Comments for Do I lose a mark for spelling mistakes in the IELTS listening test? Average Rating Click here to add your own comments

Oct 31, 2012 Rating Spelling Mistakes - IELTS Listening by: IELTS buddy Hi, Yes, unfortunately if you make a spelling mistake in the IELTS listening you will not get a mark for that question. Spelling has to be correct. Thanks

Jun 29, 2013 Rating Spelling mistakes during listening test by: Tom Hi there, According to British council: Errors in spelling and grammar are only accepted on very uncommon words. Answers require notes, letters or numbers rather than complete sentences. http://www.britishcouncil.org/professionals-exams-ielts-listening-intro.htm

Sep 05, 2013 Rating ielts listening errors by: Anonymous i wrote carbon-di-oxide in listening test on ielts exam so will i get marks for that. it was suppose to be carbon di oxide but i used that symbols so will i get marks for that

Jul 19, 2014 Rating linstening test by: Anonymous hi there do I lose marks in listening for spelling like i wrote 'trainning' instead of 'training'

Jul 26, 2014 Rating spelling mistakes in the IELTS listening test by: IELTS buddy Yes, the spelling must be correct.

Aug 04, 2014 Rating IELTS EXAM MISTAKE by: Anonymous i wrote in ielts exam HELICOPTOR instead of HELICOPTER ..would i loss the marks in exam?? plz reply.

Aug 04, 2014 Rating Wrong spelling in IELTS Listening by: IELTS buddy Hi, yes it will be wrong. The spelling must be correct.

Aug 06, 2014 Rating Spelling-Listening test by: Guilherme I understand that spelling must be correct. But, if I put "ranges" instead of "range", will I loose the mark? You, see... it's only a matter of plural/singular. Thank you in advance

Aug 12, 2014 Rating singular / plural by: IELTS buddy Yes, you must get it right - singular or plural. If you are wrong you will not get the mark.

Sep 20, 2014 Rating spelling mistakes by: Karthik Actually in my exam answer booklet I wrote eassyes instead of eassys, whether I'll get marks for that or I'll lose the marks

Sep 25, 2014 Rating spelling mistakes by: IELTS buddy Both of those are wrong so you will not get the mark. You must spell correctly.

Oct 13, 2014 Rating IELTS American VS British English by: DimiDim Hello, My question is whether spelling a word the american way instead of the british one may cost me the mark? To be more specific, in the IELTS Listening test I took a couple of days ago, I wrote "behavior", and not "behaviour" as it is common within the UK. Is that completely wrong or I stand a chance of not losing the mark?

Oct 19, 2014 Rating IELTS American VS British English by: IELTS buddy Hi DimiDim, Either are ok. This is from the official IELTS website: "IELTS recognises both British and American English in terms of spelling, grammar and choice of words".

Oct 19, 2014 Rating Time and Money doubt by: Guilherme On an answer in the listening test has a difference between from "6:55pm" to "6:55"? And when we talk about money: if I put just "1" instead of "$1" is wrong? So, what is the way to write an answer when the subject is money and time? Thank You.

Oct 20, 2014 Rating miss to put word by: rz Sometimes i got the meaning of the conversations. But sometimes when i answered a question, i put not exactly the same with the answer key. For example, in a question that ask for advantages to stay in one area, I put : Low price Answer key: prices are low I put : far Answer key: too far (In the Conversation we heard "rather far from the university) I put: commercial area Answer key: mainly commercial area Please help me to find out these case. Even though i am going to take the test this friday, this typical case really makes me confused. Thanks

Oct 22, 2014 Rating Listening Test by: IELTS buddy Guilherme, You have to look and see what is required in the gap. For example: $ ___ = you must only write "1" because the dollar sign is there. "$1" would be wrong. _____ = write $1. Same for times. rz, You must put down exactly what they say when they are speaking. So if they said "prices are low" then you must write that. Anything else will be wrong. Are you using the real IELTS Tests from Cambridge to practice with? Any tests are good for practice, but you can be sure the answers in these books are correct. If you are using some other books it may be possible that the answer key is not exactly as it should be. Thanks

Oct 23, 2014 Rating ILS Listening spellings by: Sandra HI, Is it correct to spell "Satellite" or "Satelite" If u use in the IELTS Listening as satellite, would it be wrong?

Oct 25, 2014 Rating IELTS Listening spellings by: IELTS Hi, The correct spelling is "Satellite" so "Satelite" would get marked as wrong. Spelling must be correct in the IELTS Listening Test.

Oct 31, 2014 Rating one word answers by: Anonymous We have to answer in one word here. 1.You can go over the _____ and then into the wooden area. The answer I heard was "foot bridge"), which is 2 words... but I am suppose to write only one word.... when I checked the key its written as single word "footbridge". 2. On your way back you can also go up to the _____. similarly the answer here is "view point" .. which again is 2 words.. but in answer sheet it was written as single word "viewpoint". This is from IELTS 6 cambridge book Listening test 3.

Nov 02, 2014 Rating one word answers by: IELTS buddy But 'footbridge' and 'viewpoint' are both one word. So the Cambridge book is correct. I am not sure what your confusion is?

