A complete guide on How to prepare for IELTS

The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) was designed to assist you in migrating to an English-speaking country where English is the dominant language to work, study, or emigrate. The english speaking countries such as the USA, UK, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia are a few countries where the IELTS test is mandatory. 

Your proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing English during the test will be evaluated based on a scale from 1 to 9. The British Council, IDP IELTS, and Cambridge University Press & Assessment jointly own IELTS.

This blog will give the complete IELTS Preparation guide, IELTS Exam Tips, IELTS Study Plan and how to calculate band score in IELTS.

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Why take IELTS?

You must show that you have a strong command of the English language if you want to work, reside, or study in an English-speaking country. With 379 million speakers globally, English ranks third among all languages. It offers several advantages to converse in the language of the nation you intend to work or study in. It is also necessary for getting a job and integrating into the community.

The most common test for people attempting to immigrate to countries like Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the UK is IELTS. More than 11,000 enterprises, universities, schools, and immigration organisations worldwide, including 3,400 establishments in the USA, recognise it.

IELTS Score Scale

9- Expert User

This level implies that the test taker has a command of the English language. The English language is appropriate, accurate and fluent and shows complete understanding.

8- Very Good User

The test taker has operational command of the language but occasional unsystematic inaccuracies and inappropriate usage. In some unfamiliar situations, they may have difficulties understanding but can manage the intricate and detailed argumentation.

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7- Good User

The test taker has operational command of the language but occasional unsystematic inaccuracies and inappropriate usage. In some unfamiliar situations, they may have difficulties understanding but can manage the intricate and detailed argumentation.

6- Competent User

The test taker has an adequate command of the language but has some misunderstandings, inaccuracies, and inappropriate. They can understand complex language in any situation. 

5- Modest User

They have partial command of the language but can cope with overall meaning in most situations. They have the possibility of making mistakes. In their particular field, they ought to be capable of handling basic communication.

4- Limited User

The basic competency of the test-taker is restricted to familiar situations. They usually exhibit issues with understanding and communication. They are unable to use complex language.

3- Extremely Limited User

The test taker can only express and comprehend generic meaning in extremely familiar circumstances. Communication breakdowns happen frequently.

2- Intermittent User

The exam taker finds it extremely challenging to comprehend both spoken and written English.

1- Non-User

Except for a few isolated words, the test-taker has no capacity to use the language.

0- Did not Attempt the Test

The test-taker failed to respond to the questions.

What IELTS Score do I need?

A higher IELTS score indicates a greater grasp of and capacity for communication in English. IELTS score criteria will vary depending on the institution, university, workplace, or immigration organization. What you want to do in the country, such as employment or study, will determine your required score.

Now we shall discuss tips to improve our high band score in all four aspects of the English language- Listening, reading, writing and speaking. 

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Reading

• Understand the test format because IELTS has a distinctive format, like all international language testing programmes, so be acquainted with it before you go.
• If you enjoy reading, honing your English reading skills because it allows you to relax at home while immersing yourself in a book. Read all you can, from books to blogs to newspapers to scholarly publications. Reading a lot will speed up your reading and help you pick new words.
• Develop your reading techniques like Skimming and Scanning.
• Focus on keywords. Highlight the essential terms as you carefully read the question. Try to guess which words or phrases will point you to the appropriate place in the text. 
• Consider other ways to utter these words. What words have the opposite connotation to synonyms and antonyms? 
• Consider paraphrasing. For instance, if the question asks you to “joint,” keep in mind that the word means “together” or “shared.” Therefore, you can infer that it was not “joint” if the text says that “he was the lone winner.”
• Pay close attention to the directions. Make sure to write only one word if the instructions say “use one word only.” 
• Make the most of your time! Remember, you have just one hour to answer 40 questions, which equates to one and a half minutes per question. Leave difficult questions until the end; you can always go back to them later. 

Listening

• As said before, we must first analyze the test format, question types, and skills to hone for this particular test. 
• Practice is the best solution. By listening actively, you can improve your listening skills. Watching movies and television shows may be entertaining, but it will have a significant impact. 
• You can learn new terminology and regional dialects by listening to various English language resources, such as podcasts, newscasts, and Ted lectures (you may not just hear British accents during the IELTS test recordings). 
• Focus on keywords. The tape will only be played once throughout the test, and you’ll have some time to read the guidelines and questions before it begins. Once more, as you read the questions, highlight the relevant phrases and make an effort to guess the recordings’ context — who will be speaking and what will be the topic of the speech — as you do so.
• Stay focused while listening to the recording.
• Transfer your answers carefully. You are given an additional ten minutes to transfer your responses to the answer sheet in the paper-based test. Make sure to use proper capitalization and spelling. Answers can be written in full capital letters if you’re unsure of the proper capitalization. Check your responses one last time to make sure they are grammatically correct and that you followed all the guidelines.

