GUIDELINES FOR PASSING THE IELTS

READING
READING
To do well in the reading test, you will need to understand the task types and
you‘ll need plans for reading quickly and efficiently.

BACKGROUND PREPARATION
During the weeks before your IELTS test, it is advisable
to read as much as you can of different types of test. If
you are preparing for IELTS Academic you will need to
read articles with an academic style. English
newspapers are recommended.

Whilst you are reading, try to practice developing the The Independent / Science
www.independent.co.uk/news/science
skills required for IELTS, such as summarising the The Age / Travel
content, giving headings to paragraphs, deciding what is www.theage.com.au/travel
fact and what is opinion and thinking of alternative words The New York Times / Health
www.nytimes.com/pages/health/index/html
for words you see in the text.

Three Tips for your reading test

 Don’t start reading the whole text and then the questions/ you will not
have time. Start by looking the title, headings, the first paragraph, and
the first sentence of the other paragraphs and the final sentence of the
text.
 Look at the questions and highlight the key words. A s you are doing
this, think of alternative words because these are likely to occur in the
text. For example, the word ‘rich’ may appear in the question, where
the original word in the text is ‘wealthy’.
 Make sure you are familiar with the question types. You can only do
this by spending as much time as possible practising. Consider trying the
British Council’s ‘Road to IELTS’.

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 GUIDELINES FOR PASSING THE IELTS
SPEAKING
SPEAKING
The key to doing well in the Speaking test is to know what the examiner is looking
for.

BACKGROUND PREPARATION
You need to be aware of the language areas the examiner is
looking for:
Fluency is a natural, continuous flow of language:
You can only develop this with lots of practice. You need to take
every opportunity to speak in English with family, friends,
teachers, whilst you are shopping and with anyone you know
who speaks English.
There are two aspects to vocabulary and grammar:
One is accuracy, your vocabulary and grammar must be correct.
The second one is range: you need to use a variety of words for
a single concept and use complex sentences. Listen to how
educated native speakers talk on the BBC (Google BBC Radio 4
schedule). You could then record yourself practising talking on
the same topic and assess yourself.
Pronunciation:
You need to be clear and easy to understand. Consider
subscribing to a programme such as Clear Pronunciation which
helps both with individual sounds and with word and sentence
stress, intonation, connected speech and consonant clusters.

Four Tips for your speaking test

 When you run a race, you warm up beforehand. So you can
warm up your mind by thinking in English before you go into the
test. Talk to other candidates in English while you are waiting.
 Most people are nervous in the Speaking test and the examiner
understands this. If you have an attack of nerves, pause and say
“ I’m sorry, I’m very nervous. Can you give me a second” . Then
take a deep breath and carry on.
 Don’t learn your answers by heart. The examiner will spot this
and will give zero marks for prepared answers.
 Don’t get too stressed about getting everything correct. Everyone
makes mistakes - including native speakers.

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 GUIDELINES FOR PASSING THE IELTS
LISTENING
LISTENING
In the listening test, you need to understand native speakers talking quickly. Do
you know how you can achieve a good score?

THE BASICS
The test lasts 40 minutes, includes 40 questions and each correct answer is worth one mark, making a
total of 40 marks.
The test is in four sections:
1. A conversation in a social situation, such as buying cinema tickets.
2. One person speaking in a social situation, such as describing the facilities in a gymnasium.
3. A conversation in an educational context, such as a conference.
4. A lecture on a topic of general academic interest, such as climate change.
You will be asked to listen for about 30 minutes and you will have 10 minutes to transfer your
answers from the question booklet to your answer sheet. The audio is played only ONCE.

1. Improve your listening skills with materials 2. Make sure you understand the
TWO Key online (Try Ted.com) question types
elements in  Choose a lecture and listen This is important. You need to
 Listen again. It doesn’t matter if you fully understand what is
your don’t understand every word; try and expected of you beforehand;
pick out the main ideas. you will not have time to work
preparation for  Listen a third time, if you need to and this out during the test.
the LISTENING click on Show transcript beneath the Do you understand the
video screen. question types: form
TEST completion, multiple selection,
classification

IN THE TEST ROOM - GETTING THE BEST POSSIBLE SCORE

Before Listening As you listen After Listening
After the audio introduction, you will Note down key words, but Remember that you have 10 minutes
have 30 seconds to read the task. don’t try to write everything to transfer your answers to the
Use this time to read the instructions, you hear. You won’t be able to answer sheet.
and make sure you know what to do. and you will miss important  Make sure you don’t write
Look at the situation (eg a library) information. Listen for more than the maximum
and predict the situations and signpost words and phrases number of words allowed for
vocabulary you will hear (loan period, such as firstly…, now I want each answer, eg the question
library catalogue, digital resources). to talk about …. To help you might ask you to WRITE NO MORE
For each question, predict the type of structure the information in THAN THREE WORDS.
word you are listening for. Is it a your mind. Be aware of  Check you spelling and
number, a place, a noun, a verb or an synonyms (alternative words). grammar. Make sure you write
adjective? If you hear ‘the meeting is the plural forms of nouns when
held annually’ the answer needed.
could be ‘the meeting takes  If in doubt, guess. You do not
place yearly’. lose marks for a wrong answer, so
there is nothing to be gained from
leaving an answer blank.

