counts, not percentages.

Task: Summarise the information by selecting and reporting its main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.

Club	2020	2022	2024
Music	40	60	80
Art	70	65	60
Coding	20	50	90

The line chart and table show the same information. They are alternative ways to display it. Do not count them as two separate sets of members.

Plan before writing

• Identify the unit: members. Identify the dates: 2020, 2022 and 2024.
• Select the main pattern: coding and music grew; art fell. Coding finished largest.
• Group the rising clubs in one paragraph. Compare art and the combined total in another.
• Select figures that support those comparisons. Do not invent a cause for any change.

Check the calculations

Music rose from 40 to 80: its final membership was twice its initial membership. Coding rose by 70, from 20 to 90. It did not rise to 70. Art fell by 10, from 70 to 60. The total rose from 130 to 230. The relative change 相对变化 for coding is 70 divided by 20, or 350%. Its final count is 450% of its original count. Those are different statements.

No intermediate dates are given. Do not claim continuous growth in every month. A straight line between plotted years does not provide a monthly membership record. No cause is given. “Students preferred computers” adds information outside this task.

Read a complete Task 1 response

The following response uses four connected paragraphs. Read it before looking at the explanation.

The table and line chart show the numbers of members in three school clubs in 2020, 2022 and 2024. The clubs were music, art and coding, and each figure represents a count of members.

Overall, membership increased in both music and coding, while the art club became smaller. Coding recorded the largest increase and had the most members by 2024, although it had started with the fewest.

The music club grew from 40 members in 2020 to 60 in 2022 and 80 in 2024. Its final membership was therefore twice its initial figure. Coding showed a greater change, rising from 20 to 50 and then 90. By the final year, it had ten more members than music, reversing their order at the start of the period.

In contrast, art membership fell from 70 to 65 and then 60. Art was the largest club in 2020 but the smallest in 2024. Despite this decline, the combined membership of the three clubs rose from 130 to 230 over the period.

Why these paragraphs work

The first paragraph identifies what is counted and when. It does not copy every word of the task. The second gives the large pattern and changing order. It is an overview, not a list of all values. The third groups the two increases and supports them with numbers. The fourth contrasts art and accurately reports the overall total. The response gives no opinion about which club is best and invents no cause. Its arithmetic can be checked against the table. It is not an official band exemplar.

Distinguish shares, amounts and static comparisons

Suppose the share of a household budget spent on travel rises from 20% to 24%. That is four percentage points 百分点, but a 20% relative rise in the share. Calculate the relative rise as four divided by twenty. Do not call it a four per cent relative rise.

You also need the total budget to compare money spent. With a budget of 1,000 in the first year, travel spending is 200. With a budget of 500 in the second year, it is 120. The share rose while the amount fell. Report only the measures that the task supplies. A pie chart can represent categories of amounts as parts of a stated total; read its labels and units.

A chart of three clubs in just 2024 permits comparisons, not a trend over time. “Coding was the largest club” is supported. “Coding grew rapidly” needs another date. For a static chart, group high and low values or related categories rather than inventing a change. For several charts, check whether their populations, dates and units can honestly be compared.

Describe changes on a plan

The two original plans show a study centre in 2020 and 2024. North is at the top. Only the uses of the four spaces are shown; there is no evidence about visitor numbers.

Select the main changes

In 2020, the northwest space was a store and the northeast space was a classroom. In 2024, the store became a meeting room and the classroom became a computer room. The reception in the southwest and reading room in the southeast remained in the same locations. The entrance stayed on the southern side. The plans show no extension to the outside boundary.

A useful overview is: “Two rooms changed their use, while the reception, reading room and entrance remained in place.” A detail sentence is: “The store in the northwest was replaced by a meeting room.” Do not write “a new building was constructed” when only an internal use changed. Do not claim that the new room is busier, larger or cheaper without evidence.