Nov 15, 2014 Rating Using $ in one word fill in the blank question by: Waza Can I write $1 in a one word fill in the blanks question or am I supposed to write 1. The question actually didn't have any $ signs. Pls let me know. thanks

Nov 18, 2014 Rating Using $ in one word fill in the blank question by: IELTS buddy Hi Waza, Which book was that in? If it says "$1" in the listening and there is no dollar sign on the page, then you must write "$1" If there is a dollar sign then you should write "1". Did it definitely say "only write one word"? Could this be an error in the book? Or did it say "one word and / or a number". That would mean you could write a word and a number i.e. 1 dollar or $1.

Nov 20, 2014 Rating SPELLING by: Windrella Do i have to spell out numbers? The instructions say write "no more than three words" and there is no mention about numbers. So if the answer is "200" do i write "200" or "two hundred"?

Nov 25, 2014 Rating Do i have to spell out numbers? by: IELTS buddy Hi Windrella, Are some of the answers numbers? If so, it seems odd that it would not say "..and / or a number" in the instructions. Is it an official Cambridge IELTS book? If not, maybe it is an error. It would always give you a choice if it could be either.

Jan 15, 2015 Rating A/AN/THE by: belgi Hi, I did not take exam yet but will soon. I wonder that if i dont write a/an/the, would it be a reason for losing mark? For example cd says "a summary" and i wrote "summary".

Jan 16, 2015 Rating missing articles - the, a, an by: IELTS buddy Hi belgi, Yes, you would lose the mark if it is necessary. The answer must be grammatically correct, so if the sentence is wrong without it, it will be wrong.

Jan 31, 2015 Rating capital or small letters by: gurpreet singh I spell cafe in answer sheet of ielts My question is small c in this case is correct or not

Feb 01, 2015 Rating Capitals by: IELTS buddy Hi gurpreet, Yes it would be small 'c' as long as it is not the name of a cafe such as 'Sun Cafe' for example.

Feb 13, 2015 Rating meter/metre by: Lexie Hi, if the answer key is 1.25 metre, but I wrote 1.25 meter, would that be considered wrong? (meter is the American way of spelling metre)

Feb 16, 2015 Rating meter/metre by: IELTS buddy Hi Lexie, IELTS except British or US spelling so it would be ok.

Feb 18, 2015 Rating Do i loose the score if I make a mistake by: Anonymous Do I lose the score completely if I make a mistake in reading and listening? Is there any "half-point" i get if my answer is partially correct? Thanks

Feb 18, 2015 Rating Do i loose the score if I make a mistake by: IELTS buddy No there are no half points. It is either right or wrong.

Mar 12, 2015 Rating write the digits or spelling by: spartans When the answer is a number, do I have to write out only the digits or spell the number? ie: 10 steps or ten steps?

Mar 12, 2015 Rating numbers and capital letters by: Annie Hello, I was wondering if "1 month" and "one month" would both be considered correct? And also, if I write the date of birth, e.g. 31 March 1984, while the answer sheet only has 31 March, is it a mistake? Furthermore, can we use just capital/small letters to avoid mistakes like Dunhill road (instead of Road) or would it also be marked down? Thank you for your kind help, Best wishes.

Mar 13, 2015 Rating Writing out numbers in the IELTS Listening Test by: IELTS buddy Hi spartans, If it is a number, such as for an address, you can write it either way - 10 or ten.

Mar 13, 2015 Rating capitals or small letters by: IELTS buddy Hi Annie, If the answer does not have 1984 in then it must be wrong but you'd really have to identify the actual test it came from in order for this to be checked. Regarding using capital letters - on another forum post someone pasted a response from British Council that said you are not penalised for missing capitals. Also you can write all in capitals. So if that is correct, then writing everything in small or capital letters would be ok. I can't verify the post though.

Apr 13, 2015 Rating answer mistakes by: Anonymous in listining test will my answer be correct if i write 1 class room for classroom or 2 interview for interviews or 3 Department for department or4 27 january 1973 for 27.01.1973

Apr 14, 2015 Rating Spelling error by: Vaibhav i spelt strenuous as strenious, whats the magnitude of this. I need a band 8 in writing

Apr 17, 2015 Rating answer mistakes by: IELTS buddy 1 class room for classroom - Likely wrong as what you wrote is the incorrect use of the word 2 interview for interviews - Likely wrong - if they needed a plural answer then this is what should be written down 3 Department for department - should be ok as it says on the official IELTS site that you can use small or capital letters 4 27 january 1973 for 27.01.1973 - should be ok as either way is a correct way to give a date

Apr 17, 2015 Rating Spelling error - strenuous by: IELTS buddy Hi Vaibhav, You do not get the mark for incorrect spelling. You can check the conversion of raw scores to bands at the bottom of this page. If you get 4 or 5 wrong you could still get a band 8.

Apr 21, 2015 Rating listening by: Anonymous Hello IELTS BUDDY, Will I get penalised if i write 323,50 pounds instead of 323.50? If I write 12.000 instead of 12,000? Are they not accepted as European alternatives?

Apr 21, 2015 Rating Measurements by: IELTS buddy Sorry but I do not really understand what you mean about 323,50 pounds instead of 323.50 or 12.000 instead of 12,000? Are you talking about weight measurements? What was the question or the sentence with the gap?