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 GUIDELINES FOR PASSING THE IELTS
WRITING
WRITING
In the writing test, effective time management is the key to achieving your best
possible band score.

BACKGROUND PREPARATION
In order to prepare effectively, you should first look at the marking criteria.
Your examiner is looking for:
Have you fulfilled the requirements of the task? Is your answer
relevant, appropriate and accurate?
Can you develop an argument and support your ideas with evidence?
Do you express your ideas clearly, eg with signpost words and good
organisation?
Is your vocabulary appropriate, accurate and varied?
Is your grammar accurate and varied?

Use these criteria to highlight your weak areas. How do you do this?
Find some essays you have written in the past. Read through each one
five times - each time you read, focus on one of the marking criteria
above. When you have finished you should have a clear idea of your
strengths and weaknesses. Focus on improving your performance in
your weak areas.

Four Tips for your writing test

 It is important to write in paragraphs. Focus on one idea in each
paragraph and introduce it with a topic sentence. The rest of the
paragraph should explain, expand on, support or illustrate the
idea.
 In Task 2, make sure that you structure your essay with an
introduction, a body and a conclusion. The introduction should
not be long, and the conclusion should be a summary of the key
points and your final viewpoint.
 Do not simply copy words from the question paper. Use your
own words to paraphrase the question and make sure you
demonstrate the range of your vocabulary.
 Don’t use bullet points or note form; you need to write in
complete sentences.
IN THE TEST ROOM
Remember that Task 2 is worth twice as much as You need to manage the time allocated to each Task.
Task 1, so spend 20 minutes on Task 1 and 40 Divide the time between planning, writing and reviewing.
minutes on Task 2. When you’ve finished you need time to count your words
and to check spelling, grammar and punctuation - checking
your work is an easy and effective way of boosting your
band score. You need to think about what you are going to
write before you start.

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 GUIDELINES FOR PASSING THE IELTS
PREPARING FOR IELTS
PREPARING FOR IELTS
Here are four ideas for you to prepare for the IELTS test.
1. Make sure you understand the IELTS test 3. Clarify your objectives
Do you know what you have to do in each of the You will not significantly change your overall level of
four tests: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening? English in three weeks, but you will be able to make a
Understanding the task types is the first critical step big difference in specific areas. For example, you
on the road to the band score you need. could work on:
There are various IELTS online resources and books Paragraphs and topic sentences to help you to
available. We would recommend Road to IELTS, the structure Writing Task 2.
official British Council preparation resource. Backing up your statements with reasons in the
Speaking test.
Proof reading to remove errors in the Reading,
Listening and Writing tests.
Guessing topics, words and phrases in the Listening
test by looking at papers used previously. This will
make listening easier on test day.
(Three past papers for each of the Listening, Reading
and Writing tests are available in Road to IELTS).

2. Analyse your strengths and weaknesses 4. Organise and schedule your time
You have a limited amount of time to prepare for Perhaps you only have three weeks to study before
the IELTS test. You need to spend that time where it your test. There are other things you need to do in
will have the greatest advantage. So if you are that time; you will sleep and eat, work, exercise,
good at speaking, but less good at writing, you undertake chores. Calculate how much time you
should focus your time on improving your writing. actually have, and when it is. Perhaps you have just
This seems obvious but research shows that students two hours per day to study - it certainly won’t be as
often practise the skills they are already good at. It’s much as you think! You should allocate this time
easier! based on your strengths and weaknesses as
You probably know your strengths and weaknesses, described above. Before you even start studying
but to be sure: make a schedule where you allocate time to
Talk to your English teacher (if you have one) Speaking, Listening, Reading and Writing. If possible,
Try some practice tests and compare the band be more
scores you achieve in each module. specific.
“I have three
Practise on Road to IELTS which has a function weeks to
enabling you to compare your scores with hundreds prepare for
of thousands of other people using it online. IELTS. How
For Speaking and Writing, find out what the can I get the
examiner is looking for. band score I
need?”

Free daily tips and advice for IELTS preparation: www.facebook.com/PractiseforIELTS