Comprehensive Guide to Acing the IELTS Listening Test

Name: IELTS Listening Tips & Essential Information
Uploaded: 2026-01-18T18:26:22.460914+00:00
Channel: IELTS Liz
Description: Summary and key takeaways on Comprehensive Guide to Acing the IELTS Listening Test, covering Overview Liz’s lesson covers everything you need to know for the

IELTS Liz

Jan 18, 2026

•

3 min read

YouTube video ID: q8qmJeBxk4Q

Source: YouTube video by IELTS Liz — Watch original video

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Overview

Liz’s lesson covers everything you need to know for the IELTS Listening test – from exam format to practical tips that boost your score.

Exam Structure

Four sections, 40 questions total
Sections 1‑2: social situations (e.g., phone bookings, tour guide talks)
Sections 3‑4: academic content (multi‑speaker discussions and a single‑speaker lecture)
30 minutes of audio, followed by 10 minutes to transfer answers to the answer sheet.

Answer Sheet Essentials

Use a pencil on the official answer sheet (downloadable from the test centre).
You have 10 minutes after listening to copy answers clearly.
Write either all caps or all lowercase – stay consistent.
Follow the word‑count instructions on each question (e.g., “no more than two words”).
Spellings, numbers, and punctuation are counted; a misspelling = wrong answer.
For multiple‑choice, write the letter (A, B, C), not the word.

Core Tips for Success

Practice the whole process – including the 10‑minute transfer.
Listen only once – you must read, listen, and write simultaneously.
Prepare quickly – you get a short pause before each set of questions; use it to skim.
Identify keywords in the question (names, places, verbs) and underline them.
Anticipate answer types – know whether you need a word, number, or letter.
Don’t aim to understand everything – focus solely on locating the answer.
Make shorthand notes on the question paper; expand them later on the answer sheet.
Stay calm during gaps – if the recording pauses, keep your eyes on the next question.
Watch for traps – speakers may change a time or rephrase; avoid assuming the first answer you hear is final.
Pay attention to plurals – many candidates miss an “s” at the end of a word.

Common Question Types (Practice All)

Multiple Choice (single or multiple answers)
Map/Diagram/Flowchart Completion
Form/Note/Table Completion
Sentence Completion
Summary Completion
Short Answer
Matching (names to statements)

Listening Strategies

Underline key words before the audio starts.
Listen for paraphrases – the recording often uses synonyms.
Track speaker changes in Section 3 to avoid confusion.
Use the example audio at the start of Section 1 to adjust to the accent and check headphones.
Check the title of each section; it hints at the topic.
Verify the location of questions on the paper to avoid missing the last item on the opposite side.

Scoring Snapshot

Band	Required Correct Answers
5.5	~22‑23
6.0	~26‑27
6.5	~29‑30
7.0	30‑31
7.5	32‑34
8.0	35‑36
- Guess if you’re unsure; a wrong answer does not penalise you.

Final Checklist Before the Test

Headphones/volume are working (use the example audio to test).
Answer sheet is ready and you know your capital/lowercase choice.
Concentration: practice full‑length listening tests to build stamina.
Know the accents – British, Australian, and other international varieties appear.
Stay organized – keep your place in the recording, move on quickly if you miss an answer.

Bottom Line

Mastering the IELTS Listening test is less about perfect comprehension and more about strategic listening, precise note‑taking, and flawless answer transfer. With systematic practice of each question type and the tips above, you can maximize your correct answers and achieve a high band score.

Success in IELTS Listening comes from understanding the test format, practicing every question type, and developing a disciplined listening‑note‑transfer routine; follow Liz’s step‑by‑step strategies and you’ll convert effort into a higher band score.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is IELTS Liz on YouTube?

IELTS Liz is a YouTube channel that publishes videos on a range of topics. Browse more summaries from this channel below.

Does this page include the full transcript of the video?

Yes, the full transcript for this video is available on this page. Click 'Show transcript' in the sidebar to read it.

(e.g., “no more than two words”). - Spellings, numbers, and punctuation are counted;

misspelling = wrong answer. - For multiple‑choice, write the letter (A, B, C), not the word.

