IELTS Preparation tips from high achievers

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We can never have too many preparation tips, can we? Especially when they come from people who have proven themselves as high achievers, by securing IELTS results of Band 8 or above. Melvyn, Ahmed and Sumit, the winners of our IELTS results competition in May, wrote and shared their tips for success.

Melvyn said:

“My main advice is to be confident during the reading test. I realised that I answer more questions correctly when I’m confident. This is because the answers are very similar and if you are doubtful, you tend to keep making changes and mess it all up.

For the listening, I practised by listening to English songs on my mp3 daily and trying to understand every single word until I can sing the whole song. It really helped in my listening test as I was able to put together words and also repeat the words/sentences in my head after they were played.”

Ahmed said:

“Practice allot. Read articles and books, and when you don’t know the meaning of a word use English-English dictionary. Listen to different sources of English audio – TV, radio, or the Internet. When you listen to songs, radio news, etc, try to repeat what they say and imitate their accent. Read the questions in the listening part, so that you prepare your mind to collect the answer once you hear it. And above all relax, and try to enjoy the exam.”

Sumit said:

“I must say you have a wonderful web site for IELTS.

I did not prepare much for IELTS, but took a few practice tests a few weeks apart and monitored how I was progressing. I listened to a few good speaking test recordings and read essays that had low and high scores, which helped me figure out the difference. Spelling is important. I should acknowledge my English teachers at school who were very particular about spelling and I inherited those qualities.

Be alert, learn from your mistakes and have fun.”