IELTS Listening Part 3: Complete Guide | IELTS Academic

IELTS Listening Part 3 is the third section of the IELTS Listening test. You hear a conversation between two main speakers, sometimes joined by a third, in an educational or training context, such as two university students discussing an assignment with a tutor. There are 10 questions on the conversation, and like the rest of IELTS Listening, your performance is scored on the 9-band scale used across IELTS Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking. Part 3 is widely considered harder than Parts 1 and 2 because you have to track which speaker said what while also following the academic content of the discussion.

This guide covers the official format from ielts.org, the marking that determines your Listening band, and the strategies that prevent the most common Part 3 mistakes. The aim is a Part 3 score you can rely on, so the rest of the Listening test does not have to carry your overall band.

Table of Contents

• What is the "Listening Part 3" question type?
• How "Listening Part 3" is scored
• Tips to do well on "Listening Part 3" questions
• How to practice "Listening Part 3" questions
• Frequently asked questions
• Conclusion

What is the "Listening Part 3" question type?

IELTS Listening Part 3 is the third of four parts in the IELTS Listening test, with 10 questions per part for a total of 40 questions across the whole section, per the official IELTS Academic Listening format. What makes Part 3 different from the other three parts is the combination of speaker count and context. Part 3 has two main speakers (sometimes a third), and the conversation takes place in an educational or training setting. Common scenarios include:

• Two students discussing an assignment, project, or research
• A student and a tutor reviewing the student's work
• Two students and a tutor planning a group presentation
• A discussion about a course choice or a placement decision
• Two students comparing approaches to a problem or experiment

The conversation is not academic in the sense of a lecture, but the topics are educational. The speakers exchange opinions, agree, disagree, and reach decisions. This means the answers in Part 3 are less often a single word or number, and more often involve identifying a speaker's opinion or matching ideas to people.

The same question types appear in Part 3 as in the rest of IELTS Listening. Multiple choice and matching are common in Part 3, because the questions often ask which speaker held which view, or which option the speakers agreed on. Sentence completion and short-answer questions can also appear.

For more examples like this one, see our IELTS Listening Part 3 practice tests with answers, which cover the full range of contexts and patterns you may face on the real test.

How "Listening Part 3" is scored

Each of the 10 Part 3 questions is worth 1 mark. Your Part 3 score combines with the marks from Parts 1, 2, and 4 to produce a raw Listening score out of 40, per the official IELTS Academic Listening format. That raw score then converts to a band on the IELTS 9-band scale, in whole or half bands (5.0, 5.5, 6.0, 6.5, and so on).

IELTS publishes anchor raw-score cutoffs for whole bands. The exact cutoffs vary by 1 or 2 marks between test versions, because IELTS uses a process called equating to keep difficulty consistent across different test papers. The published anchors for IELTS Academic Listening are:

Part 3 contributes up to 10 marks toward this raw total. For most candidates, Part 3 is the section where the raw score starts to drop noticeably compared to Parts 1 and 2. Getting 6 or 7 right in Part 3 is a realistic target for a band 6.5 or 7 result on Listening; aiming for 8 or 9 right requires the speaker-tracking skill described in the tips below.

Tips to do well on "Listening Part 3" questions

Read the questions before the audio starts

Before each Part of IELTS Listening, the recording gives you about 30 seconds to read the questions for that part. Use every second of it. In Part 3, the questions often involve options or speaker names, so use the prep time to read all the options too. If the question is multiple choice, knowing the four options ahead of time means you can listen for the one that matches.

Track which speaker said what

Part 3 questions often ask which speaker held which view. Before the audio starts, write the speakers' names (or initials) in the margin. As each speaker offers an opinion, note which name it belongs to. This sounds simple, but under the time pressure of a real test, the speakers can change topic faster than you can attribute the views, and you end up assigning the wrong opinion to the wrong person.

