IELTS Experience: Friends, I recently gave my General IELTS exam and wanted to share my experience. Please let me know how you find the post.
I gave my IELTS General exam in March 2018 and scored 8 band with 8 each in Writing, Listening and Reading and 7.5 in Speaking. To give a context, I had given IELTS one time earlier in June 2017 and had scored 7.5 each in Listening, Speaking and Reading and 6 in Writing. I wrote the test in Canada and like any other prospective future, immigrant wanted to score as high as possible in IELTS General to increase my score in Express Entry (EE) pool. Guys who plan to migrate to Canada would know how crucial IELTS General exam is for EE and is probably the only item which can be improved to get an increased score. About me-I am from India and an MBA Candidate at a leading University in Canada.
I would like to compare my earlier exam and my current exam so that it can serve as a reference for future IELTS writers.
June 2017: I was in the mid of an intense MBA course in a leading University. Obviously, I didn’t prepare well. However, the real reason for not preparing well was not MBA but my lack of seriousness. At that point, I didn’t know how much important IELTS was for immigration to Canada and had relied on word of mouth interactions that IELTS is a very easy exam especially for MBA Candidates (if we could crack GMAT then IELTS should be a cakewalk ). So, I gave my GMAT and the results were not great. To be specific, prima facie, my scores didn’t look so bad. I had scored 7.5 in 3 parts; however, it was the writing component which sucked and took the shine out of the results. 6 band substantially impacted my EE scores and I was left with a dilemma on whether I would be able to cross 400 score. I knew I had to somehow get 7 band in writing. The real question was how?
March 2018: I gave my IELTS after substantial preparation. Took mock tests and followed several sources (books/online free stuff/official subscription) to guide me through the IELTS preparation. In the final days gave the IELTS mock exams (from British Library) daily mimicking exact test conditions (printed real IELTS answer sheets) for writing section. After giving my exam, I knew I had done better but wasn’t sure if I would exceed my earlier score. Ultimately, I improved 0.5 in Reading and Listening and scored the same in speaking. However, it was writing where I made the killing. Improvement of 1.5 in Writing.
Suggestions: I would like to share my learnings from the whole episode.
Well, it would seem cliché, but friends there is no shortcut to success. Hard work is required and that also in a structured manner.
Listening-Listen to BBC videos, Economist audios and whatever English you can lay your hands on. When you are answering, read the upcoming questions beforehand and prepare a probable answer beforehand. This will help you to pinpoint your answers easily.
Speaking: Practice with your friends, there are tons of practice material available online and in books.
Reading: Read a lot of English material pertaining to different genres. Please don’t read only newspapers. Try to read journals, articles, papers on different topics such as psychology, science, humanities, arts, and others. They would test your ability to read fast and decipher through complex English in a limited time frame.
Writing: I can’t emphasize enough the importance of taking writing seriously. Probably, writing is the only component where most of the IELTS takers struggle. Please go through the format for writing in various books/official sources. There are basically 5 types of Paragraph writing questions. You should have a defined structure for each of these types of paras. Practice, practice, and practice. As mentioned above, I printed the exact answer sheets as used in real IELTS exam so that I understand how many lines I have to write. You write more, and you are increasing the scope to do more errors; write less and you get penalized for writing less than stipulated words. To exactly replicate real-life test, I used to write all my answers with a pencil. Also, few specific pieces of advice I can give, write in a structured manner, write very legibly (there are penalties for unreadable text), improve your grammar and vocabulary. I have seen even native English speakers getting 6.5 in Writing. If this is the case, you must understand that IELTS writing is not per se a test of English but a test of a structured approach to writing. If I as a non-native writer, could achieve 8 band in writing, I am sure everyone can do it.
Finally, in the last fortnight, give an IELTS total exam every day in test conditions and try to improve with each passing day. Work on the weaknesses and fortify your strengths. Believe me, it's a crackable test with the right amount of hard work, focus, and approach.
