IELTS WRITING AND FEEDBACK

When having an exercise on IELTS writing section, it is better to have a feedback in terms of grammar, arrangement of ideas, vocabulary range and everything. This will help you make some improvements and gets maximum result in the real test. There are so many sources from which you can look for feedback. If you are currently taking an IELTS course, you must have great deal of feedback from your trainer. But for those who do self-study, it may be a good idea to do some blog walking and read some writings of other writer. In fact, you can find so many examples of good writing on the internet.
Here is an example of an original writing and a feedback given. Take a look at this Pie charts


Author's note: I used to have a graphic illustration for this writing. But it turns out that neither using such image nor providing a url directing to it is considered as fair use, and I really want to make this blog as legal as possible, and to avoid having problems with copyright infringement. Please use the keyword of each first sentence of my writing to find the illustration from the website of the legal copyright holder.


The diagram illustrates the proportion of water usage for various aim over the world in six different regions.



According to the research's result, the majority, the majority of water used in Africa, South America, and two areas in Asia which consist of developing countries, is for agriculture. In contrast, in developed countries' areas such as North America and Europe, industrial use dominates the proportion.



Farming in Africa, South America, Central Asia, and South East Asia is dominating the percentage of water used by 84%, 71%, 88%, and 81% accordingly. Industrial purpose of water usage come to last in those 4 areas.



However, most of the water distribution in Europe and North America goes to industrial area, each 53% and 48%. The least percentage of water usage goes to domestic use by 15% and 13% accordingly.



Now, can you locate some parts of the writing that needs improvement?

Can you give any necessary feedback for betterment of the writing?


Take sometime to understand the writing and data and we will discuss the material further on the next post.



-Ross

WRITING TASK 1 SAMPLE LINE GRAPH


Let's start this morning with an exercise on Writing Task 1 with a line graph as an example.


Author's note: I used to have a graphic illustration for this writing. But it turns out that neither using such image nor providing a url directing to it is considered as fair use, and I really want to make this blog as legal as possible, and to avoid having problems with copyright infringement. Please use the keyword of each first sentence of my writing to find the illustration from the website of the legal copyright holder.

The line graph describes men’s and women’s reading habit at Burnaby Public Library indicated by the number of book being read in four year period starting from 2011 until 2014. In general, there are two different trend depicted by the data, which are stable and fluctuating trends.
The reading habit of male readers started from the lowest point in 2011 in which they only read approximately 3000 books, while female readers had more books to read of approximately 5000 books. In 2012, men’s number of books increased slightly and reached approximately 3500 books. Women’s number of books increased more significantly and reached 8000 books in 2012. In 2013, men’s number of books dramatically rose and reached approximately 10.000 books, while women’s reading habit also rose 10.0000 books in the same year. The year of 2014 was a period when men’s reading habit reached its peak point, accounting for 14.000 books. On the other hand, women’s reading habit showed a contrary trend for it decreased to a lower point of about 8000 books.


From the explanation above, it can be concluded that reading habit of men and women at Burnaby Public Library always changed during the four year period, whether it decrease or increase.

Note that this is a simple sample of line graph. In some cases, you may have a more complex line graph with combined data and everything. For now, we start with the simplest one, and perhaps we can have a more sophisticated line graph combined with another type of data.

-Ross

Sample Writing for Task 2

Now it's the time to try the Writing Task 2. Take a look at this example.

Topic:
Technology is increasingly being used to monitor what people are saying and doing (for example, through cellphone and security camera). In many cases, the people being monitored are unaware that this is happening.
Discuss the advantage and the disadvantage of the use of technology as a surveillance device.

