In the Cambridge IELTS series, especially the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh volumes, there are more general standards:
1, one point for each question in the listening module.
For questions whose answers are letters or numbers, you should only write down the number of answers you need. For example, if the answer is a single letter or number, you should write only one answer. If you write more letters or numbers than required, the answer must be marked as wrong.
The answer can be written in uppercase or lowercase.
4. The words in brackets are optional-they are correct, but they are not necessary.
5. The alternative answers are separated by a single slash.
If you are asked to write an answer with a certain number of words and/or numbers, if you exceed this number, you will be deducted. For example, if a question specifies an answer that uses no more than three words, and the correct answer is "black leather", the answer of "black leather" is incorrect.
When you are asked to fill in the blanks, you should only copy the necessary missing words on the answer sheet. For example, to complete "in ……", the correct answer is "in the morning" and the answer "in the morning" will be incorrect.
8. All answers must be spelled correctly (including the words in brackets).
American and British spellings are acceptable.
10, all standard substitutes for numbers, dates and currencies are acceptable.
1 1, all standard abbreviations are acceptable.
Below, I will analyze each standard with examples and give reasonable suggestions to candidates.
1. In the listening section, you get one point for each correct answer.
As for the first point, it has been analyzed that the first and second parts of each set of listening questions are simpler than the third and fourth parts, so the mistakes in the third and fourth parts should be deducted more. I think this analysis is not accurate enough. Because the grading standard clearly puts forward that each question should be scored correctly, the score of each question in each part is the same.
I suggest that, especially for candidates with relatively weak foundation, the first and second parts should be the focus of grading. If the errors in the first two parts are within 3-5 and those in the last two parts are within 5-8, you can basically get 5-6 points. For candidates with high target scores, the mistakes in the first two parts must be controlled within 3 as far as possible, and the mistakes in the last two parts should be controlled within 5, so it is easier to get 7-7.5 points. Students who want to get more than 8 points in the exam must ensure that the first two parts are not wrong in order to achieve their goals.
If the answer is English letters or numbers, you can only fill in the required number of letters or numbers. For example, an answer is to fill in English letters or numbers, only one can be filled in; If you provided more than one letter or number, the answer is wrong.
This is mainly for multiple-choice questions and collocation questions. Only one correct letter can be written in the answer to multiple-choice questions, otherwise the calculation is wrong. In the answer to multiple-choice questions, if there are two or more questions, only one correct letter can be written after each question, but the order can be reversed. For example:
Q 2 1-23 has three correct letters. If the answers are A, B and C respectively, then the answer can be written as follows:
If one of them is wrong, then only one topic will be deducted. The low-level mistake that candidates easily make is to put the answers to questions 2-3 after a question number (see the table above). If the letters A, B and C are all placed after the second1question, the result will start from the second1question, and the following questions will be written in the wrong line, which will lead to incalculable losses.
If it is a multiple-choice question with only one question number, it is wrong to write the answer on the answer sheet as long as one letter is wrong, because a question will not have half a point; The low-level mistake made by candidates is to put the answer to one question after two questions, which will also lead to all subsequent mistakes.
I suggest you copy the answers twice after you finish the questions before the exam to avoid similar mistakes.
3. The answer can be in uppercase or lowercase.
There are two versions of the case problem. Some examiners said: all answers can be uppercase and lowercase. Some examiners also said that proper nouns must be capitalized. I prefer the latter statement. For example, the answer is Mr. Green. If you write Mr. Green, it becomes "Mr. Green".
Candidates are advised to write in capital letters when copying answers. This can't be wrong. For example, in China's exam, the answer to the question requires that the first letter must be capitalized; In the IELTS test, the answer to the question does not require capitalization, but if it is capitalized, it will definitely not go wrong.
You can choose any word in brackets-although these words are correct, they may not be used.
April(the) 18 often appears in the Cambridge series of listening answers. Put (it) together or (the) Best Buy. In this answer, "the, it" in brackets is dispensable. It should be noted that only some unimportant words can be put in brackets, and not writing them will definitely not affect the meaning of the answer.
Candidates are advised to keep these unimportant words when the number of words does not exceed the requirements. It is best not to add the words in brackets to the answer, because if the words in brackets are wrong or should not be there, the answer is wrong. (See point 8)
5. Alternative answers are separated by diagonal lines.
This question is one of the biggest gains of this trip to Australia. We often see the following situations in the Cambridge series of answers: 15/ 15 people, walking/walking, the best/best buy/safe, a $ TERM/ a $ TERM, two modules/two semesters, a topic/a topic, children' s education/their children' s education. But please pay attention to the candidates, this is just a variety of possible answers on the answer sheet. Examiners who mark papers can judge whether candidates have written one of them according to these different answers, and then judge whether candidates have scored. Just like the writing of multiple-choice answers in the second point above, if you write multiple-choice answers to two or more questions on the answer sheet, you can't write all the answers after one question, even if you add "or". For example, when writing an answer on 2 1-23, it is not allowed to write: 2 1A or b or c, 22, 22B or c or a, 23c or a or b. It is absolutely not allowed to write an answer like this. Otherwise, you can write a or b or c or d or e.