Apr 21, 2015 Rating Listening Test by: Anonymous OHH I apologise for this inconvenience! It was about money at the first part of the listening and the 12.000 is attributed to the number of years. (12.000 years old plant). I used European punctuation as you can see. Instead of 323.50 british pounds I wrote 323,50 and instead of 12,000 years I wrote 12.000. Will I be penalised? Thank you and once more I am sorry.

Apr 21, 2015 Rating listening test by: Anonymous Let me clarify it more. At the first part of the listening test i had to fill an amount of money at the gap. The correct answer was 323.50 pounds. Instead as i am Greek, i used European currency punctuation and i wrote 323,50 pounds.In addition, i did the same at another part. The correct answer was 12,000 years and i filled 12.000 years in the space. Will i get penalised? Thank you IELTS buddy

Apr 22, 2015 Rating measurements by: IELTS buddy Hi, My guess to be honest is that they would be wrong, as putting 12.000 could look like 12 years (the dot being a decimal place), not 12,000. And we use dot for money, not comma. So you are not using the correct way of writing numbers - remember IELTS is based on British / American uses of English.

May 09, 2015 Rating unnecessary words by: Mykola Berez Will it be correct if I write: Rainshadow------- key (rain shadow), few inches year-----key (few inches), plastic wrapper-----key (plastic)

May 10, 2015 Rating unnecessary words by: IELTS buddy Hi Mykola, It's not possible to answer your question for the second two without seeing the question paper and in turn what possible answers would fit. But for the first one, from a search online, it appears the word 'rain shadow' is correct, not 'rainshadow'. The first one would thus be wrong.

May 13, 2015 Rating spell by: gurjeet Last few month ago I took axam idp I lost band due to spelling mistake I wrote egges but correct spell is eggs

May 21, 2015 Rating Spelling mistakes by: Anonymous Plz u give me a list of mistakes or error in ielts listening

May 21, 2015 Rating listening by: Anonymoust Hi I wrote 'sample', 'monument', 'circle' instead of 'samples', 'circles', 'monuments'. Is it wrong????

May 22, 2015 Rating Plural or singular by: IELTS buddy If the speaker used plurals then you must write plurals. So yes, it would be wrong.

Jun 13, 2015 Rating how to identify singular and plural by: Anonymous 'Attacking humans' or 'attacking human'....correct answer in the answer key seems to be first one but doesn't 'human' represent a group? And 'seat reservations' is the answer in the key but i wrote 'seat reservation'....will i loose mark there or am i wrong grammatically? And what about 'team leader' instead of 'team leaders' (key), 'playful fightings' in answer but i wrote 'playful fighting'.

Jun 15, 2015 Rating how to identify singular and plural by: IELTS buddy No, 'human' is singular, it does not represent a group. 'Humans' is for more than one. Regarding your other questions - they will all be wrong. If the answer is plural then you have to write in the plural, and visa versa if the answer is singular.

Jul 10, 2015 Rating Spelling should not loose marks by: Anonymous How listening test in IELTS is evaluated?is i will lose my full mark in listening Example,if i put my answer as 'headec' instead of 'headache'? If so , why i will lose because my spelling ability already tested in the writing part but in listening i should tested only my listening ability but not spelling this is my view.

Jul 10, 2015 Rating Spelling should not loose marks by: IELTS buddy Hi, yes your spelling in the IELTS listening test must be correct otherwise you will not get the mark. I understand your point about it being unfair as it is a test of your listening, not spelling, but I think for marking purposes it would be too difficult to decide what was acceptable as wrong spelling and what was not. Standardising it across the world for all the marking would be very difficult.

Jul 21, 2015 Rating left off the 'd' at the end by: Anonymous Hi, In my listening exam I wrote Advance instead of Advanced. I left off the 'd' would this be wrong. Thanks for your assistance.

Jul 21, 2015 Rating Advance by: IELTS buddy Yes 'advance' would probably be wrong. Grammar and spelling must be correct.

Jul 23, 2015 Rating spelling by: Anonymous Will I be marked wrong for spelling museum as meseum the

Jul 27, 2015 Rating Spelling by: IELTS buddy Yes spelling must be correct

Aug 13, 2015 Rating extra word by: Binny I wrote 'sport bags' instead of 'bags', but in the test they mention 'sport' before bags but in the answer key its only 'bag' will i loose mark for this?

Aug 14, 2015 Rating extra word by: IELTS buddy Hi Binny, It's difficult to advise you for sure without hearing and seeing the test you are referring to, but assuming the answer key is correct, you must have the same as that. So if the answer key says 'bag' you must have written 'bag' otherwise it is wrong. As I said, that is assuming the answer key is correct.

Aug 20, 2015 Rating practice by: Anonymous hi , I just wanna know do I have to take preparation courses to get high marks in ielts tests? can a non native speaker work at home and get high marks?

Aug 20, 2015 Rating Preparation courses by: IELTS buddy That will probably be different for every person. For example, someone with a higher level of English could probably get away with just doing some online preparation. It also depends on which part of the test. For example, someone at a lower level with poor grammar would benefit from classes as it is difficult to improve grammar online without someone to correct it and advise. So really everyone's situation may be a bit different. Of course it would always help to have proper classes if you can afford it.

