IELTS Tips To Get High Score

Personal Experience And Tips To Get A High Score

Here we are sharing the personal experience of those who got high IELTS scores. Here are the lessons with tips and tricks they used for each module.

 

I GOT 8.5 BANDS IN IELTS AFTER PREPARING FOR 1 MONTH.

Here are the lessons with tips and tricks I used for each module.

Mega Protip 1: Do the IELTS prep course on edX https://www.edx.org/course/ielts-academic-test-preparation
Mega Protip 2: Aim to get a perfect score in listening and reading, it’s very much possible with a lot of practice https://careerbuilder.wtechhub.com/ielts-practice-books/
Mega Protip 3: Do a sample test every day (At least 3 modules). Use the site https://ieltsonlinetests.com

Listening:
I got 9 in Listening. This was my weak point so I knew I had to work on it. I practiced every day for a month.

  1. Protip 1: Be careful about obvious questions, if the answers seem immediate then there can be a trick.
  2. Protip 2: If you panic you will miss the questions. The best way to not panic is to practice every day. That way you will learn how to deal when you miss a question. Or rather you will get better at panicking 2

Reading: I got 8.5.

  1. Protip 1: Read the questions first. Mark the keywords in the question and then skim the text to find the answers. That will save time. There is no need to read the whole text.
  2. Protip 2: Try improving your reading speed. It is not so hard and can be easily done with practice. If you can read fast you can do the test in 60% of the time

Writing: I got 7.5.

  1. Protip 1: Don't make the mistake I did, I took it very lightly and did not practice, thinking that I can write well. Even if you can write well, writing in IELTS is completely different from normal writing. Write and then get it checked by some seniors. Look at sample texts and try to copy them as much as possible.
  2. Protip 2: Use a pencil for practice, because when I did the test I had to use a pencil.

Speaking: I got 9

  1. Protip 1: Don't stop speaking till the examiner stops you. Even if you fumble, say whatever comes to your mind. Say the word in Urdu if you want. But don't stop.
  2. Protip 2: Speak at 0.75x speed. When we are nervous we try to speak in a higher pitch and faster. Speaker slower means you have time to think and also shows confidence.

IELTS TIPS & FEEDBACK To get 8.5 band

I recently secured an overall 8.5 band in IELTS. Therefore, I decided to share some insights that might help anyone struggling with IELTS Academic or being stuck at a low band score.
Reading :
This is one such section that candidates take for granted. They believe that they will score a good band in it, just because they have read a few books or novels. However, in a test setting, you need to make sure that you conserve your time so that you can complete the 40 questions in 60 minutes. The passages are long and the questions, confusing. Therefore, there are certain tricks for each question type in this section that you need to learn beforehand, in order for you to complete the questions in time.
  1. One such trick is to read the first sentence of each paragraph in order to understand and get a general idea what will be discussed in that specific paragraph. You don't need to continue reading the entire paragraph, instead jump on the first line of the next one. This trick will allow you to scan the entire passage to find where the answer to a specific question lies in the text.
  2. Usually, where dates or names are given, the entire paragraph is dedicated for that date or on that name. So if the question includes that, you know where to find the answer.
  3. Remember, there is no negative marking in IELTS so you must answer all questions to get the highest possible score.
Listening:
For this section, you have 30 minutes. But you don't need to worry about the time because it is enough. However, you must make sure that you don't lose concentration when the tape is playing.
  1. Often the answer to a question is given not in the first sentence, but in the second one. Sometimes, the first few sentences have irrelevant data just to confuse you, and your answer lies in what is being said next. They do this to trick you and to understand how keenly you are listening to the recording.
  2. You will only get to listen to the recording once, and you have to answer the questions from what you hear.
  3. Use the time in between recordings to read all the questions that come next.
Writing:
The writing section is 60 minutes long. It has 2 tasks, with the second one having double weightage as the first one. Therefore time division must be done accordingly.
  • The most important thing to follow in this section is to use the right structure in your paragraphs. Make sure you write a few essays according to the structure demanded by the IELTS Examiners.
  • Another thing to keep in mind is to use varying lengths of sentences. Examiners like complex sentences, which are long and have quite a few punctuation marks such as commas in between. This shows them that you have a strong grip on the language.
Speaking :
There is no easy way to get better at speaking.
  1. One thing that helped me get an 8.5/9 in speaking was this. When reading a book, make sure you read out loud so that you hear yourself and get comfortable with speaking the English language.
  2. Also, an alternative thing to do would be to repeat the words you hear when watching any videos or movies online.
  3. The best way to go about it is to dedicate some time in your day during which you only converse in English and not your native language (Urdu, Punjabi, Pashto etc.)

