Checking your answers, common mistakes and a practice plan
The final two minutes of IELTS Listening, the ten mistakes that cost the most marks, how to review a practice test and a four-week listening plan.
You now have the techniques for every part of the test. This last lesson deals with three things that turn technique into a score: how to use the checking time, which mistakes to hunt for, and how to practise so that you keep improving.
The final two minutes
On the computer-delivered test, the recording ends and you have two minutes before the screen locks. You cannot hear anything again, so this time is for form, not content. Go through the answers in this order.
1. Blanks. Any empty gap gets a guess. In a completion task, write a word of the right type that fits the topic; in multiple choice, pick a letter. A guess costs nothing.
2. Word limits. Count the words in every completion answer. ONE WORD ONLY means one.
3. Grammar of the gap. Read each completed note or sentence. Singular or plural? Does ‘an ____’ have a word beginning with a vowel sound? Did you repeat a word that is already printed (’£ £96’, ‘at at 7’)?
4. Spelling. Look especially at days, months, doubled letters and names that were spelt out.
5. Numbers. Does 15 look right, or could it have been 50? Does the figure make sense (a course lasting 80 weeks? a ticket costing £3,000?)
Do not use this time to change multiple choice answers on a feeling. Unless you have a definite reason, your first choice, made while the recording was fresh, is more likely to be right.
The ten most expensive mistakes
| # | Mistake | Example | Cure |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Missing the plural | shed for sheds | Listen for /s/ or /z/; check grammar of the note |
| 2 | Breaking the word limit | the library for ONE WORD | Count; drop articles |
| 3 | Misspelling common words | Wensday, libary, accomodation | Personal spelling list |
| 4 | Taking the first thing you hear | Tuesday (full) instead of Thursday | Lesson 4: wait for signals |
| 5 | Confusing -teen and -ty | 13 for 30 | Stress: thirTEEN / THIRty |
| 6 | Writing in the wrong gap | Answer to 7 typed in 8 | Use the signpost words around each gap |
| 7 | Losing your place and panicking | Three answers lost instead of one | Jump to the next signpost; guess later |
| 8 | Not reading ahead | Recording starts before you have seen the questions | Use every pause (Lesson 2) |
| 9 | Matching words instead of meaning | Choosing the option that repeats the speaker’s words | Lesson 5: expect paraphrase |
| 10 | Mixing up left/right, east/west | Wrong letter on a map | Mark the compass before listening |
Print this table, or copy it, and after each practice test tick the mistakes you made. Your ticks will cluster around three or four rows. Those are the ones to work on.
How to review a practice test
A test takes 30 minutes; a proper review takes another 30 to 45. That review is where the improvement happens.
Step 1 – Mark it and record the score for each part.
| Test | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Total | Band |
|---|
Step 2 – For every wrong answer, listen again without the transcript. Go to the right place in the recording (the practice tests on this site show the time at which each answer is heard) and play that section. Can you hear the answer now? If so, the problem was concentration, speed or a distractor, not your ear.
Step 3 – Read the transcript for anything you still cannot catch. Find the exact words. Ask why you did not understand them: an unknown word? Two words that ran together? An unfamiliar accent? A paraphrase you did not recognise?
Step 4 – Classify each error:
- H – did not hear / understand the words
- D – fell for a distractor
- S – spelling
- G – grammar (plural, word form) or word limit
- P – lost my place
- R – misread the question or did not have time to read it
Step 5 – Listen to the whole part once more while reading the transcript. This connects the sounds to the words and is one of the most effective exercises there is.
Improving your ear
If most of your errors are type H, you need more than exam technique: you need listening practice.
Connected speech
In natural English, words join together and some sounds weaken or disappear.
| Written | Sounds like |
|---|---|
| a lot of | a-lo-tuv |
| next to | nex-to |
| want to / going to | wanna / gonna (informal) |
| did you | di-jew |
| must have been | mus-tuv-bin |
| first of all | firs-tuv-all |
| and | ‘n’ (fish ‘n’ chips) |
The best exercise for this is dictation: play one sentence, pause, write exactly what you heard, compare with the transcript. Five minutes a day is enough. The places where your version differs from the transcript show you precisely which sound patterns you are not yet hearing.
Shadowing
Play a sentence and repeat it aloud immediately, copying the rhythm and stress. Then try speaking along with the recording. Shadowing improves listening and pronunciation together.
Wide listening
Spend twenty to thirty minutes a day listening to English that interests you: podcasts, radio discussions, documentaries, lectures. Choose a variety of accents. Do not study it; just follow the meaning. Over weeks, this raises your general level in a way that test practice alone cannot.
A four-week plan
About 45–60 minutes a day.
Week 1 – Foundations
- Lessons 1–4.
- Daily: 5 minutes of letters-and-numbers dictation.
- Three Part 1 recordings, each followed by a full review.
- Start a spelling list and an error log.
Week 2 – Parts 2 and 3
- Lessons 5–8.
- Four Part 2 and four Part 3 recordings. For each: predict → listen → mark → listen again → transcript.
- Describe two maps aloud.
- Daily: 20 minutes of wide listening.
Week 3 – Part 4 and full tests
- Lesson 9.
- Four Part 4 recordings with the outline exercise.
- Two full tests under exam conditions: one play, typed answers, two minutes to check.
- Daily: 5 minutes of sentence dictation from a Part 4.
Week 4 – Test conditions
- Three full tests, spaced out, each with a full review.
- Work only on your top three mistakes from the table.
- The day before the exam: listen to something enjoyable in English and go to bed early. Tiredness affects Listening more than any other skill.
On test day
- Sound check: set the volume so that speech is comfortable but clear. You can change it during the test.
- Introductions: listen to the narrator’s description of each situation; it tells you who and where.
- Pauses: read ahead, every time.
- During the recording: eyes on the questions, one question ahead; type as you go.
- If you miss one: guess, move on.
- Last two minutes: blanks, limits, grammar, spelling, numbers.
Key points
- The final two minutes are for checking form: blanks, word limits, plurals, spelling.
- Know your own three or four most frequent mistakes and target them.
- Review every practice test: listen again first, then use the transcript.
- Build your ear with dictation, shadowing and daily wide listening.
- Practise under real conditions: one play, typed answers, no pausing.
Now try it in a real section
A complete IELTS listening section in the official format — every answer explained.
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