1/ Identifying main ideas

The questions in the Listening paper will focus on the main points made by the speakers, so it is important to be able to identify the main points of a talk.

1.1 Listen to part of a talk by Paul, an Australian palaeontologist (a scientist who studies dinosaurs and fossils). To help practise keeping track of the talk, put the phrases below in the order you hear them.
	The very first field trip I went on It’s an ancestor of the modern Australian wombat I found a funny-looking piece of rock an old professor studying dried-up dinosaur bones I immediately changed courses I had to do a compulsory unit on extinction

1.2 Which of the following describes the main topic of the talk?

a Important lectures Paul has given

b Describing the process that led to Paul’s current role

c Explaining how ancient Australian animals became extinct

The questions in the IELTS Listening paper focus on the main points of the talk. In between the points, the speaker may also mention things that are not directly related to the main purpose of the talk.

1.3 Think about your answer to 1.2 and listen again. Which three phrases in 1.1 are used to give information that is directly related to the main purpose of the talk?

You may be asked to complete a summary in the Listening paper. This can look difficult, so it will help to break down the information.

1.4 Look at the summary below and write questions related to the information missing from each gap.

Summary

Paul was interested in the 1…………. so took an ecology course at university.

The course included a section on 2…………. and an interesting lecture caused him to quickly change his degree.

Paul says working in palaeontology can be difficult and he describes the conditions as 3…………… . However, the discovery of a 4……………. from an ancient animal made him realise he had made the right choice.

1 What was Paul interested in?/Why did Paul take an ecology course?

1.5 Listen to the talk again and complete the summary with ONE WORD ONLY. Check your answers, paying attention to your spelling.

1.6 The information in the Listening summary can help you to keep track of a talk. Look at Recording script 27 and compare it to the summary.

1 Is the information in the summary in the same order as the script?

2 Complete the table below with the correct phrases from the script or the summary.

audio script	summary
My main interest has been….	1 Paul was interested in…
2	The course included a section on…
a lecturer … I was fascinated	3
4	change his degree
I found a…	5
6	a tooth from an ancient animal