Part 3: academic discussions and matching
Follow two or three speakers as they discuss a university project: recognise each voice, track who says what, survive interruptions and changes of mind, and beat the Part 3 matching task.
By the end of this lesson you will be able to:
- Describe what a Part 3 conversation sounds like and which question types it uses
- Identify speakers quickly and keep track of whose opinion each question asks for
- Use the numbered items in a matching task as landmarks to stay in order
- Recognise interruptions, corrections and final decisions so distractors don't catch you
- Complete a full 10-question Part 3 practice with matching and multiple choice
The set-up
Part 3 covers Questions 21–30. The recording is a conversation set in an educational or training context, for example:
- two students planning a presentation or group assignment
- a student getting feedback from a tutor on a draft essay
- students reporting back on a field trip, survey or experiment
- a tutor helping students choose a topic or a research method
There are normally two or three speakers (the test allows up to four). Before the recording starts, the narrator tells you who they are: “You will hear two students, Maya and Daniel, talking to their tutor about…” Those names matter, because the questions will use them.
How the conversation is organised
Part 3 conversations are more structured than they first seem. The speakers usually work through an agenda: stage 1, stage 2 and stage 3 of a project, or source A, source B and source C. The questions follow that agenda in order. There is often a short pause in the middle so that you can read the second set of questions (for example, 21–25 and then 26–30).
The style is natural speech with academic content. People hesitate, interrupt, joke and change their minds, but they talk about research, data, methods, sources, feedback and deadlines. If you know that vocabulary, you can spend your attention on meaning instead of on individual words.
Part 3 task types and what they really test
| Task type | What you see | What it really tests | Key move |
|---|---|---|---|
Multiple choice (one answer) | A question with options A, B and C | Which option the speakers finally accept, not the one mentioned first | Turn each option into 2–3 plain words before you listen |
Multiple choice (choose TWO) | One question, five options A–E, worth two marks | Two separate points, often made by different speakers | Expect the other three options to be mentioned and rejected |
Matching | A numbered list (stages, sources, people) and a box of lettered comments | Linking each item to an idea that is expressed in different words | Use the numbered items as landmarks; scan the box for meaning |
Notes / flow-chart completion | Notes or a sequence of steps with gaps | Exact words heard, usually inside a plan or process | Predict the word class and check the word limit |
Sentence completion | Separate sentences with one gap each | A detail inside a paraphrased sentence | Read the whole sentence: the grammar tells you the form |
Tracking who says what: a six-step routine
- 1
Turn the introduction into initials
The narrator names the speakers and their roles. Write an initial for each (M = Maya, D = Daniel, T = tutor). In the first 20 seconds, attach a voice to each initial: is Maya the Australian woman? Is the tutor the older British man? In IELTS recordings, speakers in the same conversation always sound clearly different in gender or accent.
- 2
Underline whose view the question asks for
What does the tutor think…? is a different question from What do the students decide…? If a question names one speaker, everybody else's opinion is a potential distractor, however loudly or clearly it is expressed.
- 3
Mark the landmarks
In a matching task, the numbered items (21 Choosing the location, 22 The literature review…) are usually spoken almost word for word. They are your landmarks. When you hear “the literature review”, Question 22 has started.
- 4
Paraphrase the options
The lettered options are rarely heard word for word. Took longer than expected might be heard as “we thought it'd be the quick bit” or “it ate up nearly two weeks”. Use your reading time to turn each option into simple ideas you can recognise.
- 5
Wait for the settled view
Speakers often mention an idea, then question or correct it. Don't write the first thing you hear. Write when somebody accepts, confirms or concludes: “OK, let's do that”, “So that's settled”, “Fair enough”, “You're right”.
- 6
Let go of a missed question
If you hear the next landmark and you still have no answer, put a small mark next to the question and move on immediately. Guess at the end — there is no penalty for a wrong answer. Chasing a lost answer usually costs you the next two as well.
What comment do the students make about each stage of their survey project?
Box (extract): A took longer than expected · B was the most enjoyable part · C was improved by the tutor's advice · D produced surprising results
21 Designing the questionnaire
Ella: The questionnaire — honestly, I thought that would be the quick bit.
Josh: Me too. But we went through, what, six drafts? It ate up nearly two weeks.
Tutor: That's very normal, by the way. I probably should have warned you.
Ella: And the answers people gave weren't surprising at all — exactly what we'd predicted.
