Skip to content
HighTargets

IELTS Listening & Reading guide

IELTS Answer Rules: Spelling, Word Limits, Numbers and Capital Letters

The rules that decide whether a correct IELTS Listening or Reading answer is actually marked correct: word limits, spelling, numbers and dates, capital letters, plurals, and how to read an answer key.

By Danial Saleem · Updated · 5 min read

In IELTS Listening and Reading, understanding the answer is not enough. The answer on your sheet has to match the marking scheme, and small errors in how it is written cost a full mark. Candidates who score well below their real level in practice tests are often losing three or four marks this way. This guide covers the rules and shows how to read the answer keys on HighTargets so you mark your own work the way an examiner would.

Word limits

Completion questions (notes, forms, tables, sentences, summaries) tell you how many words you may write. Typical instructions are:

  • Write ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.
  • Write ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
  • Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer.
  • Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.

If you write more than the limit, the answer is wrong, even if the correct word is included. “The main entrance” is wrong for a ONE WORD ONLY question whose answer is “entrance”.

How words are counted:

  • A hyphenated word counts as one word. “Part-time” and “well-known” are one word each.
  • A number written in digits counts as a number, not a word. “25” is a number; so is “1990”.
  • A date such as “13 January” is one word and a number.
  • Compound nouns written as two words, such as “car park” or “bus station”, are two words.

Read the instruction before each question set, not only the first one. The limit often changes between sections of the same test.

Spelling

Spelling must be correct. A misspelt answer is marked wrong, even in Listening, where you only heard the word. This is the most common way students lose marks in Listening Part 1, where names, streets and places are often spelled out letter by letter.

British and American spellings are both accepted (“colour” or “color”, “organise” or “organize”), but be consistent. Common spelling traps include accommodation, necessary, environment, government, restaurant, library, Wednesday and February. If you regularly lose marks on spelling, keep a list of every word you misspell in practice and test yourself on it weekly.

Singular and plural

The plural “s” matters. If the answer is “tickets” and you write “ticket”, it is wrong. Check the grammar of the sentence around the gap. Words like “several”, “many”, “a range of” or a plural verb after the gap tell you a plural is needed. In Listening, listen for the final “s”, but also use grammar to check.

Numbers, dates, times and money

  • Numbers can be written as digits or words. “48” and “forty-eight” are both accepted, but digits are faster and avoid spelling mistakes.
  • Dates can be written in several ways. “13 January”, “January 13”, “13th January” and “13.01” are normally all acceptable if they fit the word limit. Do not add a weekday that was not asked for.
  • Times can be “9.30”, “9:30” or “half past nine”.
  • Money: if the currency symbol is already printed before the gap, write only the number. Writing “££20” or “20 pounds” when “£” is already shown can make the answer wrong or break the word limit.

Capital letters

You can write your answers in capital letters, in lower case, or a mix. IELTS accepts all of them, so writing everything in capitals is a safe way to avoid questions about whether a name needs a capital. On the computer-delivered test you type your answers, and case does not matter there either.

Reading: take words from the passage

For Reading completion questions, the answer is taken from the passage, usually without changing its form. If the passage says “irrigation” you normally cannot write “irrigate”. The word must also fit the gap grammatically. If your answer makes the completed sentence ungrammatical, it is probably the wrong word, or the wrong form of the right one.

How to read an answer key

Official keys, and the HighTargets keys based on them, use a few conventions. For example, Cambridge IELTS 21 Listening Test 2, question 1 is shown as:

(the) 13(th) (of) January / 13.01 / 13.1

  • Brackets mark optional words or letters. “13 January”, “the 13th of January” and “13th January” are all correct.
  • A slash separates alternative correct answers. Any one of them earns the mark.
  • IN EITHER ORDER on a pair such as “11 & 12” means you get a mark for each correct letter, whichever box you wrote it in.

Anything outside those alternatives should be marked wrong, including a correct idea expressed in different words. Being strict in practice is what makes your practice score a reliable guide to the real test.

Transfer time and checking

  • Paper-based Listening: you write answers on the question paper while listening, then get 10 minutes to transfer them to the answer sheet. Use that time to check spelling, plurals and word limits.
  • Computer-delivered Listening: you type answers as you listen and get 2 minutes at the end to check them. There is no transfer time, so check as you go.
  • Reading (both formats): there is no extra time. On paper, you must write your answers on the answer sheet within the 60 minutes.

Next, see how band scores are calculated to find out what each lost mark costs, or open an answer key to mark a test using these rules.

IELTS is jointly owned by the British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia and Cambridge University Press & Assessment. HighTargets is independent; always confirm test rules with your test centre. See our editorial policy or report a correction.