Two students, Annie and Ben, fill in a feedback form together for their Communication in Business course. They work out the course dates, then go through organisation, teaching, materials, testing and other comments, agreeing on good points and suggestions.
Questions 21-30 · 10 marks · 1 question block
The form is filled in from top to bottom, and the students read out each heading as they reach it ('course organisation', 'course delivery', 'materials and equipment', 'testing and evaluation', 'other comments'). Answers come from both speakers, often one suggesting and the other agreeing.
Type what you wrote and hit mark. Hide the key first if you haven't done the part yet. Every question number jumps to its explanation.
| Q | Your answer | Answer |
|---|---|---|
| Questions 21-30 · Form completion (NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER) | ||
| 21 | 5th MayAlso accepted: 5 May / May 5th / May 5 | |
| 22 | 16th JulyAlso accepted: Friday 16th July / 16 July / July 16th | |
| 23 | clearAlso accepted: was clear | |
| 24 | outlineAlso accepted: course outline / an outline / a course outline / the course outline | |
| 25 | 2nd halfAlso accepted: the 2nd half / second half / the second half | |
| 26 | teachingAlso accepted: teachers / standard of teaching / standard of teachers | |
| 27 | discussionAlso accepted: group discussion | |
| 28 | handouts | |
| 29 | written work | |
| 30 | student supportAlso accepted: support for students | |
How to attack this block: Two dates first, then a run of good points and suggestions. The students read the headings aloud, which makes this easy to follow. Be careful in the first two gaps: both dates get corrected, and the second-half/beginning contrast in Q25 is easy to flip.
Also accepted: 5 May / May 5th / May 5
When did the course start?
my birthday's on May 4th and … it must have been May 5th
Question says → You hear
Why: The course started the day after Annie's birthday, May 4th, so May 5th. Any normal date format is fine.
The trap: May 4th is said first, but it's her birthday, not the start date.
Also accepted: Friday 16th July / 16 July / July 16th
When does the course end?
we finish at the end of this week, on Friday, so that's July … Er 16th, Monday was the
Question says → You hear
Why: Annie guesses the 15th, and Ben corrects it: Monday was the 12th, so Friday is the 16th. Write 16th July.
The trap: Annie's 15th is the first date you hear, and the 12th is Monday's date. Only 16th is right.
Also accepted: was clear
What was good about how the course was organised?
think the organisation was clear
Question says → You hear
Why: Annie suggests 'clear' and Ben agrees. One word: clear.
The trap: Not much of one, but 'easy' comes up soon after about the start of the course. It's a criticism, not a good point about organisation.
Also accepted: course outline / an outline / a course outline / the course outline
What was useful to receive at the start?
a good thing he gave us the course outline at the beginning, in the first session
Question says → You hear
Why: The tutor handed out the course outline in the first session. Write outline or course outline.
The trap: 'First session' is how she describes when, but 'useful to have first session' makes no sense.
Also accepted: the 2nd half / second half / the second half
When was there too much work?
then all of a sudden in the second … of the course we got a whole load of work
Question says → You hear
Why: The work piled up in the second half of the course. Write second half (or 2nd half).
The trap: 'At the beginning' is repeated, but the beginning was 'dead easy'. That's the opposite of too much work.
Also accepted: teachers / standard of teaching / standard of teachers
What was good about the course delivery?
what I thought was really good on this course was the … of teaching
Question says → You hear
Why: Annie praises the standard of teaching. After 'good' the gap takes teaching, or standard of teaching.
The trap: She says some teachers were better than others, which sounds like a complaint. The point she makes is that the general standard was good.
Also accepted: group discussion
What sessions went on too long?
when we had great long group discussion sessions that went on for hours and hours
Question says → You hear
Why: The long group discussions were the problem. Write discussion or group discussion.
The trap: She says 'I don't mean we shouldn't have group discussions'. She's criticising their length, not the sessions themselves.
What materials were good?
sessions was the handouts … thought all the handouts were good actually
Question says → You hear
Why: Both students praise the handouts. Write the plural: handouts.
The trap: Key texts and computers come next, but they're the problems, already printed under suggestions.
What was there too much of?
I'm not so sure about the written work … that there's just too much, it's really stressful
Question says → You hear
Why: Ben says there's just too much written work and it's stressful. Write written work.
The trap: Final exams follow straight after, but they're about marking criteria, which is printed in the next line.
Also accepted: support for students
What do they rate as excellent?
I thought student support was excellent.
Question says → You hear
Why: 'Student support was excellent' matches the form directly. Write student support.
The trap: Nothing else is said here, so just make sure you write both words.
Annie says July 15th and Ben corrects her: 16th, because Monday was the 12th. The corrected date, 16th July, is the answer.
Annie talks a lot about the beginning being easy, so 'beginning' is tempting. The gap is where there was too much work: the second half.
Under testing, the oral presentation is praised and the final exams are mentioned. The thing there was 'too much' of is the written work.
The full Cambridge 5 Test 3 listening paper with the real audio: all four parts, played once, marked the moment you finish. Already done it? Take it again and listen for the traps this page showed you.
Cambridge IELTS 5, Test 3, Listening Part 3. The recording, transcript and questions belong to Cambridge University Press and are not reproduced here. We quote short extracts of the transcript only as evidence for our own commentary, and the answers are published for self-marking. Get the book for the full material, or sit the test on Langujet.