Aug 21, 2015 Rating negative marking by: wazed is there any negative marking in my ielts listening or reading exam? please let me know. Thank you

Sep 03, 2015 Rating is spelling right by: Anonymous i have wrote first DESCRIPTION on my answer sheet then changed it to DISCRIPTION...pls tell me is the spelling is accepted??

Sep 03, 2015 Rating DESCRIPTION by: IELTS buddy No it will be wrong. Spelling must be correct.

Sep 09, 2015 Rating Singular and Plural noun by: Anonymous Hi In actual IELTS exam. If the correct answer is plural noun and the we wrote singular noun. Will we lost mark on it or we still get half?

Sep 09, 2015 Rating Singular and Plural noun by: IELTS buddy There are no half marks. It will be wrong.

Sep 24, 2015 Rating use of /- and other by: Anonymous How to use / - between words when u have 2 or 3 words. Also if there are any rules of writing in listening to avoid doing. Thx

Sep 24, 2015 Rating use of /- and other by: IELTS buddy You don't use "/" in the listening. Just put down your answer. I don't understand the second questions. Avoid doing what?

Sep 30, 2015 Rating usage of words by: Kalyan Hi my answer : "an impact" answer key : "impact" will this be correct or wrong? thank you

Sep 30, 2015 Rating Discuss by: Naco Nice discussion

Sep 30, 2015 Rating Usage by: IELTS buddy Hi Kalyan, "An impact" will probably be wrong. The answer has to fit grammatically. I'm guessing then that the article cannot be there as it is not in the answer key.

Oct 06, 2015 Rating How to answer thie question? by: ESA Hi there, I got a question in IELTS listening exam one month ago. It was about a date of birth and the answer should be in two words and/or a number. In listening section one it was mentioned as "24th of August 1979". It was confusing, I could not find any suitable answer that fits the instruction above. Please, provide me with the possible correct answer. Thanks, ESA

Oct 07, 2015 Rating How to answer this question? by: IELTS buddy Hi ESA, I'd really need to see the question and hear the test to be able to check what was going on here. As you say, what you have put does not seem to fit as it would require two numbers. Are you sure that the year (1979) was not already on the question sheet? If so, it would not need to be in the answer, so they would be looking for "24th August", which would be ok as it is one number and one word. But like I say, it is really difficult to answer you for sure without experiencing the test.

Oct 09, 2015 Rating spelling mistakes by: yahya i wrote comuter instead of commuter. will it be marked wrong? thanks

Oct 09, 2015 Rating Capitalization of names by: Ali Afifi hi all, the answer in the sheet book was a family name of a person which was "Roberts" and i wrote down "roberts" .. will it be ok as it's a name and I read that capitalization ain't a big deal or it's a problem because it's a name of a person ?

Oct 09, 2015 Rating extra word by: Ali Afifi hi guys, sorry i forgot to ad something in the previous query which is: answer sheet was "8" and my answer was "8 items" the question was: * Number of items allowed: ......... and on the transcript said : each member is allowed up to 8 items will my answer be correct or wrong ? Thanks in advance

Oct 14, 2015 Rating Extra word and capitalisation by: IELTS buddy My understanding is that you still get the mark if you get capitalisation wrong - someone posted feedback from BC if you look through the forum about that. I don't know if they may still give you the mark for the extra word. IELTS don't publish every detail about what they do or do not except so unfortunately it is not possible to know in every case.

Oct 31, 2015 Rating m by: Anonymous can you use 'm' instead of metre?

Nov 04, 2015 Rating Is an exact answer required? by: Anonymous Do they require an exact answer on the listening part? Like if I wrote 'throughout the world' instead of 'across the world', is it acceptable that the meanings are similar?

Nov 06, 2015 Rating Is an exact answer required? by: IELTS buddy That would be wrong. You have to have the exact answer.

Nov 14, 2015 Rating is it wrong if i write Market's share instead of market share ?? by: Praveen Hi guys is it wrong if i write Market's share instead of market share ?? will i loose a mark for this ?

Nov 15, 2015 Rating is it wrong if i write Market's share instead of market share ?? by: IELTS buddy That would be wrong. You have to have the exact answer.

Nov 20, 2015 Rating Important!!! Help me to stay better :( by: Favio Orbea Two hours ago I took the speaking part, in the first section I think I did it very well, in the second part I answered all the questions but I felt that my two minutes would end, so I decided to stop and then the examiner asked me about if I have anything to add in that section, in that point I felt that I failed and I got really nervous then I spoke around 15 seconds and then she stopped me. Why did that happen? Will I lose marks? Finally in the last part I think that I was answering well but then she told that I have to talk about other things, then I got nervous again and I started to say my answers quickly maybe 15 or 20 seconds per answer but she asked almost 9 or 10 question? I am worried :(

Nov 22, 2015 Rating Important!!! Help me to stay better :( by: IELTS buddy Favio, I'm not sure why you are asking about the speaking test in the listening forum. Please check out the speaking forum. Similar questions have been asked a few times. It's impossible to tell someone how they did in the speaking test without hearing it, which obviously we can't do.

