IELTS Tips

It is common knowledge that studying hard is the way to get a good score on any test, especially IELTS. This, however, is not true. Yes you need to study hard, but the best way to study IELTS is to “study smart”. What does studying smart mean? It means you don’t waste your time learning from inferior sources, it means you don’t spend hours and hours learning bad habits, and it means you study specifically for your test, not a test that is similar to the one you’re going to take. Don’t waste your time with bad source material. A lot of the materials out there are written by people whose first language isn’t even English. Much of the stuff out there is of shockingly poor quality. These materials teach you bad habits, bad grammar, and bad strategies. Here at GIELTSHelp, we pride ourselves on our high quality materials written by university graduate native English speakers. Thousands of hours of research and development have been put into developing materials that help you learn in ...

It seems like every IELTS teacher and every IELTS course has a different tip or strategy to teach students. So, how do you know which ones work and which ones don't? Simple. Think about it in a logical way. Instead of taking the students position, take the position of the IELTS exam. What is the purpose of the academic IELTS exam? Well of course, the goal is to test your ability to communicate using English in a UNIVERSITY SITUATION. Ah ha, so logically the next question is, "What is a typical university situation?" Now this is where the answer gets a little bit more complicated because different universities and subjects have different expectations. However, clearly there is a level of language such as vocabulary and grammar which is a minimum for understanding information in classes and textbooks as well as producing well articulated language to convey ideas clearly to others using written or spoken form. But, this is not all. Western universities do tend to have on...

Pronunciation is important to get a good score in the IELTS speaking section, but the right pronunciation is not what students think. IELTS test-takers quickly learn that the listening section is mostly a British accent. At this time, it is important to note the difference between 'accent' and 'pronunciation': an accent is the articulation common to a group of native language speakers, such as British accent or West coast North American accent; on the other hand, pronunciation is the articulation of a single individual when verbalizing a particular word in a language. All individuals speak languages, their own or a second language like English, with a certain accent and pronunciation. So how "good" does your pronunciation have to be for the IELTS? The speaking section of the IELTS exam consists of three parts and each is graded according to the test-takers complexity (grammar, vocabulary), natural diction (like a native English speaker), and ability to acc...

There is a lot of confusion about the types of essay questions for Task 2 of the IELTS exam, and the correct structure for answering these. Some people believe there are four types of essays while other believe two and others still, believe many more. In fact, these are all true and false at the same time. A much better way to think about ‘Task 2’ writing in the IELTS is to understand the nature of the questions. Almost always, the essay task is persuasive and first person voice. This essay can be asked in either an open or closed question format. Of course, there are a few different types of open and closed questions possible, each of which is further defined below. Keep reading. The primary goal of ‘Task 2’ writing in the IELTS is to evaluate whether or not you are able to make a clear and convincing argument related to a specific topic question. This type of essay is called a persuasive essay because your goal is to persuade the reader of your opinion. In addition, this essay...

Scanning and skimming is NOT enough to get a high score on the academic IELTS. If you need a 5.0 or 5.5, then it can work, but if you need anything higher (which almost all universities require), you need proper IELTS reading technique - you NEED to read and understand the material, and use critical thinking to engage the passage. This is the only way to get 6.5, 7.0, 7.5++. Very high level ESL speakers may be able to achieve 6.5 using the scan/skim method, but they are still robbing themselves of a higher score. Such a student may be able to get 7.5 or even 8+ on the reading section using proper techniques. For most students, the difference between skim/scan and using proper technique can be a full band, or even 1.5 bands. It is absolutely huge. There is a very good reason for this: The IELTS test makers are very intelligent, and they know exactly how to construct a test to differentiate between those using good techniques and those using bad techniques. The IELTS test makers ...

To get a high score in Task 1 writing of the academic IELTS you need to give accurate and strong description and analyses for the provided graph(s) or diagram. In this minimum 150 word essay it is easy to keep repeating words and numbers. However, this is not good to achieve a high score. In order to get a great band level on this section of the IELTS, you must use a variety of vocabulary that not only describes but also emphasizes the changes, similarities and differences in the data. You should review and practice the vocabulary below. Verbs These verbs are alternatives to the basic rise and fall vocabulary. One benefit of using them is that sometimes they help you avoid repeating too many numbers. If you have a strong verb, you don’t always have to give the exact figure. Up Verbs Verbs Example soar the use of water soared in March leap the prices leap to 90% in one year Climb populations climbed to over one million by 1980 Rocket use of cars rocketed in the first d...

A Is For “Ask” If you are not sure exactly what is the question during the IELTS speaking section, then be sure to ask the examiner to repeat/rephrase the question - if you do not, you risk answering a different question. Try to use polite formal expressions, such as “Excuse me, please could you rephrase the question, I did not manage to catch it?” B Is For “Brevity” Be careful to not answer with brevity during the IELTS speaking exam. Remember that the IELTS speaking examiner wants to see your level. So, rather than answering the question “Tell me about your city.”, with “It is quite large.”, try to increase the sentence, such as with: “Regarding the place that I live, I can say that...”. C Is For “Calculate” Calculate the number of marks correct that you would approximately need in order to get your goal for the IELTS reading and listening sections (http://www.aehelp.com/score-calculator). During the exam, you might be concerned that you are not answering the questions ea...

Be Prepared (Mentally and Physically) Let's face it IELTS exams can be stressful. But what even more stressful is walking into an academic IELTS exam unprepared knowing that you are going to do badly. So be prepared; Mentally: Make sure that you spend a significant time making yourself familiar with all of the material that you need to know, this means revising weeks or months before. (Not hours or minutes!) Knowing the material will set you in good pace for the IELTS exam. You will find it harder to let your mind wonder away into daydream when you actually know what to write. Physically: Staying up the night before late is never a good move. Make sure that you get plenty of rest before the day of the IELTS exam. Being tired will only help you lose your concentration. Have A Good Breakfast With Coffee! Breakfast really is one of the most important meals of the day, especially when you have an IELTS exam. Breakfast will kick start your day keeping you energized thr...

Do you have trouble with #IELTS Reading Section, True, False, Not Given type questions?  Don’t worry, many students find this type of question one of the most challenging in the reading part. There are a few simple strategies that you can use to help you improve your accuracy and score while decreasing your stress. Here are some DOs and DONTs when solving T/F/NG questions during the IELTS: First, you need to know that reading T/F/NG (also known as Yes, No, Not Given) before you read the passage is a bad idea! Why? Because if you read this type of question before the passage, chances are you just read lots of information which is false or not in the passage. Clearly, reading this type of information before the passage is confusing and bad for comprehension. In fact, it can even decrease your scores for other questions for that passage. So, don’t read T/F/NG questions before the passage. Second, skimming and scanning the passage is NOT effective strategy for T/F/NG. Why? Well,...