IELTS preparation tips from winners

Today we are delighted to introduce to you Vanessa – a young lady from Nigeria whose first language is Yoruba. The remarkable thing about Vanessa is that she prepared for IELTS in 6 weeks and got an Overall Band 7.5 as a result (with 8.5 in Listening!). This score helped Vanessa win in our monthly IELTS results competition, and when we asked her to share some useful things other test takers can do to get a higher score, here is what she said:

“Thank you for choosing me as one of the winners of the IELTS Result Competition, I am greatly honoured.

I had about a month and two weeks to prepare for the IELTS Test, I will share some of my study tips with you.

Reading and Listening: I studied the entire reading module and listened to all the recordings in my IELTS study book and I practiced some of the model tests too. For the reading section I timed myself while I was practicing, so that I could get used to the time restriction during the real exam.

Speaking: I practiced speaking about different topics with my IELTS tutor.

Writing: I studied the writing module in my preparation book and spent a lot of time practicing how to write different types of essays.

In addition to these, I put God first in my IELTS preparation because with God all things are possible. Also, my parents supported and encouraged me in preparing for the test by getting a tutor for me and buying all the study materials I needed.

I also watched a lot of IELTS tutoring videos and read study tips from successful IELTS test takers.

My advice to all those preparing for the test is to study and practice a lot, because practice made me to notice my errors and so I could correct myself, also it made me more confident.

Practice! Practice!! Practice!!!

Passing the IELTS requires hard work, determination, and positive mindset – and we are all capable of that.”

The best part about holding an IELTS results competition is… meeting the winners! As you know, we have a tradition that goes back more than a decade – we ask the winners these questions: “What in your opinion is important in IELTS preparation? What is a good way to study for the exam?”

Here is what 3 latest winners told us. But before we get to it, one important request – don’t just read this post. Think how YOU can follow the same steps in your IELTS preparation. Make a to-do list, and look at it every time before you study, to remind yourself what you need to cover in this session. And when this works for you, write back and tell us, so we can be very, very happy for you!

Our first winner is Rajatha from India (first language – KANNADA), who got Overall IELTS Band 8.5. She said:

“I am flattered to be chosen as the winner of the IELTS results competition. I would like to share some tips that would help the IELTS aspirants secure a good score if incorporated into their study plan:

3. Practice paying attention during the listening module as this section, if paid undivided attention to, will help you secure a good band score.”

Our second winner is Tina, also from India, who got Overall IELTS Band 7.5. She said:

“My best advice for all the IELTS candidates would be that they all should practise sample papers. Read, listen and write more in English, which will help them enhance their vocabulary.”

Our third winner is Zubaid (native Urdu speaker from India), who got Overall IELTS Band 7. He said:

“Listening – I used to practice very hard listening modules on YouTube and watching English movies without subtitle will definitely help.

Speaking – Be confident, speak clearly (don’t speak too fast). Structure your speech so that it has an intro, body and conclusion in Section 2 of the speaking test (Cue card). This can increase your score and certainly using rich vocabulary will be the icing on the cake.”