IELTS Help! - More than 2 attempts

[goblue1]

Hello Everyone,

I am beyond upset about my IELTS performance so far. It has impacted my confidence and faith in myself badly. You may be wondering why I am very upset and taking this so personally. To begin with, I was raised here in the US, though, this is not my country of birth. I went to school here and I consider myself a good user of English given I studied English all my life. English is actually the only language I speak at home and work every day. So given that background, you can understand my English proficiency and why I have taken this as a defeat. I know to compare myself to others, will not do any good. But, I have found many people have amazingly done well in IELTS despite English not being their native language. Kudos to all of them! I really expected this exam to be a cakewalk but it has turned out to be a nightmare. I begin to question what I am really made of. This has made me very vulnerable and emotional. Hence I have decided to share my situation with all of you.

I took my exam 2 times and I am stuck in band 8. I really needed CLB 9 to get the points to make it to EE. My scores actually remained the same but shifted around from 1st attempt to 2nd attempt. I really need some guidelines as to what I need to do and how to get there.

1st attempt scores: (Feb 9th,2019 - Exam Center : Pittsburgh, PA)
L- 8.0, R - 7.5, W- 6.5, S- 7.5

2nd attempt scores: (April 6th,2019 - Exam Center : Allendale, MI)
L- 7.5, R - 6.5, W- 7.0, S- 8.0

I applied for remark after my 1st attempt but it was in vain, I didn't get any score improvements. I also expected similar turn out even before re-mark as for my writing exam I read the question incorrectly for Task 2 so I had 10 mins to fix my essay and things went bizarre. I didn't apply for my 2nd attempt as I felt my scores were terrible to apply for!

Now I am about to attempt my 3rd attempt on May 18th - Exam Center : Allendale, MI . I really don't want to screw this up. I also don't have the finances and time to keep attempting again and again. I have lost my hopes and I wanted to reach out here to members to seek what I can do in this small interval to achieve CLB 9. Any suggestions and help are greatly appreciated.

 

[Hannan Khan]

IELTS grades you on your capability with English but does good English ensure high scores? I guess not. You have to follow a set pattern answering the questions while satisfying the examiner.

I am not a native speaker but have been working for a US based company for the last 12 years. So you can see I might be using English more frequently than a lot of aspirants from my country. Nonetheless, I am stuck in writing for the last 5 attempts. I have never seen a 7 on the writing section on any of my TRFs. So is the equation simple for me? I wish!

In your case, I think you have done good to improve your writing to 7 bands in just the second attempt. Improving in one module but demoting on another is still a good sign to me. I think you have a good chance to up your score on your next attempt. Listening and Reading are two modules where you just need practice if you are proficient in English. There are tons of mock tests available online. You just need to practice until perfection. Remember to convert your answers into a band score to ascertain your progress.

Best of luck!

 

[Hannan Khan]

P.S: To retain your writing score, go through all videos posted online by Jay at E2 Language. There is Liz and other teachers, but Jay's channel will teach you the structure for all essay types. He was accepting small donations for his work is why I understand all essay structures are available.

 

[21Goose]

Hello Everyone,

I am beyond upset about my IELTS performance so far. It has impacted my confidence and faith in myself badly. You may be wondering why I am very upset and taking this so personally. To begin with, I was raised here in the US, though, this is not my country of birth. I went to school here and I consider myself a good user of English given I studied English all my life. English is actually the only language I speak at home and work every day. So given that background, you can understand my English proficiency and why I have taken this as a defeat. I know to compare myself to others, will not do any good. But, I have found many people have amazingly done well in IELTS despite English not being their native language. Kudos to all of them! I really expected this exam to be a cakewalk but it has turned out to be a nightmare. I begin to question what I am really made of. This has made me very vulnerable and emotional. Hence I have decided to share my situation with all of you.

I took my exam 2 times and I am stuck in band 8. I really needed CLB 9 to get the points to make it to EE. My scores actually remained the same but shifted around from 1st attempt to 2nd attempt. I really need some guidelines as to what I need to do and how to get there.

