IELTS General Tips
IELTS Basic Tips Video Lessons
IELTS Basics Lesson 1: Welcome Video
| Welcome to the course + Best practices |
IELTS Basics Lesson 2: Types Learners
| Visual / Kinesthetic / Audiotry |
IELTS Basics Lesson 3 – Pay Your EDI
| Equated Daily Improvements
|
IELTS Basics Lesson 4 – Four Sections
| There are four sections: Listening, Reading, Speaking, Writing |
IELTS Basics Lesson 5 – Core Skills
| Core skills required to clear the test |
IELTS Basics Lesson 6 – Sequence Of Learning
| Listening, Reading, Writing, Speaking |
IELTS Basics Lesson 7 – General Myths
| Myth buster session 1 |
IELTS Basics Lesson 8: Listening Myths https://youtu.be/w0qa757SUAM
| Myth buster session 2 |
IELTS Basics Lesson 9: Writing Myths
| Myth buster session 3 |
IELTS Basics Lesson 10: Reading Myths
| Myth buster session 4 |
IELTS Basics Lesson 11: Speaking Myths
| Myth buster session 5 |
IELTS Commando Level Preparation
Success in any field calls for consistent practice and commitment. ‘Practice makes a man perfect’ – may sound like a cliché, but the value of consistent practice cannot be undermined.
Let’s face it. The pass percentage of IELTS (participants who score 7 or above in all the sections) is below 10 percent. This simply means that you really need to be super ready before you can expect to clear this test with flying colors.
ready? What does it mean?
Being ready means, you should practice so much on Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking sections, that your PERFORMANCE meets or exceeds the requirements of the test.
Is there a step-by-step process / plan to be IELTS Ready?
There is a PROVEN WAY to score 7 or above BANDS IN ALL SECTIONS.
Many participants have taken this path and scored 7+ Bands in all sections.
If ‘ANY ONE’ can do it ‘ANYONE’ can do it.
In short, you can follow this path and SCORE 7+ Bands in all sections.
STEP-BY-STEP METHOD TO 8 BANDS
Now the next question is WHERE TO START?
– Well, take a Mock Test (All Four Sections) in a simulated environment.
– Identify your areas of opportunities by checking your answers.
– Make a ‘Corrections Log’ on your areas of mistakes.
– Repeat the process till you consistently score 7+ bands in all sections.
– After 3 successful 7+ Bands DTs… Go and take the test.
The next logical question to ask would be: HOW MUCH TIME WOULD IT TAKE for you to reach that stage? It depends on your current state. It takes from 80 hours to 130 hours to master reach this stage.
Here is a suggested plan that you can follow. The hours mentioned here are suggestive
– Strategies of Video Lessons (L/R/W/S): 20
– Listening – 5 Tests 3 times each.[Book 8, Book 9] 16
– Reading [5 Tests, 2 times each] 20
– Writing [5 Tests, 2 times each] 20
– Speaking [5 tests, Prep, Pract, Perform] 20
– 3 Mock Tests (15) & Revision (20) 35
Best Practices
o Fix a time for your daily practice
o Take Notes while watching the videos.
o Revision Time: Divide your daily learning time into Revision Time, and New Learning Time.
§ Fix a daily revision time. This will ensure your knowledge translates into a practical skill. When you remember you, your mind will guide you to follow the right path.
o New Learning Time: Take one new skill that you want to develop. Practice it patiently. Remember: your purpose is not show performance, but to develop that skill but practicing it enough number of times.
Plan, Prepare, Practice, Perform
Take a step-by-step approach. Focus on planning, preparing, and practicing during initial stages. Your performance will be a natural outcome of consistent practice. So forget performance at the initial stage. Simply focus on practicing, and fine tuning your skill.
Big Picture: Opportunity to grow
IELTS is not ‘just another test’. Take it as an opportunity to develop many important other important skills. Here are a few listed below:
Big Picture: Life Skills
· Planning
· Prioritizing
· Performing
· Confidence
Big Picture: English Skills
· Vocab
· Grammar
· Creative Writing
Big Picture: Develop Your Intellect
· Analytical Skills
· Speed Reading
· Organization
Know Your Learning Style
Different learners have different styles of learning. It is important to know your own predominant style of learning and adopt the right strategy accordingly.
Visual Learners: The learn by seeing and reading. You can read these training modules to learn.
Auditory Learners: They learn by listening. You can watch the videos to develop necessary skills.
Kinaesthetic Learner: They learn by doing. You can do the suggested exercises, and take mock tests to develop your skills.