Dec 08, 2015 Rating Too much detail by: Tim The speaker said "station" and my student wrote "space station." The station they were referring to was the space station, as it was mentioned earlier in the conversation. Would this be marked correct? Also, there was one question where the book seemed to be wrong. The speaker said "just under two hours." The question asked "How many hours...?" and the answer was "2 hours." The question asked for 4 words or less. First of all, the question should be "Approximately how many hours...?" if the answer is 2, and hours shouldn't be included in the answer as it is in the question. Is the book wrong or am I?

Dec 09, 2015 Rating Wrong currency by: Joanna Hi, In my ielts writing task 1, the currency symbol of pound was shown in the question but in my answer, I wrote 'euros' instead of 'pounds'. Will marks be deducted for this? If so, how much will be deducted? Thanks, Joanna

Dec 09, 2015 Rating IELTS listenting test mistakes by: Mia YES, unfortunately the IELTS listening test markers only give marks to people who know their spelling which is why spelling is a part of English! .....Good to teach our kids good spelling and have fun. BYE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111

Dec 10, 2015 Rating @Tim by: IELTS buddy Hi Tim, Are you referring to practice tests from the official Cambridge IELTS Self-Study books? If so, the answer key at the back should tell you if "space station" is acceptable. Regarding the time question you mention, yes the answer does appear to be wrong from what you have said.

Jan 08, 2016 Rating Subbu by: Anonymous Can I write all big letters in listening and reading section

Jan 09, 2016 Rating Inquiry by: Peter Hello, In multiple choice questions I have to choose 2 answers to get one mark, how can i write them on the answer sheet. In another word how can i separate the 2 words?

Jan 10, 2016 Rating Capital letters and two answers by: IELTS buddy Subbu, Yes you can use capital letters. Peter, These aren't normally one mark for both. They are usually a mark each, so it should cover two questions and have two spaces on the answer sheet. But if it was one mark you can just write B, C or C, B. That would be fine.

Jan 10, 2016 Rating Names of roads and companies by: Anonymous Bank Road OR BankRoad ,,and why? why it is Newtown not New Town? and the company name is Red Flag? IF I WRITE IT Redflag is that wrong which one is correct and why

Jan 11, 2016 Rating Synonym by: Anonymous Hi I want to know if I write a synonym word instead of the right answer in a gap filling, will I lose mark? I wrote bicycle instead of bike.

Jan 12, 2016 Rating Names of roads and companies by: IELTS buddy 'Road' is a separate word so you would not join it with it's name. Same as 'Red Flag'. They are two separate words so there is no reason to join them together.

Jan 12, 2016 Rating Names of roads and companies by: IELTS buddy 'Road' is a separate word so you would not join it with it's name. Same as 'Red Flag'. They are two separate words so there is no reason to join them together.

Jan 17, 2016 Rating Part of the answer incorrect by: HAJ Hi There If you write your answer as Central Station and the correct answer is Central Street, would you get half a mark for having the Central part right? In one of the questions the answer was Research and I wrote strictly research. In the transcript it said strictly research but the answer sheet only had the word research. Do you get the whole thing wrong for the extra word even though it was written like that in the transcript for the listening test? We've been doing the Road to IELTS test practice test papers. If the answer is 20th Century and I write 20th Centuary (obviously spelt the word part of it wrong) do I get half a mark for the 20th part at least been correct? My Husband is also taking the test and wants to know if he writes his answers for the listening test in capital block letters if this ok, or will he be penalized?

Jan 17, 2016 Rating Part of the answer incorrect by: IELTS buddy Hi, You don't get half marks, so even if you get half the word right and the other wrong (spelling wrong or the wrong word) you will get no mark. With your 'strictly research' it will really depend on the situation. If 'strictly research' fits grammatically and still works as the answer to the question they would likely give you the mark. Normally if they are going to let you possibly have another word or not it would be written in the answer key like this: (strictly) research Meaning it is correct if you have or do not have the word 'strictly'. It may be that the practice materials you used missed the fact that it could go in and still be correct. So it really depends the context. And yes you can write everything in capitals.

Jan 18, 2016 Rating Negative mark by: Anonymous Does The wrong answer have a negative mark?

Jan 21, 2016 Rating Negative mark by: IELTS buddy No you will just get 'zero'.

Feb 14, 2016 Rating Clarification by: Jay No more than two words and/or a number Ceramics dated back approximately __________________. Transcript says " 29,000 years ago" but answer is 29,000 years. Can anyone please justify. Thank you.

Feb 14, 2016 Rating Clarification by: IELTS buddy That's a matter of grammar. We don't use 'ago' in a sentence like that. We use it to say something such as "This ceramic pot was made 29,000 years ago". Are you sure the transcript actually says: "Ceramics dated back approximately 29,000 years ago" or is the sentence written differently?

Feb 16, 2016 Rating fill in the blanks doubt by: SG This is for listening test. Q. company has a clear & ambitious .......... Listening script: company has a clear & ambitious strategy going forward. Ans. strategy My Ans. strategy going forward Am i right or wrong?

Feb 16, 2016 Rating Plural or singular by: Anonymous I've just recently sat for an exam. During the listening exam, I wrote the answer as menus, not menu. Is it wrong? Because they guy talking is a wedding planner and he said that there would be a menu on each table. The question is: "Provided with specially printed..." Is it correct to write menus?

Feb 17, 2016 Rating fill in the blanks doubt by: IELTS buddy Hi SG, That depends on how many words you were told you can use. If the instructions said it is 3 you would be ok. If it is 1 or 2 it would be wrong.

