myIELTSteacher

You wrote - in writing task-1 of IELTS-GT, would it be ok to mention "Best Regards" of a formal letter starting with "Dear Sir" If you start a formal letter with Dear Sir you should finish with Yours faithfully... You can use Best Regards for semi-formal letters when you start with Dear (name of person) If you'd like advice on speaking and writing for IELTS I have written in great detail on my website for these sections. I hope this helps.

Another piece of advice, Muradahmed, is to aim to get as many correct answers as you can in the first 2 easy sections of the listening test. As you need 7.5 I would aim to get 100% correct answers from section 1 and 2. As sections 3 and 4 get progressively harder then you should aim for about 7 to 8 correct answers from each, or together about 14 - 15 correct answers from these two sections. Like Pete J, I've also got some other listening ideas, so please feel free to take a look. With all this advice from IELTS tutors hopefully you'll improve your skills sufficiently to get the score you need!

There are some useful ideas here from preet83 in terms of what you have to do and how many words you may need to write. In terms of how to respond to the essay question you need to understand what the question is asking. You then need to brainstorm and plan your answer. Then you need to write. Finally you need to to go back through your essay and check for mistakes. This process takes time and you need to practice it again and again before you can attempt to answer an IELTS essay question in about 40 minutes. Take a look at my website (link at the bottom of this page) - I've outlined a whole preparation course for writing an IELTS essay. There are sample IELTS essays written by an IELTS tutor and students. I'm currently working on a preparation course for the Task 1. There are also pages on preparing for the Speaking test. If you have any questions you can contact me on my website. Best of Luck

Hi muradahmed The good news is that you have given yourself 4 months to prepare. You should check some of the threads on this forum as there are lots of IELTS teachers who write here and have links to their web sites, all of which can help you with each aspect of the exam. You will probably need to test yourself straightaway on each section, using some of tests available on these teacher websites. I say this because your last exam was 6 years ago and so there is no guarantee that your level is the same. It depends how much time you spend using English on a daily basis. Also parts of the exam will have changed in some way since 2004, especially the speaking exam. As well as using various websites, I would also recommend some training books which you can use for self-study. I use New Insight into IELTS with my class and I find it comprehensively covers the different parts of the exam. It is certainly a book you can use to study on your own. I would also recommend doing some practice tests from the Cambridge IELTS Practice test series - there are 7 books in total, so the most recent ones are the most appropriate for you. You could try these tests nearer the exam, once you have tried to improve your level, if necessary. I hope that helps to get you started.

Many students have told me how missing an answer in the listening exam causes them to panic, and as a result, they can't concentrate on the following questions. Because you only get one chance to listen there is a lot of pressure on you. The most important thing to realize is that missing one answer in the exam is not the end of the world (unless of course you are aiming to score 9!). First of all check out how many approximate, correct answers you need in order to get the IELTS score you require. Next, you could work out which question types you are good at, and which you aren't. This helps you to rationalize and focus on your strengths - try to get as many correct answers as possible with those questions you are good at. Also, you need to realize that the listening exam starts easy and gets harder. So my advice to students, depending on the IELTS score you are aiming for, is to work out the percentage of correct answers you can achieve in each section. For example, you should try to get 100% correct answers from section 1 as it is the easiest section. However, you could aim for approximately 40-50% correct answers in section 4 (if you have answered most of the other sections well and need 6.5). In order to make these kinds of calculations you need to have practised a few tests and worked out what you can or need to achieve from each section. Finally, if you miss an answer don't panic. Accept that this answer is lost. Take a deep breath and try to focus on which question you should be listening for now. Missing an answer is OK as long as you don't let this situation get out of control and lead to you missing another 3 or 4 answers. I hope this helps and best of luck if you are taking the exam this week.