We suggest you to use all the three styles of learning to develop new skills.
Introduction To IELTS Test
Computer Based / Paper/ Pencil Based (Know Your Strengths)
Both options are available. You can choose the one that suits you. If you are conversant with typing go for computer based, or if you are more comfortable writing on a piece of paper, then take Paper Pencil one.
Academic(study) / General (PR)
o Students who want to pursue higher education take the Academic Tests.
o Professionals who want to settle abroad, take the General test.
Test Structure: Academic / General
The test format is different for Academic and for General.
Here are the key highlights
o Listening: Same for Academic / General
o Reading: Diff for Academic / General
o Writing: Diff For Academic / General
o Speaking Same For Academic / General
Practice EDI
( Equated Daily Improvements)
The way you pay your EMI to buy an expensive product, you need to pay your EDI to develop an important skill. Divide your preparation into Revision Time and New Learning Time, till you develop COMMANDO LEVEL MASTERY in all the sections of IELTS.
Here are some useful tips / resources to develop various skills:
Listening
o BBC 6 Minutes English
o BBC Live
o BBC Podcasts
o AJ Hog
o Ted Talks
o Listening Test Audio
Reading
– Essay / Letters / Graphs Model Answers
– Listening Transcripts
– Speaking Transcripts
– Ted Transcripts
Writing
– medium.com
– Corrections Logs
– Listening Test Transcripts
– ieltsliz.com
– ieltsdeal.com
Revision Days / New Skill Days
Divide your week into 3 days of learning new topics, and 3 days of revision. This will help you to develop turn KNOWLEDGE into PRACTICAL SKILL.
Core Skills
Grammar, Vocabulary, Listening Skills, Reading Skills, Writing Skills, Speaking skills provide you the right foundation for achieving high scores in IELTS.
Grammar:
The examiners look for two aspects of grammar
Grammar Range: Your ability to write different types of sentences (Simple, Complex, Compound)
Accuracy: Your proficiency in applying different Grammar Rules.
Vocabulary
While you are not required to learn difficult words, but you need to understand the most commonly used IELTS words. One resource to develop vocab is Magoosh.
Listening
Your ability to understand different types of accents is the key. We will study about 3 Tabs technique in the later chapters to develop Listening Mastery.
Here is the list of skills you need to develop to get high marks in Listening Test:
– Understand Diff Accents
– Intelligent Guesswork
– Practice a minimum of 10 tests using 3 Tabs Technique.
Reading Skills
P. E. E. (Point Example Explanation) – Understanding the structure of paragraphs
S.T.O.P. (Scope, Tone, Organization, Purpose) – Reading the passage to understand these aspects
Scope: The basic domain of the passage: Science, Arts, Some Event etc.
Tone: Scientific, Descriptive, Imaginative, Speculative or Tentative
Organization: What is the purpose of each paragraph? How does it relate with the whole passage?
Purpose: What is the main purpose of the passage.
Analysis Of An Argument
Synthesis: How different paragraphs are connected with each other.
20 Tests Base: You need to practice around 20 tests to develop precision and speed in Reading.
Writing
Evaluation Criteria: Task Achievement, Cohesion Coherence, Grammar, Vocabulary.
Templates: Learn templates to draft different types of essays. (Ref: 11 Standard Essays + Essays 2020)
Copy & Write : Take any 20 Essays and letter and rewrite them to develop speed and learn vocabulary.
Speaking
– Calls for long term approach.
– Evaluation Criteria:
o Fluency & Coherence,
o Grammar (Range & Accuracy),
o Lexical Resources,
o Pronunciation
– Learn from the Band Descriptor
– Prepare, Practice, Perform
– 20 2 Mins Topics List
Sequence Of Learning (First Input, Then Output)
– It is recommended that you first study the ‘Receptive Skills’ – Listening and Reading.
– Then you can focus on Productive Skills (Writing, Speaking)
Evaluation Criteria
It is essential for you to know the evaluation criteria. For Listening and Reading Sections you need to score a minimum number of correct answers to get the required bands. For Writing and Speaking, there are specific points on which your performance is judged.
Here are the details:
Reading: 30 for 7 bands; 35 for 8 bands (ielts.org)
Writing
Your writing will be evaluated on four points:
o Task Achievement,
o Cohesion & Coherence,
o Lexical Resources,
o Grammar (Range & Accuracy)
Speaking
Your speaking skills will be evaluated on following points:
o Fluency & Coherence
o Lexical Resources
o Grammar
o Pronunciation