Sample Answer:
Technology is currently being applied in a surveillance system for the purpose of watching people’s sayings and actions. This can done by means of phone or camera surveillance, and in most cases, people do not realize that they are being watched. In my opinion, spying people by applying technology has more disadvantages than advantages.
Some people argue that surveillance is necessary for security and stability. Nowadays, CCTV is pervasively used in store. In an urban city such as Jakarta, it’s hard for the people to get along without being supervised, for Jakarta already has 6000 surveillance cameras and nearly all public places got eyes. This is meant for preventing crime and terrorism. However, the misuse of information may lead to severe damage, either to an individual member of society or a nation as a whole.
Consider first of all, the use of taping app on phone. NSA is recently condemned by the people for recording nearly all calls of private US citizen, in and out. It is the same case with Indonesia in which the Commission for Corruption Eradication was sternly criticized for recording the calls of several Parliamentary members. This, in turn, results in a social security because the right privacy is no longer assured by state apparatus, even when it has been mandated by constitution. Camera has the same negative effect. Despite the use of CCTV footage to provide law enforcement with physical evidence of crimes going around the neighborhood, it is also widely used by perverts to spy on their victims. The ethical use of such compromising information is of course not guaranteed, and thus most member of society will avoid places with cameras. Internet seems to get the whole stick when discussing about cyber security. Free source application such as Kali is now pervasively used to create exploit in one’s computer, either to steal data such as multimedia file, credit card, or even national classified information.

In summary, the use of technology for surveillance is really compromising when it’s used in public sphere, and thus has to be strictly regulated by laws. Individuals also have to consider the moral and ethics of technological use, especially when they are dealing with personal and classified information.

-Ross

8 COMMON MISTAKES MADE BY IELTS TEST TAKERS IN READING SECTION


Have you ever imagined getting a C2 level reading that consists of unimaginable number of pages with some fancy words and technical terms like something out of no where? Besides, you have to answer 40 questions in 60 minutes and deal with different types of barrier such as boredom and exhaustion? I'm not here to make a judgement on your reading skill or English proficiency, but I've been doing some exercise on Reading and I my self have made dozens of mistake ranging from the most common one to the most ridiculous one. So the question is, how could that be possible that some folks out there manage to do the reading section with less effort and still get band score of at least 7.0? One of many possible answers is that they did not make the same mistake as we, or I, specifically, did. If you think that the key answers for success in Reading section are having keen eyes, effective reading, and brilliant mind, you are wrong, or perhaps, partly wrong. The thing that you need the most is actually a strategy and proper application of that strategy.



First thing first. Whenever you have a passage, the first thing that you have to do is to read the instruction. For example, you may be able to write down three words, two words, or one word. Whether you realize it or not, this rule actually has helped you narrow the scope of information searching. Because when you have only one word to write, you do not need to bother with long combination of Adj+N or Prep+N or Prep+NP. Just find that word you need in the passage. And for you who know about the Word Classes, you can safely make a conclusion that the answer will most likely be content words such as N, V, Adj, Adv, or some modified form of these four.




Second, you don't need to read the entire passage and you, definitely, do not have to be familiar with the topic of the passage and do not need to know the meaning of each word in that passage. This is the most common mistake made by those having the first trial. Some of my students kept complaining about getting some fancy topics such as psychology, technology, or social science, without realizing the fact that they don't necessarily be a psychologist, expert in technology, or sociologist to pass the IELTS test. I myself do not want to be bothered with the topic and obviously have no intention to memorize all the words, especially the technical terms.




Third, you need to check the question and find at least two keywords to narrow scope of searching in the passage. Look for content words, look for numbers because they are very apparent, look for proper name that has capital letters, and look for the words without which a statement can never make any sense to the reader.




Fourth, find the paraphrase of the keywords in the passage. In IELTS, you cannot hope to pass the test without having a good sense of paraphrasing. The ugly truth is the fact that you need to read a lot to broaden your vocabulary. There is no formula for this and I definitely can't help you with this. Try to read wide range of passage and try to memorize the most essential and reappearing words you find. There are two rules you need to follow very closely when learning language.


1. You can never be a good speaker without being a good listener
2. you cannot be a good writer without being a good reader



This is a fact I cannot deny so I try to get used to it and give my best shot to master all aspects necessary for mastering language




Fifth, both the passage and the questions must have logical order. If you are answering question number 1, it would be very logical that you'll find the answer in paragraph one or two, and not the others. If you are answering question number 2, then perhaps you will find the answer in paragraph two or three. You do not need to read the whole passage. Don't you ever try to re-read back and forth twice, three times, or worst, many times. Just read the paragraph that most likely contain the information you need.




