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November 2013

Daphne from Singapore shares simple but practical tips for Band 8

Daphne is a 26 year old lady from Singapore who took the IELTS exam and scored Overall Band 8 with a perfect 9 in Reading. As a winner of our monthly results competition she shared her tips. Here is what helped her, and may help you, get a great IELTS score:

ListeningBand 8 in IELTS

Make use of the free resources on the web and keep practising. Try to get hold of past years exam papers. This will help to be familiar with the various listening scenarios. Focus only on the particular set of questions before each scenario is played so that you will know what to look out for.

Reading

Try to do speed reading. Also, reading the questions through before attempting the paper might help. Practise and practise so that you will get the hang of it and time yourself throughout the paper. As the passage gets more difficult, allocate more time accordingly.

Writing

I did not practise writing during my revision. However, my tip is to read different sample essays/reports, as many as you can. Be familiar with the format and structure of writing the essay/report. Learn some useful vocabulary and sentence connectors.

Speaking

Listen to past recordings. Practise speaking based on previous years questions. Time yourself during practice so that you know if you speak too fast. Do it in front of a mirror or with someone so that you can receive feedback. Give a smile, feel confident and stay relaxed during the test.

Hope it helps!

IELTS test in the UAE – October 2013 (Academic Module)

A test taker from the UAE (thanks, M!) shared the following IELTS update:

Listening test IELTS test in the UAE

Section 1. A conversation between a job seeker and an employer about a fruit picking job.

Section 2. A speaker talked about various types of ongoing theater plays.

Section 3. Don’t remember.

Section 4. A teacher was guiding students about various facilities available on the campus.

Reading test

Passage 1. A discussion about similarities of human beings and chimpanzees.

Passage 2. A text about various famous businesses and their qualities.

Passage 3. A passage explaining how we usually judge people by appearance alone.

Writing test

Writing task 1 (a report)

We were given a bar chart about various methods of waste disposal and showing increase or decrease of the total amount of waste disposed in different years.

Writing task 2 (an essay)

Sometimes people are rejecting a job opportunity due to their age or other circumstances. Is it a negative or a positive approach? Give your opinion and relevant examples.

Speaking test

Interview

– What is your full name?
– Can I see your ID?
– Where are you from?
– Do you work or study?
– Where do you live?
– Is it an apartment or a house?
– Which room do you like the most?
– When did you start using a mobile phone?
– Do you think it is a good thing to have a mobile phone?
– How does it benefit you exactly?
– Do you like paintings?
– Would you buy some paintings for your home?

Cue Card

Talk about something important that you have learnt from someone. Please say

– What was it?
– Whom did you learn it from?
– How do you think it has benefited you?

Discussion

– Do you think learning something new is good?
– Is there any age limit for learning or should there be?
– Do you think kids learn a lot from their parents?
– What are the ways to teach preschool age kids to be ready for school?
– Is teaching teenagers different from teaching little kids?