“Can I use all capital letters in Listening?” This is a question I get asked a lot, so I thought I might as well write a blog post about it since so many of you are interested in this. The short answer to this question is: “Yes, you can,” but let’s look at it a little bit further.
First of all, this is the official answer taken from the British Council IELTS website:
“As you listen, write your answer on the question paper. At the end of the test you will have 10 minutes to transfer your answers to the answer sheet in pencil. You may write your answers in lower case or capital letters.”
So, you can write your answer in all capitals if you wish, no problem. If you choose to write in lower case letters you can still write everything in lower case for example, “europe,” “london”, or “john”. However, if you use them in Writing you should follow the spelling and grammar rules. For example, if you have to write the name of a person or the name of a place the first letter should be capitalised: “John”, “Europe”. So, you still need to know the rules.
More specifically, let’s have a look at some rules that will be helpful not only regarding Writing but also with your studies afterwards!
When do we have to use a capital letter?
1.) Never use a lower case with the personal pronoun “I”. “I” is always in capitals no matter where it is located in the sentence. For example,
“How can I help you?”
2.) We use a capital letter in the beginning of a sentence; after a full stop; or to imitate oral speech. For example,
He achieved the IELTS band he needed. Therefore, he’s really happy. He said loudly: “This is great!”
3.) We use capital letters for abbreviations. For example,
U.S.A. – U.A.E. – IELTS – TOEFL – TOEIC etc.
4.) We use a capital letter for holidays and for months and days of the weeks. For example,
Christmas, Sunday, Saturday, May, July.
5.) We use a capital letter for countries of cities, towns, regions, and landmarks. For example,
France, Milan, Europe, the Thames, the Eiffel Tower etc.
6.) We use a capital letter for people’s names. For example,
John Smith
7.) We use capital letters for nationalities. For example
Japanese, Irish, Canadian
8.) We use capital letters for religions. For examples,
Christianity, Buddhism etc.
9.) We use capital letters when we refer to famous companies. For example,
Apple, Microsoft, Hyundai, Amazon etc.
10.) We use capital letters for titles or professions. For example,
Sir Harold Pinter, Dr. John Smith, Professor Williams
11.) Last but not least, we also use capital letters for titles or headings. For example:
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyefski
Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare
Yellow Submarine by Beatles
So, that’s pretty much all you need to know regarding the use of capital letters. You can also watch the video lesson if you like:
I really hope it helps!
What do you find difficult concerning capital letters? Let me know in the comments below!
Hi, miss. I didn’t get this issue on the posts above.
Can I write a, b, c insted of A, ,B, C for single letter answer if i choose to write everything in lowercase.
As i have seen through a lot of answer sheet, they used lowercase such as
1.bus
2.road
3. John
but
4. A <<< ?
5. D <<< ?
I hope you got my point. Thank you.
Hey there! According to British Council, either choosing lower case or capitals is accepted. Also, they say that you can use them interchangeably. I wouldn’t recommend changing your choice in the same section but this is probably the reason why you see things like that in answer keys. I hope this helps!
wow, it’s amazing. It’s 2018 and still you replied me, again pretty fast. Thanks. So, im taking your ans. as yes, which is i can write as (a, b, f).
Again, thank you so much.
Good luck with your exam!
hlo
in my reading exam i wrote roman numerals by marking horizontal lines will they be marked wrong..?
I’m afraid yes. The answers should be in a,b,c etc or numbers according to the instructions. I’m really sorry.
Can I write door to door if the answer is door-to-door , AC921 if the answer is AC 921 , 5347886 if the ans is 534 7886 , Thomson if the ans is T-H-O-M-S-O-N
Yes, you can but the answer will never be T-H-O-M-S-O-N. They spell it out for you but they don’t expect you to write it like that. Good luck with your exam!
Hello Dori,
I have a small question yet its a silly doubt, but its really important for me to clarify. As I have seen in the above comments in which you said its fine to write roman numerals all in capitals if we opt to write the whole listening and reading test the whole 40 answers. Thats okay.
But I also have a silly dout regarding how to write the capital roman numeral as in some sites where I type a roman numeral in capital its showing in two ways:-
SET A: I, II, III, IV
SET B: I, IV with horizontal line above and below ??
and especially the roman numeral “I” , if it should have a horizontal line above and below if the answer to any question is “” I”” . how should I write these??
Please madam, give me a strong advice on this.
Thank you.
Whatever you do with lines (add them or not) it is acceptable. You don’t have to worry about the numeral “I” because if the answers are in numerals there’s no way for it to be confused with anything else. Good luck with your exam!
Madam, My doubt is if I want to write all the 40 answers in ALL CAPS for Ielts Reading section which format from below should I choose especially focusing on numerals incase of matching heading questions:-
For example If I opted using ALL CAPS in reading section which of the below sets would you recommend me to write as answers ??
