In this blog, we will brief about the Listening: Write from Dictation: its format, how to prepare it, what is the scoring criteria, test-day strategies, common mistakes to avoid, and useful resources to help you.
Understanding Write from Dictation
It is the last question type in Listening module. In this task, an audio is automatically played after 7 seconds and you are required to type the sentence you heard. You will listen to the audio once only. You can make notes of the sentence and can type it once the audio ends. It assesses Listening and Writing skills.
It carries the maximum scores in both Listening and writing module.
Task Format
Prompt Length: 3-5 seconds
Skills Assessed: Listening and Writing
Time to Answer: Not applicable
Skills Profile: Multiple Skill Comprehension
No.of Tasks: 3-4
Scoring of Fill in the Blanks
Partial credit applies in Write from Dictation, for each correct spellings the student gets score and there is no negative marking if the word in the Write from Dictation is misspelled. If all the words are spelled correctly then you get the maximum score in Write from Dictation.
Tips & Tricks for Write from Dictation
After 7 seconds the audio of the sentence is played automatically, student has to be focused so that he doesn’t miss any word in the given sentence.
If you prefer to write a sentence before you type then be ready with the notepad, as a delay make cause missing one or two words.
If you are willing to type the sentence directly on the screen then place the cursor in the box before the audio is played.
Check the words once in terms of Punctuation and spellings before moving to the next question.
Test tips
Try to understand what is said in the sentence in phrases that will help you to recall the sentence.
Write the main words on the erasable notebook for examples Noun, Verb, Adjective or Adverb.
Don’t miss the punctuation marks, for instance, the first letter of the first word has to be capital and there has to be full stop or question mark depending on the sentence otherwise there will be no score for the first word if written in the small letter and if the last word misses the punctuation mark.
All the Proper Noun’s first letter will be capital otherwise no score will be provided for that word.
Check the spellings once before moving to the next question.
Preparation
Try to develop your own strategies of note-taking by using the acronyms and symbols.
Find various topics in the form of podcast and lectures and practice note-taking and write the difficult words.
Practice writing sentence and spellings of difficult words as much as you can.
Decide in advance whether to type the sentence on the screen or to write it on the notebook then type it on the screen.
The right strategy to target the question will help you to manage your time and will make your more focused towards your task.
Notes
Partial credit is provided in Write from Dictation, there will be no score for no response or an irrelevant response. This question type has an impact on Listening and Writing module. Listen to podcasts by the speakers of different English accents, it will make you familiar with the different accents and will help you to memorize the spellings of different words.
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