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IELTS Preparation tips

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

Stuck on Your IELTS Essay? How to Get Unstuck

Stuck on Your IELTS Essay

If you are getting stuck trying to write your IELTS essay, 90% of the time it is because of the writer’s block.

This problem is incredibly common and is a major source of pain in IELTS preparation. You’ve read the essay topic but can’t think of any ideas to write about.

Do this exercise to overcome the writer’s block and easily generate ideas for any essay topic you may get in IELTS:

Preparation: Put together a list of 5 IELTS essay topics (you can use the ones we post on IELTS-Blog.com or any other reliable source).

1. Analyse the first topic on your list to understand what you need to write about.

2. Set a timer for 5 minutes.

3. Spend these 5 minutes thinking of 2-3 main ideas for your essay. Write them down, but don’t proceed to writing the actual essay.

4. Move on to the next topic on your list & repeat the process.

This exercise will do 2 things for you:

A) It will train your brain to generate ideas quickly, and
B) By the end of it you will have notes that will help you write 5 essays.

Note: If you can’t come up with any ideas on a particular topic, it means you need to do some research! Find some model essays written for that topic and see what other people are writing about. It will give you ideas of what you can cover in your essay. That way, if you’ve done this exercise enough, you won’t have knowledge gaps. After all, the list of IELTS topics isn’t endless 😉

Keep practicing and soon you will get rid of the writer’s block for good!

What other problems are you struggling with in IELTS writing? Let me know in the comments!

The 3 Mistakes in IELTS Speaking That Kill Your Score

The 3 Mistakes in IELTS Speaking That Kill Your Score

Different mistakes have a different effect on your IELTS score – some are minor and won’t do much damage, but others can undo all the hard work you’ve done preparing for the test.

These 3 mistakes are something you really need to avoid because they can kill your score in the IELTS Speaking test.

Mistake #1: Mumbling or speaking too quietly

If the examiner has to work extra hard to hear what you’re saying, you score will reflect it. This mistake affects your Fluency and Coherence score, and when it drops, your overall Speaking score goes down with it.

Tip: Speak up and make occasional eye contact with the examiner – but don’t stare at him/her! Staring is considered impolite in the Western culture.

Mistake #2: Answering questions with just a ‘Yes’ or ‘No’

In the IELTS Speaking test the examiner isn’t conducting a survey about your likes and dislikes. The reason they ask you questions is to hear you SPEAK as much as possible. What you are saying (your message) isn’t as important as HOW you’re saying it. A good answer combines an idea that you express in a logical way with suitable vocabulary.

Tip: answer the question and then add a sentence explaining why, when or where or what.

Mistake #3: Talking about a something else instead of what you’ve been asked.

Sometimes test takers hear the question but forget it or get distracted and start talking about something that is perhaps related – but not quite what the examiner asked.

Example: If the examiner asks you what you like drinking, tea or coffee, don’t start talking about vegetarian dishes being your favorite or some types of food you like.

Why? You will lose marks for Fluency and Coherence and then even if you get a 7 in all the other criteria, your total Speaking score will still be just 6.5.

This is why I recommend bookmarking this post about the 3 mistakes and reminding yourself not to make them every time you practice in speaking, and especially on your test day.

How many of these mistakes are you making? Let me know in the comments!