Plan a full response

Introduce the place and two dates. Give the overall changes and unchanged features. Then group the northern changes and southern features in connected paragraphs. Support the description with positions rather than invented statistics. The two teaching sentences above are examples of selection, not a complete 150-word submission.

Explain a process without forcing one grammar form

The original diagram shows how seedlings are prepared for an outdoor bed. It has five stages, begins with sowing and ends with planting outside. It is a sequence, not a closed cycle.

Choose precise verbs

Seeds are sown in trays. The trays are then watered. Next, the seedlings grow. After that, the seedlings are moved into separate pots. Finally, the young plants are planted in an outdoor bed.

Passive forms suit actions when the person doing them is not important. “Seedlings grow” is active because growth is what the plants do. “Seedlings are grown” could describe cultivation, but changes the focus to someone growing them. Do not force every process sentence into the passive.

The diagram gives no durations, temperature or production yield. Do not invent them. Use a sequence word when it helps the reader follow a stage. You do not need furthermore before each step. For a cycle, explain where the output returns to an earlier stage if the diagram shows it. For a natural process, use accurate active forms where they fit.

Read every part of a Task 2 prompt

A prompt 题目 tells you what to discuss, not just the broad topic. Underline the people, action, limits and questions before choosing your ideas. The five classroom prompts below are original examples of common task demands, not a complete list of every possible wording.

Opinion

“Schools should replace all printed textbooks with digital materials. To what extent do you agree or disagree?”

You may agree, disagree or take a qualified position. Make the extent clear and develop it consistently. “I support digital materials for some lessons but oppose replacing every printed book” directly addresses all. A qualified view is not automatically weak. An unexplained change of position is a problem.

Both views and your opinion

“Some people want school libraries to provide only books. Others want them to provide tools as well. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.”

Explain a reason for the book-only view and a reason for tool lending. State and support your own view. Reporting both views without your own answer leaves an instruction unfinished. Giving only your preferred view also leaves part unfinished.

Advantages, disadvantages and outweigh

“More students now travel to school by bicycle. Do the advantages of this change outweigh the disadvantages?”

Consider benefits and problems, then make a judgement about their relative importance. Two benefits and three problems do not automatically mean that problems outweigh benefits. Compare strength, effect and context. A serious safety issue can matter more than several minor conveniences. If the instruction only asks for advantages and disadvantages, do not pretend it also requires an outweigh decision.

Causes and solutions

“Students at a college often leave assignments until the last evening. What causes this problem, and what could help?”

Match solutions to explained causes. Unclear project stages could be addressed with intermediate deadlines. If your cause is limited access to computers, another reminder alone does not provide access. Discuss how a proposed solution changes the problem rather than simply listing it.

Two questions

“Why do some young adults choose to study away from home? What problems can this choice create?”

Answer both reasons for the choice and problems created by it. A long paragraph on reasons cannot substitute for the missing problems. A plan might group access to a desired course and independence, then housing costs and support needs.

Develop an idea with a reason and an example

Weak point: “Printed books are good.” The reader cannot see why this matters to the prompt.

Developed point: “Printed books remain useful when students cannot charge a device at home. A learner can continue reading without electricity. For example, a student sharing one family device may have limited evening access. Keeping a printed copy therefore helps that student complete preparation.”

The example is a plausible situation, not a claimed survey result. Do not invent “a university study proves that 92% learn better” to make an unsupported point sound factual. You do not need a scientific citation to reason from a clearly described example.

A useful chain is point, reason, example and consequence. Change the order when the idea needs it. Do not add an irrelevant example merely to fill that pattern. An objection 异议 can help test your position, but including one does not itself raise a band. Explain why your conclusion still follows after considering it.

Read a complete Task 2 essay

Use the opinion prompt about replacing all printed textbooks. The following response takes a qualified position. It is an original teaching example, not an officially scored script.

Digital materials can give students quick access to information and useful learning tools. However, I disagree with replacing all printed textbooks. Schools should use digital resources where they improve a lesson, while keeping printed copies available for students who need them.

