What this topic covers, in plain English
In IELTS Listening and real forms, you must write addresses correctly. A street type is the word that follows a name, like Road or Avenue. An abbreviation is the shortened written form, like Rd or Ave. A directional is N, S, E, W added to a name. A unit label identifies a dwelling, such as Flat, Apt, or Suite. Small differences matter because one letter can change a score or a delivery location.

Golden rule: follow the form and the audio

1. Match the form: if the form prints “Address: ______ Road”, write the name only (King), not Rd. If it shows “Address: ______ Rd”, supply the name and keep Rd as printed.
2. Match the audio: if the speaker spells a type or insists on a variant (“That’s A-V-E, Ave”), copy that exactly. If they just say “Avenue”, write Avenue unless the form already fixes it as Ave.
3. Capitalise names, not types: King Road, Park Ave, not king road or PARK AVE.

High-frequency street types and safe abbreviations

• Road → Rd
• Street → St (but see Saint below)
• Avenue → Ave
• Lane → Ln
• Drive → Dr
• Boulevard → Blvd
• Court → Ct
• Crescent → Cres
• Close → Cl
• Terrace → Tce
• Place → Pl
• Square → Sq
• Highway → Hwy
• Expressway → Expy; Freeway → Fwy
• Bypass → Byp

UK vs US punctuation: modern UK style often drops the period (Rd, St); US style often uses it (Rd., St.). In IELTS, periods rarely matter, but consistency helps: copy the form’s style.

BD patterns you will hear:

• House or Holding (Hse, rarely used in exams), Road No. 12 or Rd 12, Lane often said as “Ln”, Sector in planned areas, and block letters (Block C). When in doubt, write the full word (Road, Lane, Sector) unless the form shows an abbreviation.

The Saint vs Street trap: “St” means two different things

• Street: usually after a number or name. Example: 27 King St.
• Saint: usually before a name. Example: St Martin’s Road.
  In listening, notice the position. If “St” is before a person’s name, write St or Saint as said, then the type: St Martin’s Rd. If it’s after a street name, it means Street: King St.

Directionals, unit labels, and house numbers

• Directionals: N, S, E, W (or North, South). Example: 410 E Main St. If they say “East”, write East unless the form preprints a single letter.
• Units: UK uses Flat 3, 1st Floor; US uses Apt 3, Ste 210. Write the word you hear: Flat, Apt, Suite, Unit, Floor.
• Numbers with letters: 17B means “one seven B”. Askers often spell the letter; you should copy the case they use.
• House vs Road number in BD: “House 17, Road 12” is common. Keep both labels.

Two worked examples

Example 1 — Full word vs abbreviation
Audio: “That’s 27 King Street, flat 3, Dhaka 1207.”
Form shows: “No. ____, King ___, Flat ___, Postcode ___”
Write: 27 | Street | 3 | 1207
Why: the form expects the type spelled out. You fill only the missing parts.

Example 2 — Abbreviation locked by the form
Audio: “House 14, Lake View Avenue, Block C.”
Form shows: “House ___, Lake View Ave, Block ___”
Write: 14 | (leave Ave as printed) | C
Why: the form fixes Ave. You supply the house number and block.

Mini case — Nawar in Mirpur

Problem: Nawar lost listening marks by writing “Park Rd.” where the form printed “Park Road”, and by confusing St (Street) with St (Saint).
Intervention: He built a two-step check: 1) scan the form for preprinted types and copy their style; 2) underline any “St” and decide position rule (before name = Saint, after name = Street).
Result: 8 address items across three mocks improved to 8/8, and real-life parcel returns dropped to zero.

Measurable drills

• 30-line copy drill: Write each pair twice, once in full and once abbreviated: Road/Rd, Avenue/Ave, Street/St, Boulevard/Blvd, Terrace/Tce, Crescent/Cres. Time 2 minutes. Target 100 percent spelling accuracy.
• Form-scan sprints: Take three sample forms. In 60 seconds each, circle all preprinted types and directionals. Aim for full capture in time.
• Saint vs Street flash test: Make 10 cards. Front: “St John’s ___”; Back: choose Road/Rd (Saint) vs King ___ (Street). Target 90 percent in one run.

Common mistakes

• Forcing an abbreviation when the form prints the full type.
• Writing “Ave.” after hearing “Avenue” even when the field already shows “Ave”.
• Dropping unit labels: writing “3” instead of “Flat 3”.
• Misreading “St” before a name as “Street” instead of “Saint”.
• Adding periods inconsistently in a system that omits them.

Edge cases and safe choices

• Hyphenated names: New-Town Road. Keep the hyphen because it changes meaning.
• Apostrophes: St John’s Rd vs St Johns Rd. Follow the audio or the printed form.
• Duplicate types in names: “The Crescent” that is actually a Road. If the audio says “The Crescent Road”, write it as said.
• Spelled letters: “B as in Bravo.” Copy the letter, not the code word.
• Postcodes: UK postcodes mix letters and numbers (SW1A 1AA); BD uses numeric (e.g., 1212). Preserve spacing if you hear it spelled.

Tips and tricks

• Pre-hear common reductions: Blvd sounds like “buhl-vard”, Crescent like “KRE-sent”.
• Anchor on street type first: write Lane, Road, or Ave in the margin as soon as you hear it, then fill the name.
• Say-and-trace: whisper-write letters while the speaker spells a street name.
• For BD forms, listen for “Road No.” and write the number exactly; do not replace with a generic Rd.

To avoid

• Guessing the type from context. If it is unclear, wait for the word.
• Over-capitalising everything: use Title Case for names, lower-case for of, no random all caps.
• Mixing UK and US punctuation randomly.
• Abbreviating unit labels unless the form shows them that way.

Glossary

Street type: the word that defines the roadway class (Road, Street, Avenue).
Abbreviation: a shortened written form (Rd, Ave).
Directional: N, S, E, W or North, South added to a street name.
Unit label: Flat, Apt, Suite, Unit, Floor.
Saint vs Street rule: St before a name is Saint; after a name is Street.
Preprinted field: text already on the form that fixes style.

Next steps

Print three blank address forms (UK, US, BD style). Do a 10 minute loop: scan preprinted types, fill two audio-style examples per form, and run the Saint vs Street decision each time. Track a simple metric: tasks completed with zero style mismatches for a week.

1. Actionable closing — Cheatsheet

Street types
Road Rd | Street St | Avenue Ave | Lane Ln | Drive Dr | Court Ct | Boulevard Blvd | Crescent Cres | Terrace Tce | Place Pl | Square Sq

Unit labels
UK: Flat, Floor; US: Apt, Ste; Generic: Unit, Level

Directionals
N, S, E, W or North, South, East, West. Copy what you hear.

Saint vs Street
Before a name → Saint (St Martin’s Rd).
After a name → Street (King St).

Form-first rules

• If the type is printed, do not rewrite it.
• If the audio spells a variant, copy it.
• Keep the form’s punctuation style.

CTA: Take one mock form and an address list of 10 items. Apply the form-first rules, the Saint vs Street rule, and keep unit labels. Aim for 10 of 10 correct with zero style mismatches. Repeat tomorrow with new items and shorten total time by 20 percent.