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IELTS Test Results competition

Phu didn’t expect to achieve Band 8 – what a surprise!

Phu Dat Le is a Vietnamese test taker who got surprised by his IELTS score quite a bit. He expected Band 7 or 7.5 but achieved Band 8.0 overall, and consequently won in our IELTS results competition.

Here is what Phu told us about his exam preparation:

Band 8 in IELTS“To be honest, I don’t have many tips for achieving your desired IELTS band score. Actually, I did not expect an 8.0, just around 7.0 – 7.5 instead. Regarding Listening and Reading test, I believe that there is an abundance of tips our there already. However, it is important that you pick the right ones that suit you best, for example: the priority of the tasks, skimming and scanning, whether to read the entire passage, etc. Everyone has their own method for these skills. And keep practicing your own way.

As for Writing, I did not achieve really high score. My writing skill was not very good, to be honest. Before my official test, I had 4-5 months of tutoring by a senior student who had extraordinarily passed the IELTS test before. I got to learn how to write in a more logical way and how to express the ideas coherently. Again, pick the best advice from others and make it your own. One more thing, practice writing on an actual answer sheet, so that you can estimate how long you should write into the sheet to reach the word limit in the given time.

Last but not least, for Speaking test, you can prepare some answers for Task 1, which focus on general information about yourself. For Task 2 and Task 3, prepare some contents for specific topics such as Travelling, Celebrities, Animals… This is also what I learned from my above mentioned senior student. Another advice from my friend is that you should regard the Speaking test as a job interview. Be honest, be true to yourself, do not try to learn the ideas from others which are more likely to make you feel unnatural and uncomfortable. The examiners will appreciate that. By the end of the test, you might ask for their feedback for your English speaking skill improvement.”

IELTS tips from Band 8.5 candidate: “Practice, analyse your mistakes and don’t get nervous”

Sai Bhargavi Satti is a lovely young lady from India, whose mother tongue is Telugu. She took IELTS for the very first time after some self-preparation at home and achieved an overall Band score of 8.5 (with straight 9’s in Listening and Reading). As a winner of our IELTS results competition Sai had a chance to share her best tips with everyone, and she said:

Band 8.5 in IELTS“I feel honoured considering that I’ve scored high though for me this was the first time taking the IELTS exam. I’ve practised on my own using the practice materials available on IELTS-Blog.com and they helped a lot.

Below are some strategies I’ve used and hope would be helpful to others as well:

1. The first and foremost tip I would suggest is that one must love learning English if they want to do well in the exam. It’s also important to know the test pattern beforehand. “Practice” is the key to success. Make sure you know the instructions and follow them precisely, long before the exam.

2. For the Listening section: One must get used to listening to the English language and actually understanding it. This is only possible with lots of practice as the audios are of various dialects/accents. Personally, I didn’t find much difference between varied accents. Practice with as many tests as you can. On the test day, relax and tune in. Do not worry about understanding every word. Just listen to the audio and be quick to write down the answers on the question paper first.

3. For the Reading section: Practice. Analyse your mistakes and try not to repeat them in the next practice test. There are many strategies for good performance in the reading part. Try each one and know which one works for you.

4. For the Writing section: Lots of practice is quite essential. Know the word limit for the two tasks and practice likewise. Take care not to write below the mentioned word limits in the respective tasks. You lose marks otherwise. Your handwriting must the legible and neat. Grammar, spelling and the content – all are evaluated. Look for a pattern of writing that looks good and works for you. There are many useful youtube channels that telecast videos on writing section like ielts-blog and others.

5. For the Speaking section: Don’t let nervousness get to you. You must not appear reluctant during the test or answer in very few words. You need to give long and relevant answers. This can only be achieved by practising speaking in English so that you can answer the questions spontaneously.

6. Last but not the least – time management is important in all the four sections.”