One reason to use digital materials is that they can present information in several ways. A science resource might combine a diagram with a short animation, allowing a student to see how a process changes over time. It can also provide questions with immediate explanations. These features can help a learner check understanding before the next lesson. However, simply putting a photograph of a printed page on a screen does not offer the same benefit. Schools should therefore choose materials for their teaching value rather than their format alone.

A complete replacement would also create access problems. Some students share a device with other family members, or have unreliable internet access at home. If every reading task requires a connected device, those students may struggle to prepare. Keeping a printed textbook allows them to work without waiting for another person to finish using a computer. Teachers could still provide optional digital practice, so access to a book would not prevent students from using useful online resources.

Supporters of full replacement may argue that digital texts are easier to update and avoid carrying heavy books. These are real advantages, especially when information changes quickly. Yet they do not require schools to remove every printed copy. A mixed approach can use updated digital sections while retaining books for longer reading and reliable home access.

In conclusion, digital resources should expand the ways students learn, but they should not completely replace printed textbooks. A choice of formats better combines useful technology with dependable access.

Review meaning, organisation and language

Check the essay against its prompt

The introduction opposes a complete replacement while supporting useful digital resources. The first body paragraph explains digital benefits and limits. The second develops access problems. The third considers an opposing reason and answers it. The conclusion keeps the same qualified position. The response does not change from “replace every book” to an unrelated discussion of social media. Its paragraph structure is one possible answer, not a compulsory template.

Make precise revisions

• “Digital books are better in every way.” Replace the unsupported absolute with the particular benefit you can explain.
• “The number of students have risen.” Use “has risen”: the subject is the singular number.
• “Many student need equipments.” Write “Many students need equipment”: plural people, uncountable equipment.
• “Although it is useful, but access is limited.” Remove but, or write two separate sentences.
• “The book is expensive, students share it.” Repair the comma splice: “The book is expensive, so students share it.”
• “The chart increased to 70 members.” Name the measured thing: “Club membership increased to 70.”

Choose a word because it expresses your meaning accurately. A collocation 词语搭配 is a usual word combination, such as make a decision or heavy rain. Do not reject a phrase merely because it is uncommon, or assume a rare word deserves extra credit. “Ameliorate a problem” can be valid English. Improve the situation may still be clearer for this audience. Review suitability in its sentence rather than applying an automatic penalty to one word.

Practise with explained answers

Try these short tasks before reading the explanations. They test decisions, not a full timed Writing performance.

1. Coding goes from 20 to 90 members. Complete: “It rose by ___ members, to ___.”
2. A share rises from 20% to 24%. Give the percentage-point and relative changes.
3. Can a larger share prove that the amount spent increased?
4. Which overview fits the clubs: all clubs grew, or two grew while one declined?
5. Can the club table prove why coding became popular?
6. In the centre plans, what changed in the northwest? What remained in the southwest?
7. Should “seedlings grow” be made passive just because this is a process task?
8. For the textbook prompt, does a clearly explained partial disagreement answer “to what extent”?
9. A bicycle essay gives advantages and disadvantages but never decides which outweighs the other. What is missing?
10. A procrastination essay gives computer access as a cause and reminders as its only solution. What needs explaining or changing?
11. Repair: “Many student discuss about their advices.”
12. Does correcting two grammar errors guarantee a half-band increase?

Explained answers

1. By 70, to 90. By is the change; to is the final value.
2. Four percentage points and a 20% relative rise: four divided by twenty is 0.20.
3. No. You need the total as well. Our example's travel amount fell from 200 to 120.
4. Two grew while one declined. Music and coding rose; art fell.
5. No. It records membership, not motivations or causes.
6. The store became a meeting room. The reception remained in the southwest.
7. No. Active grow accurately states what the plants do. Choose grammar for the meaning.
8. Yes. The extent must be clear and the whole response must develop it consistently.
9. A supported judgement about relative importance. Counting the listed points is not enough.
10. Explain how reminders solve access, if they can. Otherwise propose an access solution, such as available computer time.
11. “Many students discuss their advice.” Discuss takes its object directly; advice is uncountable.
12. No. The whole response, range, accuracy and other criteria still matter.