Sixth, finding the main idea of a paragraph. Did I just say that you do not need to read the whole passage? Well, you don't even read the whole paragraph. There are three common possible place you will find an answer for the question.


1. At the beginning of the paragraph
2. At the end of the paragraph
3. In the entire paragraph or in the middle of a paragraph, which is the worst possibility and not quite likely to happen



Seventh, be careful when distinguishing False and Not Given or No and Not Given. If you find an information in the passage and it happens to be wrong, it is False. If you cannot find any relevant information in the passage, it has to be Not Given.




Last, do some predictions. There are two of them, actually.


1. Grammatical prediction. Let's say, when you have an Adj at the end of a statement, the most plausible answer for that question is either a N or a NP. You can focus on that two possibilities, depends on how many words you are supposed to write.
2. Contextual prediction. If the topic of the passage is quite familiar to you, you can try to understand what is being discussed in the passage and answer based on your understanding of the passage. However, this is actually a rare case, especially when you are not an omnipotent-type-of-person



-Ross

IELTS WRITING TASK 1 SAMPLE (PIE CHART)


In the previous post, I already gave material and some tips for IELTS Writing task 1, giving an example of how we should deal with bar graph. Since this post is among the most viewed posts and becomes the featured post, I want to give another sample of Task 1 since I deem it important especially for those who are yet to be familiar with writing for academic module. There are several types of graph and this post focuses mainly on Task 1 Pie chart. Take a look at this graph.


Author's note: I used to have a graphic illustration for this writing. But it turns out that neither using such image nor providing a url directing to it is considered as fair use, and I really want to make this blog as legal as possible, and to avoid having problems with copyright infringement. Please use the keyword of each first sentence of my writing to find the illustration from the website of the legal copyright holder.


Pie Charts
The comparison of various production of energy in France in 1995 and 2005 is described by the pie charts. There are five different sources of energy being compared which are coal, gas, petro, nuclear, and other along with the percentage of each energy source. In general, there are two trends in the graph, whether the production increased or decreased. Coal, gas, nuclear and other increased while petro decreased.
In 1995, coal accounted about 29.80% of total energy production, and increased to 30.93% in 2005. Gas contributed 29.63% in 1995 and increased to 30.31% in 2005. These two energy sources upgraded insignificantly of about 1%. Meanwhile, nuclear and other had significant upward trend. Nuclear started from 5.40% and went up to reach 10.10% and hence the increase was quite striking for it nearly reached 5%. Other source of energy also had striking upgrading trend for it started from 4.90% and finally reached 9.10%. Petro was the only fuel that had decreasing trend. It contributed 29.27% of total energy production and ended up accounting about 19.55% and thus the downgrade was quite dramatic.


In summary, the amount of energy production kept changing over year whether increasing or decreasing.


Please note that the template I use for all writings is a result of several years study through trial and error and years of teaching IELTS. As far as I concern, the template is quite simple, yet powerful. It also has helped some folks passing the test so I consider it to be good enough for a start. If you folks have some feedback, suggestions or even critics, feel free to post it on comment or to contact me directly so that I can make improvement for the already existing template.

-Ross

IELTS Writing Section (Writing Task 2)


Pada IELTS Writing Task 2, anda harus menulis argumentative writing berdasarkan topik yang telah ditentukan. Setidaknya ada 5 poin yang harus anda cover dalam Writing Task 2, diantaranya:
1.Overview (memberikan gambaran umum dengan mem-paraphrase judul asli)
2.Stating basis of argument (menentukan dasar argumen anda)
3.Giving balanced argument (memberikan argumen yang berimbang)
4.Explaining your own argument (menjelaskan argumen anda)
5.Conclusion and solution (memberikan kesimpulan dan solusi)

Langkah-langkah Mengerjakan IELTS Writing Task 2
Mari kita ambil satu contoh topik yang diberikan di Writing Task 2
Computer and internet help people in nearly all aspects of life. However, the use of computer and internet also gives negative impacts such as addiction that eventually makes people become less sociable
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this notion?