Listen for agreement and disagreement words

Part 3 conversations are full of signal words that show whether a speaker agrees or disagrees. I see what you mean, but... means disagreement is coming. Yes, exactly means agreement. Actually, often signals a correction. Fair point, means the speaker is changing their mind. Learn these signals and you will be ahead of the speakers, ready for the actual position before they finish saying it.

Stay within the word limit

The instructions for each question type tell you exactly how many words you can write. Common limits include no more than two words and/or a number, no more than three words, or one word only. These limits are strict. If the answer is 'the research method' and the limit is two words, writing 'the research method' counts as three words and the answer is marked wrong, even though the meaning is correct. Drop articles when they push you over the limit.

How to practice "Listening Part 3" questions

Random practice does not raise your Listening band. What raises it is doing Listening Part 3 questions at your current level and learning from every wrong answer. After each practice attempt, look at the audio transcript and figure out exactly why you missed the question. Did you record an opinion from the wrong speaker? Did you miss the agreement signal that changed the final decision? Did you write before the speakers had finished their exchange? Naming the specific mistake is what stops it from happening on the real test.

Arno's IELTS Listening practice is free to start. You get unlimited Listening Part 3 questions, organized by topic and difficulty, with the audio transcript and answer explanation for each one.

Click here to create your free account!

Frequently asked questions

How long does IELTS Listening Part 3 take?

All four Listening parts together take about 30 minutes of audio. On the paper-based test you get an additional 10 minutes after the audio finishes to transfer your answers from the question paper to the answer sheet, so the section is 40 minutes total. On the computer-delivered test you type your answers directly into the test interface, so the 10-minute transfer step is eliminated and the Listening section is 30 minutes total. The audio content is the same on both delivery formats.

Do I lose marks for spelling errors in IELTS Listening Part 3?

Yes. Misspelled answers are marked wrong, even if the meaning is clear. Capital letters and lower case do not matter for marking, but the letters must be correct. Part 3 has fewer spell-it-out moments than Part 1 because the answers are often opinions rather than names or addresses, but spelling still counts for any word answer you write.

What accents do speakers in IELTS Listening Part 3 have?

IELTS uses a mix of accents across the four Listening parts: British, Australian, New Zealand, and North American. Any of these can appear in Part 3. The best way to prepare is to do practice with audio from a range of accents, not only the one you find easiest to understand.

How is Part 3 different from Part 1, which is also a conversation?

Both are conversations, but the context is different and harder. Part 1 is in an everyday social context (booking, registration, customer service); Part 3 is in an educational or training context (students discussing assignments, projects, or course choices). Part 3 conversations involve opinions and decision-making, not just factual exchanges, and a third speaker (typically a tutor) can join the two main speakers. The answers in Part 3 are often about who held which view, rather than names, numbers, or dates.

Does Listening Part 3 differ between IELTS Academic and General Training?

No. The Listening section, including Part 3, is identical between IELTS Academic and General Training: same audio, same questions, same scoring. The Reading and Writing sections do differ between the two versions (Reading uses different raw-to-band cutoffs, and Writing Task 1 has a different task type, with chart description for Academic and letter writing for General Training).

Why is Part 3 the section where my Listening score starts to fall?

Three reasons combine in Part 3. First, there are two or three speakers rather than one, so you have to attribute every opinion to the right person. Second, the speakers exchange views, agree, and disagree, so the final position is not always the first thing said. Third, the topic is academic, so the vocabulary is harder than in Parts 1 and 2. The candidates who score band 7 or higher on Listening usually master Parts 1 and 2 first, then work on the speaker-tracking skill that Part 3 demands.

Conclusion

Part 3 is the section of IELTS Listening where the speaker-tracking skill matters most. The conversation moves quickly between two or three voices, and the final answer often combines what both speakers have said. The two habits that matter most are listening for agreement and disagreement signals to know when a speaker is changing their mind, and waiting for the end of each exchange before writing your answer. Drill both until they feel automatic, then use the linked practice tests to put them under pressure with real audio.