IELTS Reading Preparation Tips
- This consists of three long texts which can be descriptive, factual, discursive and/or analytical.
- These excerpts are taken from newspapers, journals, books, and magazines.
- The selected text is intended for a nonspecialist audience. These texts are appropriate for people seeking admissions into university courses and professional training
IELTS Readingtest is of 60 minutes and consists of 40 questions created to test a candidate’s English Reading skills. The questions include reading for gist, reading for main ideas, reading for detail, skimming, understanding the logical argument and identifying writers’ opinions, attitude and purpose.
IELTS Academic Test:
IELTS Listening Preparation Tips
- Increase vocabulary.
- Focus on the content and flow of spoken material while preparing for listening. Create an outline of the information discussed while listening. Write main ideas, major points, and important details. Use the outline to write a brief summary after listening. Gradually increase the amount of presentation used to write the summary.
- Listen for the signal words that indicate the introduction, major steps or ideas, examples, and the conclusion or summary.
- Listen for words that show connections and relationships between ideas.Identify the relationships between ideas: cause/effect,compare/contrast, and steps in a process.
- Anticipate what a person is going to say as a way to stay focused. Listen to recorded material and stop the recording at various points. Predict what information or idea will be expressed next.
- Try to assess the purpose of the speech or conversation - apology, complaint, suggestion
- Notice if the language is formal or casual. Pay special attention to the speaker's tone of voice. Is the speaker’s voice calm or emotional? What is the speaker's degree of certainity about the information he/she is presenting
- Make of note of changes in topic or digressions.
- Observe the way stress and intonation patterns are used to convey meaning.
IELTS Speaking Preparation Tips
- Part 1: A candidate is asked general questions about himself/herself, his/her home, family, work, education, interests, and hobbies. This part lasts for 4-5 minutes.
- Part 2: Candidate is given a card with a particular topic stated on it. The candidate is then given one minute to prepare himself and then to speak on the given topic for two minutes.
- Part 3: Candidate is asked a question on the topic given in Part 2. Here, a candidate gets an opportunity to discuss more abstract ideas and issue with the examiner. This part lasts for 4-5 minutes.
IELTS Speaking test assesses fluency of candidate in spoken English. This is a face to face interview round between an examiner and the test taker. This component of IELTS is divided into 3 parts and every part is recorded. The duration of IELTS Speaking is 11-14 minutes.
IELTS Writing Preparation Tips
- Increase vocabulary and knowledge of idiomatic speech so you can use it appropriately.
- Learn grammatical structures so well that you can use them naturally when preparing for writing.
- Learn the conventions of spelling, punctuation, and layout (e.g.,paragraph creation).
- Find a textbook that includes questions about the material at the end of chapters and prepare writing answers to the questions.
- Read an article that is about 300–400 words long. Make an outline that includes the major points and important details of the article. Use the outline to write a summary of the information and ideas. Summaries should be brief and clearly communicate only the major points and important details. Be sure to paraphrase using different words and grammatical structures.
- Find Preparation listening and reading material on a single topic on the Internet or in the library. The material can provide similar or different views. Take notes on the written and spoken portions, and do the following:
- Summarize the information and ideas in both the written and spoken portions.
- Synthesize the information and discuss how the reading and listening materials relate while preparation. Explain how the ideas expressed are similar, how one idea expands upon another, or how the ideas are different or contradict each other.
- Paraphrasing involves restating something from the source material in one’s own words.
- Learn to find synonyms with ease. Pick 10 to 15 words or phrases in a reading passage and quickly think of synonyms without looking them up in a dictionary or thesaurus.
- Write a paraphrase of a reading passage using only your notes. If you haven’t taken notes, write the paraphrase without looking at the original text. Then check the paraphrase with the original passage to make sure that it is factually accurate and that you have used different words and grammatical structusres.
- Make a list of familiar topics and prepare writing about them.For each topic state an opinion or a preference and then support it with evidence. Prepare planning and writing at least one essay for each topic. Be sure to take 30 minutes to plan, write, and revise each essay. Think about and list all ideas related to a topic or task before writing.
- Identify one main idea and some major points to support that idea, and plan how to communicate them (by creating, for example, an outline to organize ideas).
- Create a focused thesis statement and use it to develop the ideas presented in the essay. Develop the essay by using appropriate explanation and detail.
- Express information in an organized manner, displaying unity of thought and coherence.
- Use signal words and phrases, such as “on the one hand†or “in conclusion,†to create a clear structure for your response.