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IELTS Preparation tips

The best ways to study for the four IELTS sub-tests: Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking

A few Academic Reading tips

As I promised to one of my most loyal visitors (hi, Dave!), this post is about efficient ways to improve your reading skills.

The Academic Reading module is a little bit different from the General Training – instead of 4 or 5 it has only 3 passages (more difficult ones). Actually, the first passage is usually the easiest and then they become more and more difficult. With that said, here come the tips:

Tip #1 – Don’t read the whole passage. Train yourself to scan and notice only the important information. After you go over the text for the first time, you should know what each paragraph is about, what its main idea is. This way of “reading” saves you a lot of priceless time.

Tip #2 – Watch your time closely. Don’t divide the 60 minutes you have into 3 equal parts of 20 minutes. Why? Because the last passage is the hardest and you are going to need more than 20 minutes to crack it. So I suggest 15 – 20 – 25, but feel free to look for any other timing that works for you.

Tip #3 – Don’t forget to copy your answers to the Answer Sheet. You can write them in the question booklet as you read the passage, but you get your score based on what is written in the Answer Sheet.

Tip #4 – If you can’t find an answer to a certain question – mark it with a big fat ??? so you can easily see it later and move on to the next one, don’t get stuck. Later you can get back, find all the question marks and try answering those questions again if you have time left.

Tip #5 – Count the words in your answer. If the instructions say “answer in 3 words” – you need to answer in EXACTLY 3 WORDS, when even an “a” and a “the” count as a word!

Tip #6 – When you practice, read your passage, answer the questions, compare your answers to the Answer Sheet and pay special attention to the wrong answers. You need to understand WHY you made those mistakes and remember them, so you won’t make them again.

And finally, these few tips came from “Ace The IELTS” e-Book (and of course there are more other tips, techniques and strategies). So those of you who need step-by-step guidance, a clear study plan and want to be ready for IELTS in ONE MONTH – take a closer look at it here. Think a little about how great it is, buy it, study, get your target score and forget all about IELTS 🙂

IELTS speaking: what else to expect

In the Reading or Listening sections it is quite easy to predict what will be your IELTS score. You do some tests at home, count how many questions you answered correctly, do the math – for example 34 out of 40 equals approximately Band 7.

But how do you measure yourself when it comes to the Speaking test – that’s the question!

And here comes answer: using the same criteria your examiner is going to use. I was looking for that information and found it in the IELTS official site (of all places :))

So basically this is what they say:

You belong to a Band 5 level if you

  • Keep sentences coming slowly (without pauses), repeat words and correct yourself.
  • Can use simple sentences easily, but the complex ones are difficult for you and it shows (you stop, get confused or start to repeat yourself).
  • Cannot say the same thing in a different way (rephrase) or use a synonym for a word.
  • Use grammatically correct simple sentences most of the time. It is rare that you use more complex sentences and when you do – you make grammatical errors or it is difficult to understand what you’re saying.

    • You belong to a Band 6 level if you

  • Can speak for some time keeping the right speed (like in your first language), with little difficulties when you repeat words, correct yourself or get lost in words and stop making sense.
  • Use some connective words, even if they are not always appropriate.
  • Can discuss topics (familiar or not) for a long time, using wide vocabulary and making yourself clear.
  • Successfully rephrase and use synonyms.
  • Mix simple and complex sentences when you speak, but the in complex ones you make lots of mistakes. Those mistakes are mostly grammatical and the examiner can still understand you.

    • You belong to a Band 7 level if you

  • Have no problem speaking for some time keeping the right speed (like in your first language), your speech is smooth and easy to understand, it is rare that you pause and look for a word to say, repeat or correct yourself.
  • Can discuss any topic using a lot of smart words, and you use English expressions correctly.
  • Use complex sentences without many grammatical errors. There are many more correct sentences in your speech than incorrect.

    • I gave you here the descriptions of Bands 5,6 and 7 because these are the IELTS bands most people want to know about, but you can see the full description of all bands here.