Please help me with me questions :)

[kweni16]

I'm about to take IELTS on Feb. 1 with very minimal time to prepare. I just have a couple of questions and maybe would add a little more in this same thread if more comes up.

- In writing, if I write "50%" would that be counted as a one word or two? Others told me that symbols are counted as one word so this really confuses me.

- In listening, is capitalization for proper nouns important? If I write james instead of James, would that be a mark against me?

- In reading, is it advisable to read the whole passage THEN answer or read the questions THEN look for the answers in the passage?

- In reading, is 20 minutes allotted for EACH section or 20 minutes for the whole reading section?

Well I guess that's it for my questions. There's surely more to come though. Thanks in advance for the answers!

[Ryan]

Hi kweni,

I'll response in blue.

I'm about to take IELTS on Feb. 1 with very minimal time to prepare. I just have a couple of questions and maybe would add a little more in this same thread if more comes up.

- In writing, if I write "50%" would that be counted as a one word or two? Others told me that symbols are counted as one word so this really confuses me. "50%" would be counted as one word. "50 percent" would be counted as two.

- In listening, is capitalization for proper nouns important? If I write james instead of James, would that be a mark against me? Of course it's important. It's an English exam and "james" is grammatically incorrect.

- In reading, is it advisable to read the whole passage THEN answer or read the questions THEN look for the answers in the passage? Different students follow different strategies. The band 9 reading students I've talked to at ieltscast.com read the questions first and then found the answers in the text.

- In reading, is 20 minutes allotted for EACH section or 20 minutes for the whole reading section? You are given an hour to complete all reading passages. How you control the time is up to you.

Well I guess that's it for my questions. There's surely more to come though. Thanks in advance for the answers!

[kweni16]

Thank you so much Ryan! Hope you get to assess my writing and speaking soon ^^