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December 2011

IELTS Tips for Success from Andrei, Band 8.5

I am sure you remember Andrei Florea, who took the first place in our IELTS results competition last month. When we asked Andrei what would he suggest to other test takers who want to maximize their IELTS score, he said:

Band 8 in IELTS “I am most grateful for having been awarded the 1st prize in this month’s competition. Regarding my advice for those who will soon sit the IELTS exam, here is the most important thing that everybody must have in mind: if you go there, be confident.

In your Listening exam you may find yourself in the situation of having missed an answer. Don’t worry, it also happened to me. Just do not concentrate too much on the ones you miss, because these may distract you and make you less attentive to the tape. Of equal importance is not waiting for the answers, but being proactive and anticipating when an answer will come on the tape.

In your Speaking test, be yourself. It is okay to have a strong desire to use a vast array of lexical structures so as to make a good impression, but do not focus your entire attention to these. You may end up not achieving the task completely. Also, do not hesitate to state something for fear of it being wrong. There is no such thing as right or wrong opinion, as long as you stick to the topic.

Regarding the Reading part of the test, I have seen many different approaches to this. Personally, I first read the question, then rapidly skim through the whole text, more like looking for the answer than reading the text. Pay attention more to the context than to the content, as it may help you discover the answer. For me, paying attention to every detail doesn’t help, as it makes me less aware of the rapidly passing time.

Finally, in the Writing test you should be constantly asking yourself how do any ideas that you write connect to the topic and help achieving a task. It is preferable to stick to only a few ideas and be consequent to those, that just going from an idea to another in a rather disorganized way.

In conclusion, be relaxed, but stay focused at all times.”

Many thanks to Andrei for sharing these tips, and good luck to everyone!

IELTS test in Israel – November 2011 (General Training)

The topics below were shared by L, who recently took a General Training IELTS exam in Israel (thanks to the contributor!).

Listening test IELTS test in Israel

Section 1. A talk between two friends about visiting a literary festival.
Questions: filling a table, a phone number and an address.

Section 2. Gardening activity for young kids.
Questions: filling in blanks.

Section 3. Discussion about ancient cultures and nations.
Questions: multiple choice.

Section 4. Lecture about town planning. Current state of the town and future plans for its development.
Questions: filling in blanks, multiple choice.

Reading test

Passage 1. Local events advertised in a local newspaper.
Questions: Matching sentences to paragraphs.

Passage 2. Sales of used cars and insurance types offered within these deals.
Questions: True / False / Not Given.

Passage 3. About food inspectors.
Questions: filling in blanks.

Passage 4. About train driver courses.
Questions: filling in blanks in a brochure about the course.

Passage 5. Kayak travel around the world.
Questions: True / False / Not Given, matching facts to paragraphs.

Writing test

Writing task 1 (a letter)

Write a letter to a company about an item you have bought several years ago, which you want to return.

– Describe the item.
– Why do you want to return it?
– What do you suggest as a solution?

Writing Task 2 (an essay)

Nowadays people spend more hours at work. Jobs became more stressful. What do you think are the reasons for this? Suggest a solution for employers to improve the situation.

Speaking test

Interview

– Please introduce yourself.
– May I see your Id?
– Do you work or study?
– Do you like your job?
– Will you continue this job/profession in the future?
– Is color important to you when you buy clothes?
– Were colors important to you in childhood?
– What colors would you use and not use in your home?

Cue Card

Talk about an unusual thing you did recently. Please say

– What was it?
– Who was there with you?
– How did you feel about it?

Discussion

– Did you tell anyone about the activity you mentioned on the cue card topic?
– Who do you spend your spare time with?
– What do you usually do?
– Do you prefer to spend it with friends or family?
– What do young people in your country do in their spare time?
– Do men have more spare time than women?
– Activities for children – what importance do they have?
– What kind of activities is better for the kids? Why?