Tutorial: Planning a Cycling-to-Campus Study: Listening Answers & Explanations
IELTS Listening practice test · 7 questionsPart 3medium
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About this recording
The recording opens: “Come in, Tom, Sara. So, how's the project on cycling to campus coming along?”
- Transcript length: about 287 words
- Questions: 7
- Question types: Multiple Choice, Matching Features
“Tutorial: Planning a Cycling-to-Campus Study” is an original IELTS-style practice recording written by IELTS-Bank. It is not taken from an official IELTS or Cambridge test, so these answers only apply to our version.
Answer key at a glance
Tutorial: Planning a Cycling-to-Campus Study answers with explanations
Question 1: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.
According to Sara, what is the main advantage of adding interviews?
- A. They reach a larger number of people.
- B. They reveal people's reasons for cycling or not.
- C. They take less time than a survey.
- 1
The main advantage of the interviews is that
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Answer: B — They reveal people's reasons for cycling or not.
Why: Sara states that the main advantage of interviews is that they allow the researchers to explore the reasons why people choose to cycle or not, as mentioned in her dialogue with Dr Hughes.
What you hear · Transcript, paragraph 3 (Sara) “The survey gives us the numbers — how many people cycle, how far, and so on — and the interviews let us dig into why people choose to cycle, or why they don't.”
Question 2: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.
What does the tutor warn the students not to do?
- A. survey only people who already cycle
- B. use an online survey at all
- C. interview too many people
- 2
Dr Hughes warns them not to
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Answer: A — survey only people who already cycle
Why: Dr Hughes warns the students not to survey only people who already cycle because it would bias the sample and miss insights from those who have given up cycling or never started.
What you hear · Transcript, paragraph 5 (Sara) “If we only ask cyclists, we'll miss the whole point — we really need to hear from people who've given up cycling, or who've never started.”
Question 3: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.
How do the students decide to recruit participants?
- A. by handing out flyers at the bike racks
- B. through the student email list
- C. by stopping people on campus
- 3
Participants will be recruited
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Answer: B — through the student email list
Why: Tom and Sara decide to recruit participants through the student email list to ensure they reach both cyclists and non-cyclists, avoiding bias that would occur if they only handed out flyers at bike racks.
What you hear · Transcript, paragraph 7 (Tom) “We were actually going to hand out flyers at the bike racks, but you're right, that would completely bias the sample.”
Questions 4–7: Matching Features
Who will be responsible for each part of the project?
Choose your answers from the list of people A–C and select the correct letter for each task. You may choose any letter more than once.
- A. Tom
- B. Sara
- C. Dr Hughes
- 4
designing the survey questions
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Answer: B — Sara
Why: Sara is the correct answer because she explicitly states, "I'll design the survey questions — that's honestly the part I enjoy most," indicating her responsibility for this task.
What you hear · Transcript, paragraph 9 (Sara) “Well, I'll design the survey questions — that's honestly the part I enjoy most.”
- 5
setting up and running the interviews
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Answer: A — Tom
Why: Tom is responsible for setting up and running the interviews, as he mentions having prior experience with interviewing and agrees to take on that task in the conversation with Dr Hughes and Sara.
- 6
transcribing the recordings
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Answer: A — Tom
Why: Tom is responsible for transcribing the recordings because he mentions that he will set up and run the interviews and do the transcribing afterwards.
What you hear · Transcript, paragraph 10 (Tom) “And I'll set up and run the interviews, and do the transcribing afterwards.”
- 7
carrying out the statistical analysis
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Answer: C — Dr Hughes
Why: Dr Hughes is responsible for carrying out the statistical analysis, as he mentions that he will run the statistical analysis together with Tom and Sara in their weekly sessions.
What you hear · Transcript, paragraph 12 (Dr Hughes) “That's absolutely fine — I'll run the statistical analysis together with you in our weekly sessions, so leave that part to me for now.”
Estimated band score for this test
Your raw score out of 7 scaled to the 40-question IELTS Listening conversion table. This is the same estimate the practice page shows after you submit. A single recording is a small sample, so treat it as a guide.
| Correct answers | Estimated band |
|---|---|
| 7 / 7 | 9.0 |
| 6 / 7 | 7.5 |
| 5 / 7 | 6.5 |
| 4 / 7 | 6.0 |
| 3 / 7 | 5.0 |
| 2 / 7 | 4.0 |
| 1 / 7 | 3.0 |
| 0 / 7 | 0.0 |
Full-test score? Use the IELTS band calculator.
Tips for the question types in this test
Listening Part 3
- Before the audio, read the questions and note whose view each one asks about — "What does Marta think…" is answered by Marta’s words, not her tutor’s.
- Learn the voices in the first few seconds: names are always exchanged early, and attaching name to voice immediately pays off for the whole part.
Common trap: Attributing one speaker’s opinion to another, especially when a speaker summarises someone else’s view before disagreeing with it.
Full Listening Part 3 strategyPractise “Tutorial: Planning a Cycling-to-Campus Study” under exam conditions
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