Berikan gambaran umum dengan memparaphrase topik dan memberikan beberapa keterangan tambahan
Computer and internet technology keeps developing and its advancement contribute a great deal of changes in humans’ life. One of many changes brought by computers is related to humans’ communication in which the interaction can now be mediated by internet and social media.
Jika anda merasa kesulitan mem-paraphrase topic tersebut, anda bisa menggunakan paraphrase inventory dan mem-paraphrase topic tersebut kata per kata atau frasa per frasa.
Kata dari Topik Asli
Paraphrase
Computer and internet
Computer and internet technology
help
Assist, contribute
People
Society, members of society
Nearly
Almost
Aspects of life
Life aspects
However
Despite…
The use of computer and internet
Computer and internet use
Gives negative impacts
Has negative sides

Such as
For example, for instance
Addiction
Addiction
Eventually
Finally
Makes people become
Turn people into
Less sociable
Asocial


   Tentukan basis of argument anda
      I agree with the idea that computer can make people isolated and less sociable because really has a negative impact resulting in addiction and ignorance
   Berikan argumen yang berimbang
It is argued that this technological advancement is really beneficial. People now communicate more easily because problems regarding distance have been overcome by internet. Some people even do business by using internet, and it contributes a significant economic growth. This sophisticated technology also helps humans improve their life because computer also plays an important role in other aspects of humans’ life such as its contribution in medical world, transportation, entertainment, et cetera.
Jelaskan argumen anda dengan menyertakan contoh dan penjelasan
However, such improvement has to come with a price because computer also has negative effects on human social life. People now communicate in a virtual world and sometimes they ignore people around them. People no longer talk in a real sense but instead, they keep staring at and tapping on their gadgets. Computer also causes addiction, in which the user may not be able to stop using the device. For instance, a friend of mine is severely addicted to online game, and if he cannot use the computer and play the game for some reasons, he will start becoming unsettled. Such habit can make people become more isolated from the real world and therefore have a bad social life.

Berikan kesimpulan dan berikan solusi
In conclusion, the use of computer and internet should not intervene our social life, and thus they have to be used wisely so that the users do not get addicted and become less productive and less sociable.

Task 2 – Computer and Social Life
Computer and internet technology keeps developing and its advancement contribute a great deal of changes in humans’ life. One of many changes brought by computers is related to humans’ communication in which the interaction can now be mediated by internet and social media.  I agree with the idea that computer can make people isolated and less sociable because really has a negative impact resulting in addiction and ignorance.
It is argued that this technological advancement is really beneficial. People now communicate more easily because problems regarding distance have been overcome by internet. Some people even do business by using internet, and it contributes a significant economic growth. This sophisticated technology also helps humans improve their life because computer also plays an important role in other aspects of humans’ life such as its contribution in medical world, transportation, entertainment, et cetera.
However, such improvement has to come with a price because computer also has negative effects on human social life. People now communicate in a virtual world and sometimes they ignore people around them. People no longer talk in a real sense but instead, they keep staring at and tapping on their gadgets. Computer also causes addiction, in which the user may not be able to stop using the device. For instance, a friend of mine is severely addicted to online game, and if he cannot use the computer and play the game for some reasons, he will start becoming unsettled. Such habit can make people become more isolated from the real world and therefore have a bad social life.

In conclusion, the use of computer and internet should not intervene our social life, and thus they have to be used wisely so that the users do not get addicted and become less productive and less sociable.


