IELTS Listening Time Strategy For 8-9

In my previous post, I had mentioned that if you find yourself consistently scoring 7 with Official Cambridge IELTS listening practice materials, then the only technique that you might need is reading ahead. You really do not need to be an advanced English speaker to excel in this examination.

Let me first explain, why/how did I make my own timing strategy. While doing the practise tests in the strict examination conditions, I used to scan questions in the same order as recording, which used to make me lose a few marks in Section 3 and 4. In my opinion, it was due to a lot of information to read but having comparatively little time to soak all of them. Afterwards, I tried a different approach and first allowed myself to read all the texts without any recording and then also noted down my own scanning time for each section. I then tried the same questions with recording. This made me feel at more ease and I felt almost no hurry when the recording was playing. I was astonished to see that I was able to score 9. Moreover, I let a whole recording play and just noted down the time gap between sections and subsections. Thereupon, based on my scanning speed and time gaps, I made my own timing strategy [See below figure].

My Timing Strategy for IELTS Listening

In summary, you should try to use the time gaps wisely. Below was my timing strategy:

• At the beginning of Section 1:
• Scan questions 1-7 (Section 1) in 30 seconds
• Scan questions 31-37 (or 31- 35 questions, Section 4) in 1 minute
• Scan questions 21-23 (Section 3) in 30 seconds
• At the mid of Section 1: Scan questions 7-10 in 30 seconds
• At the beginning of Section 2:
• Scan questions 11-17 (Section 2) in 50 seconds
• Scan questions 24-28 (Section 3) in 1 minute
• At the mid of Section 2: Scan questions 18-20 in 50 seconds
• In Section 3:
• At the beginning itself, scan the rest of the questions (Q 29-30)
• Again scan questions 21-26 (in the first half of recording)
• Again scan questions 27-30 (in the second half of recording)
• In Section 4:
• At the beginning itself, scan the rest of the questions (Q 36/38 - 40)
• Again scan questions 31- 36/38

Remember, reading ahead is one of the imperative techniques to get the highest band. Use the breaks to read the next section of questions before the recording starts. Based on your scanning speed, make a timing strategy for yourself. If Cambridge does not change the examination pattern, I hope to use this strategy again when I will be taking my next IELTS in 2022. But as of now, I must wait patiently for Tomorrow's sunrise where the Canadian ITA along with a new life would be awaiting at dawn.

तेरी कोशिश, चुप हो जाना,

मेरी ज़िद है, शंख बजाना ...