Another very common task type is the short answer question.
You have probably done a similar type of question in reading and listening comprehension exercises
in other tests or lessons. As you may have realised, the short answer
question might appear in any of the Listening sections.
Let's see what a short answer question looks like in IELTS Listening.
As you can see, in this task, you have the following features. First of all, you have
a question sentence which you need to answer within a word limit. In this example here,
you should answer using one, two or three words and/or a number.
So, we have to answer a question within a word limit. The second point is that
you must answer using words that you have heard in the listening. So, don't use synonyms
and don’t paraphrase the answer.
Finally, to be given a point, by the end of the Listening Test,
your answer must be in the correct place on the answer sheet.
Unfortunately, there are no points for answers written on the question paper, even if they
are correct.
You've probably done short answer questions before, but have you done them IELTS-style?
Here are some tips for how to do this task in IELTS.
So the first thing you should do is read the instructions to see how many answers
you need to find. So, in this example, we need to find answers
for questions number 11 and 12.
Also, you need to know what the word limit is - as shown here. So, no more than three
words and/or a number in this example.
You will have some time to read the questions first before you listen, and you should use
this time. Why don't we focus only on question 11 now to find out how to answer?
First, look at the question stem - this part here and underline the type of information
you need to answer with and keywords, which give you information about the specific topic,
like this.
Now, during the listening, you need to listen for these words, or synonyms of them, because
they will help to guide you to the answer. By the way, the answers are always in text
order. So, for example, you will hear the speakers giving the answer for question 11
before the answer to question 12, and so on.
Now, write the answer in the space on the question paper, but also check that it fits
the word limit and it is spelled correctly. Also, remember that this answer should be
copied during transfer time to the answer sheet.
Remember that this question type is a little different because the answer that you write
will be words that you have heard, not paraphrases or synonyms of those words.
Now spend some time reviewing a summary of this procedure.