(names, places, verbs) and underline them. 5. **Anticipate

types – know whether you need a word, number, or letter. 6. Don’t aim to understand everything – focus solely on locating the answer. 7. Make shorthand notes on the question paper; expand them later on the answer sheet. 8. Stay calm during gaps – if the recording pauses, keep your eyes on the next question. 9. Watch for traps – speakers may change a time or rephrase; avoid assuming the first answer you hear is final. 10. Pay attention to plurals** – many candidates miss an “s” at the end of a wo

Types (Practice All) - Multiple Choice (single or multiple answers) - Map/Diagram/Flowchart Completion - Form/Note/Table Completion - Sentence Completion - Summary Completion - Short Answer - Matching (names to statements) ### Listening Strategies - Underline key words before the audio starts. - Listen for paraphrases – the recording often uses synonyms. - Track speaker changes in Section 3 to avoid confusion. - Use the example audio at the start of Section 1 to adjust to the accent and check headphones. - Check the title of each section; it hints at the topic. - Verify the location of questions on the paper to avoid missing the last item on the opposite side. ### Scoring Snapshot | Band | Required Correct Answers | |------|--------------------------| | 5.5 | ~22‑23 | | 6.0 | ~26‑27 | | 6.5 | ~29‑30 | | 7.0 | 30‑31 | | 7.5 | 32‑34 | | 8.0 | 35‑36 | - Guess if you’re unsure;

wrong answer does not penalise you.

Helpful resources related to this video

If you want to practice or explore the concepts discussed in the video, these commonly used tools may help.

Ielts Official Practice Materials Book Recommended

Provides authentic practice tests and answer sheets to simulate the real exam conditions, helping you master timing and answer transfer

Amazon →

Noise Cancelling Headphones For Ielts Listening

Ensures clear audio without external distractions, crucial for catching every word during the single‑play recording

Amazon →

Ielts Vocabulary Builder Workbook

Expands the academic and everyday vocabulary needed to recognize paraphrases and technical terms in the listening sections

Amazon →

Links may be affiliate links. We only include resources that are genuinely relevant to the topic.

