Learn why your IELTS results are withheld and what you can do about it. 

Why your IELTS results are withheld

When you apply for your IELTS test and fill in the application form, you will find the terms and conditions attached to the form. You should read these terms and conditions very carefully because you will find three points which explain that your results may be withheld or cancelled.

IELTS Terms and Conditions: Withholding Results

The following points can be found on your IELTS application form under the terms and conditions:

• Your result may not be issued 13 days after the test if the IELTS Test Partners decide that it is necessary to review any matter associated with your test or the administration of your test. To assist any investigation, you may be required to provide writing and speaking samples. In exceptional circumstances you may be required to re-take one or more IELTS components.

The above point explains that you may not get your results after 13 days because IELTS want to check them more carefully. There are two main reasons given: 1) they want to check your test again 2) they are doing quality control checks on how the test is managed.

• Your result may be cancelled after it has been issued if any irregularity is identified. You may be required to re-take one or more IELTS components.

This means that if there are any problems with your test, your results might be cancelled  and you might need to take your test again or part of your test again. An “irregularity” means that something occurred relating to your test or how it was managed which was not usual or acceptable.

• If any of the data on the Test Report Form provided by you or your agent to Recognising Organisations has been altered in any way, your original test result may be cancelled.

This point shows that if any information you give has been altered, your result might be cancelled. So, be careful about providing the right information and only use reputable agents.

You now see that IELTS have the right to withhold or cancel your results for certain reasons, usually for analysing and quality checking.

When you sign your application form, you also agree that you accept a possible delay in results. Your signature is agreeing to the terms and conditions above.

IELTS will email you if your results are withheld or cancelled. If you don’t get this email, check your spam folder or contact your test center.

What can you do about it?

If your results have been delayed, you just need to wait and be patient.

Your results will arrive but there is no fixed time limit. Some students receive their results within just one week or a couple of weeks. However, for others, it might be longer – a month or even 3 months.

Can you take your test again? Sure you can. See below for advice:

Taking your Test Again

If you don’t want to wait, you can take your test again.

When you take more than one test, you can choose which results to use. You can choose to use the highest results. So, it won’t matter that you end up with two sets of results – just choose the best one to use for your future.

Booking your Test in Advance

When you decide the date for your IELTS test make sure you have a few months before your actual deadline because your results might not arrive after 13 days.

Give yourself lots of time to prepare for IELTS and to get your results!!

IELTS Test Information

Learn more about your IELTS test. Learn conditions, rules and tips: IELTS Test Information Page

Main IELTS Pages

Develop your IELTS skills with tips, lessons, free videos and more.

• IELTS Listening
• IELTS Reading
• IELTS Writing Task 1
• IELTS Writing Task 2
• IELTS Speaking
• Vocabulary for IELTS

 

 

 

Hi guys,

Another facebook page has appeared selling a school using my name. Here is the link of the fake school: https://www.facebook.com/ieltseliz. It looks like me but it isn’t.  They are using my pictures, my name, my videos and also listing my professional details. Please report them and help me stop online fraud.

My Real Facebook

I have only one Facebook Page:  https://www.facebook.com/ieltsliz. Look carefully at the url address: it clearly says facebook.com/ieltsliz. Any other page is fake. I have over 50,000 followers at present and you can see a link to my real and only facebook page in the right hand column on this site.

All the best and thank you

Liz

Should you use a pen or a pencil in your IELTS test? Learn the IELTS rules for using pens and pencils and get tips.

Pen or Pencil in IELTS?

In IELTS listening and reading, you MUST use a pencil for filling in the answer sheet. This means you should also take an eraser into the test with you so you can erase mistakes.

In the IELTS writing test, you can choose if you want to use either a pencil or a pen.

Tips on Using Pens and Pencils

Pens:

• Your answers can look messy if you need to delete mistakes.
• Don’t just put a thin line through mistakes, put many lines through mistakes to delete the word completely. This will make it easier for the examiner to see which words are mistakes and which are not.
• Make sure your pen doesn’t run out. Don’t use a very old pen.A

Pencils

• Make sure your pencil is sharp and not too light in colour. It must be easy to read.
• Don’t use a pencil that is easy to break as you can miss answers in your listening test, while you sort it out.
• When you erase a word, make sure it is completely erased so that the new word is clear.