1st attempt scores: (Feb 9th,2019 - Exam Center : Pittsburgh, PA)
L- 8.0, R - 7.5, W- 6.5, S- 7.5

2nd attempt scores: (April 6th,2019 - Exam Center : Allendale, MI)
L- 7.5, R - 6.5, W- 7.0, S- 8.0

I applied for remark after my 1st attempt but it was in vain, I didn't get any score improvements. I also expected similar turn out even before re-mark as for my writing exam I read the question incorrectly for Task 2 so I had 10 mins to fix my essay and things went bizarre. I didn't apply for my 2nd attempt as I felt my scores were terrible to apply for!

Now I am about to attempt my 3rd attempt on May 18th - Exam Center : Allendale, MI . I really don't want to screw this up. I also don't have the finances and time to keep attempting again and again. I have lost my hopes and I wanted to reach out here to members to seek what I can do in this small interval to achieve CLB 9. Any suggestions and help are greatly appreciated.

What you haven't mentioned is how you're trying to improve your scores. Are you just showing up for the exam with no preparation expecting to get good scores, or are you preparing by taking sample tests, understanding the scoring rubric, writing essays, etc?

For example, speaking -> https://magoosh.com/ielts/ielts-speaking/ielts-speaking-rubric/

https://www.ielts.org/about-the-test/sample-test-questions
https://www.ielts.org/about-the-test/how-ielts-is-scored

Many native speakers make the mistake of thinking that the IELTS will be a cakewalk - and yes, it is easy to get CLB 7 or 8 without much prep if you're a native speaker. You're already found that out. Getting a CLB 9 or 10 isn't that easy.

Tell us how you're preparing and we can give you some more specific advice.

It's not impossible to get high scores in the IELTS. I got 9999, and I know many people (native speakers as well as non-native speakers) who have gotten four nines.

 

[goblue1]

IELTS grades you on your capability with English but does good English ensure high scores? I guess not. You have to follow a set pattern answering the questions while satisfying the examiner.

I am not a native speaker but have been working for a US based company for the last 12 years. So you can see I might be using English more frequently than a lot of aspirants from my country. Nonetheless, I am stuck in writing for the last 5 attempts. I have never seen a 7 on the writing section on any of my TRFs. So is the equation simple for me? I wish!

In your case, I think you have done good to improve your writing to 7 bands in just the second attempt. Improving in one module but demoting on another is still a good sign to me. I think you have a good chance to up your score on your next attempt. Listening and Reading are two modules where you just need practice if you are proficient in English. There are tons of mock tests available online. You just need to practice until perfection. Remember to convert your answers into a band score to ascertain your progress.

Best of luck!

Thank you so much for your advice and time. It's very helpful for me.

 

[goblue1]

What you haven't mentioned is how you're trying to improve your scores. Are you just showing up for the exam with no preparation expecting to get good scores, or are you preparing by taking sample tests, understanding the scoring rubric, writing essays, etc?

For example, speaking -> https://magoosh.com/ielts/ielts-speaking/ielts-speaking-rubric/

https://www.ielts.org/about-the-test/sample-test-questions
https://www.ielts.org/about-the-test/how-ielts-is-scored

Many native speakers make the mistake of thinking that the IELTS will be a cakewalk - and yes, it is easy to get CLB 7 or 8 without much prep if you're a native speaker. You're already found that out. Getting a CLB 9 or 10 isn't that easy.

Tell us how you're preparing and we can give you some more specific advice.

It's not impossible to get high scores in the IELTS. I got 9999, and I know many people (native speakers as well as non-native speakers) who have gotten four nines.

Thank you so much for your advice and time. All 9's WOW!! Congratulations!! It's a dream score. I definitely think it proves how dedicated you are. Yes, I walked into my second exam without much preparation, I took only one mock test as I didn't have much time to prepare. For the 1st attempt when I look back, I did only Listening sections mostly. Right now I have been much more focussed, I already took one practice test and keeping aside at least 2 hours to prepare every day and attempt 2 sections on Day1 and 2 sections the Day 2. I am still wondering how best to boost the writing score. If you have specific tips and tricks for preparation I would love to follow. I will definitely go over your links.