IELTS WRITING SECTION (WRITING TASK 1)


Section ketiga di dalam tes IELTS adalah Writing Section yang dibagi menjadi 2 Task, yaitu Task 1 dan Task 2. Di Writing Task 1, peserta akan menjelaskan data dalam bentuk grafik atau gambar, baik yang berupa single data maupun combined data dan menulis setidaknya 150 kata. Sedangkan pada Writing Task 2, peserta akan menulis sebuah argumentative writing dimana sebuah topik akan diberikan dan peserta akan diminta menulis essay sebanyak 250 kata.
Writing Task 1
Ada setidaknya 4 poin penting yang harus dicover oleh tulisan anda di IELTS Writing Task 1, yaitu:

  • Overview (memperkenalkan grafik atau gambar)
  • Explaining all existing variables (menjelaskan variabel yang ada)
  • Explaining the major trend or features (menjelaskan data berdasarkan tren)
  • Giving detailed explanation (menjelaskan data secara mendetail)

 CATATAN!
a.Perlu diingat bahwa di Writing Task 1, tulisan anda harus sangat objektif dan tidak boleh ada informasi yang berasal dari luar data atau informasi yang sama sekali tidak berkaitan dengan data yang ada.
b.Pada poin 1-3 Writing Task 1, anda hanya menjelaskan data yang ada secara umum tanpa memberikan keterangan spesifik seperti angka, presentase, naik turunnya sebuah variabel, dan sebagainya. Yang harus anda berikan adalah gambaran umum dari data yang ada
c. Keterangan yang bersifat mendetail akan anda berikan di poin ke empat

Langkah-langkah Mengerjakan IELTS Writing Task 1


Mari kita ambil contoh dari Bar Graph berikut
Author's note: I used to have a graphic illustration for this writing. But it turns out that neither using such image nor providing a url directing to it is considered as fair use, and I really want to make this blog as legal as possible, and to avoid having problems with copyright infringement. Please use the keyword of each first sentence of my writing to find the illustration from the website of the legal copyright holder.
1.Buat lah sebuah overview dengan memperkenalkan grafik atau gambar dan mem-paraphrase judul asli grafik atau gambar tersebut

Dari grafik diatas misalnya, kita harus memperkenalkannya terlebih dahulu dengan menulis:

The bar graph shows / presents / indicates / depicts / explains / illustrates, dst. Ingat bahwa semua kata bergaris miring memiliki arti yang sama. Ini adalah langkah paraphrase untuk membuat kosakata anda lebih beragam dan dengan demikian mendapat skor tertinggi untuk task list “vocabulary range”. Jika anda sudah menggunakan kata “shows” pada paragraf pertama, jangan gunakan kata yang sama pada paragraf kedua, namun ganti lah dengan kata lain yang memiliki arti yang sama.

Setelah memperkenalkan grafik atau gambar, anda harus mem-paraphrase judul asli “Different modes of transport used to travel to and from work in one European City” dengan cara
a. Mengganti setiap kata dengan kata lain yang artinya sama atau mendekati
b. Mengganti struktur grammar yang ada
Contoh: Various types of vehicle chosen to go to and return from work in a City of Europe
Jika anda merasa kesulitan mem-paraphrase judul tersebut sekaligus, anda bisa melakukannya kata per kata atau frasa per frasa dengan membuat sebuah paraphrase inventory:

Kata dari Judul Asli
Paraphrase
Different
Various, several
Modes
Types, means
Transport
Vehicle, transportation
Used
Chosen, taken
To travel and from work
To go to and return from, to commute to and from work
In one European City
In a City of Europe

Selain dengan mengganti kata, anda juga bisa merubah susunan dari kalimat judul tersebut, misalnya:

  • Mengganti frasa to infinitive dengan frasa gerund
Various types of vehicle chosen to go to and return from work in a City of Europe

  • Mengganti Noun phrase (frasa benda) dari yang sebelumnya berupa Adj+N (European City, Beautiful girl) menjadi N of N (City of Europe, Girl of beauty).
Various types of vehicle chosen for travelling to and returning from work in a City of Europe

  • Merubah sebuah kalimat aktif menjadi kalimat pasif
Various types of vehicle chosen to go to and return from work in a City of Europe is described by the bar graph

  • Merubah kalimat pasif menjadi aktif
The bar graph describes various types of vehicle chosen to go to and return from work in a City of Europe
2.  Jelaskanlah semua variabel yang ada di grafik atau gambar

Dari contoh bar graph diatas, dapat disimpulkan bahwa ada tiga variabel yang harus dijelaskan yaitu modes of transportyear, dan percentage of commuters, maka:
There are four means of transport presented in the graph which are bus, car, tube, and train along with the percentage of their users in 1960, 1980, and 2000.
  