Third in my series of last minute tips - the writing exam. Of course with your preparation for the IELTS exam you are learning lots of things and discover your own ideas for making things quicker. Here are just a few last minute tips to consider - I share these with my students in the last lesson as a kind of summary to their course. Organise your time carefully during the hour you have for the whole exam. Task 1 - 20 minutes Task 2 - 40 minutes It’s important to follow these suggested times as the Task 1 is worth 40% and the Task 2 is worth 60%. Before the exam think about which task you would prefer to write first – you can write them in any order, starting with Task 2 if you wish. Organise your time carefully for the Task 2 essay: Planning - 5 minutes Writing - 30 minutes Checking and editing - 5 minutes So important! Grammar and vocabulary each make up 25% of the total (together that’s 50%). If you don’t have enough time to check your writing you can lose so many points. Remember, both native speakers and students make basic mistakes when they are writing quickly. So you should always spend time checking at the end. Before you start planning your essay answer circle the key words in the question – this keeps you focused on the correct topic. If you don’t write relevant information about the essay topic you will lose a lot of marks for your content, which represents 25% of your mark. If you have problems with timing here’s an idea for the essay. After spending 5 minutes planning do the following: - Write your introduction paragraph. - Then write the main idea for each main paragraph, but nothing else. Leave a space for your supporting sentences and examples. You can write these later. - Write your conclusion paragraph. - You can then go back and complete your main paragraphs. This process helps you to control paragraph lengths, and stops you from writing too much in one paragraph. Hopefully this means you can complete your essay in the time provided, as well as helping you to write an essay with well-balanced paragraphs. If you still have time problems, at least the examiner can see you have presented a correct essay structure, with main ideas. You’ll just lose points on a lack of supporting ideas. However, this technique doesn't work for everyone so you should practise using this process before you take the exam, and then decide if it works for you. Organise your time carefully for the Task 1: Planning - 4 minutes Writing - 12 minutes Checking and editing - 4 minutes When answering the Academic Task 1, circle the significant data on the graph. Then choose the order you are going to write about this data. Write the numbers 1, 2, 3 etc. on the graph to help you write the information logically in your answer. When answering the General Task 1, circle the key words in the question to keep you focused. Use the bullet points to structure your answer – each bullet point represents one paragraph. I hope these ideas help and best of luck in your preparation.:grad:

Thanks Shahji. I hope to post some last minute tips for writing and speaking soon so look out for those too. And good luck with your IELTS.

To follow on from my ideas for the Listening exam, here are some simple yet effective tips for the Reading. Before you start, check all 3 sections of the test – you don’t need to start with section 1. In fact, it’s better to start with a section that suits you best. This means if you see a topic you like you could choose this section first. If you hate paragraph matching questions and always do badly at them, then do this section last. Spend no more than 20 minutes on each section – you have 3 sections to complete in 60 minutes. Always start by reading through the text quickly (about 5 minutes) and underline the main idea in each paragraph. If you can’t decide what to underline write a note at the side which tells you the topic of this paragraph.(For General students, you may have shorter texts to read but more of them, so make sure that for each section of the exam you spend about 5 minutes of actual reading time.) Circle the instructions regarding the number of words in the answer– they change throughout the exam. Underline or circle the key words in questions, and look for similar meaning words and phrases in the text. Think about what kind of answer you are looking for, and/or what the grammar of the answer might be. As you answer the reading questions, make sure you write the answers directly onto the answer sheet – there is no time to transfer answers at the end. If your answer requires you to copy a word from the text, make sure you copy the spelling correctly. For challenging questions such as matching paragraph headings, summarising and Yes/No/True/False/Not Given, it might help to read the questions and identify key words before you read the text. As you read you may find a paragraph or sentence relates well to one of the questions. You could put a * next to it to help you find the actual answer later. For multiple choice and paragraph heading questions, if you find a answer that you think is wrong then mark an X by it – it helps to identify wrong answers so you don’t waste more time on them. For matching paragraph headings, if you can’t decide between 2 possible answers then write both. When you’ve finished all the questions you can go back and delete the inappropriate one. Remember every point counts in the exam - don't lose points over simple mistakes Best of luck :grad:

