So you have already studied as hard as you possibly can for your IELTS, but are still worried about whether you will do well or not! Here are some tips that can help you to ace the exam on your first attempt.
The time constraints which are mentioned in each section are very important. Do not overrun your time on one section as you will lose marks on the questions that remain unanswered. The passages are not in any order of difficulty. Wear a watch and check the time after each passage to make sure you are on schedule.
It is very important that you should comprehend and follow instructions very, very carefully. A very common mistake is to answer in more words than have been mentioned in the task. If a blank is required to be filled by ‘not more than three words’, do not write four!
Again, if a piece of writing is stipulated to be a minimum number of words (for example, 250 words for an essay and 150 words for a report or letter) any work that is shorter will be penalized. So if you do not want to lose marks unnecessarily make sure that you do have the necessary minimum number of words.
Also remember that a longer essay will not necessarily fetch you more marks. The chances of making mistakes will be higher if your essay is too long. So keep your writing short, crisp, and error free- but make sure you have the minimum number of words they have asked for.
Your understanding of the topic is very important. If you write off the topic, you will be penalized. Every single point in the outline given must be mentioned in your writing, as the examiner will be scoring them. And if your topic is completely wrong, you will be given a zero score- no matter how beautifully you have written on the wrong topic! This is essentially a test of comprehension, after all!
Never make the mistake of trying to learn essays by rote. Examiners will cancel such writing as they have been trained to recognize essays that are memorized. Make sure your writing is original and comes from your heart.
Your ideas are not important, but the ways in which they are expressed do matter. The examiner is not looking for a view that matches his own. There is no right view or wrong view.
Do not write very lengthy sentences which use too many connective words. Coherence is important, and if your sentences ramble into nothingness then you will not be getting a good score.
For the speaking test, do not worry about your accent. It is to be expected that you will have accented speech if English is not your native language. What is being tested is your pronunciation – and that should be correct.
For reading passages, you need to just skim through the passage to get the main points- do not waste time trying to understand each point thoroughly. You can return to the passage after each question.
If you are doing the IELTS test on your computer, use shortcut keys to save time:
First highlight the text you wish to move or copy and then type:
Ctrl+C = copy
Ctrl+X = cut
Ctrl+V = paste
Last but not least, remember that practice makes perfect. Do as many practice tests as you can before the big day.
Stay calm and confident. You have worked hard for this, so don’t let nervousness come in the way of that perfect score!
Usha Sunil
