Thanks IELTS buddy - My Tips for a High IELTS Score

by Misha :)
(London)

Finally, by the grace of almighty I can share the good news :)

Listening: 8
Reading: 8.5
Speaking: 8.5
Argh - Writing: 7

Let me tell you few things that nobody told me and nobody will tell you.

Being a British citizen, I took IELTS like a piece of cake. My first attempt was a huge eye opener when I failed to achieve the required score. I needed a minimum of 7 in each module ..and overall 7.5.

My second attempt went well. But again I failed to get the required bands. I was disappointed :(. And hurt!! Yes! I feel you :(

____________________
WRITING

1. Starting from the scratch.

Yes! No matter on what Level you are, start with the basic grammar (I loved Simon ielts and IELTS buddy grammar section).

Go through the different sentences and their types: Simple / Complex. Punctuation. You have no idea how important this little comma is, use of articles.

2. Focus more on task 2!!

The worst mistake I did was spending so much time on task 1. I never took the criteria seriously. TASK 2 carries twice as many marks.

So, focus on it. If your task 2 went well, trust me it's better!

3. PROOFREAD:

P: punctuation
R: repetitions kills the essay
O: overall link with the topic
O: over writing
F: fragmented sentences
R: reread every sentence
E: extra information
A: articles
D: don't add too many ideas
I: I should be making sense
N: noun
G: grammar

4. Worst mistake.

I used to incorporate too many ideas in one paragraph. I kept thinking it's the test of my intelligence..ouch. Not really...

You just have to expand the idea. Stick to one concept per idea and expand it. Yes literally.

- Intro
- Paraphrase
- Your opinion

- Topic sentence
- Example
- Explanation

- Topic sentence
- Example
- Explanation

- Conclusion

5. Make examples up!!

Please go through the columns, studies/surveys and just make any examples up.

For instance: My task 2 was about the companies and employees / customers!!

Make surveys up. That there was blah blah increase shown or according to UNICEF, there will be 33 percent increase in obesity by 2020 or blah blah (google some study; you will understand what I'm trying to say).

6. Be coherent.

Big question - how??

Read the first sentence and keep asking yourself, am I linking it up with the previous one? Make sure you keep repeating it.

Only write it down if you are 100 percent sure that it links with the whole topic.

7. Stay on topic.

Keep reading the question and ask yourself - Am I being relevant?

8. 5 -10 mins Plan.

Rough plan about what to write. List of a similar / related vocabulary. I even wrote the linking words and whatever fancy words I could remember. I just had to use them.

9. Grammar - Be Strategic!

i.e. make sure you have at least one sentence starting with '-ing', one 'respectively' sentence, one with the relative clause, dependent or independent.

A few simple sentences, and a few complex ones. One sentence starting with an 'if' .

10. Last but not the least , get yourself a study partner.

Discuss it with her or him :) go through the notes together. IELTS is dull :@ .

____________________
SPEAKING

Be confident, make things up. Watch seasons, movies or whatever you want.

Familiarise yourself with how a native would speak and answer.

Please don't memorise the answers. They won't judge you. Give your opinion.

Again get a foreign partner so you both can talk to each other and communicate ??

____________________
READING

I love reading novels so I just followed the general advice on reading Qs and types (esp Liz's video on reading)

- Learn to cram
- Make a circle around important dates, figures, names
- Relax

Usually the first and last line technique works for some people but I always ended up reading it all.

Practice reading / newspapers / magazines

____________________
LISTENING

Practice!

I abhor maps and unfortunately I got one this time :@

I usually listen to the narrator and try to write down the points whilst listening. It is a bit tricky but it does help. It helps you recall the whole thing.

I know it's not that easy. Helped me though.

____________________

Best of luck :)
If I can do it , so can you :)

Sites I recommend:

Ielts Simon
Ielts buddy
Ielts advantage / ielts Liz for overall ideas
I did read Ryan's band 9 essays too!

I subscribed to emails from: “IELTS Materials and Resources, Get IELTS Tips, Tricks & Practice Test”

:) cheers !

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