Rohit and Lucrezia did really well in IELTS because…

It makes all the sense in the world to learn from other test takers’ experiences, so why don’t more people do it? Today we are going to change that!

Everyone, meet Rohit and Lucrezia. Lucrezia got Band 7.5 in IELTS and Rohit – Band 8.5, and they were very kind to tell us about their exam preparation and share some helpful advice.

Lucrezia said,

“To the other candidates I would recommend practicing a lot using the online resources that IELTS offers and textbooks. I asked my sister, who is also learning English, to help me with the speaking and writing parts. She would ask me sample questions and read my essays. I recommend studying with other people who have the same purpose as yours.”

Rohit said,

“What I believe is that every candidate at the given time has a potential maximum band score depending upon his grasp on English language. But, no candidate will score that band on their own. One needs professional advice, coaching and hard work of at least 3-4 weeks to get that score.

To elaborate further, a candidate with maximum potential of Band 8 will never score 8 without proper guidance and will end up somewhere between 6-7. In simple words, this is the bare minimum one needs, just in order to achieve what one is already capable of.

Increasing the maximum potential band is a long journey and process of at least a year or two. It will involve reading all kind of books, watching news, documentaries and movies. It may sound strange but about 20 years ago, when I was really keen on improving my English, I used to watch English movies with English subtitles and that certainly helped me a lot.

During my prep I focused on my weaknesses, which were using too many hand gestures, too many ideas and excessive use of “you know”. I recorded videos of my mock tests and worked on these issues. On the Speaking test day, I was very relaxed and had a free-flowing conversation. You don’t need to lie or use imaginary events or experiences. I believe everyone’s real life is interesting enough to have a conversation, which is basically what Speaking test is all about.”