Answer: A
- Landmark‘The questionnaire’ tells you Question 21 has started. The numbered item is spoken almost exactly as printed.
- The paraphrase‘I thought that would be the quick bit’ + ‘it ate up nearly two weeks’ = took longer than expected. Neither ‘longer’ nor ‘expected’ is spoken.
- Distractor CThe tutor does speak, but only to say the delay was normal and that he ‘should have warned’ them. He gave no advice, so C is wrong.
- Distractor D‘Surprising’ is spoken word for word, but it is negated: ‘weren't surprising at all’. A word you hear exactly is very often the trap.
Interruptions, corrections and overlapping ideas
Real academic conversations are messy, and IELTS recordings imitate that. Four things make Part 3 feel chaotic, and each one follows a pattern you can learn.
1. Interruptions. One speaker cuts in before the other has finished: “We left the reading until after the interviews, and—” “—and kept finding studies that would have changed our questions.” The second speaker isn't changing the topic; they are completing the first speaker's idea. Treat the two turns as one piece of evidence.
2. Corrections and changes of mind. “I was going to do the methods section—” “Actually, I'd rather do that, because I designed the survey.” “Fair enough, I'll take the findings, then.” The first plan is a distractor. The answer is the version that someone accepts.
3. Overlapping ideas. Two options are discussed together: “We could use photos or video.” The speakers weigh up both and then drop one. If you write the moment you hear a familiar word, you will often choose the one that was dropped.
4. Returning to an earlier point. “Going back to what you said about the sample…” This is the only time a conversation seems to go backwards. It usually adds information about the current question or the one you have just answered. It does not mean you have missed something.
Turn-taking language and what it tells you
| Function | What you hear | What it means for your answer |
|---|---|---|
Interrupting | ‘Sorry to jump in, but…’ · ‘Hang on…’ · ‘Can I just say…’ | A correction or an important detail is coming, so don't write yet |
Correcting | ‘Actually…’ · ‘Well, no, what I meant was…’ · ‘Not exactly.’ | The idea just before this is probably the distractor |
Clarifying | ‘So what you're saying is…’ · ‘In other words…’ | A paraphrase of the key point, often the answer in different words |
Returning | ‘Going back to…’ · ‘As I was saying…’ | Extra information about an earlier item; don't panic |
Moving on | ‘Right, what about…?’ · ‘The next thing is…’ · ‘And the last stage was…’ | A new landmark: the previous question is finished |
Concluding | ‘So, let's go with…’ · ‘That's settled, then.’ · ‘The student union it is.’ | This is the decision, so write it now |
Three voices, one decision
Check your understanding
7 questions- 1
In the audio above, where will the students collect their data?
- 2
In the audio, why does the tutor interrupt Leo?
- 3
In a Part 3 matching task, which statement is correct?
- 4
Match each phrase to what it signals in a Part 3 conversation.
‘Sorry to jump in, but…’‘Going back to what you said about…’‘Right, and the last stage was…’‘OK, that's settled, then.’‘So what you're saying is…’ - 5
IELTS Listening Part 3 is a conversation between up to four people set in an educational or training context.
Part 3 always has exactly three speakers.
- 6
An option whose key word is heard in the recording but which turns out to be wrong is called a .
- 7
A question asks: ‘What does the tutor think about the students' sample?’ Which TWO things should you NOT use as your answer?
Select 2.
Answer every question to check.
Two ways to do a matching task
Band 5 approach: word-spotting
- Reads the box from A to G while listening
- Waits to hear a word from an option (‘surprising’, ‘expected’)
- Writes the first option that sounds right
- Misses one landmark, panics and loses the next two questions
- Typical result: 2 out of 5
Band 7+ approach: meaning-tracking
- Paraphrases every option during reading time (took longer = ages, weeks, ate up, more than planned)
- Uses the numbered items as landmarks
- Waits for the speakers to agree or conclude
- Treats a word heard exactly with suspicion
- If lost, jumps straight to the next landmark
- Typical result: 4–5 out of 5
Matching rewards meaning, not sound. The 30 seconds you spend paraphrasing the box before the recording starts are worth more than anything you do while it plays.
Part 3 practice: the community gardens project
10 questionsTwo students, Rafi and Chloe, discuss their research project on community gardens with their tutor, Dr Harper.
Recording
🎧 Read the questions first, then play the recording once — just like the real test. You can replay it after checking your answers.
Questions 21–25
What comment do the students make about each stage of their project?