SET A:- 1) II
2) BEETLES
3) 11 O’CLOCK
4) 5.30 AM
5) ROCKS@GMAIL.COM
6) HTTP:// http://WWW.DORI-IELTS.COM
OR
SET B:- 1) ii
2) Beetles
3) 11 o’clock
4) 5.30 am
5) rocks@gmail.com
6) https:// http://www.dori-ielts.com
Also please give me strong advice should I use CAPS or Normal capitalisation as and when required especially for reading section as anyways I decided to write caps in listening section dori. Only thing is I am worrying with writing the reading answers.
Give me strong and perfect suggestion – ALL CAPS or not for reading section even though my handwriting is good as its said that answers evaluation is computer automated.
Awaiting your reply.
Thanks.
As I repeatedly told you, both are accepted. There is no right, wrong, or better between the two. Since you can easily do both choose the one you can do faster because in Reading you won’t have extra time to complete the answer sheet.
Again, there’s no problem whatever you choose! (either all caps or normal capitalisation in either listening or reading). According to British Council everything is accepted as long as you find the correct answer and you are within the word limit.
There is no “perfect suggestion” when both options are equal!
Focus on more important things regarding IELTS, there will be no problem with these.
Good luck!
I gave IELTS recently and in one of the questions in listening section, I used abbreviation for month ( I used “feb” instead of “february”), Is it acceptable?
I’m afraid not, this is not acceptable. However, this is only one mistake; it doesn’t mean anything. I wish you the very best of luck with your results!
Hi dori,
Please clear my doubt. I have given test on 24th june and I have written all the answers in lowercase and first letter capital, even for the common nouns also. Please tell me will my answers be marked wrong??
No it won’t, don’t worry about it! Good luck with your results!
Thanku so much for sparing some time to reply 🙂
Welcome! 🙂
Mam please tell me is it ok if we write the listening answer in lower case and start it with capital letter even if it comes in between the sentence? Will it be marked wrong please reply its really urgent
According to British Council, yes you can do that. Good luck with your exam!
Is it OK ? If we write an answer start with capital and follows small letters even if the answer is in between the sentence ?
according to British Council yes, it is acceptable.
From Cambridge IELTS 11 general training test 1 reading question no. 26: the answer given in the Answer Keys is Trolleys. is trolleys wrong here?
Hey there! No, it’s not wrong. It’s just that the books usually give one answer when the only difference is a capital letter or not. They give more options when both singular/plural of a word are correct etc. Good luck with your exam!
Can answer in reading and listening like this?
1) TRUE
2) NOTHING
3) CASE
4) CASTLE
Yes, of course! Good luck with your exam!
Thanks Dori, I read the questions raised by various people and your replies. It’s really very helpful. Thank you
I’m glad to hear that! Good luck with your exam!
Hey dori
Today I gave my speaking test in Calgary Canada
Due to nervousness I think I ruined my exam
And tomorrow is my written exam
Can I still get good band score from written exam. In overall
I need to score 7
First of all, whatever you did, that’s over. You cannot know for sure anyway, so forget about it and focus on your written exam without doubts. Of course you can still get a good band. The overall bandscore is the average of the total of all setions. However, you will only know for sure when you get your results. I wish you the very best of luck with your results!
Hey I have a question in reading and listening sections. What if the speaker says “1st of August ” and the fill in blank is 1st ________? I wrote it the same “of August” but the key says “August” only . Will that going to be counted as wrong Answer in main IELTS ? Also please do clarify with a’s , and the’s . Will the Answers go wrong if we miss them ?
First of all, you have to pay attention to the word limit. If the word limit allows then it wouldn’t be wrong to add ‘of’ in this case. The same goes with the articles. However, be careful with the article ‘the’ because there are cases that you cannot omit it grammatically in a sentence (not in note- completion but in sentence completion for example).
Hy Dori.. You are doing great job.i really appreciate.My ielts is on 25 March
I have some question in my mind so please answer.i want to clear some confusions
In a video you have said “write your answers in lower case or upper case on amswer sheet” right? I want to right in small letters .so if i am going to choose small letters how do i right
MCQS A,B or C
And true false ?
Is it ok to write answers like this if i choose to write in lower case
1.Paris
2.classes
3.air
4.A
5.B
6.true
7.false
Anxiously waiting for your answer.please reply soon.
Yes, that’s totally fine. Good luck with your exam!
I read this from another site
Answers can be written on the answer sheet in upper case, lower case or a combination.
For example, the answer “Thailand” can be written as “thailand”, “THAILAND” or even “ThAiLanD”. All of these versions would be marked as correct.
Is this correct?
