📖 Notes
LESSON 03 OF 20
IELTS Listening — Format & Section Types
IELTS Listening Overview
40 questions, 40 minutes + 10 min transfer. 4 sections, increasing difficulty. You hear each recording ONCE.
Format
40 Questions, One Listen
40
Total questions
30
Minutes of recording
10
Minutes to transfer answers
1
Time you hear each recording
The Four Sections
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Section 1 — Easiest
A social conversation. Gap fill and form completion — names, numbers, dates.
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Section 2
A social-context monologue. MCQ and map labelling.
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Section 3
An educational discussion between multiple speakers. MCQ, matching, table completion.
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Section 4 — Hardest
An academic monologue (like a lecture). Gap fill and sentence completion, no breaks between questions.
Key Rules
- Read the questions before the recording plays — you get preview time
- Spelling must be correct for every gap-fill answer
"NO MORE THAN 3 WORDS"means exactly that — max 3 words, no more
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You only hear it once
There's no replay in the real test, which is why reading ahead and predicting answer types before the audio starts matters more in Listening than in any other module.