Feb 17, 2016 Rating Plural or singular - menus by: IELTS buddy That depends on a few things. If there was a bit before that said: Each guest - is provided with..., then it would be wrong because one guest would get only one. But otherwise, menus does seem like it would fit ok. I'd really need to see the whole listening section to be sure.

Feb 25, 2016 Rating the use of "The" by: Anonymous The key answer is "The Secret Garden" as it is supposed to be a title of a novel, but I wrote "Secret Garden". I know I didn't put "The" which didn't make it 100% correct. But still. Think about this, a person has very poor listening skills and is not able to understand and write anything in his answer sheet. Another person has fairly good listening skills but he always makes minor mistake in each answer. Although in each answer, he gets it 90% correct. Giving both candidates zero mark seems unfair, don't you think. Sorry for rambling.

Feb 29, 2016 Rating Prepositions Value in IELTS by: Sami Hi, I am practicing IELTS reading and listening sections. Pls confirm me whether prepositions account any marks in both sections. What if i have not written words in brackets () as per answer sheet. Do i loose marks?

Feb 29, 2016 Rating Prepositions Value in IELTS by: IELTS buddy Hi, I don't know what you mean about prepositions counting for marks. If the answer was "arrive in time" for example you would need to write "arrive in time". You don't have to write the words in brackets that you see in the answer sheet. They are optional so it is right whether you include them or not.

Mar 01, 2016 Rating Cambridge answer key gives tolerance in spelling mistake by: Permita Hi, I have read all of ur comments above, and I assume that my answer about address in listening could be marked as wrong since I wrote '16th Rose Lane' while the Cambridge answer key wrote '16 Rose Lane'. However, in the other answer I heard the speaker said 'friends' while in answer key it was written as 'friend/freind (ok)'. It is confusing why the answer key gives tolerance for that mistake but not for the other.

Mar 05, 2016 Rating Cambridge answer key gives tolerance in spelling mistake by: IELTS buddy I've never heard of their being allowances for spelling mistakes so I don't know about that. But regarding your other point - '16th' would make your answer wrong.

Mar 08, 2016 Rating Write street name without "space" by: Dara The speaker spelled out the name of a location without mentioning a space in between but I stupidly decided to put a space and made it into two words: Correct answer: Milperra I wrote: Mil Perra I am so used to some location names such as San Francisco, San Diego, etc. ,which contains a space. Do they tolerate such error? Thanks.

Mar 08, 2016 Rating short form by: Dara Oh and about short form. The answer: 28 November I wrote: 28 Nov I don't see any words in brackets to give optional answer to this one. I assume I won't get any mark.

Mar 20, 2016 Rating spelling mistake by: Anonymous Hi, can anyone tell me that if i write 'student' instead of 'students '.Will i get marks or not. Please tell Me..

Mar 20, 2016 Rating spelling mistake by: IELTS buddy That's not a spelling mistake, it's a mistake with singular / plural. But it would be marked as wrong.

Apr 03, 2016 Rating IELTS test on 2nd April by: Anonymous Hi, In my listening booklet for one of the answers I wrote "at new year".The answer is correct, however, is there any chance of mark deduction for not capitalising New Year? Please reply.

Apr 03, 2016 Rating IELTS test on 2nd April by: IELTS buddy If you did not capitalise that is ok, you won't lose the mark.

Apr 07, 2016 Rating IELTS exam 2nd April by: Anonymous Hi, I took my IELTS exam on 2nd April in India. For one of the answers in Section B of Listening, where I had to fill the blank, I wrote email instead of email address. Will I lose point for this mistake. Please revert asap. Thank you!!

Apr 08, 2016 Rating IELTS exam 2nd April by: IELTS buddy How do you know that 'email' is the wrong answer and 'email address' is the right answer? It's really impossible to know without seeing the test to know what the question was and the audio said.

Apr 11, 2016 Rating spelling mistake in listening by: Anonymous I wrote 'guarage' instead of 'garage'. Would it be wrong?

Apr 12, 2016 Rating spelling mistake in listening by: IELTS buddy Yes it would be wrong. Spelling must be correct.

Apr 20, 2016 Rating word check by: Anonymous There was this abstruse word 'TOTEMISM' and i wrote it as 'TOTOMISM', considering its difficulty, would the checkers mark it as wrong answer?

Apr 20, 2016 Rating word check by: IELTS buddy According to the IELTS website, spelling has to be correct. Your guess is as good as to mine as to whether they may decide to be lenient in certain cases, but they don't say that they are on their website.

Apr 28, 2016 Rating doubt regarding a/an/the in listening by: jaydeep I have doubt in listening. In ielts listening correct answer is "the nice park" but I wrote "nice park". My doubt is regarding when to use a/an/the. plz help me

Apr 29, 2016 Rating doubt regarding a/an/the in listening by: IELTS buddy Hi Jaydeep, Which practice tests are you referring to? If you check the official tests from Cambridge, articles are usually put in brackets in the answer key meaning that it is ok with or without them. So in your case 'nice park' should be correct.

May 11, 2016 Rating currencies by: Anonymous Hi IELTS Buddy, What happens if you use the name of the currency instead of its sign? e.g. 1 dollar instead of $1

May 11, 2016 Rating currencies by: IELTS buddy That would be ok to do that.