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Speaking

• First Relax. According to most language learners, speaking is the most difficult ability to perfect. To communicate effectively, you must compose clear phrases, consider the necessary terminology and pronunciation, avoid directly translating from your mother tongue, deliver the right message with the appropriate tone and organize your thoughts.
• Learn vocabulary and pronunciation and listen to podcasts or movies. This method will improve your speaking and listening.
• Never follow the method of memorizing; instead, focus on improving skills. 
• By classifying words like sports or movies, one can study topical vocabulary. Using this strategy for the other IELTS test sections, you can also improve your vocabulary. Your score will increase if your vocabulary is more extensive.
• Try to speak slowly. Speaking too quickly will not increase your fluency score and may cause you to make more mistakes. Instead, maintain your natural speed while remaining calm and speaking correctly. Additionally, don’t worry about your accent; the IELTS test accepts all accents. Make sure only to say your words clearly.
• Take a video of yourself. If you don’t have the chance to practice with a native English speaker, you can still progress by doing your practice. How? Keep track of your practice sessions and assess your abilities using the four IELTS assessment criteria: proficiency, lexical richness (your vocabulary range), grammatical range and consistency and pronunciation.

Writing

• Start a blog; it can be about anything, including your interests, goals for the future, or favorite movies or songs. Pick a web article and then write an opinion on the subject using some concepts.
• You can broaden your knowledge of vocabulary and grammatical constructions by completing tasks on mobile apps like IELTS Prep App, Word Power, IELTS tips, BBC 6-minute English, and Learn English Podcasts.
• Spend five minutes writing on any subject. Instead of focusing on accuracy, emphasis on choosing and brainstorming topics and writing quickly.
• Spend time reading materials leading up to test day to learn new vocabulary in various contexts, such as advertisements, articles, books, magazines, reports, and sample test questions. Practice making sentences with new words and intricate structures.
• Correct errors and learn from them, perhaps with friends or coworkers who are also studying for the IELTS. This way, you can turn your weaknesses into strengths.

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IELTS Test format

Listening (30 minutes)

Task Types: Multiple choice, matching, map/diagram labelling, form/note/table/flowchart/summary completion, and sentence completion are just a few of the question types used.

Answering: Participants have ten minutes to transfer their responses from the question paper to an answer sheet after the test. When filling out the answer sheet, be attentive because poor grammar and spelling will result in points deducted.

Marks: Each question has one mark.

Academic Reading (60 minutes)

40 questions make up the Reading part, which is intended to test a range of reading abilities. This included reading for gist, reading for key ideas, reading for information, skimming, comprehending logical explanations, and identifying writers’ perspectives, views, and intent.

IELTS Academic Test: The booklet contains three lengthy pieces that cover a wide range of topics, from factual and descriptive to discursive and analytical. These have been taken from various textbooks, newspapers, magazines, and journals. 

They have been chosen for an audience that is not a specialist, but they are suitable for those who are enrolling in university courses or looking to become professionals.

Test Format – Reading

All the format and questions are the same as the academic reading, but the only difference is you will be asked general questions. 

Academic Writing (60 minutes)

The topics are ideal for test takers pursuing bachelor’s and graduate degrees or professional registration. These are the two tasks:

• Task 1 – You will be given a chart, graph, flowchart, or map and asked to summarize, explain, or describe the data in your own words. You can be required to describe and explain data, the steps in a process, how something performs, or an object or an event.
• Task 2 – You will be required to react in Writing to the point of view, claim, or issue. Both activities require responses to be given formally.

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General Training Writing (60 minutes)

Topics are of general interest. There are two tasks:

Task 1 – You will be given a situation and instructed to compose a letter asking for details or outlining the facts. The letter’s format can be informal, formal, or personal.

Task 2 – You must compose an essay addressing the issue, statement, or point of view. The tone of the essay may be personal.

Speaking (11–14 minutes)

Your spoken English proficiency is evaluated in the speaking portion. Each test is documented.

• Part 1 – The examiner will ask you general questions about yourself and various well-known subjects, including your home, family, job, studies, and interests. So, you will be spending four to five minutes on this session. 
• Part 2 – You’ll be given a card with a question to answer about a specific subject. You have up to two minutes to speak after one minute of preparation. After then, the examiner will pose one or two questions on the subject.
• Part 3 – In Part 2, you will be questioned further about the subject. These will enable you to discuss more ethereal concepts and problems. Between four and five minutes are allocated for this section of the exam.

About your IELTS Results

How important is your IELTS score? Each IELTS band score, based on a 9-band scale, represents a unique degree of English proficiency. For further information, see How to Calculate Your Overall IELTS Band Score and the IELTS Score Scale and Descriptor.

IELTS 9-Band Scale

For the four test components—listening, reading, writing, and speaking—you will receive a score ranging from 1 to 9. The average determines your overall band score. In each test section, you can receive a full band score (e.g., 5.0, 6.0, 7.0) or a half band score (e.g., 5.5, 6.5, 7.5).

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