IELTS Booked For July 11the Guys. Please Share TIPS.

[karenn1617]

Hello Guys,

A Huge Thanks to all of you on helping me in my earlier posts in this forums.

Well I got my IELTS booked for July 11th, 2015 at British Council Centre. While as per my understanding, majority of people here in this forum already gone through IELTS stage and even scored very well, so it would be much appreciated if you share tips, advice - anything you like to add upon, I will be very much grateful.

I am really aiming to score dot 8 bands or above in all four sections (keeping fingers crossed).

Thanks in advance.

K

 

[hipchick]

reading writing n speaking ok but listening make sure u pay CLOSE attention

 

[groundbirch]

I'm doing the IELTS at the end of June with the British Council and received an email a few days ago with a link to the description of various tests, advice and some practise tests.

I've done other English tests before and my advice would be to practise on those. For the oral expression test, you can practise presenting yourself, maybe with someone you know who speaks English. It's always good to immerse yourself in the language too, so listening to the radio in English, watching movies and tv shows in English...

Contrary to the TEF (for French) it doesn't look like they give negative points for wrong answers. At least I haven't seen this anywhere. So that's a point on our side.

 

[karenn1617]

Thanks guys for the reply.

Well for listening since it works as a core of all other sections - from past two weeks I am on roll on listening number of BBC (TV) series like The Apprentice UK while I am planning to start with practising test papers from next week followed by more listening of TV series.

Good luck groundbirch for the exam and be in touch to update more on things.

K

 

[alok4best]

Thanks guys for the reply.

Well for listening since it works as a core of all other sections - from past two weeks I am on roll on listening number of BBC (TV) series like The Apprentice UK while I am planning to start with practising test papers from next week followed by more listening of TV series.

Good luck groundbirch for the exam and be in touch to update more on things.

K

Dont worry about listening.
They play an audio where the person will speak really slowly, and in a very neutral accent.
Also, the set of 40 questions are divided in 4 sections.
They allow you time to read 10 questions, then listen the audio. the audio then stops, u answer those 10 question.
The process repeats for next 10 questions.

If you are trying a higher band score, listening and reading is what you need to crack.
I say this because listening and reading are more like MCQ tests.

On the other hand, your writing answers will be evaluated by a human.
And hence how the evaluator feels about your writing also comes into play.
Try to write simpler, shorter sentences. And try not to make grammatical mistakes.
They do not expect you to write Shakespearean English.

The same is true for speaking. They ask for your thoughts on some random topic.
Like they might ask you, "Do you think speed limits on motorways is a wise idea"?

Now, there is no right or wrong answer for such questions.
What they are looking for in you, is how comfortably you are able to express your thoughts in your speech.

Again the key is to speak at a proper speed, not too fast, and make simpler, shorter and grammatically correct sentences.


Honestly, do not break your head with too much practice.
Be cool and calm on the test day. It is not a science exam. lol.

I did not prepare at all (not even a single set), and this is what I got:
Listening: 8.5
Reading : 8.5
Writing: 7.5
Speaking: 7

Overall 8/9.

 

[karenn1617]

Thanks alok4best really helpful reply. Appreciate that.

 

[Aby444]

My Scores were L-9, R-9,S-8,W-7.5. overrall avg was 8.5.

I also did not practice the test because I am a native english speaker. But I will share some useful tips.

To get a high band score/and the extra 50 points in skills transferability you need to get at least an 8 in your listening. Everything else can be a 7.

It is easy to miss out some answers during the listening so pay close attention. it might be worthwhile to actually listen to some samples so that you can get a feel for 'grabbing' the answers so to speak. if you miss out on an answer, do not obsess over it and just move on. you only need to get 34 answers to get a band 9. so if miss out a few answers you will be fine.

I find the essay writing to be the hardest part but this can be over come by reading sample essays. by the time you read about 15 of them, you will become very familiar with the structure. You might also practice a few of them so that you can guage how you do on managing your time as well as writing the required number of words. This link is really helpful ... (http://www.ielts-practice.org/essay-samples/ )

Pay attention to the text/comprehensions in the Reading text. Dont make personal assumptions. The answers are always in the passages or texts. They might try to confuse words by substituting "numerical" for "mathematical" when asking the question, but if you are paying attention then you will be fine.

For the speaking test. I find that its better not to leave pauses when you are talking because you get graded on everything you say. so it helps to give them a lot to assess. Be audible when speaking. And it helps to know some nice words .

I wish you all the best.

 

[karenn1617]

Hello Aby444,

Thanks a lot for your detailed response buddy.

I got one question, you said - you only need to get 34 answers to get a band 9. so if miss out a few answers you will be fine.

While checking over the IELTS score calculator in different websites, I found out that one requires at least 38 to get a band 9 BUT you suggested 34 answers need to be correct (at least). This seems a little confusion state, can you please elaborate on this a more.

Best,
K

 

[Asivad Anac]

Hello Aby444,

Thanks a lot for your detailed response buddy.

I got one question, you said - you only need to get 34 answers to get a band 9. so if miss out a few answers you will be fine.

While checking over the IELTS score calculator in different websites, I found out that one requires at least 38 to get a band 9 BUT you suggested 34 answers need to be correct (at least). This seems a little confusion state, can you please elaborate on this a more.

Best,
K

That bit is incorrect. Getting 34/40 would likely lead to 7. To hit 9, you'll need 39/40 or a perfect score.

The only relevant link about this is IELTS' own page about band descriptors.

http://www.ielts.org/researchers/score_processing_and_reporting.aspx#table

 

[AshesNdust]

Hello Guys,

A Huge Thanks to all of you on helping me in my earlier posts in this forums.

Well I got my IELTS booked for July 11th, 2015 at British Council Centre. While as per my understanding, majority of people here in this forum already gone through IELTS stage and even scored very well, so it would be much appreciated if you share tips, advice - anything you like to add upon, I will be very much grateful.

I am really aiming to score dot 8 bands or above in all four sections (keeping fingers crossed).

Thanks in advance.

K

I got all 9 except for writing which I screwed up in and got an 8. My advice for the writing is don't bother with a rough draft, which is what ate up my time. I was an idiot who some how thought I was back in college writing a paper!
The most important thing for the more formal writing section, is structure of the paper. Always start with an opening statement, then do a few paragraphs supporting your position, and then finish with a concluding paragraph. If you don't have the correct structure you will not get an 8 or higher.
The speaking section is pretty simple since there's no wrong answers. They just want to make aure you can communicate. So, try to relax and just approach it like you are having a conversation.
For the listening section, use the minute they give you before they start to quickly read the questions. Jot down the answers to them as they say them.
When you do the reading sections, just make sure you understand the question they are asking before you go back and look for the information.

 

[Mahmednaeem]

It is best to read Good English Newspaper, Watch Cartoon, animated movies....

 

[munjal]

Nice and informative thread..
Keep on sharing such useful tips.. will be very helpful for people like us who are preparing for IELTS exam.

 

[karenn1617]

Thanks everyone. Really appreciated on helping me out.

K