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Full Transcript YouTube

hello my name's Liz and in this lesson
I'm going to give you all the essential
information and tips that you need to be
successful in your 's listening test
we're going to start by reviewing the
exam content and then we will move on
and I will give you a lot of useful tips
there is only one IELTS listening test
all ielt students take the same
listening test so if you're taking
academic IELTS or general training IELTS
You all take the same test the same
questions the same format and the same
scoring it is exactly the same for
everyone having a look at the content of
the listening test there are four
sections and there are 40 questions in
total now the sections the first two
sections are the easiest and they are
social that means the context the
situation is a social situation an
everyday
situation and the last two sections are
more difficult they are academic in
content now section one has two speakers
a social
situation now a typical example is a
phone conversation where somebody is
registering for a course so for example
they need to book a course and they need
to know what date they need your name
they need your address your telephone
number or perhaps you're booking a table
at a restaurant or organizing to meet
someone and you need to think of the
time that you're going to meet so it's
very specific
information and it is quite easy easy
and it's quite easy to improve that
section the next one number two is also
social so an everyday situation but it's
only one speaker a typical example would
be a tour guide so that would be a tour
guide explaining about a resort so what
facilities there are or the history
behind the resort another example could
be for example talking about him
historic building or talking about a
charity a company or an
organization section three the academic
the first academic section uh that has
three to four speakers now this is
challenging because it's a discussion an
academic discussion now when you've got
three to four speakers that means you've
got different voices and you have to be
able to
identify who is speaking and who is
saying saying what so that could be
quite challenging but the most difficult
is section four that is only one speaker
and it is an academic lecture the
listening test takes 40 minutes in total
30 minutes are for the audio so that
means you have 30 minutes to listen to
the recording and answer the questions
at the end of the 30 minutes you are
given another 10 minutes and that is so
that you can transfer your answers from
the question paper which is where you
write your answers when you're listening
to the answer sheet here is an example
of the answer sheet for I listening now
you can download this answer sheet and
it's very important I think number four
for your tip is to practice using it
before you go into your iot test it's
very important that you're comfortable
with all parts of of the test and that
includes spending 10 minutes
transferring your answers from your
question paper onto this answer sheet to
write your answers clearly so that they
can be easily read onto the answer sheet
moving on to tip number five you will
hear the recording only once it is not
played again so that means that when you
have your test you need to listen to the
recording read the questions and at the
same time write down your answers so
that means at one time you are listening
reading and writing so you really are
multitasking during this listening test
it can be quite difficult and it's
something that you do need to
practice number six many students ask me
can they use a pencil or a pen the
answer is you need to write write your
answers onto the answer sheet using a
pencil and that's the same as the I
reading test tip number seven the scores
are calculated by the number of correct
answers you have so there are 40
questions there are 40 points and each
time you get a correct answer you get a
point and that is how your band scores
are calculated let's move on to tip
number eight tip number eight you can
write your answers in capital letters or
lowercase you can choose But whichever
one you choose you must stay with that
choice if you decide to use capital
letters all your answers must be written
in capital letters you can't change
suddenly on your answer sheet or if you
choose lowercase you must make sure that
all your answers are written with
lowercase on your answer sheet now
capital letters mean means every single
letter is written as a capital there is
no difference at all but if you're using
lowercase you need to remember that some
words start with a capital letter so for
example names or places will start with
a capital letter so make sure if you do
decide to use lowercase that you
remember your capital letters at the
start of your answers for names and
places
tip number
nine if you look at your question paper
it will always tell you how many words
you need for the answer it will give you
a rule for example no more than two
words and or a
number these instructions you've got to
pay attention every time you get a new
type of
question that might change so you must
always look how many words can I have
for these answers and when I move
further down the page how many words has
it changed underline it quickly so that
you don't forget now many students get
confused about what it means so let me
explain we got no more than two words so
that means we cannot have three no more
than two words and or a number so that
means we can have two words and a number
or we can have just a number so let's
have a look at the options so that you
understand more clearly you could have
one word you could have two words but
not three you could have two words and a
number or you could have just a number
now be very careful with the
instructions because you can see here it
says a number
sometimes it says and or
numbers and if that's plural it means
you might have two numbers so make sure
you pay attention to the instructions
very closely many students ask me about
number 10 which is should we use
prepositions should we write hospital or
the hospital or at the hospital what
should we write for the answer well it
depends on the type of question you have
I will show you later in this video that
there are many different types of
questions form completion sentence
completion note completion summary
completion and each of them are a little
bit different now you can see here this
is an example of a question from a form
they tell you the type of information
they want and you write your answer here
and it can be just one word so it would
be possible to write just
hospital but if we look at this example
you can see it's a sentence and that
means when we fill in the answer here
the sentence must be grammatically
correct because we are completing the
sentence so here we would say the best
place to meet is at the hospital and
that would be three words so you need to
look at the type of question are you
just making notes or are you completing
sentences number
11 all words are counted even if they
are small words so for example a holiday
that is two words that's the same for
reading and writing and of course this
1950 that would be considered as one
number number 12 this is important
important spelling if you spell a word
incorrectly it will be marked