Candidates are advised to write only one answer when encountering similar situations. We shouldn't let the examiner do multiple-choice questions, so the examiner will choose not to give points.
6. If the answer stipulates that you must use several words or one (or more) numbers, if you use more answers than specified, you will be penalized. For example, the question stipulates that your answer cannot exceed three words. The correct answer is "black leather". If your answer is "black leather", you are wrong.
In the IELTS listening test, the words "no more than three words", "no more than two words" or "only one word or number" will appear in all the questions that need to be answered. Candidates should pay special attention to these requirements when writing answers. Many people may be most familiar with "no more than three words", and it is easy to ignore "no more than two words". Here, I suggest that students check the number of words in the topic requirements in the process of prediction to avoid similar low-level mistakes.
Regarding the satisfaction of word count requirements, I suggest that students use two skills recognized by examiners:
1) Omit short words-If the total number of words in the answer exceeds the requirements of the topic, we can omit some conjunctions, articles and prepositions in the answer. For example: (a) double bedroom, near the railway station, in the lobby, etc. Some words such as AND or can be omitted.
2) Hyphenation-We can also hyphenate some related words. For example, a double bedroom can be written as a double bedroom, near the railway station can be written as near the railway station, and in the lobby can be written as the lobby.
7. If it is a fill-in-the-blank question, just write the correct answer on the answer sheet. For example, if you want to fill in "in _ _ _ _", the correct answer should be "in the morning". If you write "in the morning", you will get the wrong answer.
On this issue, a former examiner named Steve Ruston made it clear that if you repeat any question, even a short word will affect your score.
Here, I suggest that you must make predictions before listening, and after copying the answers, you must pay attention to checking whether the answers repeat the words in the questions.
8. All answers must be spelled correctly (including the words in brackets).
As long as there are spelling mistakes in the IELTS listening test, they will not be scored. But there is one exception: if the answer is a person's name or place name without spelling, it is acceptable as long as your answer conforms to the pronunciation rules. For example: forest = forest, Allen = Alen, Anna = Anna.
Candidates are advised to pay attention to the rules of pronunciation in their usual study-a letter combination will make different sounds; Different letter combinations will make the same sound. For example, OU has different pronunciations in pour, out, double, should, soup, could, etc. IE, EE, EA, AE, EO, OE, E, I, EY and many other different letter combinations can be pronounced /I:/. Pronunciation rules are like a bookshelf, and the words that candidates know are like books. If the words are arranged neatly on the "bookshelf" of the brain according to the law, the candidates' reaction will be much faster.
On the question of singular and plural, the examiner's suggestion is: if it doesn't affect the understanding, both can be used. My suggestion is: from the context analysis, decide which form to use. If you can't judge, the plural number is relatively safe. Because generally speaking, unless otherwise specified, English is in plural form.
9. American or British spelling is acceptable.
In the English test, the spelling of words is generally accepted by different countries, and IELTS is no exception. For example: neighbor = neighbor, measurement = electricity meter. Here, Steve Ralston suggests that you use some kind of spelling when writing your answers, and it is best not to cross.
In addition, when writing answers, you can answer questions with words you are used to. For example: shopping mall = shopping center, apartment = apartment, trash can = trash can. However, we should also pay attention to the unity of words. Don't use American English in one place and British English in another.
10, all standard alternative symbols such as numbers, dates and currencies are acceptable.
Numbers, dates and currencies are often used as test sites in IELTS listening test. When writing such answers, you can write English words, Arabic numerals or money symbols. For example: twenty = 20; ; Ten percent =10%; July 20th = July 20th; 15 USD = 15 USD; 120 lbs =ā 120. Here, I would like to remind everyone that the words about money should be written after the numbers and the symbols should be written before the numbers.
I suggest you use Arabic numerals and money symbols, which can save time and space. Because 10% only counts as one word, and 10% counts as two words. In addition, using these symbols is not easy to make mistakes.
It is important to note that 20 minutes and 30 seconds cannot be written as 20' 30', but only as 20.5 minutes. Because the idiom of 20 feet and 30 inches in English is also 20' 30', which will cause ambiguity.
1 1, all standard abbreviations are acceptable.
Regarding abbreviations, IELTS listening tests often appear. For example, there are many sayings about street: Street=St, Road=Rd, Boulevard=Blvd, Avenue=Ave, Drive = Dr；; Some organizations, United Nations =UN, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization = UNESCO, have some titles, doctor = doctor, professor = professor, and so on.
Candidates are advised to use familiar standard abbreviations, but they can't use them wrong. For example, 20 minutes can't be written as 20m, because it may be confused with 20m.
To sum up, the writing of IELTS listening test answers must be familiar with the chest, and don't ignore these details. It's not a pity not to hear the answer. The most painful thing is to hear the answer but write it wrong.
Here, I would like to thank professors, examiners and examiner trainers from the University of New South Wales, such as anne jackson, Susie Wolf and Steve Lastun, for their patient guidance and detailed explanations.