If you're about to take the IELTS exam here's a great list of LAST MINUTE tips I always share with my students. They're simple, but I've watched too many students make mistakes with these in the exam, and as a result, fail to get the score they need. Always circle the instructions regarding number of words in your answer – they change throughout the exam. Notice the question number order on diagrams, flow charts and tables – this is the order you will hear the information. Use all available time to read the questions before listening. In section 1, 2 and 3 the listening is divided into 2 parts. You have about 20 seconds to prepare before you listen to the first part, and another 20 seconds before you listen to the second part. You then have 30 seconds to check your answers – if you feel confidant about your answers move on – get as much extra preparation time as you can. In section 4 you have to answer all 10 questions in one listening part so you really need to get ahead to prepare for this. When you transfer your answers to the answer sheet make sure you write the answer in the correct space – too many students have made mistakes here and lost all their points. If the answer is a letter (A, B, C etc.) make sure you write the letter not the actual word from the listening – another mistake so many students have made. If your answer is a name make sure the first letter is a Capital letter. When you read questions focus on the key words – underline them or circle them – this will help you concentrate on finding the right answer. For short answer questions or gap fills try to predict the answer, or at least think about the grammar of the answer, before listening. For multiple choice questions, and questions that require you to choose from a list, try to rephrasethe ideas or think of similar meaning vocabulary that you might hear. For multiple choice questions, if you hear something that tells you that one of the answers is wrong then put an X next to that answer – identifying wrong answers can help you find the correct answer. Remember, if you need a score between 6.5 and 7 you should aim to get the following proportion of correct answers: Section 1 (the easiest) 100% Section 2 100% Section 3 80% Section 4 (the most difficult) 50% So with all your hard preparation for the exam, don't forget these simple tips. One or 2 points can make the difference between achieving the score you need [clap] or having to take the exam again. :wallbash: Best of luck

Hi Rajesh You have lots of options to choose from. My first advice is if you really need a specific score in 1 month you should seriously consider attending an IELTS preparation course. They are expensive but if you have a set deadline then you definitely need someone to speak to. However, if that isn't an option, then think about buying some self study books. One of my favourites is New Insight into IELTS which I use with my class. It's easy enough to follow on your own without a teacher. I'm sure other people will advise other books - we all have our personal favourites. Also make sure you are clear about whether you are taking the Academic or General version of the exam. The writing and reading parts are different. After some serious study - and I mean do all the study first, before you start doing tests - you can then think about buying Cambridge IELTS exam practice books as they use real IELTS exams. But remember, this is an exam testing your level, so you must prepare yourself first, before you start doing tests otherwise you are wasting your time. Think about which part of the exam is going to be the hardest and work on that first. Lots of students find essay writing difficult so it's a good idea to find out what you need to do to write a good IELTS essay now so that you can do lots of essay practice before the exam day. Take a look at my webpage if you need some help with that. For the speaking exam, finding someone to speak and practice with is an excellent idea - often you can find students on this forum. You can practice using skype. For the reading and listening exam I would definitely recommend the book I mentioned earlier - most of the websites I have looked at don't really explain clearly enough how to do these parts of the exam, as well as offering practice activities. Although you could try www.dcielts.com as he does have some good stuff. Unfortunately I haven't got that far with my web page yet as I can only work on it in my free time. I hope that helps you get started and good luck.