Use the clock and review your own work

One possible Task 1 budget is three minutes to read and plan, fourteen to write and three to check. For Task 2, try five minutes to plan, thirty-two to write and three to review. Those totals are twenty and forty minutes. Practise to find a workable budget; no split guarantees a band. Do not assume Task 2 must always be written first. Keep enough time for both tasks.

Review after timed practice

Check task coverage and evidence before polishing vocabulary. Mark one repeated language problem and correct every occurrence you can find. Keep a short error record: original sentence, corrected sentence and reason. Then write another response and check whether that pattern has improved.

Count the sample responses as a learning check. In your own timed response, meet the minimum without adding irrelevant filler. Our short map/process sentences and revision answers are not full submissions. For broader practice, write full reports for the original map and process, and full essays for the other prompts. Check that the report covers the visual's actual features and the essay answers every requested part.

 โอกาสที่จะแสดง range ในข้อถัดไป

Additional notes PDF

Make the listener understand one useful detail

A friend asks, “How did you learn to repair your bicycle?” “Practice” gives very little information. “My uncle showed me how to check the tyre. Then I tried while he watched” gives a clear event. Speaking practice starts with this difference: answer the actual question and make the meaning clear.

This supplement adds original speaking tasks and worked responses to the existing notes. The responses are teaching examples, not officially rated performances. Read them to notice choices, then speak about your own experience. A written model cannot show a speaker's pronunciation or real-time fluency.

Understand the three parts without predicting a band

The Speaking test lasts 11–14 minutes and is recorded. The examiner considers fluency and coherence, vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation across your performance. These are related skills. Strong ideas still need understandable speech.

Part	What happens	Practice focus
1	Familiar questions, about 4–5 minutes	Answer directly and add a relevant detail
2	One minute to prepare; speak for up to two minutes	Organise a longer description
3	Related discussion, about 4–5 minutes	Explain, compare and consider possibilities

Part 2 also includes brief follow-up questions. Preparation and speaking together take about 3–4 minutes. The examiner controls the time. A stop or a new question does not itself reveal your score.

Use the older notes' score claims cautiously. One “yes” does not prove band 4; a timer does not guarantee half a band. A correction, a clarification request or one missing ending has no fixed penalty calculated here. A memorised answer may fail to fit a new question, but we cannot assign an automatic deduction. Work on the difficulty you can observe instead of predicting a score from one habit.

Practise familiar questions in different time frames

These original exchanges show a direct answer with enough detail to be useful. Their length is a practice choice, not a rule for every question. Do not force every answer into exactly three sentences.

Present: What do you usually do after school?

“I usually go for a short walk before starting my homework. It helps me rest after sitting in lessons all day. If it is raining, I stay inside and listen to music instead.”

The answer states a usual activity, gives a reason and adds a relevant exception. Present forms fit a habit. “Usually” does not mean the activity happens every day.

Past: Did you enjoy cooking when you were younger?

“Not really. I found it difficult because I often burned the food. My grandmother taught me to make a simple soup, and that made cooking less frightening.”

The speaker answers honestly instead of pretending to like the activity. “Found,” “burned,” “taught” and “made” describe past events. There is a clear change: an unpleasant experience became easier with help.

Future: Is there a skill you would like to learn?

“I would like to learn to swim properly. At the moment I can move through the water, but I get tired quickly. I hope to join a small class during the next school holiday.”

A future wish can include present information. Do not put every verb into one tense. “I hope” is a plan or wish, not a promise that the class will definitely happen.

Try a new answer

Answer these aloud without copying the examples: Where do you prefer to study? What did you like doing at primary school? What would you like to change about your daily routine? After each answer, ask whether your added detail answered the question or changed the topic.

