Speaking and Writing

This two are tested together and the time allocated is 77-93 minutes. The test taker is assessed on his/her ability to speak and write in an academic manner. The questions follow this format: Personal introduction, read aloud, repeat sentence, describe an image, re-tell lecture, answer the short question, summarise written text and the essay.

 The personal introduction gives the test taker an opportunity to provide his/her personal information which will be sent together with the scorecard to the institution selected by the test taker. This section is not scored. The test taker has 25 seconds of preparation and 30 seconds to respond.

 Read aloud prompts the test taker to read up to 60 words text displayed on the screen. This area assesses speaking and reading. There is a clock countdown of 30-40 seconds and during this time the test taker has to prepare and practice answer. At the end of the timer, a soft tone will come on after which you should start recording your answer.

 Repeat the sentence assesses the listening and speaking skills. The task is to listen to an audio of 3-9 seconds and repeat the content of the audio within 15 seconds. In this case, there is no tone to alert the test taker to start speaking, therefore, you have to figure when to start speaking on your own.

 Describe image assesses speaking. The task here is to describe the image or chart displayed on the screen. There is 25 seconds preparation and when it elapses the tone will come on giving the test taker the signal to provide his/her answer.
• First, start by giving out the general description then concentrate on the important data. E.g. if it is a graph highlight the lowest point and the highest point and their significance

 Re-tell lecture assesses listening and speaking skill. It can be tested by either listening to the audio or watching a video clip. The task is to retell the content of the lecture in your own words. The length of the audio/video is 90 seconds and you have 10 seconds to prepare and 30 seconds to respond.
• Take note of keyword and key phrases since they make it easier to remember the content of the audio/video.
• Write any important information in your notebook.

 Answer short question assesses listening and speaking. The audio of 3-9 seconds long plays after which the test taker has to answer in just a few words in just 10 seconds.
• Keep your answer as short as possible. A single word or just a short phrase will suffice.
• Avoid giving explanations; just stick to your answer. Eg. If the answer is cow just say cow. “Don’t say It is a cow because it has horns and looks like a buffalo”

 Summarizing written text assesses reading and writing. The task is to summarize 300 words written text displayed on the screen in 10 minutes.
 Essay assesses writing -The test taker is required to write a 200-300 words essay in 20 minutes on a given topic/subject.

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General exam tips for speaking and writing

• Only speak when the microphone gets turned on or your response will not be recorded.
• Be confident and speak in a calm manner without hurrying through the process
• Make sure your voice is clear and audible
• Avoid filler words such as okay, so, right etc. which don’t add meaning to the content
• Do not pause. Remember if you pause at 3 seconds the microphone automatically switches off.
• Do not try to restart the sentence if you feel like you gave a wrong answer. Just continue recording until you are done.

General exam tips for writing

• Include important points from the written text.
• Keep an eye on the word count at the bottom of the text box.
• To avoid wasting time use cut, copy and paste if necessary.
• In essay writing stick to the topic and avoid jargon information that only increases the number of words but add no meaning to your content
• The structure your essay should be in an academic manner: introduction, body and conclusion.