One of the questions in the speaking and writing sections is “retell the lecture.” The main communicative skills tested are listening and speaking. In addition, it contributes towards oral fluency and pronunciation enabling skills. It requires the tests taker to retell the content of the audio in his/her own words.

In this question a 90 seconds long audio plays automatically and sometimes there is an image which is related to the audio. After the audio finishes playing, a 10 seconds countdown is displayed on the status bar. The10 seconds is allocated for preparing the response which will be delivered in 40 seconds. The microphone switches on at the end of the countdown and there is a short tone representing a signal to start recording.

The trick is not to speak before the microphone switches on since the answer will not be recorded. In addition, finish recording before the status bar shows completed. Remember to speak in a clear voice, flow naturally and don’t hurry through your recording.

Tips to answer retell lecture

Take quality notes

Use the provided notepad to write legible notes. There is not enough time to decipher bad handwriting. Your notes should be legible enough even for the other person to read and understand the content. Moreover, quality notes mean having a clear knowledge of what to write and what not to include.  Don’t write the entire sentence since you will run out of time without including all the important points

Use keywords and key phrases

It has been mentioned in the preceding section that you simply don’t have enough time to write the content of the audio word for word, therefore, it is important to use only words and phrases that give more meaning to content. Moreover, remember to use synonyms for your keywords when recording your answer.

Learn the art of paraphrasing

The requirement is to retell the lecture in your own words therefore during preparation it is vital to learn how to paraphrase. Paraphrasing doesn’t change the meaning of content it just conveys the message in a different structure. Including the important points from the audio is still vital even though in some parts you will incorporate your own words. The important points are the above-mentioned keywords and key phrases.

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Listen attentively

Even though you have to take notes, you have to listen attentively to the content of the audio until the end. It is important to learn to multi-task to deliver the required response. Both the beginning and concluding part of the audio are important since the first introduces the concept while the last one ends the story. Pay close attention until the audio finishes playing.

Structure your speech in a logical sense

There should be an introduction, body and conclusion to your response. E.g. “it means that dogs can walk” is ambiguous and wrong for an introduction. The better way to introduce your response would be “The lecture describes the……..” then add on it. Also, remember to provide a conclusion.

Know how the question is scored

The score in both communicative skills and enabling skills for retelling the lecture ranges from 0-5. The enabling skills are scored on whether the test taker’s speech sounds non-English, intrusive, intermediate, good, advanced and native-like. The communicative skills score depends on the test taker’s ability to provide good content that mentions all the keywords.

Prepare well for this section

During preparation, it is vital to incorporate material that makes answering this question a little less difficult. It could be listening to audios, podcasts, watching audios and learning to summarize from these materials. There is a variety of online material that could come in handy during preparation for this section.