Hey there! On the official IELTS website says that you can write your answers in ether capital or lower case. It doesn’t clarify such details. However, since the answersheets of both Reading and Listening are marked through computers what you read on the other website makes sense. Having said that, I always say to my students to be on the safe side and choose either capital or lower case. I mean why would you wanna write ThAiLand in the first place? It is rather confusing to you too and you may make mistakes in spelling in this way. I wish you the very best of luck with your exam!
I started all my answers with upper case and the rest lowercase as below:
1) Observation
2) Phone Book
……..
Is it correct?
Yes, it is correct if they were the first words of the sentence as you wrote them (as in a list). If they are in the middle of a sentence you don’t have to capitalise the first letter. Good luck with your results!
do we have to write answers without touching the end lines in the answer sheet i mean in box or it does not matters…. its been told to me by some one that it should me between the gap of the box
What you’ve been told is correct. You should stay in the box. It’s not difficult to do that, you have plenty of space.
can we write listening in capital letters and reading in small letters .. or it would be incorrect
Yes, they are two different answersheets. However, why would you want to do that? It may confuse you in the end.
HELLO,
if the answer is reading or listening module is –
” THE CARS” .. is it compulsory to put ‘the’ ‘S’ in bracket like this- (THE) CAR(S) ..OR withour bracket will be fine?
And when wriring all the ans in acpital letters how do we write date? 30TH OCTOBER ? Will that be fine or 30th OCTOBER ? Same doubt for time.. 3 A.M OR 3 a.m ?
No, you cannot use brackets in your answer it will be wrong. The only reason you see brackets in key answers of books is because they want to show you that either is correct and accepted. So, you choose one and without brackets. If you choose capitals, then write everything in capitals (30TH/ A.M). Good luck with your exam!
Hi Dori…
If I choose all capital letters and the speaker mentions the address like www. buckers.com. and says buckers all lowercase. Can i Write http://WWW.BUCKERS.COM or i have write in lowercase as speaker mentioned.
Hey there! The speaker mentions lower case in the recording because it is a site address. In the answersheet it is accepted to write it in capitals-there’s no exception. However, be careful. If you choose capitals, all letters must be in capitals (http included). Good luck with your exam!
Thanks a lot Dori…you are amazing IELTS teacher. I love your tutorials
Thank you for your kind words! I’m glad the lessons help you! Good luck with your exam!
Hello Dori,
Need some urgent advice from you. I will be taking my IELTS exam in three days time. One thing which is confusing me is your description regarding upper and lower case writing style. Could you please guide me that can I write answers of listening module in uppercase and at the same time answers of reading modules in lowercase (due to limited time in reading module).
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Ward Regards,
Mahwish
Hey there! No need to be confused, both are accepted! Good luck with your exam!
Thank you so very much.
You’re welcome! Good luck with your exam!
Dear Dori,
IDP’s official seminar says that Capital letters are not important in the Listening and Reading tests: https://youtu.be/mNIYecEWbSI?t=26m18s
You say that they are important. I mean, you say that we have to write “Europe” but IDP says that “europe” is also correct for the Listening and Reading tests. Could you please tell me which one is true? I’m confused, I don’t want to lose any points.
Best Regards
Dear Hakan, hey there!
That is absolutely true, however, I recently had two students of my writing correction group that bought the online all inclusive course of British council “Road to IELTS”. They gave the answers to both reading and listening in all lower case letters (which is supposed to be accepted) and their answers were marked as wrong. Now, I don’t know why this happened. Is it a temporary online glitch (as these are marked through computers) or not? We have contacted their support and we are waiting for an answer. I know that official sources say that it is totally accepted but until I sort this out I’m not going to include it in the post because I want to be safe. As soon as they reply, I will update the post accordingly and notify you immediately. It shouldn’t take too long. It may be wrong or unprofessional on my part and I should reproduce what the official sources say no matter what (something that I do) but I want to make sure first in this case since I had students who faced a problem.
Thanks Dori. I use ALL CAPITALS in my Listening Answer Sheet. I think this is the safest option. Because with capital letters, examiner can understand what I write without any mistake.
Hi, I have a similar question. I’m a native speaker and did a few practice tests before my test yesterday. I answered the questions in lower case unless a capital was needed. I then answered the TRUE, FALSE, NOT GIVEN answers in all capitals, as per instructions. Now I’m terrified this was a mistake because of the mix in stykes. If so I would be very annoyed as at no point on the exam paper are there instructions on whether grammar is important, simply that spelling is important. If the website states you can use either then marking these wrong would be complete misrepresentation on their part. Accounting for a few mistakes I’ll either end up with 37/40 ish for listening and reading or 20/40 for both. Do you have any news for the above student cases?