 

These were just a few tips off the top of my head. I hope I could share some useful bit of insight even though a single post on IELTS is nowhere near enough. I understand that this is a very important step to applying abroad, as most countries might demand a decent band score in IELTS or other English proficiency tests, therefore feel free to shoot any questions you might have

 

Personal Experience For IELTS Preperations

I appeared for IELTS on 17th September 2020 and scored an overall 7.5 bands with 8.5 in Listening, 7.5 in Reading, 7 in Writing, and 7 in Speaking. I’ll shortly share my story of IELTS preparation, which was hardly of one week & my source of preparation was only ‘IELTS LIZ↵’.

Pre-Requisite:
Before starting the preparation, like many of us, I collected data of some GBs with no clear direction from where to start. This is where I did self-scrutiny to know where I stand, whether I need to learn English Grammar, or I have a very good understanding of it. I call it step # 1, the most important one and it doesn’t require much time as all of us have an idea of it.

Preparation:

  • After step 1, if you think you need to learn English grammar, please give it some handsome time before appearing in the test as it is the backbone of a good score as IELTS demand grammatically correct English only.
  • If you’re good at Grammar, decide a single preparation source and just stick to it, make a proper plan of how you are going to proceed throughout the preparation of each module & attempt practice exercises during module preparation. I followed this practice and it was the key!
  • Repeating it! please don’t burden yourself with many different sources and materials. You can practice exercises from different sources, but guidance should be from only one source.
  • I highly recommend IELTS LIZ as Liz has clearly mentioned the Dos and Don’ts of preparation and test attempt as well in a very simple & easy to understand way.
  • Learn about Paraphrasing! IELTS plays all the tricks by using paraphrases and you should also use them in your answers too.


I have not shared any test material because it’s been shared many times, so I kept it very simple and basic but very this way of preparation has been very fruitful for me. I hope it helps others too.
Good Luck!
Thanks,

A Pathway towards scoring 7.5+ in IELTS.

  1. Firstly, Understand all the module's structures /parts of IELTS.
  2. Then try to practice mock tests online or physically to evaluate yourself. Mock rest are available on the IELTS British council website for free. For Online Mock tests: IELTSprep.com, IELTSonlinetests.com
  3. After the Mock test, you will come to know about your weak points. Try to work on them.

Speaking :
1st part is introductory. In it, it asks u the Questions that u can prepare initially because the same General Questions are asked every time, like what ur name, work, food, hobbies, etc u can prepare it just by giving 3 hours by writing down and memorizing the answers. In the 2nd part, there is a Que card that contains random social topics that can easily be practiced by going through the IELTS Makkar Speaking book.
Don't memorize the Que card Just go through the Makkar IELTS all Que cards and generate your own answer in mind.

Reading:
In it, Questions and Answers are given in sequentially order form. 1st Question answer will be given in 1st passage 1st paragraph. First, read the Question, memories it and then read the 1st paragraph u will get the answer in less than a minute.

Listening:
Listen to English content to enhance ur auditory skills. While on the test, try to be focused and active. I scored 7.5 in listening.. could have scored better but in the last section, I was very unfocused because in my mind I was thinking that the test is easy and I will clear it..these thoughts made me unfocused and ruined my some answers.

Writing:
For writing, just practice sample tests and then compare your writing with the sample Answer to fully evaluate your standings.

Tips As per my personal experience (scored 7.5)

In this message, I'll briefly explain what do they look for in each module together with some tips. (As per my personal experience (scored 7.5) )
1. listening
Each part will have 10 questions with a total of 40 questions. The questions will be in a sequence in which the audio will be playing so pay attention to that. My general advice is that pay close attention because they will not be using the same exact words that will go in the blanks rather they will be using synonyms. You will get it when you see a practice test.  The questions here can be multiple choice, fill in the blanks, a map or a diagram that you have to answer the follow-up questions, a summary completion etc.