3.  Jelaskan main trend atau main features di grafik atau gambar
     Main trend atau features dapat diartikan sebagai ciri atau perubaan yang paling menarik dari suatu grafik atau gambar. Main trend dapat dijelaskan dengan sangat umum dan bertujuan untuk membagi data yang ada menjadi cluster besar. Hal ini bertujuan untuk membuat tulisan menjadi well-structured dan mempermudah anda menjelaskan data yang ada dengan lebih spesifik.
   Contoh:
   Dari contoh diatas, dapat disimpulkan bahwa data yang ada dapat dibagi menjadi dua kelompok besar yaitu data yang bersifat consistent dan data yang bersifat fluktuatif, maka:
   The data can be divided into two different trends which are consistent and fluctuating. Bus consistently decreased, car consistently increased, while train and tube were fluctuating.
4.  Memberikan informasi secara mendetail
Setelah memberikan penjelasan tentang main trends atau main features, anda dapat memberikan detailed explanation dengan menggunakan pembagian yang sudah dilakukan di poin ketiga. Dari pembagian tersebut, anda dapat membuat dua paragraf untuk menjelaskan poin ke-4 yang terdiri dari satu paragraf consistent data dan satu paragraf fluctuating data. Ada beberapa hal yang harus diperhatikan ketika anda mengerjakan poin ke-4 Writing Task 1, yaitu:

Berikan penjelasan yang menyeluruh mengenai variabel yang ada
Jelaskan angka, presentase, naik turun, tinggi rendahnya suatu data dengan jelas

Task 1 - Bar graph
The bar graph indicates various types of transportation used for working and travelling in a city in Europe. Overall, the data shows the percentage of commuters taking train, car, tube and bus in 1960, 1980 and 2000. The main trend can be seen in the constant pattern of people commuting by car and by bus, either upgrading or degrading and the fluctuating pattern of commuters choosing tube and train.
The percentage of car drivers started from the lowest point of all existing figure, and eventually reached its peak point of approximately 37%. Bus, however, had the opposite pattern in which it started from the highest point of approximately 48% and gradually degraded to only 15%. Bus used to be the dominant mode of transportation with the highest point of all other figures, and thus the decrease was quite dramatic.

The percentage of commuters taking train and tube underwent ups and downs and the change from year to year was not very significant. Train started from less than 20% in 1960, and slightly increased and almost reached 30% in 1980. However, the percentage downgraded again in 2000. Tube, however, started from about 28% in 1960, it had slight decrease and increase in 1980 and 2000. In summary, people’s preference in different modes of transportation changed over year, whether it keeps decreasing, increasing or fluctuating.

TENTANG TES IELTS


Halo sobat, jumpa lagi dengan kak Ross. Di artikel sebelumnya sobat sudah membaca cerita serta berbagai tips dan trik mendaftar program pertukaran pelajar yang salah satunya adalah dengan lulus English Proficiency Test. Ada banyak sekali tes yang ditawarkan, dan salah satu yang paling terkenal dan diminati adalah IELTS. Bagi sobat yang belum mengenal apa itu IELTS, kak Ross berikan sedikit gambaran tentang tes IELTS itu sendiri. Gambaran ini diambil dari berbagai sumber serta pengalaman kak Ross selama menjadi seorang IELTS trainer di salah satu perusahaan swasta Australia.