Good Handwriting Tips

You can use any style of hand writing you want  in IELTS and you can delete mistakes without losing marks. However, if your handwriting or words are difficult to read, it will reduce your score. If the examiner can’t read it, it’s wrong.

If you wish to put another word into a sentence in your IELTS writing test, you can use the ^ sign. However, make sure the word is easy to read.

You should practice writing your answers on the official answer sheets for listening and reading before your test. You should also practice writing your essays on the official writing paper. See this page for tips on using the official writing paper and to download it for free: Using the Official Writing Paper. Follow these links to get the listening and reading answer sheets: Listening Answer Sheet and IELTS Reading Answer Sheet

Know more about IELTS

• Capital letters?
• Wearing a watch?
• Writing on the question paper?
• Writing T instead of True?
• Indenting your paragraphs ?
  • See the answers on the IELTS Information Page (everything about IELTS).

Check the pen and pencil rules on the BC website: IELTS Listening Test Rules. You will find links on that page to the reading, writing and speaking test rules.

Main IELTS Pages

Develop your IELTS skills with tips, lessons, free videos and more.

• IELTS Listening
• IELTS Reading
• IELTS Writing Task 1
• IELTS Writing Task 2
• IELTS Speaking
• Vocabulary for IELTS

Hi guys,

I’d like to introduce you to a new blog about insects. It’s written by a guy called Chris who is an entomologist, which is a person who studies insects.

As you know insects is a topic that has appeared in IELTS reading quite a few times and is very difficult because of the academic vocabulary involved. So, this blog can help you become more familiar with this topic. Some of the posts  on Chris’s blog are very high level with a lot of technical language for other entomologists. However, other posts are written for people without knowledge of insects and are very interesting to read, particularly for band score 7, 8 and 9 level students.

The aim of his blog is to share information and teach people about insects that pollinate and insects that are pests. Here’s a link: pests and pollinators by Chris

Liz

Below is an IELTS writing task 1 table and 3 pie charts reported last week on 19th Sept. I will post a model answer later this week. Follow the link to see a model of the task 1 below: table with 3 pie charts.

Main IELTS Pages

Develop your IELTS skills with tips, lessons, free videos and more.

• IELTS Listening
• IELTS Reading
• IELTS Writing Task 1
• IELTS Writing Task 2
• IELTS Speaking
• Vocabulary for IELTS

After your test, share your IELTS results and experiences to inspire others 🙂

Post your IELTS test results

• Post your results in the comments box below
• Please add your profession or academic subject
• Add tips and share experiences
• It is always a pleasure for me to see your results 🙂

Notice:

• Not all results will be displayed.
  • I receive hundreds of results, only some will be posted – usually the top ones.
• If you want remarking advice, click here: Remarking 
• If you results are withheld, click here: why results are withheld

Your Own IELTS Tips Page

If you scored band score 8, 8.5 or 9, and you wish to share your tips on your own page, email me.: liz@ieltsliz.com. Click here to see an example of a successful candidate’s tips: How I scored….

I hope you did well and are happy with your results 🙂

Liz

If you would like information about the Band Scores, click Band Scores.

This is a common topic for IELTS speaking part 3. How good is your vocabulary for the topic of body language which is one part of communication?

Fill the gaps of these sentences with the suitable words:

1. I had no idea what she was talking about. Then suddenly she asked a question that I couldn’t understand so I just ………….. my shoulders and walked away.

2. My boss always tells tall stories. Yesterday he came to work with another unbelievable story but the only response I could give was to ……….. my eyebrows.

3. If there’s one thing I hate, it’s being late. Once I was in a really long meeting at work and by the time we finished I was late to meet my friend. During the meeting, I could feel myself getting impatient and my foot started ……………. on the floor.

4. I can’t stand watching films at the cinema because you can’t relax like you can in private, particularly when watching an action movie full of surprises and shocks. When there is a really sudden unexpected scene, my eyes ………. and my mouth ……… open which I find really embarrassing in public.

5. I remember once I was late for an appointment. When I arrived, which was over 1 hour late, I ………….  deep red and stammered an apology.

What words would you use to fill in the gaps above?

Answers: Follow this link for the answers: Body Language Vocabulary