Use the preparation minute to build a route

Original practice card: Describe a useful skill that you learned from another person. Say what the skill was, who helped you and how you learned it. Explain why the skill has been useful to you.

Use the minute to choose one manageable experience and a route through it. A cue 提示词 can be a short phrase that brings an idea back. Write enough to support your memory, not a complete speech to read. Nouns can help, but verbs, a date or a short contrast can also be useful cues.

Group	Example notes	What the notes help you say
Skill	flat tyre; pump; pressure	Name the skill precisely
Person and setting	uncle; spring holiday; courtyard	Introduce who helped and where
Learning	demonstrated; my turn; loose connection	Describe actions and one difficulty
Value	school ride; check first; still ask for help	Explain a practical result and a limit

These are notes for this card, not a fixed order required for every card. A card about a place, a person or a future plan needs different language. The explanation of value should connect to the actual skill, not a memorised sentence about “modern society.”

Read a complete long-turn example

The following original response develops the bicycle notes. Read the whole response before studying the explanation.

A useful skill I learned was how to check and inflate a bicycle tyre. My uncle taught me during the spring holiday last year. I rode to school quite often, but I used to ask someone else whenever a tyre felt soft.

We worked in the courtyard outside his flat. First, he showed me how to read the pressure range on the side of the tyre. He explained that the right pressure depends on the tyre, so I should not copy a number from another bicycle. Then he connected the pump and showed me the pressure gauge.

After that, it was my turn. I attached the pump badly at first, and air escaped around the connection. He asked me to stop and check it instead of pumping faster. On my second attempt, the connection was secure, and I could watch the gauge while I pumped. We also checked whether the tyre was losing air again afterwards.

The skill has been useful because I can now do a basic check before riding to school. It also taught me to look for the cause of a problem before rushing to fix it. I still ask for help if a tyre keeps losing air or seems damaged. Learning this small skill did not make me an expert, but it made me more confident about looking after my bicycle.

Notice the development

The opening identifies a specific skill and the person who taught it. The middle follows actions in order and includes a difficulty and response. The ending explains a result and an honest limit. This gives the listener more than a list of events.

There are past events and present results. The task does not require one tense throughout. The tyre story is a speaking example, not a complete repair guide. Choose your own experience and do not treat the response as a script to memorise.

Speak it aloud with a timer to see how your pace changes its length. Do not rush to fit a word target. Speaking has a time limit, not a required word count. If you finish early, add a real detail about a step, a difficulty or its result. Do not fill time with an unrelated prepared speech.

Move from a personal event to a wider discussion

Part 3 may discuss ideas connected to the long turn. Here, the personal event is learning a skill; the wider ideas concern how people learn. The following questions and answers are original classroom examples.

Comparison: Is learning from a person different from learning from a video?

“Yes. A person can notice a mistake and respond immediately, which is useful for a practical skill. A video has another advantage: you can pause and watch the same step again. For example, I might watch a demonstration before asking a teacher to check my attempt. So I think the methods can work together rather than one being better for every learner.”

The answer compares feedback with replay, then suggests a combined approach. It does not turn one personal experience into proof about everyone.

Causes: Why do some people give up when learning a new skill?

“One reason may be that they expect progress too quickly. If the first attempt goes badly, they may think they have no ability. Small tasks can help. Someone learning to cook could master one simple dish before trying a full meal. However, time or money can also be a problem, so motivation is not the only explanation.”

The answer explains a possible cause and recognises other causes. “May” limits the claim; it does not make the idea unclear.

Future: How might technology change the way people learn practical skills?

“People may get more immediate guidance while they practise. For example, a program could show a learner which stage to try next. That could make some skills easier to begin, especially without a teacher nearby. But practical safety checks may still need a trained person, so I would not expect technology to replace all teaching.”

This is a possible future, not a prediction guaranteed by evidence. The response explains a benefit and a limit without inventing research results.

Evaluation: Should schools spend more time teaching practical skills?

