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IELTS Test Results competition

Simple – yet effective tips from Karishma, Band 8 in IELTS

Shortly after we contacted the winners of IELTS results competition in December 2011, many of them replied and sent their advice, to help people taking the IELTS exam in 2012. The tips below came from Karishma Singh, an Indian IELTS test taker who prepared at home and scored Band 8.

Band 8 in IELTS“Even though I did not practice too many listening tests, I do know for one, that the questions of a section sometimes carry over to the next page – hence turn over the page and CHECK while the tape is being played to avoid any missed questions. By the time I turned over, there were two more questions in that section but as the tape had stopped I had no choice but to guess.

The reading tests may be a little challenging for people like me who have concentration lapses. Hence, I practiced reading tests under exam conditions for about 2 weeks, only to improve my focus skills. Instead of the official 20 minutes, I kept my target at 15 minutes for each section.

Do not spend too much time on writing task one. The writing task 2 gets you more marks and also requires more analysis and presentation. Hence make sure you stick to the 20 minutes – 40 minutes rule for writing task 1 and 2 respectively. As I learnt the bitter way, it will sure affect your writing score.

For the speaking, all I can suggest is every single day, ask your friend to give you a topic and speak on it for about 5 minutes in front of him/her without drawling, keeping a moderate tone. Its the only way to improve. Read 4 new words every day and try using them in everyday talk. Under exam conditions, one can get really nervous but the key to the entire exam is to be calm and not let any of it get to your head.

I had enrolled to sit the exam 22 days before the test date so I was really nervous. I also went through IELTS-blog.com writing practice material and they sure provided me a good idea of the patterns and format I was expected to use. Do them regularly, they are fantastic.”

IELTS Results competition winners in December 2011

Anyone who thinks that achieving Band 7, or 8, or 9 in IELTS is too hard … get ready, we are about to burst your bubble. The people whose names are shown below are hard proof that we, non-native English speakers, CAN do it.

Meet our “IELTS result of the month” competition winners in December 2011:

Academic Module – 1st placeBand 7 in IELTS

  • Prashanthi Subramaniam from India, Band 9 (yes, 9!)

Academic Module – 2nd place

  • Aziza Askarova from Uzbekistan, Band 8
  • Karishma Singh from India, Band 8
  • Yusuf Khalid Masood from India, Band 8
  • Yomna Hassan from Egypt, Band 8

Academic Module – 3rd place

  • Vidia Chandrawati from Indonesia, Band 7.5
  • Ahmed Kabir Chaion from Bangladesh, Band 7.5
  • Varun Kshatri from India, Band 7.5

General Training Module – 1st place

  • Konstantinos Sakellaridis from Greece, Band 8.5

General Training Module – 2nd place

  • Funto Ayanleke from Nigeria, Band 8

General Training Module – 3rd place

  • Zahid Siddique from Pakistan, Band 7.5
  • Giulia Mangiapane from Italy, Band 7.5
  • Anand Rana from India, Band 7.5
  • Remmy Rajendrababu from India, Band 7.5
  • Venkatesh Neelakantan from India, Band 7.5

Congratulations to the owners of these terrific results! We are sending your special winners’ certificates to your emails, and your IELTS results will be displayed in the IELTS-Blog hall of fame.

But I guess what everyone would like to know is HOW the winners achieved their scores. And, in my experience, almost always the high achievers are able to find time in their busy day to share their tips and methods that helped them get great results in IELTS.

As soon as we hear from them – expect to see another post on the blog, or if you’re subscribed to daily updates – in your mailbox, telling you exactly how people manage to get a high score in IELTS.

P.S. IELTS results competition runs every month, and everyone is welcome to participate. Learn how to enroll here.