Putting this for people who are trying to get CLB9 . Hope it helps ..
1. Listening :
a) Practice as much as you can and get familiarised with the accent of speaker in the audio . With known accent , you should be able to understand clearly .
b) Understand the context of the questions and try guessing their answers beforehand .
c) Use the "Now you have 30 seconds to check your answer" time to read the next set of questions .
d) Too much attachment with a question isn't good either so if you have missed a question, forget about it and focus on the next question with a fresh mind .Sometimes we are so busy looking for the answer of a question that we miss the next question as well .
e) Try taking few tests without using headphones so that using a headphone will come as an advantage later .
2. Reading :
a) Try to skim the paragraph and understand the context .
b) The questions asked often use the synonyms of words which are there in paragraph so look for similar words/sentences . The questions appear in the same order as the sentences in the paragraph so you know where to look .
c) For T/F/NG , Read the questions very carefully . The answer changes if the paragraph says "should be" and question says "must be" . The confusion happens when a decision has to be made between FALSE and NOT GIVEN so read the question carefully and find the corresponding sentence in the paragraph . If its entirely opposite to what is written then mark it as FALSE . If its not entirely opposite then try to find extent to which the sentence in question can be established from the sentence in the paragraph and answer accordingly . DO NOT ASSUME ANYTHING .
d) Divide the amount of time to be given to each paragraph in the beginning of the test and act accordingly .
3. Writing :
a) Divide your time for writing so that you can give 5 min for planning your essay , 30-32 min in writing the content and 3-5 min revising it for grammatical mistakes . Think about both local(family, community, city etc ) and global (county, economy etc) impact of the issue wherever possible .
b) Heading (50 words ): Try to start the topic by giving a brief background of the issue or in some cases, how it was a decade ago then present the issues given in the essay by using similar words . DO NOT copy the sentences from the topic .
c) Para1 and para2 (150 - 200 words): If it's an agree/disagree or advantage/disadvantage topic then
i) if you decide to pick a side then write 8 bullet points on the question paper supporting you argument and include at least one or two examples or factual data .
ii) if you decide to be neutral then try writing 4 bullet points for each side of the argument with one example or fact .
iii) organise your bullet points in the best possible sequence in the essay and use linker to make the transition from one statement to other look smooth . Use firstly, secondly , finally or furthermore , however , consequently wherever appropriate .
If its an opinion essay then write 4 bullet points on the question paper for each question asked and include personal experiences , if asked in the question .
d) Don't use words like "era of technology " or "plethora of .." . The examiner would already have seen a plethora of these usage on the other 100 essays he/she had checked before so try not to make this essay look similar to others .
e) Conclusion (50 words): At this point you will probably run out of words and will use the ones already used before . DO NOT DO THAT . You can present your opinion here and try to provide a summarised list of possible solution to the issue .
f) If at any point you think that you are running out of time then try to complete the conclusive argument first .
g) Read as many essays as you can on ielts-mentor.com . They have sample essays which are very organised and will help you gather more ideas .
4. Speaking :
a) Do a thorough practice of all the questions mentioned on ieltsliz.com for speaking .
b) Try to speak slowly and clearly . Some people speak faster when they are nervous .
c) Try to record your practice sessions and listen to them once done . It will help you find your weaknesses like use of fillers, distraction in thought process etc.
d) Don't loose your confidence if you see the examiner yawning ( happened to me when I scheduled the test post lunch
) or not letting you finish your sentences .
e) If you are not familiar with the situation in the question then you can lie a little and portray your friends experience as yours . A lie isn't a lie in IELTS if its grammatically correct
1. Listening :
a) Practice as much as you can and get familiarised with the accent of speaker in the audio . With known accent , you should be able to understand clearly .
b) Understand the context of the questions and try guessing their answers beforehand .
c) Use the "Now you have 30 seconds to check your answer" time to read the next set of questions .
d) Too much attachment with a question isn't good either so if you have missed a question, forget about it and focus on the next question with a fresh mind .Sometimes we are so busy looking for the answer of a question that we miss the next question as well .
e) Try taking few tests without using headphones so that using a headphone will come as an advantage later .
2. Reading :
a) Try to skim the paragraph and understand the context .
b) The questions asked often use the synonyms of words which are there in paragraph so look for similar words/sentences . The questions appear in the same order as the sentences in the paragraph so you know where to look .
c) For T/F/NG , Read the questions very carefully . The answer changes if the paragraph says "should be" and question says "must be" . The confusion happens when a decision has to be made between FALSE and NOT GIVEN so read the question carefully and find the corresponding sentence in the paragraph . If its entirely opposite to what is written then mark it as FALSE . If its not entirely opposite then try to find extent to which the sentence in question can be established from the sentence in the paragraph and answer accordingly . DO NOT ASSUME ANYTHING .
d) Divide the amount of time to be given to each paragraph in the beginning of the test and act accordingly .
3. Writing :
a) Divide your time for writing so that you can give 5 min for planning your essay , 30-32 min in writing the content and 3-5 min revising it for grammatical mistakes . Think about both local(family, community, city etc ) and global (county, economy etc) impact of the issue wherever possible .
b) Heading (50 words ): Try to start the topic by giving a brief background of the issue or in some cases, how it was a decade ago then present the issues given in the essay by using similar words . DO NOT copy the sentences from the topic .
c) Para1 and para2 (150 - 200 words): If it's an agree/disagree or advantage/disadvantage topic then
i) if you decide to pick a side then write 8 bullet points on the question paper supporting you argument and include at least one or two examples or factual data .
ii) if you decide to be neutral then try writing 4 bullet points for each side of the argument with one example or fact .
iii) organise your bullet points in the best possible sequence in the essay and use linker to make the transition from one statement to other look smooth . Use firstly, secondly , finally or furthermore , however , consequently wherever appropriate .
If its an opinion essay then write 4 bullet points on the question paper for each question asked and include personal experiences , if asked in the question .
d) Don't use words like "era of technology " or "plethora of .." . The examiner would already have seen a plethora of these usage on the other 100 essays he/she had checked before so try not to make this essay look similar to others .
e) Conclusion (50 words): At this point you will probably run out of words and will use the ones already used before . DO NOT DO THAT . You can present your opinion here and try to provide a summarised list of possible solution to the issue .
f) If at any point you think that you are running out of time then try to complete the conclusive argument first .
g) Read as many essays as you can on ielts-mentor.com . They have sample essays which are very organised and will help you gather more ideas .
4. Speaking :
a) Do a thorough practice of all the questions mentioned on ieltsliz.com for speaking .
b) Try to speak slowly and clearly . Some people speak faster when they are nervous .
c) Try to record your practice sessions and listen to them once done . It will help you find your weaknesses like use of fillers, distraction in thought process etc.
d) Don't loose your confidence if you see the examiner yawning ( happened to me when I scheduled the test post lunch
) or not letting you finish your sentences .e) If you are not familiar with the situation in the question then you can lie a little and portray your friends experience as yours . A lie isn't a lie in IELTS if its grammatically correct