IELTS General - Mistakes & How to Avoid

[_Harry_]

I have started preparing for the IELTS General Exam.
I am fairly well verse in English with acceptable grammar and tense knowledge - Being working in MNC for the past 10 years helped a lot in this area off course.

BUT STILL...

I tried to do some listening questions and some of the questions actually stumped me.
The questions were tricky and even though I was listening, there was a catch in some questions and I ended up scoring around 30 out of 40. This was a little shock to me!
No problem, I got over it and told myself, it was the first try, I was not aware of the Paper format and after doing few listening exercises, I am sure I will do better.

BUT THEN AGAIN..

I tried my hands on the IELTS General Writing section and man oh man..I was stumped again.
The format seemed like any normal reading section we all do in various entrance exams but then again, there was some catch in few questions and they stumped me.
I ended up again scoring low than I would have though. Second coincidence with low score..not likely.


NOW THIS...

Made me think that perhaps it is not that easy to score 8/8.5/9 bands in IELTS exam.
There are few tough questions that actually make you want to work hard to go beyond 7 bands.

I am targeting to get at least overall band score of 8 so now coming to the reason why I was boring you till now..

Any General Test takers who have taken the IELTS exam this year or recently and scored 8 or higher band, please suggest:

1. How did you prepare for the exam to score this high?
2. What are the common mistakes that led to our low score and how to avoid them?
3. Any study/practice routine that you do or suggest to high score?
4. For the first time IELTS takers - What to expect in the exam hall?
5. Any other pearls of wisdom you would like to share for test takers to score good?

Thank you...as always!

 

[IMTS]

Im taming the test on saturday (tommorrow!!) ans I'm looking forward getting 8 on each band. I friend of mine took hers recently. She got L8.5, R7.5, W9 and S9. She says she got 7.5 in reasong mostly due to the "not given" questions. Her number one advice on this was "do not assume. Go straight to the facts". My experience while preparing is that we cannot expect to find in the listening or reading text the exact same words that are on the questions. My friend saya she was suprised at how "extremely easy" (her words) the exam was.

 

[DelPiero07]

Just be familiar with the format and watch out for trick questions especially in the listening section.

It really is an easy test.

Cheers

 

[matchless]

for reading part: everything is in the reading parts, just that it is twisted a bit.
For speaking: same as reading , plus dont think over the answers much while the person is speaking otherwise you may lose the track and for saving one questions next few questions would be missed.

For writing and speaking : PRACTICE , PRACTICE and PRACTICE

 

[ovidiu.d]

I stood the exam 3 times so far, because they have a bad habit of expiring after 2 years.
My tips for IELTS exam would be:
Listening: read the questions in advance so you know what to expect. Keep calm and anticipate possible answers.
Reading: read the questions before reading the text. This helps focusing on the important parts and save valuable time. Take the last 5 minutes to check your answers.
Writing: manage your time. 20 minutes for task 1 and 40 for task 2. Don't get carried away with writing on something else than your answer sheets. Time has a tendency to fly while sitting the writing exam, at least for me.
Speaking: they are more interested in fluency and spontaneous answers than use of fancy words. Focus on compete answers and do your best no to stall.

Good luck!

 

[joohi]

I recently gave my IELTS and scored overall 8 bands in it. The best advice I can give here is PRACTICE, PRACTICE and PRACTICE. I'll answer your questions one by one.

1. I downloaded all Cambridge IELTS books (Book 1-10). I also had with me the book by British Council and IDP. I practised all the tests in all these books. My total preparation time for IELTS was of 1 month. I went through several tutorial videos to know the exact format of the entire exam and prepare accordingly

2. The most common mistakes in Listening and Reading modules is that we start making assumptions for the answers and do not listen or read carefully to find the CORRECT answer. There are a lot of traps in these modules where a candidate might be made to believe that the answer is A while it might actually be B

3. Whatever module you practice, do it under time constraint. That is very crucial.

4. I myself had given the IELTS for the first time, and was very nervous on what to expect. But there is nothing to worry here. The examiners and invigilators take very good care that all candidates are comfortable and are seated properly. They give you time to test your headphones before the listening exam. They give out very clear instructions of each and every thing. Just wait for their instructions on how to fill the details on the answer sheet and do accordingly. If you have any questions or doubts, just raise your hand and ask them.

5. You should practice the writing module in the IELTS answer sheet itself, so that you can keep track of the word count. There is an option of giving writing test in either pen or pencil, but I would advise you to use a pencil because it will be easier to correct your mistakes.

Hope this helps

 

[IMTS]

4. They give you time to test your headphones before the listening exam.

We were not allowed to ware headphones. They put the cd on a radio!

 

[joohi]

We were not allowed to ware headphones. They put the cd on a radio!

Oh, that's strange! We were given a nice set of headphones in the test hall, and it also had a volume controller, which could be adjusted according to each candidate's personal requirement.

 

[IMTS]

Oh, that's strange! We were given a nice set of headphones in the test hall, and it also had a volume controller, which could be adjusted according to each candidate's personal requirement.

that makes me so upset! I had to struggle to actually get to listen some parts

 

[matchless]

that makes me so upset! I had to struggle to actually get to listen some parts

where is this happening?? country?

 

[sunny_guyed]

I have not taken the IELTS exam yet; however, I already have taken the iBT TOEFL exam, which is a lot harder compared to the IELTS exam. I would advise you to improve your vocabulary and learn how to use those words properly. I would also recommend you to write a lot so you can improve your writing. And of course, you must have a proper grammar. I achieved on the TOEFL exam 112 out of 120 so it was more than enough! Good luck!

 

[cad143]

where is this happening?? country?

same with IELTS in the Philippines. There's a loud speaker for the listening test :'( :'( :'(

 

[kryt0n]

same with IELTS in the Philippines. There's a loud speaker for the listening test :'( :'( :'(

Same in Calgary. Large speakers in a huge echoy room.

 

[matchless]

is it with the British council or some other??

 

[jpv2212]

Hi everyone...

Got my results yesterday.
LRSW 8.5, 7.5, 6.5, 6.5

Screwed up for just 0.5 band in SW :-[ :-[

Can anyone suggest books or websites to follow for General training Writing???
most of the materials on internet is about Academic ielts.

I need to improve my writing...
Kindly help..