wrong so that means that of course when
you're listening you don't have time to
think about spelling but in listening
you have 10 minutes at the end of your
test to transfer your answers to the
answer sheet that is the time for you to
pay attention to spelling pay attention
to your spelling and capital letters
check the grammar use the 10 minutes for
transferring answers
wisely number 13 should you write words
or letters on your answer sheet now
that's very important you can see here
we need to write a word or here we need
to complete the sentence with one or
more
words but if it's a multiple choice
that's different the instructions tell
you to choose the correct letter so that
means we've we got a spring B summer or
C winter now when we choose our answer
for example B we need to write B on the
answer sheet if you write summer on the
answer sheet it is marked wrong so
although you have the correct answer
really you have written the wrong answer
on your answer sheet because you needed
to write the letter so make sure you
read the instructions the instructions
will tell you if you're going to write a
letter or a word and again that is the
same as I's reading let's move on to
number 14 one of the most important tips
to help you prepare for your ielt
listening test is to learn about the
types of questions that you will get in
I listening there are quite a lot as you
can see of different types of questions
and you need to practice each type of
question when you get in your listening
test and you go to the question you have
enough time to read the question and
answers but you don't have enough time
to try to understand what to do if
you've never seen that type of question
before so knowing and having a strategy
a technique for each type of question is
important for your Arts listening test
now one of the most difficult types of
questions is the multiple choice that's
often where you have a b or c to choose
from but multiple choice could also be a
very long list for example eight options
and you need to answer three questions
relating to all those eight options or
the multiple choice might be a choice of
people's names do you remember in
section three there are three or four
speakers so you might have to match the
name of the person with the information
so there are different kinds of multiple
choice there's also map completion and
that's when you're given the map of a
town or some streets it might also be a
building plan so that's when you've got
all the rooms in a building that you
have to label and
complete it could be diagram labeling so
you've got a diagram and your answers
relate to parts of that
diagram you could have a form completion
that's very common in section one or
note completion that's very common in
section four you could have flowchart
completion sentence completion that's a
very common type of question summary
completion that's a little bit similar
except this is more like a small
paragraph that you need to complete we
also have short answer questions so
these are questions that might need onew
answers two Word answers or three-word
answers and of course table completion
as well so there's a lot of different
types of questions that you need to
practice if you want to have practice
with these question types then you can
get a book of practice tests or you can
visit my blog where I have free practice
lessons using many of these types of
questions now let's have a look at
number 15 number 15 don't try to
understand
everything the aim in I El for listening
and reading is to find answers to
questions a correct answer is one point
all you want are answers you are not
aiming to understand
everything so you need to look at your
question try to think of what type of
answer you're looking for listen for
that answer there will be a lot of extra
information given in the recordings and
you need to just relax and focus on the
answers that you're looking
for number 16 this is an important tip
you need to prepare your answers and
questions
now before you listen to the recording
you will hear a message and it will say
to you you now have time to prepare
questions 1 to
5 that means that you will have time to
prepare and read questions 1 2 3 4 and
five then you will listen to it and
after you will have a chance to prepare
questions 6 7 8 and nine so you're
always given time to prepare but it's
not long so you do need to train
yourself to prepare questions quickly
now let's have a look at this one this
is a sentence completion now the first
thing I would do is I would underline
this the Town Square of course I'm going
to hear those words and those words will
help me to find my answer I will also
pay attention that built is a verb that
is very easy to paraphrase for example
construct so the town the town square
was constructed by so I can see that
immediately because I've done lots of
practice and it's a word I'm familiar
with another key word would be this one
by when you see a preposition you often
have a good idea what type of answer you
need to complete the sentence for this
one obviously it's probably going to be
a person the Town Square was built by
someone but be careful because IELTS is
testing your English and by could be a
person it could also be an
organization it could be a group of
people so for example the Town Square
was built by local Craftsmen
so it might not be the name of a person
but you can see very quickly that I
identified three key words one because I
know I will hear those words that's the
main content two because that could be
paraphrased and three it tells me what
type of answer I need so that is how you
prepare your
questions tip
17 answers can come quickly so be
prepared for that the answers do not
come at regular intervals you could get
suddenly three answers coming
together that means you need to keep
your eye on the next question so don't
just look at the question that you're
looking for keep your eye on the other
questions coming so you can move quickly
to the next question and you don't lose
time you don't get lost now because the
answers come quickly you don't always
have time to write long words if the
answer is University Bookshop you might
want to just make a note if it was
University Bookshop I would do
this I would write that on my question
paper and then when I transfer my
answers to the answer sheet I would
write the full Words which is University
Bookshop so making notes is very useful
you should also make notes of possible
answers because maybe you're going to
miss one you can write all over your
question paper The Examiner will never
see it so make notes on your question
paper write down the short version of
the word if you need to and transfer
correctly to your answer
sheet tip number 20 there may be a gap
between answers so here we have answers
coming quickly but also there could be a
gap and this is when students start to
panic they're listening and waiting and
waiting and there's no answer and the
recording is going and going and they
get very nervous that's the reason it's
important to underline your key words
because then you know that you need to
wait for these words to come so don't
panic you need to be calm and keep
listening keep your eye on the next
question make notes while you're
listening and be prepared for any gaps
between answers so let's move on now tip
21 common
traps these are ways that IELTS really
