how to prepare for ielts test

7/28/2019 How to Prepare for IELTS Test

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How toprepare for

IELTS test

Collected and prepared by:

Farough Motasemi

International IEnglish ELanguage LTesting TSystem S


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International English Language Testing System (IELTS)

IELTS

Listening

Reading

Writing

Speaking

AcademicVersiontoenroll in

universities andother institutions of

higher education

General

TrainingVersionto gain work

experience, or forimmigration

purposes


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Speaking (S)

This part of IELTS test is divided into threedifferent sections including an introductory(part A) , a monologue (part B), and adialogue/discussion (part C).

Speak

ing(

S)

Part A

Part BPart C

Introduction

Monologue

Discussion


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Speaking (S)

In the actual IELTS Speaking Test, the interview lasts forabout 11-14 minutes.

Speakingmodule

Part A: in the first part of IELTS speaking module theinterviewer will be asking questions about general

topics such as your name, hobbies, family, native cityetc. (4 to 5 minutes)

Part C (dialogue or discussion): this partincludes an advanced discussion, analysis,

prediction, description, evaluation,opinion, cause and effect, possibilities (4 to

5 minutes)

Part B (monologue): in the second part ofthe IELTS speaking module you will be givenabout 60 seconds to prepare a two-minutetalk on a given topic. (2 to 3 minutes plus 1

minute for preparation)


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Speaking (S)

Speaking module improvement:

There are few ways to improve the speaking module in IELTS test which are highlightedin this section:

o Listen to VOA, BBC, 60 minutes, 6 minutes, or any other podcast and audio files tobe familiar with the accent and improve your knowledge on the general topicssuch as travel, movie, education, flower, fashion, etc. (The best time for this activityis in the bus, taxi, and any other free/dead time.)

o Listen to the previous speaking sample tests with high band score (7.0 above).

o Watch the available speaking test video samples in youtube or any other websiteto be familiar with the exam condition, type of questions, and improve youranswers.

o Use the Cambridge IELTS exam books (1 to 7) and try to took at least one test perday during the preparation period.

o Speakas much as you can in English.

All the aforementioned ways to improve speaking module are available in the IELTSpackage.


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Listening (L)

The Listening module of the IELTS consists of a total of 40questions (10 per section)with total time of 25 to 35 min.

Liste

ning(L

)

Part 1Part 2

Part 3Part 4

The listening module comprisesfour sections. Each section

begins with a short introductiontelling the candidates about thesituation and the speakers. Thenthey have some time to lookthrough the questions. The firstthree sections have a break in

the middle allowing candidatesto look at the remainingquestions but the last sectiondoes not have any break. Eachsection is heard only once.


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Listening (L)

Listening module improvement and details:This module is the first section in the exam day. It is one of the sections that can beimproved so much in a short time. In the listening module, students should answer 40question in four different sections. Each section includes 10 questions. There are manyways to improve this section score but here we are suggesting a few of them whichare effective.

o

Listen to VOA, BBC, 60 minutes, 6 minutes, or any other podcast and audio files tobe familiar with the accent and improve your knowledge on the general topicssuch as travel, movie, education, flower, fashion, etc. (The best time for this activityis in the bus, taxi, and any other free/dead time.) [speaking and listeningimprovement both together]

o Watching the series, movies, documentaries, or any other materials everyday onschedule (i.e. each night watch one documentary named how do they do it (20min), one episode of how I met yourmother (20 min), and a movie (90 min). It will

help you in the long term.)

o Use the Cambridge IELTS exam books (1 to 7) and try to took at least one book (4tests) per week during the preparation period.

o Try to write down some of the files which you have the related text (like VOA). It willimprove your skill of spelling as well. (BEST ONE!)


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Reading (R)In the academic module the reading test comprises three sections, with 3 texts normally

followed by 13 or 14 questions for a total of 40 questions overall. The General test also has 3sections. However the texts are shorter, so there can be up to 5 texts to read.

