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Simone Braverman

Simone Braverman is the founder of IELTS-Blog.com and the author of several renowned IELTS preparation books, including Ace the IELTS, Target Band 7, the High Scorer's Choice practice test series, and IELTS Success Formula. Since 2005, Simone has been committed to making IELTS preparation accessible and effective through her books and online resources. Her work has helped 100,000's of students worldwide achieve their target scores and live their dream lives. When Simone isn't working on her next IELTS book, video lesson, or coaching, she enjoys playing the guitar or rollerblading.

IELTS test in Nigeria – April 2022 (Academic Module)

Our kind friend F.M. from Nigeria found the recent IELTS questions we share on the blog useful in her exam preparation. In turn, she shared the following IELTS questions from her own IELTS test:

Writing test

Writing task 1 (a report)

We were given a table comparing the number of women who are members of the parliament in five regions of the world, in the years 1990, 1997 and 2005.

Writing task 2 (an essay)

Being good at mathematics depends on a person’s natural ability as well as the quality of teaching they receive. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Speaking test

Part 1 (Interview)

– Can you tell me your full name, please?
– What can I call you?
– Can I see your ID?
– Do you study or work?
– Can you tell me about your course?
– How will your course be useful to you in the future?

– Do you like pets?
– What pets are common in your country?
– Did you own a pet when you were a child?
– Will you own a pet in the future?

– Have you ever been lost?
– Do you like to check the map before going to new places?
– Do you visit new places often?
– Have you ever helped someone who was lost?

Part 2 (Cue Card)

Talk about a time you had to be nice to someone who was unfriendly to you. Please say

– when it was
– where it was
– who the person was
– and explain why you had to be nice to him/her.

Follow up question: Do you often have to be nice to people who are unfriendly?

Part 3 (Discussion)

– Can facial expressions be useful to determine if someone is friendly or not?
– What types of body language are common in your country?
– Is body language effective at helping us understand what someone is saying?
– Does everyone use body language?

How to avoid taking IELTS many times and get your target score straight away

People are often pressed for time preparing for their IELTS tests. Here is one reason why: test takers find out they have a date by which they must get their target IELTS score. The date may be set by a government agency, a university where they would like to study or a potential employer. Then people are starting their IELTS preparation, and they often have 2-3 weeks to get their English and IELTS skills to the necessary level. This order of events is less than ideal, because the right way is working on your IELTS skills first, until you are reliably getting your target score at home in mock tests, and then booking a date for your test, to ensure you don’t take it more than once.

Reza, a test taker from Iran who got a Band 8 Overall score in IELTS, approached his exam the right way – he made sure he is able to get his target score in a mock test at home first, and then took the real test. He needed Band 7 in writing, and in order to get there he worked hard, wrote and submitted more than 30 essays to our writing correction service.

He followed our teachers’ suggestions and improved, and when he started getting Band 7 for his Writing Tasks 1 and 2, Reza knew he was ready. In the real test his Writing score was Band 7, and his Overall score – Band 8.

As a winner of our March round of IELTS Results Competition, Reza shared some advice that will help you prepare for IELTS the right way:

“Using IELTS-Blog.com writing correction service is highly recommended. It provides practical feedback which can effectively increase test takers’ scores. Furthermore, I ask everyone to read the past IELTS questions they publish on the website. It helps you get familiar with different topics that come up in Writing and Speaking.

As for the Listening and Reading – I did a test every day. It was very helpful in improving my concentration, pace and confidence. Cambridge IELTS books and many online sources can be used for these parts.

Thank you to IELTS-Blog.com for your incredible help and support. We all owe you big time.”

Congratulations to Reza Zaeri on achieving an Overall IELTS Band score of 8.0!

Best IELTS test result March 2022