IELTS General Training Listening: four parts, one play, zero margin for paraphrase
Listening opens the exam: roughly 30 minutes of audio, 40 questions, four parts, and every recording is played once. Part 1 is a transactional conversation (enrolling on a course, booking a van); Part 2 is a monologue about an everyday facility or service; Part 3 is an academic discussion, usually a tutor with one or two students; Part 4 is a lecture with no pause and the highest question density. Expect British, Australian, New Zealand and North American accents, and train across all of them rather than one.
Rules that produce marks
- Every task prints a word limit, for example NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER. An answer over the limit scores zero even when the meaning is right.
- Spelling, capitalisation of proper nouns, and singular/plural endings are marked. accomodation loses the mark; ticket written for tickets loses it too.
- Write numbers as figures: 150, 8.30, 45 - and do not repeat a currency symbol already printed on the form.
- In most task types the questions follow the order of the audio, so use the question numbers to keep your place.
Worked example
Note completion reads Deposit required: £ ______. The audio says: 'We ask for a deposit of one hundred and fifty pounds, refundable when you return the key.' The limit is ONE WORD AND A NUMBER. The answer is 150: 'one hundred and fifty' is four words and breaches the limit, and '£150' repeats the printed symbol. The refund detail is background information, not the tested fact.
Traps that cost marks
Self-correction is deliberate: 'the workshop is on Tuesday - sorry, Thursday.' Write the second version, never the first. Distractors pair a correct-looking figure with the wrong item, such as the monthly price when the question asks about the annual pass. Homophones (eight/ate, cheques/checks) and dictated names are tested, so practise writing letters as they are spelled out, and check the plural before you move on.