2. Reading.
My general tip is to quickly go through the questions and then read the passages and look for the matching keywords. again the questions will be rephrased so you will have to look for synonyms and the questions will be in order so that each question will come after the previous one in sequence so if you can't find a particular answer, just look for it in the passage it will be above the location of the follow-up question.

3. Writing section.
This section is tricky because in previous sections you are marked on the bases of correct answers out of 40. In this section, you will be marked on 4 major aspects,
A. Task achievement:
B. Coherence and cohesion:
C. Lexical resourse:
D. Grammatical range and accuracy:

4. Speaking:
The speaking section takes about 15 mints overall. It also has three parts. In part 1 the examiner will ask you general questions about yourself and a wide range of general topics like books tv etc. In part 2 you will be given a card that asks you about a particular topic you will have one minute to think and compile your thoughts about the topics and then 2 minutes to speak about it and answer the questions. In part 3 you will be asked further questions about the topic in part 2.
Lastly, I would like to share a qoute: "He who sweats more in training, bleeds less in war" so practice as much as you can....

My personal experience (scored 8)

LISTENING:
The listening portion has 40 questions organized in 4 sections, I found section 3 most difficult. You will understand the complete pattern once you take a practice test.
One trick they use is that they first try to distract you by speaking some lines given as options, but then say something against them, so if you are not listening closely you will end up in a lot of confusion, so the focus is the key point.
Tips:
A. Try to read the questions beforehand when the speaker is giving you instructions.
B. Highlight the keywords in options (especially in those which are long)
C. Try to use headphones (not hands-free) when practicing at home.
D. You should concentrate and maintain your focus throughout the test, one random thought and you will miss one of your answers.
E. If you have missed one question then just leave it and focus on the next one, don't waste your time as it will lead you to lose more marks if your head stucks at the previous one. (MOST IMP!)

READING:
This also has 40 questions. There are 3 passages, 20 minutes for each = total 1 hour.
Try to give the assigned time to each passage i.e. no more than 20 minutes.
The most difficult for me was the true, false, not given questions but you can improve them by looking at your mistakes.
Tips:
A. There are two techniques;
Tech1: Skim and scan
Tech 2: And second one is: https://youtu.be/dZwrY5azEzk
You should choose the technique acc. to the questions, for instance,
if there are questions of "match the headings" then you have to read all the paras to find the best heading, so in this case, u should go for tech 2. But if you have found your answer by reading 1 2 lines of para, then no need to waste more time on that.
Otherwise, prefer tech 1!
B. First, try to solve the fill in blanks in a particular passage, as you will be able to answer more questions by reading only one para.


WRITING:
There are two questions, for 1st one you have to write more than 150 words and for second you have to write more than 250 words. The second question has more weightage so more focus should be on that.
Part 1 (>150 words)
It can be a graph, map, process, bar charts, pie charts, etc for academic IELTS.
Tips:
You should write 4 paras:
1.intro,
2. overall features,
3,4. you can explain the features introduced in 2nd para.
You should make a template for each type especially for the first two paragraphs, it will help you think more clearly while writing and will also save your time. Moreover, you should learn some supporting phrases.


Part 2 (>250 words)
It can be an opinion, discussion, or a situation.
Tips:
In this part you should write 4 paragraphs:
1. Intro (just paraphrase the given statement)
2. Opinion you oppose
3. Opinion you support
4. Conclusion
Again you should make a template especially for the intro and conclusion paragraphs, in the 2nd and 3rd para, you should write in flow like a general statement, then a supporting the sentence followed by a personal experience..... almost 4 or 5 sentences.
Always write more than the given limit for both parts like around 200 for task 1 and around 300 for task 2.
First, make a plan in 5 minutes then start writing, it will not only save time for you but will also bring flow in your writing.