“I think some practical lessons would be useful, especially skills students need in daily life. Learning to plan a budget, for instance, could help them make careful choices later. The difficulty is deciding what to remove from an already full timetable. I would support a small regular programme, but I would want schools to check what students actually learn.”

A qualification 限定说明 makes the position more precise: support has conditions. The answer gives a benefit, a difficulty and a practical judgement. These are ways to develop ideas, not compulsory sentence patterns for every Part 3 answer.

Recover meaning when a word or question is difficult

A paraphrase 同义改写 expresses the meaning in another way. If “pressure gauge” disappears from your memory, you could say “the small display that shows the air pressure.” You can continue the story instead of stopping to translate a missing word. Practise this with real objects: a stapler, a measuring jug and a charger. Describe what each does without saying its name; ask a partner to identify it.

If a question is unclear, request clarification 澄清说明 briefly. “Sorry, could you repeat the question?” asks to hear it again. “Do you mean skills for work or skills for everyday life?” checks the meaning. Then answer the question you understand. Repeated requests are not a substitute for practising comprehension.

If you notice a mistake, repair it once and continue. “I learn it last year – sorry, I learned it last year” repairs the time form. Repeatedly restarting the whole story makes the ideas harder to follow. If an unfamiliar topic leaves you uncertain, say what you can reasonably explain. You do not need a dramatic opinion or an invented statistic to develop a relevant answer.

Make final sounds and grammar endings audible

Pronunciation practice should target a difficulty your recording or listener reveals. Learners with the same first language do not all have the same problems. Clear communication matters; replacing your accent is not the aim of this exercise.

Say “desk” without adding a separate vowel after the final sounds. Then say “The desk is near the door” and ask a partner which object they heard. A consonant can be less strongly released in connected speech; do not force every ending into a loud extra beat. Keep the word recognisable and the sentence natural.

Regular past-tense endings have three common sounds. The sound before the ending matters more than its written letter.

Practice word	Ending sound	What to listen for
walked	/t/	One syllable; no extra “ed” beat
lived	/d/	One syllable; the ending is not /t/
needed	/ɪd/	Two syllables; the ending adds a vowel sound

After /t/ or /d/, the regular past ending adds /ɪd/. After other voiceless sounds it is /t/; after other voiced sounds it is /d/. A voiced sound 浊音 uses vibration in the voice box. A voiceless sound does not use that vibration. Feel the difference by gently touching your throat while saying a long /s/ and then /z/.

Plural and third-person endings also vary. Say “walks” with /s/, “bags” with /z/ and “boxes” with /ɪz/. The last one has an extra syllable. Do not give every ending an extra vowel. The /ɪz/ ending follows sounds such as /s/, /z/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /tʃ/ and /dʒ/. For the other endings, voiceless sounds lead to /s/ and voiced sounds lead to /z/.

Use the words in sentences, not only a table: “She walks home with two bags.” “I lived nearby, so I walked there when he needed help.” Dropping an ending may hide time or number. No fixed two-criterion score deduction follows from this one example.

Practise contrasts without forcing a new accent

For the sounds at the beginning of “think” and “then,” use gentle tongue contact near the upper front teeth. Air continues past the tongue. Avoid closing the mouth completely as for a stop sound. “Think” begins with /θ/, a voiceless sound. “Then” begins with /ð/, a voiced sound. Do not bite hard or push the tongue far outside the mouth.

Compare “thin” with “sin,” and “then” with “den.” A partner writes which word they hear. Check whether the intended contrast is understood. Repeat a short sentence after listening to a reliable dictionary recording. Written phonetic symbols help identify a sound; they do not replace hearing it.

Try “light,” “night” and “right” in the same sentence frame: “I heard the word ___.” Ask a partner to identify the word without seeing your notes. For “very,” the lower lip touches the upper front teeth for /v/. For the start of “wet,” round the lips for /w/ instead. “Very” and “wery” are not a pair of ordinary English words; use “vest” and “west” for a listener check. Choose the contrasts your own recording shows you need.

