How to Write Numbers, Dates and Times in IELTS Listening

Numbers appear in almost every IELTS Listening test, especially in Part 1. They are some of the easiest marks to win, and some of the easiest to lose. Here's how to write them so they're marked correct.

Digits or words?

Both are usually accepted: 15 and fifteen are both correct, as long as the word is spelled correctly. But digits are the safer choice:

• They are faster to write while the recording continues
• They can't be misspelled (fourty instead of forty is a common, costly mistake)
• A number written as digits counts as a number, not a word, which helps with instructions like ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER

Recommendation: always write numbers as digits.

Dates

The most common date formats are generally accepted:

• 14 March
• 14th March
• March 14
• March 14th

Spell the month correctly, because a misspelled month is wrong. Watch out for February, Wednesday and Saturday.

Be careful with the word limit. If the instruction is ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER, then 14 March fits (one number and one word).

Times

Write times as digits with a full stop or a colon:

• 9.30 or 9:30
• 7.45 pm
• 11 o'clock can be written as 11 or 11.00

Listen carefully to the difference between quarter past (:15) and quarter to (:45), and between half past seven (7.30) and half seven, which in British English also means 7.30.

Prices and money

Write the number, and include the currency only if the answer sheet doesn't already show it:

• If the gap is £ ______, write 45, not £45 or 45 pounds
• If there's no symbol, 45 pounds or £45 are both fine

Listen for corrections: "It was 60 pounds, but it's been reduced to 45." The answer is 45. Read more in our guide to IELTS Listening distractors.

Phone numbers and reference numbers

Phone numbers are read digit by digit, often in groups:

• "oh-seven-nine...": "oh" means 0
• "double five" means 55
• "triple two" means 222

Reference numbers often mix letters and digits, like KT409. Write exactly what you hear, letter by letter.

Teens and tens

One of the most common listening mistakes is confusing:

• 13 (thir-TEEN) and 30 (THIR-ty)
• 14 and 40, 15 and 50, and so on

In -teen numbers the stress is usually on the second syllable, and the final n sound is clear. In -ty numbers the stress is on the first syllable. In context, a speaker may also correct themselves: "Flat 14, not 40."

Large numbers

• 1,500 and 1500 are both fine
• Make sure you hear the difference between a hundred and fifty (150) and five hundred (500)
• For years, "eighteen sixty-eight" means 1868

Practise until it's automatic

Reading rules is not enough: on test day you need to write numbers instantly while the recording keeps going. Practise with our free numbers, dates and times drill, then try a full Part 1 lesson.