Onaburekhan got Band 8.5 without reading any IELTS books, here’s how
Today we’re bringing you the story of Onaburekhan, a 33 year-old man from Nigeria who took the IELTS test to become a pharmacist in the UK. Not only did he get a truly remarkable score and won in our monthly IELTS results competition, but also achieved it without studying any IELTS books while preparing for the exam. Here is how Onaburekhan did it, in his own words:
“I never imagined in a million years that I would achieve this result, it just happened. I actually thought I was doomed after I finished the test because I found it quite difficult. I am in the military and I haven’t really done anything academic for over 3 years, and I wanted to use this test to gauge myself academically and find out how much I have gained or lost.
I only started revising for the test about 2 weeks beforehand because I was busy with work. I needed a Band 7 in all the 4 elements in a single sitting to apply for a Pharmacy conversion programme (OSPAP) here in the UK. I didn’t study any books, I used www.IELTS-Blog.com, to understand the structure of the test and what to do to get the right band scores. I think it helped that I already have a research-based MSc from a UK university because I did quite a lot of writing to achieve a good MSc grade. It also helped that I am more of a BBC and Channel 4 news kind of person, these programmes have helped boost my understanding of English and speaking.
I would advise IELTS candidates to improve their Speaking and Listening skills by watching the BBC News coverage from around the world. They can also improve their Writing and Reading skills by engaging in loads of practise prior to the test. To be honest, I didn’t really practise reading and writing because I have been subconsciously doing so all through my studying and working career as a Pharmacist in my home country. Candidates who do not have English as a first language would definitely need lots of practise if they are aiming for a high score in IELTS.
IELTS-Blog.com should be the first point of call for resources that would help boost a candidate’s IELTS score. I used it and it helped me achieve what I need in the first attempt, and I strongly recommend that candidates should follow the guidance written there in order to get the Band they need.”
She said: “I have a problem with collecting new vocabulary including idioms, collocations, phrasal verbs, etc. When it comes to jotting them down, it really baffles me how to organize them all correctly, easy for learning, easy for finding and reviewing as well. Besides, arranging a suitable timetable for learning IELTS is quite challenging and confuses me a lots. It requires good timing and an extreme concentration, for which I do not know how to prepare and schedule, since I always lose control of myself and become absent minded.”
She said: “I need to get band score 7 before August this year. I came to New Zealand two years ago with my son and husband. I was brave enough to spend my money to do the IELTS test 2 years ago. After that I realized I do need proper preparation to get band 7, but my big problem is I don’t have any resources. Also, I don’t have much time and money to spend and I find myself too distracted after work to study.”
He said: “I wrote IELTS two times last year but I could not get the required score for Canadian Federal Skilled Workers Program (7.5 in listening, 7 in reading, 7 in writing and 7 in speaking). That was before I discovered IELTS-Blog.com. So in my IELTS preparation this year I have already planned to make use of your materials. My main problems in IELTS preparation are with Listening and Reading. I am unable to listen, understand and at the same time write. Also, I find it difficult to understand some statements because of the ascent of the people talking. My worst problems in reading are the inability to finish answering questions in the time allowed and dealing with filling in blanks.”
4. Melniko Quintos from the Philippines, who said:
5. Jincy Joseph from India, who is a nurse and needs an IELTS score for professional certification. 
He said: “In Reading I really find it is hard to distinguish between ‘False’ and ‘Not Given’, it always confuses me. It is very hard for me to persuade myself to believe in the right answer even when I read the passage over and over again. I would say my reading score mostly depends on how lucky I am, as sometimes if I can understand the main ideas of the passages, then I can make less than 3 mistakes, but most of the time I will have made 8-11 mistakes in the Reading section.”
7. Srinivas Lakshman from India, who needs Band 7 in IELTS to be able to immigrate to Australia.
He said: “My IELTS story began one year ago. I took the test 5 times and I can’t reach my target score, Overall Band 6.5. My big problem is that I can’t develop all of my skills well. For example my reading score stayed at Band 5 in all the exams so far. I start to get disappointed in this test and think I can’t do it.” 
He said: “My biggest problems are with Writing and Speaking. In writing, I face problems in organizing the matter. Also, I am not familiar with a less common vocabulary. In Speaking, I think I have fear of speaking in front of the examiner. I took IELTS 5 months ago and scored 6.0 in Writing and Speaking, but I need at least 7.0 in each of these skills.”
She said: “I tried the academic module 2 months ago and got 5.5 in Writing. As you can see I have a big problem in the Writing module, I know what I have to write, but I am unable to link my ideas.”