Prepare for your IELTS Test – Part 1

Important Steps in preparing for your IELTS Tests

In this series I would like to show you how to prepare for your IELTS test. There are many steps that you need to take if you are going to be successful in your IELTS test. And in this series I’m going to take you through the 10 most important steps that you must complete if you are going to do well in your test. First three will be discussed in this lesson.

Now let’s start with the first one and the most obvious one.

1. Learn about the Test.

Of course you shouldn’t enter the examination until you know as much as you can about the                test. You need to learn about the

• Content – The four different tests. Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking. You need to format:
• Learn the Format of each of those tests , you need to know what is going to happen when you get in the test, what the test is all about, what problems you might have.  The test should not be a surprise to you. All the information is available online and you need to read as much as you can, so that you know exactly, what happen when you take your test.
• Timing: And of course when you are learning about the IELTS, you also need to look at the timing. If for e.g., you are doing the reading and the writing then the timing is very much in your hands. That means you are given an hour to accomplish a certain number of tasks or passages and it’s your choice how you manage your time. So understanding the timing is very important.
• Scoring; and of course scoring. You need to know how your band score is accessed. Now for listening and reading, it’s very easy because you get points for every correct answer. For speaking and writing, it’s different because an examiner will access you and the more you understand about the way you are accessed, the better your results will be.
• FAQs: Now FAQ means Frequently Asked Questions. The more you learn about the test, often you start having more questions, Now if you look at the answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) you will learn a lot about IELTS. So I will share FAQs about IELTS in another lesson.

2. IELTS Modules (Academic / General Training)

   Now when you have understood what IELTS is, it’s time to look at two different IELT S tests. There are two IELTS Tests, Academic Test and General Training Test. For Listening and Speaking, there is only one test but for Writing and Reading you have to choose. And it’s very important that you must know exactly which test you are going to take before you start preparing. The Academic test is mostly for university entrants, and the General training test is if you are moving abroad. So make sure you know which test you are going to take and you make sure you prepare properly for the same.





3. Be realistic with your goals

   Now moving on to the next step, this is one of the most important steps that you can take. You need to have a fixed aim for IELTS, what band score are you aiming for. You need to be realistic. So let me explain little bit more about this.

• Decide a band score: Decide what band score you are aiming for. Are you aiming for 6.5, 7 or 7.5.be very clear about the band score you really need.
• Check your level of English: So when you know what band score you need, have your level of English checked. Now this is very important to do. If the level of your English does not match the band score that you want, then you are going to have problems. If the level of your English is much lower than the band score you want it’s going to be almost impossible to reach that band score if you only study IELTS skills.  You need to make sure that the level of your English is equal to the band score you are aiming for. So to get the band score you want, you need to have the right level of English.
• English, IELTS Skills or both?: So once you know your level of English, then you can make a plan, that you either have to study English fast, to bring your level of English up to the right level, or if your English is already at the right level then you can just study your IELTS skills which basically means the skills for doing the exam. Or maybe your English is a little bit below the appropriate level to your band score and so maybe you want to study English and IELTS together.  So this is very important about being realistic, what band score can you realistically get with your level of English.
• Time Span: Now this is all about being realistic, how much time it will take to make sure that your English is at the right level for the band score that you want. And how long it will take you to learn your IELTS skills. Now many people ask me that how long it will take to reach the level, but it’s impossible to tell without meeting the student. Some students can learn exam skills very quickly and there are some students who can’t understand the skills very well and they have problems with it and their level of English is not very strong. So that means their time frame is going to be much wider and so it could take the months. So it really depends upon the speed of your learning and on the level of your English. So do make sure you do have a realistic time frame and that you have enough time to get ready for your IELTS test.

We will be carrying forward this lesson in my next post for the remaining steps in IELTS preparation.