Another reason a student seems to repeatedly perform at a lower level in one skill is that they are just weaker in that skill. I teach many students that are level tested to Upper Intermediate or Advanced level, but are considerably lower than that level in one or even two skills. This may have come about because over the years they just haven't developed and practiced that skill (this tends to occur a lot with writing) or maybe they are not strong in that skill in their first language. Without L1 proficiency there are few skills to transfer to L2. And with constant perceived 'failure', students can become paranoid about this part of the exam and struggle to get past this. (This can happen to all of us with our studies). My advice would be to obviously focus on this particular skill, trying to find out what the specific problems are. It may be a matter of improving confidence, or improving their level, or helping them to understand what is required of them to produce an answer that matches the score they need. Going through past question papers in detail, getting them to understand why their answer is wrong, and why the correct answer is correct can be enlightening for some students. Personally, I found this technique extremely helpful when I myself was struggling to understand why I repeatedly performed badly in one course I was taking. Overall I find the IELTS exam an excellent and realistic test of a student's level. In terms of the Academic exam, students are performing tasks in the exam which test how effective they will be as students studying at university in the English language. Remember, not everyone is capable of studying at uni, and not every native English speaker can get 9 in IELTS. And as so many universities worldwide use IELTS as an entrance requirement to their courses, it really needs to test a student's English level as well as their ability to cope with studies in English at univeristy level.

My advice to all students preparing for IELTS. The best preparation will always be a face-to-face IELTS course. Yes they are expensive but you will have lots of questions and you'll get quicker answers from your teacher. Most school courses are a good investment for a very important and challenging exam. The Internet is here to help - there are loads of books and teachers with websites (including myself) who are offering free advice and practice. Some of them charge. Use them to back up your course, or when you finish your course. You will have more knowledge and experience about the exam and then know which sites seem more reliable. I would say beware spending money on the Internet. Make sure you can find out from others about what is offered, and how useful and appropriate it was for this student, before you start spending money. Also read the 'About' pages on websites. Of course people can always write lies, but if the website owner is a real IELTS tutor or examiner with experience and knowledge they will want to tell you that. At the same time, they may want to protect their identity for personal security reasons so don't expect to find out every detail! I hope this helps and good luck.

Thanks rossabrooks. This is really useful information (if a little complicated to follow as a post) and I plan to share it with my students. Is this from a book or did you write it yourself? Do you have any suggestions for materials for weaker students. I often have Upper Intermediate students preparing for IELTS but their level of writing is far lower. So in fact they'd find this activity a little challenging!

This is the part of the speaking exam where you are given 1 minute to make notes, and then you have to speak for 2 minutes without any questions from the examiner. My students always panic about this part of the speaking exam, and often struggle to speak for 2 minutes. Very often the reason for this is they don't spend the 1 minute preparation time usefully. You should try to make notes in this time that will remind you of things to talk about, as well as help you organise your talk logically. Another problem is that under pressure, my students fail to use interesting vocabulary and grammar. So they end up repeating basic words such as 'good' or 'bad'. The only way to solve these problems is to practice this part of the test again and again. You should also record yourself doing different topics. In this way you will notice when you use boring or interesting vocabulary, if you're making grammar mistakes etc. I've written a guide on how to do the speaking part 2 and recorded myself for my students. They tell me they find it very useful in class, so I've uploaded it to the speaking pages on my web site - take a look using the link here or use my main site address at the bottom. There are also lots of practice topics on my web page which you can download. Get practising and good luck.:grad: My IELTS Teacher

Heh Luma Thank you for sharing your advice. Some of the things you talk about here I tell my students to do. I don't think they always believe me (especially about recording your speaking) so it's great to hear an IELTS student recommending this technique. Congratulations on your results - these are excellent no matter how disappointed you feel. And you only need to improve your overall score by 0.5. This is achievable. Clearly your strongest skills are reading and listening. Your main focus for improvement should be your writing. You could try searching the internet for advice on how to improve (there's lots of advice on my website - see the link at the bottom) or think about taking a short course. And just to be sure - keep working at the speaking practice. If you really need 7, and writing is more difficult for you, then aiming for 7.5 in speaking is a good idea. You say that you had a difficult topic in the exam. Imagine if you had an easy topic - maybe this could help you get a higher score. So don't give up now - you're so close to achieving your goal. So many students only achieve the result they want after several attempts. Good Luck