IELTS preparation tips from winners

Today I am happy to share with you the preparation advice from two of the competition winners in March, Meena (Band 8 in General Training IELTS) and Nishtha (Band 7.5 in Academic IELTS).

Meena said:

“Thanks a lot for choosing me the winner of last month’s competition. I feel honored indeed. And now I’d like to say a few words about what helped me to get a high band.

Firstly, I wish to express my immense gratitude to the website IELTS-blog.com. The tips, strategies, sample tests et al helped me to a great extent in understanding the pattern of the examination. I would strongly recommend your website to those candidates who are appearing for the IELTS examination for the first time.

Secondly, as the saying goes, ‘Practice makes Perfect’, the same is applicable to IELTS preparation. The more one practises sample tests over and over again, the more likely one is to get a high band score.

Finally, a high level of confidence is needed while appearing for the IELTS exam. If I can do it, so can each and every one of you!

Good Luck.”

Nishtha said:

“The advice which I would like to give to the IELTS pursuers is to manage time while doing the test. A consistent practice of all the sections for just 10 days can bestow you with 7 plus score easily.

In the reading section, read the passage thoroughly once and try to find the answers at the same time.

In listening, concentration is very important, and then the questions are not too hard. Even if you miss a question but you have listened properly, you can make a genuine guess.

In the writing section, producing original ideas with above average vocabulary can give you a good score of around 7 or 7.5.

In the speaking section, practice at least twice or thrice with a friend or relative. A good practice in introduction and general topics (a recent trip, a favorite book, etc) is advisable. Avoid using same word over and over again.”

I would like to thank Meena and Nishtha for their time and kindness, and hope to hear from the other competition winners!

Today I have quite a story for you. A test taker, let’s call him Hardip, sent me an email and explained how he was able to improve his Speaking score from Band 6 to Band 9 in 3 months. To those of you new to IELTS preparation I should say that this doesn’t happen often, a jump of almost 3 bands is a very significant one. And here is Hardip’s analysis of his performance:

“I appeared in IELTS in October 2010 and got 6.5 in the speaking module. After 3 months I got Band 9 in the speaking module. So what did I do wrong the first time?

Here are the few mistakes I made:

1. I realized the mistake #1 after my first exam – I was speaking too fast for the examiner to follow. The reason is (this was revealed to me by one of the IELTS examiners I went to for feedback) – Indians try to speak too fast and Asians try to speak in the present tense. I am an Indian and was trying to speak too fast.

Tip: Speak slowly and clearly. Pause after sentences, not in between the sentences (IELTS examiners call it ‘chunks’). Don’t repeat your words or a sentence you already said.

2. During my first speaking test, in the cue card section, I did not use the 1 minute time effectively. I started speaking only after 20 seconds.

Tip: Use the 1 minute in full. Keep writing things to say until the examiner asks you to start.

3. During the first exam I was using technical terms like DSLR (instead of camera) PS2 (instead of PlayStation game console) and so on.

Tip: Keep conversation free of technical words. Use words from
every day English as the examiner may not be familiar with some terms.