IELTS Helpdesk

#1: FOCUS and Stay Alert
Have a good rest the night before your test. Make sure you give your 100%, if not 99.9% of attention, while the audio recording is playing. It is common to drift off at times, so be aware if you are guilty of that, and just stay in the zone for that precious half an hour.

#2: Follow instructions as per the audio recording
Try not to 'jump the gun' and read more than necessary in the allocated time. When you are given time to read say Questions 1-5, use the time wisely to underline keywords in those questions, so as to know what details to listen out for. Do not move on to read Questions 6 and beyond... for chances are, you will be confused.

#3: Pay attention to the Four Wives & 1 Husband (Yup a very lucky or some might say, greedy man - kindly note the analogy is only meant to help you remember this tip easily, no other intentions intended)
What? Answer involves a noun - people, place, animals, things or happenings.
Who? Answer involves a person, of specific age, occupation, gender, etc.
Why? Answer involves a reason, an explanation, a logic, a rationale and the like.
When? Answer involves timing, be it day or night, specific time or a time frame/ period.

How? Answer involves the method, solution, steps, way of doing things, etc.

Being aware what the question is asking for, will most definitely help you to listen out for the answers.

#4: When unsure, write down the alternatives that you hear
As the audio is only played once, you should note down a few possible answers for a particular question. This will help you narrow down your final answer when you have time to check through your answers. If you do not write a few options down, chances are, you won't be able to remember any information from the recording that was previously played.

#5: Use contextual clues when guessing
Many a time, when we miss a certain segment, it helps to look at the question within the context, as well as details already provided, and make a smart guess.