SPEAKING:
It has 3 parts:
General questions
Cue card ( 1 minute for thinking and 2 min for speaking)
Discussion questions based on a cue card
Tips:
A. Just practice, try to have fluency.
B. Part 1 questions are generally predictable, so try to practice them as much as possible.
C. Even if you don't have any experience related to the cue card, make your own story. you just have to show that you can speak, there will be no check whether it really had happened with you or not.
D. In the cue card, try to tell around 3 different stories on the same topic, as if you only have one then there are chances that your story will be finished in less than 2 min.
E. In the 2nd part, try to speak on some general topics as well i.e. like if I am telling a story about graphics designing, then 1st I will tell a little about why I do it, when i have started doing it, i.e. a lil off the topic but don't forget to answer the given questions.

 

IELTS PREPARATION TECHNIQUES (Urdu)

A lot of you have hit me up regarding my IELTS score. 8 bands aren't extraordinary but yes, it does require some effort. I gave mine in 2 Days of prep since I did not have the time to attend academies for my preparation. I did a crash course designed to cater to my difficulties.
I will explain all four sections one by one.

LISTENING:(45 min total) (40 marks)
Isme KUCH mushkil ne hay. Many of us watch movies and seasons in English... And mind mein khudi sb translate.hojata hay... Its an acquired skill. You just have to polish it for IELTS...
Your Listening Test will normally have 40 marks overall and 4 different sets of questions.In each of these, either one or a group of people will talk to each other. And you will have to listen and look for information. The information you need will be listed in the questions... Bs aik cheez ka khayal rkhna.hota. If a question asks for one-word answer, you cant use more than one words even though it makes sense.
Mehengi mehengi ielts books lene k bajae use YouTube or Torrent an Ielts course. Apko araam se iske mock tests.mil.jaate. Attempt at least 10 of these (45 min each) and I.can.ensure you a 8 bands in.this section

READING SECTION: (1 Hour total) (40 marks)
This section can be quite tricky and the level of difficulty is harder than Listening. Isme jo krna hay.woh apne matric, fsc k papers mein kiya hua hay. Passage prhne.aur answer dene.
Problem is, apk answer teen categories ka hota usually: True,Fasle,Not Given, mtkb apko statement deingy koi. Use prhna. Phir passage se dekh kr apne andaza krna baat sahi hay. Ghalat hay. Ya passage mein batae ne.gaye. Aik baat ka khayal rkhna hota k koi baat beshak "Sense" banati ho k true hay, agar passage mein.nae hay, to apne "not given" hi krna hay.... Same goes for "Sense" banna k cheez false. lg rae.
Phir isme aik masla yeh hota k apke test mein 3-4 passages aate aur time manage krna mushkil hota. You have to learn speed reading, and pehle apne questions prhne (Iska seperate time dete apko 30-40 seconds) phir apne passage prh kr answer dene. This will prove to be toughest.... Isme apne 8 bands k liye at least 8 mock test practice krne (All available on youtube)

WRITING : (1 hour total) (40 marks)
Some people find this to be the toughest portion of all although it is quite easy.
It only has two portions:
"Interpretation" and "Essay"
Essay holds more marks than Interpretation....
INTERPRETATION:
In the Interpretation Section, apko aik Graph deingy... Koi bar graph, maybe pie chart, maybe line graph....
Apne use dekh kr uske according aik report banani hay... It can be about Population lets assume. 10 saal k population figures apko diye hue in graph. Apne batana which year had Maximum population, which year had minimum, which year showed what etc etc. Is tra apne sirf (150 words) mein graph explain krna hota
ESSAY:
Essay can be about anything. Yeh apko practice krna hota. Its usually 250 words total and there is plenty of time to finish it. Behtar hay you first structure your thoughts on rough paper (Apko milega) then write it neatly...
Write 4-5 such essays and you will get thw hang of it

