Great 3 attempts in 6 months ? or long ? Have been practicing all these time?
I want to do same , but hardly getting time as working full time. Appreciate if you could share how do you plan your practice if you are working full full time.
Great 3 attempts in 6 months ? or long ? Have been practicing all these time?
I want to do same , but hardly getting time as working full time. Appreciate if you could share how do you plan your practice if you are working full full time.
Hello! Yes I work full time. My first attempt I missed .5 in Writing so I invested most of the time practicing my essays. It paid off because I finally achieved a 7.5 . Unfortunately, I became too complacent with my Listening that I missed to make the cut on my 2nd attempt. So on my 3rd and last attempt, I decided to focus not only in one but all 4 modules and that got me to CLB9.
1. Work on your weakness - Based on my scores, I struggled with Writing the most so it is where I invested most of my time. I read as many possible topics, researched general information and current events to enrich my vocabulary, and practiced writing a lot. I read on my way to work and practiced writing in my free time.
2. Be strategic- I underestimated the Listening exam in my 2nd attempt so that was a wake up call. I realized I wasn't too good with maps so I did a lot of exercise on maps and directions. I did most of my Listening preparation 2-3 days before the exam for improved memory retention. I took a day off from work right before the exam to calm my nerves and have a good sleep. I also scheduled the exam on the week/month when I am least busy from work to make sure I have ample time to review.
3. Be resourceful - There are many self-help blogs and sites available online, make sure to check them out especially IELTS Liz. I also watched a lot of good English movies with subtitles to improve my sentence construction especially in Speaking.
4. Pray- IELTS exams vary in complexity and difficulty. Make sure you stay calm and focused throughout the exam. Try to master a meditative technique to help you get back on track in case you panic. Simple ways as breathing deep and closing your eyes, it has helped me countless times!
October 2017- 9,8,8,6.5
January 2018- 7,8,8,7.5
July 2018 - 8.5,9,8,7
Good Luck on your next IELTS exam!