Reading(

R

)

Passage 1

Passage 2

Passage 3

There are seven main formats of IELTS reading questions:

1. Heading

2. Summary

3. True / False / Not Given OR Yes / No/ Not Given

4. Completing sentence / table

5. Open question

6. Multiple choice

7. Matching

Easy

Med.

Hard


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Reading (R)

Reading module improvement and details:This module is the second section in the exam day. It is a section that can not beimproved easily and needs time and exercise. In the reading module, studentsshould answer 40 question in three passages (academic module). Each passageincludes 13-14 questions. There are many ways to improve this section score buthere we are suggesting a few of them which are effective.

o 1st of all, READ AS MUCH AS you can! News paper, story books, online news.My very 1st suggestion is the BBC website (www.bbc.co.uk) which has theupdate news in the 1st page. Read some topics on social, politic, sport, travel,technology, art, environment, etc.

o Use the Cambridge IELTS exam books (1 to 7) and try to took at least one

book (4 tests) per week during the preparation period.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/http://www.bbc.co.uk/http://www.bbc.co.uk/http://www.bbc.co.uk/http://www.bbc.co.uk/http://www.bbc.co.uk/http://www.bbc.co.uk/http://www.bbc.co.uk/


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Reading & Listening

This table can be used for the Listening & Reading tests to convert raw

scores to band scores. This chart is a guide only, because sometimes

the scores adjust slightly depending on how difficult the exam is.

Conversion Table

Band Score Raw Score Band Score Raw Score

9.0 39-40 5.5 18-22

8.5 37-38 5.0 16-17

8.0 35-36 4.5 13-15

7.5 32-34 4.0 10-12

7.0 30-31 3.5 8-9

6.5 26-29 3.0 6-7

6.0 23-25 2.5 4-5


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Writing (W)In the Academic module, there are two tasks: in Task 1 candidates describe a diagram,

graph, process or chart, and in Task 2 they respond to an argument. In the General Trainingmodule, there are also two tasks: in Task 1 candidates write a letter or explain a situation, and

in Task 2 they write an essay.

Reading(

R

)

Task 1

Task 2

20%

80%

IELTS tests your ability to producetwo quite different pieces ofwriting in a fairly short period oftime. The test is divided into twoparts and you are allowed onehour to complete both parts.

IELTS Writing Task 1In the first part, you are given a task based onsome graphic or pictorial information. You areexpected to write a descriptive report of at

least 150 words on the information provided.

IELTS Writing Task 2The second task is more demanding. You are expected toproduce a written argument on a given topic and to organizeyour answer clearly, given some examples to support your points.You will have to write at least 250 words and, as Task 2 is longerthan Task 1, you are advised to spend approximately 40 minuteson this task and 20 minutes on the first task.


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Writing (W)

Writing module improvement:There are few ways to improve the writing module in IELTS test which are highlighted inthis section:

o Reading and analyzing the past high band score IELTS sample writings which areprovided in the package (Writing sample IELTS task 1 (54 samples) & 2 (18samples)).

o Answer to all TOEFL essay questions is a file provided by TOEFL examination center.For each topic they provide few samples. So my recommendation is to ONLY readthe samples to memorize the sentence structures, connecting words, newvocabulary for improving the writing level, etc.

o Write everyday on one general topic (task 2) which is the most important part forthe writing module. Try to check it with another person to figure out your progressand weaknesses.

o Use the available websites to get the latest writing samples on both tasks but myrecommendation is to focus on official materials like TOEFL essay questions.

o Use the Cambridge IELTS exam books (1 to 7) and try to took at least one test perday during the preparation period.

o READ and WRITE as much as you can!


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Vocabulary

Acquiring an extensive vocabulary is one of thelargest challenges in learning a English as the second

language

Importance of vocabulary for IELTS testo An extensive vocabulary aids expressions and communication (Listening

and Speaking sections).o Vocabulary size has been directly linked to reading comprehension.o Having a larger vocabulary helps to write more comprehensive passages

in the test.


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Thank you

&Wish you all the best!

how to prepare for ielts test

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