SPEAKING: (15 min total)
The Speaking test can either be conducted on the same day or a different day, it all depends on your choice and available slots.. Local guy will be there and your test is recorded.The recording is both tested by local guy AND central IELTS centre so scoring is fair... There are three portions:
1) 1-2 min introduction.Make this interesting. Talk about yourself... Do NOT hesitate. Do not talk fast. Your accent doesnt matter. Clarity does. All your words shoukd be clear. In other words moun mein baatein ne krni, clear aur slow bolna
2) Topic Talk: apk interviewer koiii bi topic dega apko. Aur 1 min dega to prepare yourself. Phir apne is topic pr 3 min bolna.... Apne sentences ne likhne shuru krdene drafr mein. Sirf write one word to remind you of the line you want to speak. Is tra k 5-6 words and headers jldi se likh lene... Then you simply start speaking about them... iski kaafi zada practice krni apne ghar mejn. Time yourself.. Record yourself and hear yourself k kahan kahan aap "Aaaaaaaaaa ki ratt laga rae" try to overcome that...This is your weakness...
3) Defense Talk:
apko jo topic diya gaya hay, jispe apne bola.hay , use se related apse questions honge. You have to answer them.There is no.right/wrong answer. The right answer is confidence, good vocabulary and efficiency (The slower and louder you speak, the better the confidence you inspire in yourself)
I guess thats about it... I have been comprehensive. Please share your queries in the threads below.

got 7 Band overall by getting help from

I cleared IELTS and got 7 Band overall by getting help from :

  • Firstly watch the IELTS course on EDX to understand the IELTS test structure and test pattern along with some useful tips. Next;   
  • Download Cambridge Official IELTS Tests (1-16) and take 2-3 tests attempt daily in exam conditions.
  • For reading, watch Asad Yaqub videos (youtube) 
  • For listening, watch english movies without subtitles, and listen to English podcasts from youtube.
  • Attempt British Council practice tests from Youtube and practice from Cambridge books as much as possible.
  • E2 IELTS watch videos as an introduction after that u will come to know how to start.
  • IELTS Liz (Youtube Channel and Website) - for understanding the overall pattern of the test and for some useful tips to attempt the test.
  • E2 IELTS for speaking test tips.
  • Finally don't be that anxious, just try hard and give your best and Be confident on the test day
  • For written portion, you can only practice and can't evaluate your own writing. You need a second person to help you
  • For listening, watch english movies without subtitles, and listen to English podcasts from youtube.

Do you know how to ace the IELTS exam?

You will find lots and lots of articles regarding how to prepare for IELTS. They mention different sources to prepare from, and several tips and tricks to crack the test. But the only problem with them is that they are very lengthy.
Suppose I have just two weeks, I don’t have time to memorize 2000 words, or watch 60 hours of training.
So I will write down about my experience of how I prepared for IELTS in two weeks and managed to score 8.0 Bands. All you have to do is follow 2 simple steps.

1. KNOW THE TEST PATTERN
Getting yourself familiarized with the test pattern is the most important thing. To do that, Go to IELTSOnlineTests and solve at least 14 tests (Reading and Listening). By doing this, you will train your mind on what to expect on the test day, moreover, you will easily be able to complete your test in time.

2. WATCH 4-5 VIDEOS FROM IELTSLIZ
I explored several online and offline resources, youtube channels, books, Facebook groups even training schools. But the only thing that worked for me in such a short amount of time was tutorials from IELTSLiz. By solving tests from the first source, you will know your weak spots. Watch videos from IELTSLiz accordingly and you will see improvement in your scores.
Following the tips for writing, try writing 4-5 essays and have some senior check them for you if possible. Also, make sure you watch her tutorials for the speaking section.

CONCLUSION
I just did the 2 above things for 2 weeks, I was confident with the test pattern, had done enough practice to finish the test in time, and the result, with very little effort I scored 8.0 bands.

For IELTS a small tip for preparation by my side

I share my personal preparation, may be it will help you
I am not a good speaker of English and also my writing skills are not good as well, you will see many errors of English in my posts. What i did is simply i downloaded one book of IELTS online of may be 130 pages and read it fully to understand the pattern. Then i downloaded many tests by finding them and put a watch infront of me and took many tests according to exact time span as of original IELTS test and after each test i check and see what errors, i have and i remove it for next time, and i did it in three days and got 7 band , as my concept about preparation of English is that if you do not have time to prepare for it, then at least you can polish beautifully what you have learned before. Rest every one has its own methods, i share mine. Hopefully it will help some one. Also you can find useful links for IELTS preparation