Jun 16, 2016 Rating abbreviations and numbers by: Zachary Can I use written numbers and numerals interchangeably? Can I use abbreviations, km for kilometers, for instance. I find a lot of variation on the answer sheets.

Jul 18, 2016 Rating Writing task 1, spelling mistake by: Writing task 1 If in The writing task 1 they put (Australiasia) and I put in my answer Australia because I didn't pay attention to it, is it considered as a spelling mistake? If yes, why don't they consider as uncommon word? And finally how much would I lose for one spelling mistake in writing tasks?

Jul 19, 2016 Rating Writing task 1, spelling mistake by: IELTS buddy You are not talking about the listening test which is what this form is about, but for the writing it is not as simple as losing certain marks for one spelling mistake. Examiners would look at your mistakes throughout the whole piece of writing. It's quite possible that one mistake like that will not make much difference to your score but the more mistakes you make, the more difference it will make.

Jul 20, 2016 Rating spelling mistake by: Anonymous Hi! In my recent IELTS test I wrote: 1) 'bird images' instead of 'birds images' 2) 'sport specialist' instead of 'sports specialist' 3)' clothes' instead of 'clothing' Would it be wrong?

Jul 22, 2016 Rating Spelling mistake by: IELTS buddy According to the rules given by ielts.org they would be wrong. Spelling and grammar should be correct.

Jul 25, 2016 Rating Date writing. by: Urikrem The answer: 28 November I wrote: 28th of November In the book 8(tapescripts): 28th of November Are both answers right?

Jul 26, 2016 Rating Date writing by: IELTS buddy How many words/numbers did the instructions say you can use? If it is two then it will not be allowed. If it's three it would be OK.

Jul 26, 2016 Rating Hi! by: Anonymous I have written some starting word's with capital letters like 'Important' instead of 'important' in the same way 'Modern'. Is this are right or wrong

Jul 27, 2016 Rating Starting with capital letter. by: IELTS buddy Capitals or small letters are ok so it would be correct.

Aug 08, 2016 Rating Correct me I'm wrong by: Muhammad Fathi I can't remember exactly where I read this, but I read somewhere that spelling errors are not very critical in both listening and reading tests, meaning that you don't necessarily lose the point just because you made a spelling mistake, can you please confirm whether or not this statement is actually true? Thanks!

Aug 10, 2016 Rating Correct me I'm wrong by: IELTS Hi Muhammad, They don't say directly but this is what is says on the British Council site: "Be careful with your spelling and grammar". Maybe they have some exceptions depending on the test, but it is safer to assume that any spelling mistake will make your answer wrong.

Aug 25, 2016 Rating £ and $ by: Hie Hi, The question is: $..... I wrote only 50, but the answer was 50 dollars. £..... I wrote 12, but the answer was 12 pounds. Which one is correct? Plz help me. My exam is the tomorrow (27 th august 2016)

Aug 26, 2016 Rating £ and $ by: IELTS buddy That depends what it has in the gap on the listening paper. If the speaker says "50 dollars" and paper has a gap with "$ __" you should write "50". If it had "_____" you should write "$50 / 50 dollars". If something is already on the paper you don't copy that onto the answer sheet.

Aug 26, 2016 Rating % by: Hie What percentage of the final grade does it count for? I wrote 40% but the answer was 40. Which was correct? Next question was: Average temp:....... I wrote 26 degrees, but the answer was 26. Plz reply me soon.

Aug 28, 2016 Rating % and degrees by: IELTS buddy Each question is one point. There are 40 questions, so you lose one point for each one wrong. My answer for % and degrees is the same as I just said for £ and $. If the symbol is already on the question sheet, you should not add it to the answer as that will make it wrong.

Sep 03, 2016 Rating Listening Doubts by: Raza I have few doubts in Listening...Does an answer/word in parenthesis matter. Is it compulsory to write it down? Ex: 1) In Cambridge IELTS answer key, the answer is OUTDOOR (TRIPS) - My answer was OUTDOOR TRIPS . 2) In Cambridge IELTS answer key, the answer is STUDENT(S) ADVISOR. - My answer was STUDENT ADVISOR. which one is correct..plz help Regards,

Sep 04, 2016 Rating Listening Doubts - Parenthesis by: IELTS buddy Hi Raza, Things that are in parenthesis are optional. That means your answer is correct with or without the word in brackets. So they are both correct. So in your first answer 'outdoor' or 'outdoor trips' is correct.

Sep 07, 2016 Rating Reading & Listening Doubt by: Gaurav Suppose the answer is "the bus" & i write " bus" so is it wrong if i miss "the" or "a beautiful evening is the answer & i write "beautiful evening" so if i miss "a" is it wrong?? Please provide clarity

Sep 07, 2016 Rating Reading & Listening Doubt by: IELTS Hi Gaurav, Are you referring to a specific answer in a practice test? If you look at the Cambridge Official Tests they never usually have answers that require an article, or if they do, it is in brackets e.g. (the) bus, which means the answer is correct without it. If you are sure an article is needed then put it in to be safe, but generally speaking I think it is ok if it is not there.