Best of luck to everyone and let me know if you want any specific advice pertaining to General IELTS.
I gave my IELTS General exam in March 2018 and scored 8 band with 8 each in Writing, Listening and Reading and 7.5 in Speaking. To give a context, I had given IELTS one time earlier in June 2017 and had scored 7.5 each in Listening, Speaking and Reading and 6 in Writing. I wrote the test in Canada and like any other prospective future, immigrant wanted to score as high as possible in IELTS General to increase my score in Express Entry (EE) pool. Guys who plan to migrate to Canada would know how crucial IELTS General exam is for EE and is probably the only item which can be improved to get an increased score. About me-I am from India and an MBA Candidate at a leading University in Canada.
I would like to compare my earlier exam and my current exam so that it can serve as a reference for future IELTS writers.
June 2017: I was in the mid of an intense MBA course in a leading University. Obviously, I didn’t prepare well. However, the real reason for not preparing well was not MBA but my lack of seriousness. At that point, I didn’t know how much important IELTS was for immigration to Canada and had relied on word of mouth interactions that IELTS is a very easy exam especially for MBA Candidates (if we could crack GMAT then IELTS should be a cakewalk ). So, I gave my GMAT and the results were not great. To be specific, prima facie, my scores didn’t look so bad. I had scored 7.5 in 3 parts; however, it was the writing component which sucked and took the shine out of the results. 6 band substantially impacted my EE scores and I was left with a dilemma on whether I would be able to cross 400 score. I knew I had to somehow get 7 band in writing. The real question was how?
March 2018: I gave my IELTS after substantial preparation. Took mock tests and followed several sources (books/online free stuff/official subscription) to guide me through the IELTS preparation. In the final days gave the IELTS mock exams (from British Library) daily mimicking exact test conditions (printed real IELTS answer sheets) for writing section. After giving my exam, I knew I had done better but wasn’t sure if I would exceed my earlier score. Ultimately, I improved 0.5 in Reading and Listening and scored the same in speaking. However, it was writing where I made the killing. Improvement of 1.5 in Writing.
Suggestions: I would like to share my learnings from the whole episode.
Well, it would seem cliché, but friends there is no shortcut to success. Hard work is required and that also in a structured manner.
Listening-Listen to BBC videos, Economist audios and whatever English you can lay your hands on. When you are answering, read the upcoming questions beforehand and prepare a probable answer beforehand. This will help you to pinpoint your answers easily.
Speaking: Practice with your friends, there are tons of practice material available online and in books.
Reading: Read a lot of English material pertaining to different genres. Please don’t read only newspapers. Try to read journals, articles, papers on different topics such as psychology, science, humanities, arts, and others. They would test your ability to read fast and decipher through complex English in a limited time frame.
Writing: I can’t emphasize enough the importance of taking writing seriously. Probably, writing is the only component where most of the IELTS takers struggle. Please go through the format for writing in various books/official sources. There are basically 5 types of Paragraph writing questions. You should have a defined structure for each of these types of paras. Practice, practice, and practice. As mentioned above, I printed the exact answer sheets as used in real IELTS exam so that I understand how many lines I have to write. You write more, and you are increasing the scope to do more errors; write less and you get penalized for writing less than stipulated words. To exactly replicate real-life test, I used to write all my answers with a pencil. Also, few specific pieces of advice I can give, write in a structured manner, write very legibly (there are penalties for unreadable text), improve your grammar and vocabulary. I have seen even native English speakers getting 6.5 in Writing. If this is the case, you must understand that IELTS writing is not per se a test of English but a test of a structured approach to writing. If I as a non-native writer, could achieve 8 band in writing, I am sure everyone can do it.
Finally, in the last fortnight, give an IELTS total exam every day in test conditions and try to improve with each passing day. Work on the weaknesses and fortify your strengths. Believe me, it's a crackable test with the right amount of hard work, focus, and approach.
Best of luck to everyone and let me know if you want any specific advice pertaining to General IELTS.
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