My IELTS Tips:

1) Listening:
This is the part where you can score the maximum. The trick is to be extremely vigilant while hearing the recording, sometimes there is a lot of unnecessary material, but one shouldn't be losing focus . Sometimes the answers are in the form of a paraphrase so watch out for any synonyms while listening. The best way for that is to prepare on what sort of answer to expect (noun, verb , time, place etc).
2) Reading:
For T/F/NG sections, most of the people are confused between F/NG, the trick is not to assume, any information that cannot be found is Not Given.
The key is to understand the question well, translate it in your first language if that helps. Because if one won't take time to understand what is required, then chances are that they would give a wrong answer. Also, whenever there is a confusion, the elimination method is always a savior!
3) Writing:
The key is to focus on Coherence and cohesion, Grammar, Punctuation and Answering correctly for whatever is asked.
Moreover focusing on the format of both tasks very important. Task 2 should have a definite introduction paragraph, body and conclusion. For that, it is always better to spend 5 minutes on the question and chalk out a map as to what you'd want to write in each paragraph.
Also write synonyms and adjectives related to the task's main question and your answer, so that you can use a variety of words .
4) Speaking:
Practice speaking fluently by recording your speaking on your phone. It is always better to go on for more than 2 minutes and let the examiner stop you for follow up questions.
In the few minutes that you are given, once the chit for section 2 is handed out, practice making a web diagram for 'What, Where, Why, When, How' . This helps generate content .
Also, when you're asked a question, never give short answers like 'Yes, or No' always follow it by an explanation of what you mean. Doing this would show your conversation skills more.

My IELTS Preperation Tips

Most of the tips i provided for TOEFL are valid for ielts as well as both are English proficiency tests but structure is different.
I see a lot of discussion on how to prepare for IELTS in different facebook study groups. I took IELTS and secured an overal band of 8.0 with my average English. So, I wanted to share some tips regarding preparation.
Firstly nobody can prepare you for IELTS better than you. I don’t think so there is any need to join some institution if you already have been studying in English medium institutes. Prepare from Cambridge IELTS recent editions 13, 12 and 11 and if you get more time consult 10,9,8,7, 6,5, 4,3,2,1 in the reverse order.
Listening section:
I will say concentrate but don’t concentrate so much that you panic and miss the answers: P If you miss an answer just skip it and move forward. If you think about it for long you will miss more questions.
Try to stay calm and improve your listening skills by watching English movies and seasons (with and without subtitles) along with practicing Cambridge IELTS.
The sound system in the exam hall is perfect. There is no echo and there are a few chances of miss comprehension. Try to practice without headphones as well. Sometimes in some exam halls headphones are not provided.
Reading section:
Even if you are a fluent reader, you will find difficulty in reading section due to very versatile topics, less time and tough vocabulary. I would recommend you should read 2-3 reading passages daily and don't panic while reading that you have less time. Read a paragraph thoroughly in first 7 8 minutes and give proper headings to each paragraph. This will help you remembering what this paragraph was about. Then read questions and quickly skim through the passage you think question is from to find the answer.
In start try to take as much time as you need to complete the passage and understand it fully and focus on getting maximum score. This will give you an idea about the structure of questions and how to look for the answers. After that, work on your reading speed, if you took 30 minutes in start, try to finish a passage in 25 minutes then 20 minutes and try to increase your speed so that you can finish it in 15-18 minutes..
Writing section:
Reading a lot will help you improve your writing skill. Read the answers given in the end of each book. Read the examiner’s comments to avoid mistakes. UNDERSTAND THE TOPIC of writing. Don’t repeat the same words while writing. And beware of word limit. Don’t write less than the word limit, write atleast 10-15 words more.
For question 1, Make a list of words to explain the graphs and pie charts, tables etc. provided in that question. Spend more time on second question. Focus on brief introduction with a catchy first opening sentence and conclusion of the topic. If your opinion has been asked state it clearly. Write neatly and spare 5 minutes in the end to recheck for any spelling mistakes, missing full stops, commas etc.
Speaking section:
Be confident. Work on your accent but don’t fake it. That is ridiculous. We are not native speakers after all.
Prepare for your introduction well. (Why are you appearing for IELTS, your activities, studies, interest, why you chose to study in this area, hobbies etc.) Speak in English with your friends. Ask them to help you. Record your answers and then play the recording and find the grammatical and pronunciation mistakes. Work on fluency and clarity of your answers. Don’t be precise (don’t say yes or no). Give answers in atleast 2 or 3 lines. In case of 2nd section, always speak more than 1 minute. Keep a stopwatch in hand while practicing this part.

