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IELTS Preparation tips

The best ways to study for the four IELTS sub-tests: Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking

How to prepare for ALL IELTS Speaking Introduction questions

Any IELTS Speaking test starts with introduction questions. What are they? The introduction questions are always about where you live, what you do for work, or what you study. After these questions the examiner goes on to some other topics. It is important to have a good start to your Speaking test, because it will help you feel more confident and calm for the next part.

To start your next IELTS speaking test feeling fully in control and ready, watch this video.

Adam will give you all the possible introduction questions you might be asked. He will act as the examiner and ask you the questions, and you can pause the video and practice answering them.

Adam has been an examiner for 10 years, and he can guarantee that the intro questions never really change! Even though they mix them around, there aren’t many ways to ask someone where they live, what kind of job they have, or what they are studying.

All the questions Adam is asking also appear on the screen for you to read, if you missed something he said.

Let your practice begin… now!

Watch the video on YouTube here

 

Go here to get Adam to assess your Speaking, estimate you the score you’re likely to get now and tell you how to score higher.

In the video

Live 1
Do you live in a house or an apartment? (Why?)
What does your house /apartment look like? (Why?)
What can you see from your window?

Live 2
What kind of house or apartment do you live in?
Do you enjoy living in this house/apartment?
Are there any shops or other facilities near your home?

Live 3
Do you like the place where you live now?
Do you know many people who live near you?
Is your area a good place for families with children?

Live 4
Do you live in a house or an apartment? (Why?)
What is your favourite room in your home? (Why?)
Do you think you will move home in the near future? (Why/why not?)

Live 5
How far away from here are you living at the moment?
How long have you lived in your part of town?
Is your part of town an interesting place? (Why/why not?)

Work 1
What do you do?
When did you decide to do this kind of work? (Why?)
Is there anything you don’t like about your job? (Why/why not?)

Work 2
Do you work better in the morning or the afternoon?
What do you enjoy the most about your work?
Has your work changed since you started your job? (How?)

Work 3
What sort of job do you do?
Do you find the work easy? (Why/why not?)
Do you think your job will change much in the future? (Why/why not?)

Work 4
What job do you do?
At what time of day do you work best?
Have you made friends with the people you work with? (Why/why not?)

Work 5
What kind of work do you do?
Why did you choose this kind of work?
Did you enjoy your first day in this job? (Why/why not?)

Study 1
What subjects are you studying?
When did you decide to study this/these subjects (Why?)
Is there anything you don’t like about your studies? (Why/why not?)

Study 2
Do you study better in the morning or afternoon? (Why?)
What do you enjoy the most about your studies? (Why?)
Is your course different to what you expected? (Why/why not?)

Study 3
What subject do you study?
Do you find this/these subjects easy? (Why/why not?)
What job do you hope to do after you finish your studies?

Study 4
What are you studying?
At what time of day do you study best? (Why?)
Have you made friends with the people you study with? (Why/why not?)

Study 5
Where are you studying?
Why did you choose to study there?
Did you enjoy your first day there? (Why/why not?)

Academic IELTS Writing Task 1 – How to Describe Maps

Many test takers feel nervous when they get two maps to describe in their Academic Writing Task 1. Let’s make sure it won’t happen to you! In this lesson Adam, our favourite ex-IELTS examiner of 10 years, is going to give you some great tips that will make describing maps a lot easier. Watch this video, follow Adam’s instructions and you will feel happy when you get a map to describe in your test!

Watch the lesson on YouTube, or below:

 

The questions to ask yourself when you get two maps to describe are:

1. What are you comparing?
What happened or will happen to the town, village, building, site, etc. in the period between the first and second maps?

2. When are you comparing?
Are the changes in the past, or in the future? Some maps show changes that were done in the past, but some will show you future changes, and you need to make sure you’re using the correct verb tenses.

3. What has been added, removed or changed? In any two maps you can expect some things to be
– added or introduced in the second map
– removed, so that they are no longer there in the second map, or
– changed / moved, so that they are in a different location on the second map.
Thinking about these things is critical to your planning.

4. How to show location?
You can use compass directions (North, South, East, West) and also landmarks – rivers, roads, etc. Adam will give you some examples.

But this is far from everything you will learn – so please do watch the entire video, because insider tips from an IELTS examiner are a sure way to a higher score. That’s certainly something you don’t get every day 🙂

Adam doesn’t give you a model response in this lesson, because he would like you to have a go and write your own. But if you’d like to see a Band 9 sample, check out our High Scorer’s Choice IELTS practice tests. This particular topic can be found in Package 2 and we also provide a model response for it, as well as all the other writing tasks.

Enjoy the lesson!