Hey there! Your case is different from the others discussed here. As far as I’m concerned, there’s no way they will mark your answers wrong just because you changed the style in different tasks. Both ways are accepted, so I don’t believe you will have any problem whatsoever. You should know that Reading and Listening are marked through computers, so it has to do with what computers recognise. I wish you the very best of luck with your results and studies!
Thank you for the reassurance. I found on a forum this which was received as an email from the British council and, if correct, should settle this issue. However if it turns out I have 8/9’s for writing and speaking and 5’s for listening and reading, I’ll report back. (I’m not expecting full marks as I know I missed a couple in each).
*****
Thanks for getting in touch.
Here are the guidelines we are able to offer on giving answers in IELTS, which should address your queries:
It is acceptable to write in upper or lower case during the IELTs Listening and Reading tests. If candidates are writing in lower case and the answer is a proper noun, candidates will not be penalised if they do not capitalise the first letter. Candidates are expected to use appropriate punctuation during the Writing test.
Punctuation is not marked during the Reading and Listening tests – all punctuation will be ignored. Correct use of punctuation is important during the Writing test, as punctuation will be marked (this applies to hyphens, apostrophes, etc.).
It is acceptable to use either numerals or words when writing numbers during the IELTS listening test.
I hope this helps.
Hey there! Thank you for sharing that with everyone who may need to know it. You’re not going to have a problem. I wish you the very best of luck with your results and studies!
There is a wrong information on this website. Capital letters are NOT important in “Listening” and “Reading”. If you write “jack”, “paris” it is correct ! I was thinking that you are a professional.
If you don’t believe me, watch this OFFICIAL resource: https://youtu.be/mNIYecEWbSI?t=26m18s
Hey! I think I have already answered to you to your other comment. If you are not the same person, please check out my answer just above. Just a small correction–if you allow me to do so–the word “information” is uncountable (so no article “a” is needed). Please pay attention to that because you may use it in writing Task 1 or in other setions too. Good luck with your exam!
Can we use Capital Letters to write all answers even if we have to choose answer from a, b, c, d. And if we write answer as B is this correct?
Yes it is. Good luck with your exam!
what happens if i write all answers in capital letters in both listening and reading.
Nothing. In both reading and listening capitals ae accepted.
In listening, I started the sentence with small letter ( building construction) is it correct or not?thank you
I got that the first time. You found the answer and your spelling is correct. It’s not going to be wrong because you didn’t start with a capital letter. If you had made a spelling mistake yes, it would have been wrong, but in this case no it’s going to be correct. Good luck!
I meant I started the sentence with small letter ( building construction )..
Hi,
I wrote ( building construction ) at beginning of the sentence…is it incorrect or correct?thank you .
Since you found the correct answer in Listening it will be correct. Good luck with your results!
Hello Dori,
Thanks for your efforts for us. I want to ask for reading part, as you know there is True/False or Yes/No questions. In that section, we need to write TRUE or True or true in answer sheet to get higher mark. And I have an another question which about spelling. I am testing myself and occasionally I forget the put one letter like instead of North I wrote “Nort” Like 35 North Street, instead I wrote 35 Nort Street. Do I get 0 from that answer even though rest is correct? Thanks in advance.
Best regards
Hey there! Either TRUE or True or true is fine. All are accepted and correct. As for the spelling mistakes, I know it is frustrating but they are very strict on spelling even if your answer is correct. If your spelling is wrong and if you don’t pay attention to the word limit you get nothing. The answersheets are corrected through computers. So, if the computer can’t recognise the answer, you get nothing. I hope this helps! Good luck!
Hello,
If I write all my answers in capital letters, should it also be the same for roman numerals and ‘True/False’? For example, in the exam paper there is ‘i ii iii’. Should I write down ‘i ii iii’ o ‘I II III’?
Does it apply to both reading and listening?
Thank you.
Yes, you can write the Roman numbers in Capitals as well and it applies to both Listening and Reading. Good luck with your exam!
Thanks Dori. So I can write on my answer sheet “I”, “II”, “III” or “IV” even they are in the question paper as “i”, “ii”, “iii” or “iv” if I decide to write all answer in capital.
Also I can write “TRUE” or “FALSE” even it is written in question paper as “True” or “False”. if I decide to write all answer in capital.
Please confirm me.
Yes, you can. Good luck with your exam!
Can you help me? For listening if i had to write the answer, for eg, To join the centre, you need to book an instructor’s assessment — ASSESSMENT . David Kynchley – DAVID KYCHLEY Please help me .
I am not sure I understand the question… As I explain in the post above, you can use capital letters instead of lower case letters in Listening. That’s it, end of story– you can do it if you want. Now, if you mean that you want to write both–the same answer in two ways one in capitals one in lower case (eg. David Kynchley – DAVID KYCHLEY), no, you shouldn’t do that. Choose only one and stick with it. Good luck!