𝐈𝐄𝐋𝐓𝐒 𝟕 𝐄𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐧 𝟏𝟎 𝐃𝐚𝐲𝐬

A.A Everyone. Although there are several extensive posts on IELTS preparation, I will try to summarize the most essential tips and tricks that helped me achieve an overall score of 7.5

For 𝑳𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 section I practiced the two online sample tests that are made available to you after confirmation of registration. Along with this, I also practiced a couple of free online mock exams from different websites as well as sample tests available on Youtube. If you 𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 at any instance, you must carry on instead of trying to recall.

For 𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 I completed 4-5 sections from the Books 14 & 15 in addition to the online sample tests. 𝙏𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 is the most critical factor in these tasks. I set a target to complete the first two passages within 30-35 minutes. I always started by reading the multiple choice questions, even though the "Heading" statements came first.

For 𝑾𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 I learned how to use a lot of linking words. While many people highly recommend the E2 IELTS channel on Youtube, I followed 𝙁𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙄𝙀𝙇𝙏𝙎 and would certainly suggest to utilize this top notch resource. I also learned quite a few synonyms for the basic vocabulary, which I believe helped me a lot to score 7.5 in writing.

For 𝑺𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 section I worked specifically on the introduction part. Like in what directions the conversation could possibly diverge. The best advice here would be not to rush whilst you answer, as naturally when we know the answer we tend to respond swiftly. So you must 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙠 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙛𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙮𝙚𝙩 𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙡𝙮 and keep speaking for the specified time.

I didn't study anything one day before the exam. It is very important that you remain calm throughout the test. Here is a list of resources that I went through during my preparation.


 

the things that worked for me

I gave IELTS on the 11th of November and secured 8.5 band. I want to thank everyone who has contributed here about their experiences and I want to give my share as well. So here are the things that worked for me.
Protip: Do the IELTS prep course on edX, that helped a lot. Also listening and reading can give you perfect scores so focus on that a lot.

1. Listening: Secured 9, this was my most practiced module because early on I realized that I have a tendency to miss questions. I practiced every day for about a month. I used this website for practicing. https://ieltsonlinetests.com, my advice is to practice as much as I can. The actual questions in the test were easier than the ones here. But still my biggest advice is that be careful about obvious questions, sometimes the speaker would say something and then change their mind to something else, you need to watch out for that. Basically if something seems too easy then watch out. Also you have to practise not panicking. If you miss something then don't worry and focus on what is happening at the moment. Meditation helped me a lot in this regard but thats a topic for another time.

2. Reading: Secured 9.0, I have been reading since I was a kid so I was pretty good at it. My advice is to read the questions first and then read the paragraphs. Don't go linearly. Read the question then read the text and then go back again to read. Note that you don't have to read everything. The biggest thing that helped me was improving my reading speed, I would recommend that you try to increase your reading speed, its not that hard and there is plenty of stuff online to help you with it.

3. Writing: Secured 7.5, my lowest marks. I didn't practice as much as I should have which is why I fumbled. If I were to do it again I would do a written test every other day for at least a month. I recommend printing the actual test sheets of IELTS answer sheets and then using a pencil to write for your practice. Follow edX course on IELTS for writing, that was really helpful, although painfully easy at times.

4. Speaking, Secured 9.0, It wasn't that difficult for me because I have been living abroad for about 3 years now and English speaking comes instinctively now. When I came in the funniest thing happened, the examiners chair broke and she fell. I helped her up and joked that usually its me tripping before an exam.
The only advice I'd would give here is to keep on speaking at your natural pace till the examiner stops you. Remember you don't lose marks for over speaking, you do lose marks for not taking all the time.
If you have any further questions then post in comments. I wish you all the very best.

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