Use word stress, sentence focus and useful pauses

Word stress gives one syllable more emphasis within a word. These capitals mark the stressed syllable, not the spelling you should write in an essay: PHOtograph, phoTOGraphy, photoGRAPHic, eCONomy and ecoNOMic. The stress moves within these word families. Verify new words with dictionary audio.

Sentence focus can change the meaning of the same words. “I borrowed the BLUE book” contrasts its colour with another colour. “I borrowed the blue BOOK” can contrast the object with something else, such as a notebook. The surrounding conversation affects the exact interpretation.

A slash can mark a useful practice pause: “After the first attempt / I checked the connection.” Pause between groups of meaning, not after every word. Listen back: can the listener follow the action and its result? The voice can rise or fall for different purposes. Do not force every question to rise or every list to use one tune. Practise a statement, a genuine question and a polite request with their context.

Review twelve speaking decisions

Try each task before reading its explanation. These written checks support speaking practice; they cannot assess your spoken performance by themselves.

1. A learner says one “yes.” Can you assign the whole Speaking band from it?
2. “What did you enjoy at primary school?” A learner answers only about next year's plans. What needs changing?
3. For the skill card, choose useful notes: a complete memorised introduction, or “uncle; pump; loose connection; school ride.” Why?
4. Must the long turn use only past tense because the learning happened last year?
5. In the bicycle example, add a relevant detail if there is speaking time left. What could you explain?
6. A Part 3 answer says “Videos are better because I like them.” What comparison is missing?
7. Replace the forgotten words “pressure gauge” with a description.
8. Correct “I learn it last year” once, then continue with a sentence about the result.
9. Sort walked, lived and needed by /t/, /d/ and /ɪd/. Which adds a syllable?
10. Which ending in walks, bags and boxes adds a syllable?
11. A partner hears “sin” when you intend “thin.” What contrast should you practise?
12. You can recite the model perfectly. What should the next practice task change?

Explained answers

1. No. The examiner considers performance across the test and several criteria. One word gives too little evidence.
2. Answer the past question first. For example: “I enjoyed drawing because I could make my own stories.” Add a relevant past detail.
3. The short grouped notes support this particular story. A prepared introduction may not fit; full sentences take preparation time.
4. No. Past events can lead to present results. “My uncle taught me” and “I can now check a tyre” serve different purposes.
5. Explain how you noticed the loose connection or how you now check before riding. Keep the detail linked to the skill.
6. Compare an actual feature: personal feedback versus replay. Explain when each helps instead of treating preference as proof.
7. “The small display that shows how much air pressure is in the tyre.” Other clear descriptions also work.
8. “I learned it last year. Now I can do a basic check before school.” Correct the verb and continue; do not restart every sentence.
9. Walked ends /t/; lived ends /d/; needed ends /ɪd/. Needed has the extra syllable.
10. Boxes, with /ɪz/. Walks ends /s/ and bags ends /z/, without an added vowel.
11. Practise /θ/ versus /s/, with gentle tongue contact for /θ/. Ask the partner to identify the word again in context.
12. Use a different card or follow-up question and your own experience. Transfer the skill rather than reproducing the text.

Record, diagnose and retry

Choose one new long-turn card about a place where you learned something. Prepare for one minute and speak aloud for up to two minutes. Record only your own practice, then listen once for meaning before checking small errors.

Write one strength and one difficulty: a clear sequence, an unclear word, a missing ending or a long search for vocabulary. Ask a listener to describe the main point. Their summary shows whether your meaning travelled. Choose one focused change, then record a fresh response to a different card. Keeping the new task different helps you practise flexible speech.

Use a small practice record

Record the date, the task, the difficulty, the practice action and what the next listener heard. For example: “Skill card; then sounded like den; checked tongue contact and voicing; listener heard then correctly.” This is evidence of one improvement, not an overall band prediction. Build regular practice around the needs you find, rather than treating one routine as a score guarantee.