SEKILAS TENTANG IELTS
International English Language Testing System atau bebih dikenal sebagai IELTS adalah sebuah tes untuk mengukur kemampuan berbahasa Inggris. Tes ini menguji kemampuan Bahasa Inggris dari segala aspek, baik secara lisan (spoken English) maupun tertulis (written English). Secara garis besar, tes IELTS masih dibagi lagi menjadi dua jenis yakni General Training Test dan Academic Module. General Training Test biasanya diambil oleh mereka yang ingin bekerja atau sebagai persyaratan visa. Sedangkan Academic Module adalah tes yang harus diambil oleh mereka yang ingin melanjutkan jenjang pendidikan tinggi. Listening, Reading, dan Speaking pada General Training Test dan Academic Module tidak lah berbeda. Yang membedakan dua jenis tes ini adalah writing section, dimana peserta tes Academic Module diharuskan menulis Academic Writing sedangkan peserta General Training akan menulis tulisan yang lebih bersifat umum seperti menulis surat, lamaran pekerjaan, dan lain sebagainya. IELTS sendiri dibagi menjadi 4 sesi (section).

1. Listening Section
Sesi pertama adalah Listening Section yang berlangsung selama kurang lebih 40 menit. Peserta tes akan mengerjakan 40 soal Listening Section selama 30 menit dan kemudian memiliki waktu 10 menit untuk memindahkan jawaban ke lembar jawaban. Dalam sesi Listening, akan ada 4 bagiian (part) yang berbeda, sehingga total audio yang digunakan adalah 4 audio. Audio itu sendiri berisi beberapa percakapan, baik dialog maupun monolog, direct conversation maupun phone conversation. Ada beberapa jenis soal yang berbeda dalam Listening Section, seperti fill in the blank questions, matching questions, describing map, dan lain sebagainya.

2. Reading Section
Setelah Listening Section usai, tes akan dilanjutkan dengan Readig section yang berlangsung selama 60 menit. Dalam reading secion, peserta diharuskan membaca 3 buah bacaan (passage) dan menjawab 40 pertanyaan. Pertanyaan dalam Reading Section sangat beragam mulai dari list of heading, matching, fill in the blank questions, True False Not given, Yes No Not Given, dan lain sebagainya. Peserta tes juga harus mempertimbangkan alokasi waktu, sehingga strategi yang tepat sangat diperlukan dalam mengerjakan Reading Section.

3. Writing Section
Tes ketiga yang harus dijalani peserta IELTS adalah tes menulis atau writing. Writing Section sendiri masih dibagi lagi menjadi dua tugas (Task), yaitu Task 1 dan Task 2.
a.Task 1
Dalam Academic Module, Task 1 mengharuskan peserta tes untuk mendeskripsikan data visual berupa table, grafik atau gambar dalam waktu 20 menit. Ada beberapa jenis data visual yang mungkin disajikan dalam Writing Task 1 Academic Module, seperti bar graph (diagram batang), pie chart, line graph (diagram garis), map, process, dan table. Peserta ujian diwajibkan menulis 150 kata pada Task 1.

b. Task 2
Task 2 pada IELTS Writing Section mengharuskan peserta untuk menulis sebuah argumentative writing. Peserta akan mendapatkan sebuah topik dan sebuah pertanyaan, dan harus menjelaskan topik tersebut dengan memberikan argumen. Alokasi waktu untuk Task 2 Writing adalah selama 40 menit, dimana peserta ujian diharuskan menulis 250 kata.

4. Speaking
Speaking section dibagi menjadi 3 bagian (part). Pada speaking part 1, peserta tes akan diminta untuk memperkenalkan diri oleh interviewer dan selanjutnya membicarakan familiar topics atau pembicaraan sehari-sehari. Pada part ke-2, peserta akan melakukan self-presentation dan memberikan penjelasan mengenai sebuah topic tanpa interupsi dari interviewer. Peserta akan diberikan cue card yang biasanya berisi satu topic utama (main topic) dan empat sampai lima sub-topics. Peserta akan diberikan waktu 1 menit untuk mempersiapkan presentasi dan harus berbicara selama 2 menit dan menjelaskan semua poin yang ada di cue card. Part 3 speaking section mengharuskan peserta untuk berdiskusi dengan interviewer mengenai topik tertentu, yang biasanya masih berhubungan dengan topik yang ada di part ke-2 speaking section. Diskusi akan terjadi dua arah dimana interviewer mungkin memberikan interupsi atau pertanyaan baru.







