IELTS Preparation tips

Today I’d like to share an inspirational story with you. The reason why I feel it’s important for you to read it is very simple. We all are slaves of our beliefs. What we think about ourselves, defines our future. But here is the really important bit: this doesn’t have to work against us – it can work in our favour.

Everyone, meet Pryanka Verma, an IELTS test taker from India. Her first language is Hindi, and her dream was to get a Masters Degree in Physiotherapy from an Australian University. Guess what – she had to pass IELTS for this dream to come true, and she had to get Band 7 in every section.

She didn’t make it … in the first attempt. Or the second. But she did not let this destroy her dream – and in the third attempt she overshot her target, and got Band 8! Not surprisingly, Priyanka took the first place in our IELTS results competition in October, and we got a chance to ask her what her secret was. Here’s what she said:

“I was very much elated when I came to know that I got Band 8 in IELTS and my happiness was doubled when I won the IELTS Blog October competition.

I was preparing for IELTS since May 2011 and this was my third attempt. I wanted to pursue Masters in Physiotherapy from University of Sydney. For this course the minimum requirement is band 7 with minimum7 in all components but I got Band 8 with 7.5 in both speaking and writing, 8 in reading and 8.5 in listening. After submitting my IELTS result to university, same day I got unconditional offer for Master of Physiotherapy. So it’s a dream come true, but behind all this I have done lot of hard work to achieve this goal.

I want to share some of my experiences and tips to get a good score in IELTS. First of all I prefer smart work rather than spending hours in studying. I used to study 2-3 hours only but I did practice as if I am giving the real IELTS test. Also IELTS-Blog website, Target Band 7 book and Cambridge book for IELTS helped me a lot. I purchased the Target Band 7 book just 1 month before my exam and it was proved to be beneficial for me. But no book or website can give you success until you do a lot of practice.

I will suggest you to first rule out your weak points or where you need to put more efforts for example, for me it was writing. You should practice every section consistently, do not concentrate on one or two section only. Practice as many mock tests as you can, as this will help you during the actual day of test. Now I would like to give tips for all the four sections:

Listening: this is my favourite part of test, I practised listening by watching movies, listening to English songs and listening to news along with IELTS practice tests.

Reading: it was never a problem for me, I always got good scores in it. But I suggest you to follow Target Band 7 Book tips and practice as much as you can.

Writing: firstly you should make yourself aware that what the actual format for writing is. Secondly, always try to practice within the time limit so that you can revise and check your writing that increases the probability of getting good marks. Finally I will say that Target Band 7 book is complete guide for writing, just practice as it says.

Speaking: do not take speaking as a burden instead take it as a fun. Chat with friends and family in English, talk to yourself in English. Think as if you do not know any other language.

I wish all IELTS test takers good luck, and I hope my tips will help you further.

Today we are happy to share the tips received from Victor Jivanescu, who took the first place in our IELTS results competition in October. When we asked Victor what his advice would be for other test takers, here’s what he said:

“I am thrilled to hear that I won this competition as I was looking at the prior winners before taking my IELTS exam. I can only emphasize the fact that the IELTS Blog is the most useful resource available for practice test and tips and advice. I used it for my two month preparation that finally proved to be successful.

I can only recommend all of you who are about to sit the test to look on all pages of the IELTS Blog and go relaxed at the test center. I didn’t prepare too much, only about an hour a day for 6 weeks prior to the test. However, I suggest you should identify your weaknesses and practice them harder.

Have a friend sit a mock interview with you and let somebody who is better at English than you check your writing. For Reading and Listening take as many practice tests as you can and, very important, under real time-constraint conditions.

All in all you shouldn’t be to worried about the test, it is just a test and with the right attitude you will definitely succeed. One last advice: don’t practice long hours, practice smart and goal oriented.

I am in the middle of my Oxford application process with the interview ahead so I could only produce this short answer. Hope it will help somebody, just as other posts helped me.”