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2010

IELTS Speaking test in Australia – October 2010

I had to interrupt the series of tips from a high scorer to give you the latest update sent by A from Australia. Here are the questions A remembered:

Speaking test

– What is your full name?
– Can I see your ID please?
– What are you doing, working or studying?
– Have you completed your studies?
– What kind of job would you prefer in the future?

– Let’s talk about shopping. Do you like shopping?
– Do you like shopping in big shopping centres?
– Which day of the week do you prefer to shop on and why?
– When was the last time you went shopping?

Cue Card

Talk about the last film you saw, please say:
– where did you watch it?
– what did you like about it?
– what did you dislike about the film?
– why did you choose to watch that film?

Discussion

– Would you watch that movie again?
– What do you prefer, staying home to watch a movie on a DVD or going to the cinema?
– Do you find time to relax at home?
– Do you relax while watching a movie?
– What are the effects of movies on children?
– Can you learn other people’s culture through TV?
– How does watching film/movie affect a person?
– What do you think about movie stars of today and their actions?

Reading tips from IELTS high scorer (Band 8.0)

Today I have the second portion of Vasco’s tips for you: this is the way he practiced to get Band 8.5 in the Reading test.

Reading tips

Timing is everything! Learn to scan. Look at blocks of text and scan for key words, people’s names and places that are relevant, instead of trying to read each word with equal attention. You simply may not have enough time to read the whole text word-by-word and still answer the questions.

I strongly recommend that you quickly look at the questions first, and then scan through the text. By doing this you will be reading with purpose and actually find the required information easier. For instance, if you have to write something about “John Smith’s opinion” you can scan for “John Smith” and underline it. Then read that paragraph looking for the answer to that specific question.

Except for the first few times, always practice under exam conditions, forcing yourself to stop after 20 minutes per single passage or even after 60 minutes for 3 passages that you solve non-stop! Use a stopwatch alarm for this, if you have to.”

Read Vasco’s Listening tips here.