Sep 24, 2016 Rating IELTS listening by: Anonymous Hello, I would like to ask you if I am allowed to write answers (all words) in upper letters. Thank you. ======== Yes you can. IELTS buddy

Sep 24, 2016 Rating Do i loose marks if i write 'on' in place of 'in'? by: Anonymous for example i wrote on the date 1990 in my writing test, Do i lose marks? ======== It would be wrong. You can't say "on 1990". IELTS buddy

Oct 09, 2016 Rating check spelling by: Anonymous Can we also write the 'grammar' as 'grammer' and 'writing' as 'writting'. It's correct or wrong. Plzz tell me the answer.

Oct 09, 2016 Rating check spelling by: IELTS buddy Those are spelling mistakes so they would be marked wrong.

Oct 10, 2016 Rating Need Help by: Anonymous Hi, Answer was Workshop, but I mentioned business management workshop. Will it be correct? ====== That will depend on how many words you are allowed. If you are allowed three it will likely be correct. Any fewer and it would not be. IELTS buddy

Oct 11, 2016 Rating Spaces between numbers by: Anonymous I was wondering if marks would be deducted in the listening section if details like pin code and credit card numbers don't have the spaces required. Example: 667612345678 is what I wrote but in the answer key it says 6676 1234 5678 Would I lose marks in such cases even though the numbers are right? ======== That will be fine. The gaps won't matter. IELTS buddy

Oct 20, 2016 Rating Correct way to write dates by: Zee In Cambridge IELTS, its mentioned no more than three words and/or a number. Question was concerning dates. Audio says ans is "May 4", so I wrote "May 4" but in Answer key it was"4th May". Plz clarify which is correct or both ways it is correct. Regards, ======== Both should be ok, not sure why it does not make that clear in the answer key. IELTS buddy

Oct 21, 2016 Rating Please correct by: Anonymous Hi, Please suggest which one is correct 50 Km or 50 Kilometre Reserve a seat or serve seat or seat Thanks ======== In the first one, either would be ok. In the second one, that really depends on what the question was and number of words allowed. "serve seat" would certainly be wrong as it dose not make sense. You can't serve a seat. IELTS buddy

Oct 25, 2016 Rating IELTS Writing Question by: Anonymous Hi, my question is will it be correct to write 11 June instead of 11th June and also 'food handling' instead of food-handling???

Oct 28, 2016 Rating IELTS Writing Question by: IELTS buddy Yes 11 June is ok. IELTS don't actually discuss their approach to hyphens so it is difficult to say for sure what they do if you use them incorrectly.

Jan 12, 2017 Rating Spelling error by: Sunita I wrote museam in listening test I will get marks or not. Plz tell me

Jan 14, 2017 Rating Spelling error by: IELTS buddy It will be wrong - spelling must be correct.

Jan 19, 2017 Rating singular and plural ....misconception by: muhammad ahmed I have one question is that singular and plural matters in ielts or not? For instance if the answer was just 'girls' and if I write just 'girl' is it correcct or not? Reply me I am waiting ...

Jan 21, 2017 Rating singular and plural ....misconception by: IELTS buddy It will be wrong. You have to get singular and plural correct.

Feb 05, 2017 Rating I HAVE A DOUBT by: ashwin if "attic" is written as "atic" will that is cost me loose marks ?

Feb 07, 2017 Rating gill by: rajbeer i feel week in ielts please help me

Feb 09, 2017 Rating I HAVE A DOUBT by: IELTS buddy Yes you will lose the mark. Spelling must be correct.

Feb 11, 2017 Rating Should I put a (-) for this answer by: Anonymous The question asked to write only one word and the correct answer was color-blind , however, I wrote it without the dash as colorblind. How would this be marked. Thanks

Feb 16, 2017 Rating writing mistake by: Ovi I wrote bi-cycle will it be ok?

Feb 20, 2017 Rating Mistake by: Kamal Hello I'm my Listening exam I wrote stimulation and the word should be written simulation so will I get a mark for that ??

Feb 22, 2017 Rating Mistake by: IELTS buddy No you won't get the mark. Spelling must be correct.

Mar 11, 2017 Rating Listening Test Question by: Anonymous In one practice listening test I did, my answer was 'shelter' but the one given by the book was 'observing shelter'. Would that be considered as incorrect? Cheers

Mar 12, 2017 Rating Listening Test Question by: IELTS buddy According to the answer in the key, yes it would be incorrect. If it is in brackets like this, the word is optional: '(observing) shelter' So 'shelter' would be correct. But if there are no brackets then you need both words.

Apr 12, 2017 Rating correct or not by: Anonymous Hi, will my answer be incorrect? My answer: Cup Head Key: Cap Head But how shall I know if it's cap or cup. It's pronounced the same. The chart only has drawing and the conversation is about the girl explaining the parts of drilling tower. There's no label. My Answer: Grain Street Key: Green street. Will this be incorrect too? My answer: elderly Key: elderly people

Apr 12, 2017 Rating Correct or not by: IELTS buddy They will be wrong. Spelling must be correct and you got it wrong in the first two. And 'cap' is pronounced differently to 'cup'. The last is wrong as you missed out a word.

May 06, 2017 Rating ielts exam equiry NEW by: Anonymous i hav mistakenly written robert instead of robot in writing task 2..will i lose mark...

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