IELTS Listening – Question Formats

Within the IELTS Listening, the paper asks students to fill in answers. However, the questions may be presented in different formats:

Chart Completion

The student is given a chart or process and must fill in the missing information.

An example of a chart completion task is questions 6-10 here.

Choose from a list

The student is given a list, usually of 8-10 possibilities. From this list they must choose the correct answers (usually 4 or 5).

An example of a choose from a list task is questions 34-38 here.

Labelling

The student is given a map or diagram and must label the different parts.

An example of a labelling task is questions 14-17 here.

Matching

The student is given two lists, or a set of questions and one list, and must match the correct answers.

An example of a matching task is questions 11-14 here.

Multiple Choice

The students are given 3 or 4 choices and must choose the correct answer.

An example of a multiple choice is questions 36-40 here.

Sentence Completion

The students are given sentences with words missing. They must complete the sentences, usually using a maximum of 2 or 3 words per answer.

An example of a sentence completion task is questions 1-5 here.

Short answers

Similar to sentence completion, except the students are given a question and a blank space for an answer. Answers are usually limited to a maximum of 2 or 3 words each.

An example of a short answers task is questions 39-40 here.