IELTS preparation tips from winners

Ali is a young man in his 20’s who took the IELTS test for the first time, after 3 months of preparation. His efforts were rewarded with a band score of 7.5, and as a winner of our monthly results competition we asked him to share some tips with other test takers. Here is what Ali said was important to succeed in the IELTS exam:

“Practice. We all know that we should practice a lot to gain a satisfying result. However the key point here is to practice in the right way. Timing and how to manage time/having enough time for each section during the exam is also just about practicing. Obviously repeating mistakes will not help you to improve at all. We all should have been told by an expert what to do and what not to do. I studied lots of IELTS tests before my exam however what did help me during studying was the times that I was checking my mistakes and searched/read/asked about them online or asked an expert how to improve them. IELTS-blog samples are really useful. I have tried their speaking and writing samples.

Being focused during the test. That was a tricky one for me. I’m that kind of person who easily is distracted. In my test in the middle of listening someone got sick and they paused the test for about half an hour and all I tried was not to lose focus, being disturbed or frightened by such a thing. Every one in our center was nagging about not being able to take the test anymore and there was really disturbing background noise.

Confidence. It was so important to me to gain enough confidence to believe in myself and my skills.

I appreciate this opportunity to mention that “Target Band 7” helped me a lot. This book was with me about 3 months. It helped me to make my thoughts and concerns about the exam organized and clarified the required skills and techniques for every section of the exam. Actually although it wasn’t the first book I bought in this regard, it is the best. I did read it 2 times from the beginning to end excluding the referring times about looking for the tips on a specific sections. It helped me to see the exam as an expert in every section. Noting and mentioning the important parts and making it summarized in useful hints and tips really made it the best book which really boosts everyone’s band who really reads this book in detail. I gave my “Target Band 7” to a couple of my friends and hope in some near future I will see their high scores.”

Daphne is a 26 year old lady from Singapore who took the IELTS exam and scored Overall Band 8 with a perfect 9 in Reading. As a winner of our monthly results competition she shared her tips. Here is what helped her, and may help you, get a great IELTS score:

Listening

Make use of the free resources on the web and keep practising. Try to get hold of past years exam papers. This will help to be familiar with the various listening scenarios. Focus only on the particular set of questions before each scenario is played so that you will know what to look out for.

Reading

Try to do speed reading. Also, reading the questions through before attempting the paper might help. Practise and practise so that you will get the hang of it and time yourself throughout the paper. As the passage gets more difficult, allocate more time accordingly.

Writing

I did not practise writing during my revision. However, my tip is to read different sample essays/reports, as many as you can. Be familiar with the format and structure of writing the essay/report. Learn some useful vocabulary and sentence connectors.

Speaking

Listen to past recordings. Practise speaking based on previous years questions. Time yourself during practice so that you know if you speak too fast. Do it in front of a mirror or with someone so that you can receive feedback. Give a smile, feel confident and stay relaxed during the test.

Hope it helps!