SISTEM PENILAIAN
Band
Level
Keterangan
9
Expert User
Dapat menggunakan Bahasa Inggris dengan baik dan benar, akurat dengan fluency yang baik serta dapat memahami komunikasi secara penuh.
8
Very Good User
Dapat menggunakan Bahasa Inggris dengan baik dan efektif meski terkadang terdapat ketidakakuratan dan kesalahpahaman. Dapat memahami struktur Bahasa yang kompleks serta menggunakan Bahasa Inggris untuk argumentasi
7
Good User
Dapat menggunakan Bahasa Inggris dengan baik dan efektif meski terkadang masih terdapat kesalahan. Dapat memahami struktur Bahasa yang kompleks serta menggunakan Bahasa untuk proses reasoning
6
Competent User
Dapat menggunakan Bahasa Inggris dengan cukup efektif meski masih terdapat beberapa kesalahan dan penggunaan Bahasa yang tidak sesuai. Dapat memahami struktur Bahasa yang cukup kompleks, terutama pada komunikasi yang bersifat umum
5
Modest User
Dapat memahami makna dalam berbagai situasi dan dapat berkomunikasi secara terbatas, namun masih sering terjadi kesalahan.
4
Limited User
Memiliki kompetensi dasar dalam komunikasi yang bersifat umum, namun masih memiliki masalah dalam hal pemahaman dan ekspresi. Masih memiliki kesulitan dalam menggunakan struktur Bahasa yang bersifat kompleks
3
Extremely Limited User
Hanya memahami makna secara sempit dan terbatas pada memahami komunikasi yang bersifat umum. Belum memiliki kemampuan komunikasi secara efektif
2
Intermittent User
Memiliki kesulitan dalam memahami Bahasa Inggris baik secara lisan maupun tertulis
1
Non-User
Tidak memiliki kemampuan komunikasi, hanya memahami beberapa kata yang sangat terbatas
0
Did not attempt the test
Sama sekali tidak menjawab pertanyaan atau tidak mengikuti tes
Tabel 1
Dalam IELTS, nilai akan berada pada range 0 hingga 9. Akan ada skor per section serta overall score yang merupakan nilai rerata dari keempat section. Skor tersebut dijelaskan oleh table 1 diatas. Perlu diingat bahwa rentang skor bisa saja 1 atau 0.5. Pada Acadmic Module, skor yang disyaratkan akan bergantung pada persyaratan yang diberikan oleh institusi pendidikan. Namun secara umum, persyaratan tes IELTS akan berkisar diantara skor 6.0 sampai skor tertinggi 9.0.

ALASAN MENGAPA MENGAMBIL TES IELTS
Saat ini, dunia tengah memasuki era globalisasi dan orang-orang dari berbagai belahan dunia memiliki kesempatan untuk bekerja ataupun belajar dimanapun di seluruh dunia. Bahasa Inggris sebagai Bahasa internasional memegang peran penting dalam menentukan keberhasilan seseorang dalam menghadapi proses globalisasi. Kesempatan seseorang untuk memasuki dunia akademis maupun dunia profesional saat ini akan banyak ditentukan oleh kemampuan Bahasa Inggris yang dibuktikan dengan sertifikat kemampuan Bahasa Inggris. Tes IELTS sendiri menjadi salah satu pilihan yang terbaik karena beberapa alasan, diantaranya:
a.   Membuka kesempatan di dunia profesional dan akademik
b. Telah banyak dipercaya dan digunakan oleh berbagai  institusi pendidikan dan profesi
c.  Tes yang akan secara akurat mengukur pengetahuan serta  kemampuan Bahasa Inggris anda
d.  Hasil tes yang sercara akurat dan terukur
e. Terdapat dua jenis tes yang dapat anda sesuaikan dengan kebutuhan anda


f.  Tes IELTS diselenggarakan oleh berbagai lembaga yang ada di seluruh dunia