Choose FIVE answers from the box and write the correct letter, A–G, next to Questions 21–25.
Comments
- Atook longer than expected
- Bwas made easier by the tutor's suggestion
- Cproduced unexpected findings
- Dneeds more participants
- Eshould have been done earlier
- Fwas the most enjoyable stage
- Gcaused disagreement between the students
Choosing the location
The literature review
Designing the questionnaire
Interviewing the gardeners
Analysing the data
Questions 26–30
Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.
How will the students begin their presentation?
Why will the students not include video clips?
What does Dr Harper say the conclusion should focus on?
Which section of the presentation will Rafi give?
What will the students do before their next tutorial?
Final quiz: discussions and matching
10 questions- 1
Tutor: How did the pilot study go? Sara: Well, we'd planned to test the questionnaire on ten people, but we managed twenty-five. Ben: Which was just as well, because about half of them misunderstood question four.
What do the students say about the pilot study?
- 2
Kim: I'm going to start the presentation with the history of the— Raj: —sorry, Kim, but Professor Lee said she wants the research question first. Kim: Oh, did she? Right, research question first, then the history.
What will Kim present first?
- 3
Tutor: Your use of the government statistics is excellent. Student: I wasn't sure about them. The figures seemed a bit old. Tutor: They're the most recent available, so that's fine.
What does the TUTOR think about the government statistics?
- 4
Which TWO of these show that the speakers have reached a decision?
Select 2.
- 5
Match what each student says about a source to the comment that paraphrases it.
‘It covers everything, but nothing in any depth.’‘I read it twice and I still couldn't follow the statistics.’‘It's from 1998, and a lot has changed since then.’‘Half the ideas in our plan came from it.’ - 6
Ella: The interviews were exhausting. We did twelve in one day. Josh: Exhausting, yes, but the most useful thing we did.
Josh thinks the interviews were the most valuable part of the project.
- 7
Tutor: Some groups find the ethics form takes weeks to be approved. Yours was approved in two days, which is unusual.
The students' ethics form took several weeks to be approved.
- 8
Mia: We're presenting on Thursday. Tom: The slides are nearly done.
Tom made all the slides himself.
- 9
Put these steps for a Part 3 matching task in the best order.
Drag the cards (or use the arrows) into the correct order.
- 1Write an initial for each speaker named in the introduction
- 2Listen for the numbered item to know which question has started
- 3Wait for the speakers to agree or conclude before choosing a letter
- 4If you miss an answer, move straight to the next landmark and guess at the end
- 5Paraphrase the options in the box during the reading time
- 10
In a matching task, the numbered item you hear in the recording acts as a that tells you which question you are on.
Answer every question to check.
Key takeaways
Vocabulary for academic discussions
Saved as flashcards with a free accountquestionnaire
noun/ˌkwestʃəˈneə/
a written set of questions given to people to collect information for research
প্রশ্নমালা
We piloted the questionnaire on ten students before the main survey.
literature review
noun/ˈlɪtrətʃə rɪˌvjuː/
a summary and evaluation of the published research on a topic, done before new research
পূর্ববর্তী গবেষণার পর্যালোচনা
Our literature review showed that nobody had studied older gardeners in cities.
participant
noun/pɑːˈtɪsɪpənt/
a person who takes part in a study, survey or experiment
অংশগ্রহণকারী
Only eleven participants agreed to be interviewed.
sample
noun/ˈsɑːmpl/
the group of people or things chosen from a larger population for a study
নমুনা
The tutor said their sample was too small to draw reliable conclusions.
findings
noun (plural)/ˈfaɪndɪŋz/
the information or results discovered by a piece of research
গবেষণার ফলাফল
Their findings contradicted all the earlier studies.
consent
noun / verb/kənˈsent/
permission for something to happen, especially to take part in research
সম্মতি
All the gardeners signed consent forms before they were filmed.
tutorial
noun/tjuːˈtɔːriəl/
a meeting in which a tutor discusses work with one student or a small group
শিক্ষকের সাথে ছোট দলীয় আলোচনা ক্লাস
She suggested the location in our first tutorial.
draft
noun / verb/drɑːft/
an early version of a piece of writing or work that will be improved later; to write such a version
খসড়া
We went through six drafts of the questionnaire.
feasible
adjective/ˈfiːzəbl/
possible and practical to do
বাস্তবসম্মত, করা সম্ভব
Interviewing every gardener in the city simply wasn't feasible.
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