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IELTS Test Results competition

Can you get IELTS Band 7.5 after only 10 days of study?

It’s no secret that these days everyone is leading a very busy life, which affects the amount of time we can dedicate to our goals. Even to very important goals, such as passing the IELTS exam with a high score. This is why many people end up with just 10 days left for IELTS preparation. Only 10 days … can it possibly be enough?

Some time ago we published a case study about a Malaysian student who managed to prepare in 10 days and get Band 7.5. Since history tends to repeat itself, today you will learn about another student, and how he managed to get ready in just 10 days and achieve Band 7.5 in IELTS.

Band 7.5 in IELTSMeet Ram Kumar – a 20-something young man from India, who speaks Telugu. Here is what he wrote about his IELTS experience:

“I am very happy to let you know that I have secured a band score of 7.5 in IELTS. This is my FIRST attempt and I had only 10 days to prepare and the credit really goes to …
Target Band 7. The book is really superb. I would suggest it to everyone.”

When Ram Kumar won our monthly results competition, and we asked him to share his best tips for success with other test takers, here’s what he said:

“I am very much grateful to the team of IELTS-Blog for their constant input and updates. Finally, I am extremely grateful to Simone for introducing me to one of the finest books, “Target Band 7”. Frankly speaking, I had 10 days to prepare for the exam and I just went through the book and grasped those strategies.

I come from a university where the medium of instruction and communication is strictly English. This has helped the cause very much. But when it comes to an exam things are quite difficult. There are a few things I would like to suggest the freshers who are taking IELTS exam:

1. Familiarize yourself with the pattern of the exam. It is the most important thing I have done.

2. When you are practicing, take it section by section. Have practice tests and have as many as possible so by the end of those sessions you should see improvement.

3. For the speaking part, while you are practicing, I think its better to have an mp3 player, for recording your voice. That gives a clear picture of where you stand. You can improve the modulations and pronunciation.

4. For the Writing part – I think it will be very good to familiarize yourself with the style and pattern of writing. It would be nice to have at least 2 practice tests.

5. Finally, it doesn’t matter how many days you have on hand, it’s only a matter of your commitment. So I think 10 days is a good deal of time. If I can do it, anyone can pull it off.

ALL THE BEST GUYS 🙂 “

How did this young Indian student get Band 8.5 in IELTS?

Today we are happy to share the IELTS tips we received from Maany R, who won in our monthly results competition. Maany is a 20 year-old Indian girl whose first language is Tamil. However, her English is almost as good as her mother tongue – and she proved it by receiving IELTS Band 8.5 Overall score with a remarkable Band 9 in Listening.

She was quite happy to see her result, and wrote to us:

Band 8.5 in IELTS“I just ended up getting a overall band of 8.5 in academic module. Thanks for all the tips on your blog, it was of great use to me. I really didn’t expect a 9 in listening and it was all because of the practice tests I took on the blog. If there is anything I could add on to the blog about my experience I would be delighted to help.”

And , of course, we asked for her best IELTS tips straight away 🙂 Here they are:

“Listening: I found it very competitive but if you listen carefully there is a great possibility to score a 9. Since I got a 9, the only tip I could offer is stick to the conversation fully and avoid using erasers while the test is in progress.

Reading: Most of my friends who took the exam with me found reading very tough. Somehow I managed a 8.5 Looking for synonyms and not for the exact words mentioned in the question would be advisable. To avoid running short of time in the end always transfer answers to the answer sheet directly after every passage. Try answering the paragraph summary questions as you read it will save a lot of time.

Writing: Don’t write long passages. I wasted a lot of time finishing my writing early which is why I got only 7.5. Try to spend more time on the longer essay. After finishing if you have time try replacing some of the everyday words with fancy synonyms that might impress your examiner.

Speaking: My speaking went totally haywire but I still managed to get an 8. I believe I could have done a lot better if I hadn’t written down notes in the question card by mistake. Also try avoiding non-lexical fillers like ‘urgh’ and ‘hmm’ because they create a bad impression. Make sure you include some quote or idiom in your 2 minute speech. It would sound impressive in your introduction or conclusion.”