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February 2014

The strategy Anastassia used to get Band 7.5

Everyone, meet Anastassia Fokina, one of our past IELTS Results competition winners. This bright lady lives in Kazakhstan and speaks Russian from birth – but she managed to score Band 7.5 in Academic IELTS in her first attempt ever, and here is how.

Anastassia prepared for her exam using Target Band 7 book and following some very sensible rules. Here is what she suggests you do to get a good band score in IELTS:

Band 7.5 in IELTS“IELTS exam is tricky. Passing it is a high goal, so you should create a strategy to gain your desired score goal and strictly follow it! Be ambitious and disciplined!!

1. I suggest that your strategy should include regular testing (at lest 3 full practice tests a week). You can find plenty of them on www.IELTS-Blog.com and in the Internet.

2. A good live tutor is a must especially for those wishing to enhance their score considerably. A tutor could be found via the Internet and communicated with by Skype.

3. Write as many Essays as possible. Better to write one a day. They all should be assessed by your tutor or with help of service on IELTS-Blog.com

4. Another effective approach is to speak ONLY English the last 30 days before your exam. Even if you are not in English speaking environment you can ask your family members or friends to help you with that. The more you will speak in English the more chances that you will start to think in English. Starting thinking in English is a crucial step to success in order to gain the highest score in IELTS.

5. Practise the speaking part every day. You can turn on a camera and record yourself to see how you look and how you sound. I did it many times, speaking on different topics and have to say that this is the perfect method to reveal your regular mistakes and gaps in vocabulary. You should definitely close those gaps. You can also assess you speaking with help of IELTS-Blog.com – they give a very fair mark.

Finally, practise, practise, practise. It will make you perfect! Good luck!”

IELTS test in Australia – January 2014 (Academic Module)

This IELTS exam update was shared by E who recently took the test in Australia:

Listening testIELTS test in Australia

Section 1. About elephants’ orphanage in Sri Lanka.

Section 2. A conversation between two lecturers.

Section 3. A conversation about cubic house design.

Section 4. A telephone conversation about accommodation booking.

Reading test

Passage 1. The history of coin usage.

Passage 2. About patterns in birds migration.

Passage 3. About an increase of working hours in the last few decades.

Writing test

Writing task 1 (a report)

We were given a line graph illustrating ticket prices in two different years (divided in four quarters each) and a bar graph comparing ticket sales for that period.

Writing task 2 (an essay)

Nowadays it is more difficult for children to concentrate or pay attention in school. Discuss the causes and propose a solution.

Speaking test

Interview

– What is your full name?
– Can I see your ID?
– Where are you from?
– Do you work or study?
– Why did you select this field of study?
– How many languages do you know?
– Was it difficult for you to learn English?
– Do you prefer a book dictionary or an electronic translator?
– If you were asked to write a dictionary how would you feel?
– How would you feel if you were given a dictionary as a gift?

Cue Card

Talk about a book that you have read recently. Please say

– What book was it?
– What was it about?
– Why was it interesting?
– Did you enjoy reading it?

Discussion

– Is reading still popular now compared to the past?
– Will reading be popular in the future?
– What is more important: a movie or a book?
– How do movies influence people?