IELTS Listening: why you lose marks on answers you heard correctly
You heard the answer. You wrote it down. You still lost the mark. This happens to more people than you think, and it is one of the easiest problems to fix.
This applies to IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training alike, because both use the same Listening test. When students show me their Listening practice, the wrong answers often are not listening mistakes at all. They are writing mistakes. The student understood the recording perfectly, but the answer on the page was marked wrong. Take a look at this answer sheet.
Problem 1: spelling
In IELTS Listening, an answer with a spelling mistake is wrong. There is no half mark. Names of days, months and common words like accommodation, necessary and environment catch people out again and again.
You hear: The meeting is on Wednesday the twelfth.
Problem 2: plurals and word endings
If the speaker says pounds and you write pound, the answer is wrong. The same goes for -ed endings. Speakers do not stress these endings, so you have to listen for them on purpose.
Problem 3: the word limit
The instructions say something like NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER. If you write three words, the answer is wrong, even if every word is right.
Instruction: NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS. You hear: It's a two bedroom flat, and it has a garden. Question: Type of home: ______
Problem 4: the speaker changes their mind
IELTS recordings often give you one answer and then correct it. We meet at 6. Oh no, sorry, it's been moved to 6.30. If you write the first thing you hear, you fall into the trap.
How to fix it
- Keep a list of every word you misspell in practice tests. Learn ten of them a week.
- Before each part starts, read the instructions and circle the word limit.
- When you hear a number or a date, wait for the end of the sentence before you write.
- At the end of each part, check every answer for plurals and spelling. On the computer test you get 2 minutes at the end for this.
- Practise in the real exam format, where every recording plays once. NextBand students do this in the NextBand Room between classes.
If you are losing four or five marks a test this way, that can be the difference between 6.5 and 7.0. It is worth a week of careful work. For the exact rules on word limits, plurals and spelling, read IELTS Listening spelling, plurals and word limits: the rules that decide the mark.
- IELTS Academic Listening format, IELTS.org
- 10 IELTS Listening tips to avoid common mistakes, IDP IELTS
- British vs American English in IELTS, IDP IELTS
Exam rules change. Always check with the exam provider and the organisation you are applying to.
Want help with this?
Book a class and we work on it together, build your free roadmap to see where you stand, or ask us a question first.