try to test your understanding and your
vocabulary now I'll give you an example
of a common trap this is when the
answers are given so for example shall
we meet at 7:00 yes definitely let's
meet at 7 so we've got the answer 7:00
but then it's
changed and the speaker says oh actually
sorry how about half
past so suddenly instead of the answer
being 7 it is now
7:30 so when you listen and you hear
your
answer obviously you can make a note of
the answer but keep listening because
that answer might be
changed so be careful with that and
another type of trap is when you have
the same words in the question and the
same words in the recording so of course
people immediately think oh this is my
answer but actually that could be a trap
because usually I else will use
paraphrasing rather than using the exact
same word words completely so always be
a little bit suspicious when you hear
all the same words if you want to have
practice with common traps then visit my
blog I've got lots of practice exercises
with these types of traps and it will
help you to practice for that uh number
22 repeated answers if you look for
example at section three this is when
we' got three or four people people
having a discussion and of course when
you are discussing something people
might say is this what you mean do you
mean this and the answer could be
repeated again and that can help you to
locate the
answer uh number 23 very important now
IELTS is a listening test and they know
that many foreign language speakers
struggle to to hear
plurals so you need to pay attention
does that word have an s on the end or
not now if you have a sentence
completion sometimes you can see in the
grammar that you need a plural answer so
just take a look but keep your ears open
for those
plurals now it's time for me to give you
a breakdown of the scoring and I will
give you the scores for B score five 6 7
and 8 the scoring now you can see here
we've got the band scores you got
5.56 6.57
7.5 and you can see here these are the
number of correct answers that you need
to get the band score so if you're
looking for band score seven you will
need to get 30 or 31 answers correct
and to get 7.5 you need 32 33 or 34
answers correct to get B score
7.5 so what you can see is it is all
about the number of correct answers so
tip number 24 is if you don't know the
answer guess write something on your
answer sheet don't leave an empty space
because if your answer is wrong it will
not affect your bound score you don't
lose a point if your aners wrong so
always guess if you don't know I'll give
you a link at the end of the lesson so
that you can get all the scoring for all
the band scores now let's move on to tip
number 25 let's look at the final tips
uh the first one is to listen to the
example that is given at the beginning
of your listening test so before section
one truly begins you have a chance to
listen to an example and see an example
answer you should use that time to get
used to the speaker's voices because
that will help you understand what
they're going to say this example is
only given at the start of section one
not at the start of section 2 3 or four
so use the time effectively and listen
carefully to the example
now the accents that come in the I
listening test of course there will be a
lot of British English accent and
Australian accent as well but IELTS is
an international English language test
so that means there will be a range of
accents so when you practice for your
listening test make sure you practice
listening to different types of
accents now the next one this is quite
important you will often find titles on
your question paper and those titles are
very useful because it helps you prepare
for the topic that's coming so if you
have a diagram completion map completion
table completion questions have a look
for the title read it underline it very
useful the next one and this is very
important check where all the questions
are now I will say
you now have time to prepare for
questions 1 to question s so that means
you know that you're going to get seven
questions make sure you check where the
seven questions are because I have seen
students who only prepared six questions
because they didn't realize that
question seven was on the other side of
the paper so make sure that your
questions are on one side or maybe you
need to turn over and look at the next
page as well so always check that the
next one if you miss an answer move
quickly to the next question that's very
important you don't have a chance to
catch up if you lose your place in the I
listening test because you only listen
once to the recording so keeping your
place in the recording is very important
so if you miss an answer don't don't
worry about it forget it move directly
to the next
question another one and this is very
useful for section three and section
four and that is that Technical and
academic language is often not
paraphrased now not all words but often
they are not paraphrased so if you see a
very complicated word or a technical
word then that can be useful for you
don't be scared of that language
and it can be useful because it might
not be paraphrased and that means when
you hear it you know what question
you're on and you can keep your place
let's have a look at some more final
tips this is a very important tip for
your answer you need to write the words
that you hear now here's an example of
something you might hear in the
recording children must be accompanied
by an adult at all times and here is the
question so number 26 no children are
allowed
without and you need to fill in the Gap
you need to complete the sentence now
here are two answers no children are
allowed without an
accompanying
adult or no children are allowed without
an adult now if we look here we have to
be accompanied by an adult so it is true
that children must have an accompanying
adult but that is not what the recording
actually says word for word the meaning
is correct but the wording is not so
this answer would be considered wrong
you can't change and reformulate the
words you need to listen and write down
the words you hear so the answer would
have have to be an adult so be very
careful not to reformulate the words but
to write what you hear the final tips
this is important make sure that your
headphones are working properly now you
remember I told you at the beginning of
section one there is an example played
and you can use that to also check that
your headphones are working properly
before the answers start coming
if your test center doesn't use
headphones for the listening test and if
the recording is played to the whole
room you can check the volume is all
right for you if there is a problem with
the headphones or the volume then you
can put your hand up and a test
invigilator will come to you and you can
get the problem
fixed now finally of course the biggest
problem that people have is
concentration you need to really
concentrate for the I listening test if
you lose focus at any time you can not
only miss an answer but you can lose
your place in the recording and then
it's very difficult to locate the
following answers so you need to
practice building your concentration
before you go into your test now if you
found this video useful please press
like and now it's time for me to give
you some more useful links for I
listening