Is Ielts difficult to pass? Self-preparation for IELTS: how to pass the exam. How IELTS is scored

The maximum score that can be obtained for this English proficiency exam is 9. The minimum score that a student needs to enter a British university is 6.5. I passed IELTS Academic with 8 points and I want to tell you how I did it.

IELTS is an exam whose results are accepted primarily by British universities. In 2010, I seriously considered enrolling in the Master of Communications program at the University of the Arts, London. I didn’t have two million rubles for study and living expenses, but I believed that I would receive a scholarship. The opportunity was indeed very likely, and the prospect of hanging out in London for a year was enticing, so I decided to start with the most time-consuming stage - taking IELTS. I’ll say right away that I entered the master’s program, but didn’t have time to get a scholarship, so I had to abandon the whole idea. But I don’t regret it: having instead gone to the Fashion Magazine Business summer school at the university’s fashion college, I realized how pointless additional media education in Britain is from a practical point of view.

What you need to pass IELTS

Iron motivation. Taking IELTS simply to prove your English proficiency is pointless. This is a rather specific exam that focuses on mastery of academic vocabulary, the ability to write research essays and read scientific literature. In addition, like all exams, IELTS is paid and its certificate is valid for two years, but you will prepare for it from a month to six months. Too unjustified a waste of resources for a check mark on the list of achievements, no?

Awareness of the ultimate goal. You should know what grades are accepted by the university you want to enroll in. I expected to pass the exam with 6.5 points, but when I wrote this goal on my vision board, I thought: “What, I’m not going to pass with a 7?” And then I thought a little more and decided: “Why waste time on trifles! I wish I could pass IELTS with 8 points!” That’s what I wrote, although I didn’t take it seriously. Three months later, when I saw the result of my test in the online service, I literally jumped out of my chair - my surprise was so great. This was another amazing incident in my life when the power of visualization worked wonders (the first time this happened was when I printed out the first photo of a sewing machine from the Internet and pinned it to the board, and after a while my mother accidentally bought this particular model for home. But this is not as impressive as an IELTS score of 8, which is why I don't tell this story often).

Rigid system. I don’t know how things are with other exams, but IELTS is a test that assesses not students’ ability to be creative, but their ability to use long-established patterns. There are a lot of such patterns in IELTS: you need to analyze a text according to specific rules, you need to write an essay using certain vocabulary, while listening to audio you need to pay attention to previously known features. It is even advisable to speak the way the examiner wants to hear. In general, IELTS is a clear system that you won’t be able to understand the first time. If you want to do well in this exam, don't rely on your English skills. Most likely, your level will not be enough for you, unless you have already read a mountain of scientific research in English and defended a diploma in economic sciences in Britain. Otherwise, you will have to prepare, and not just leaf through a couple of books and do a dozen tests, but systematically: regularly, practicing the same canons, delving into what the examiners want to get from you.

Attending courses. I'm not a fan of courses, but in this case I simply cannot deny their benefits. I attended a special IELTS preparation program at the BKC language school, which took three months with classes three times a week. The most important thing that the course gave me was understanding the pitfalls during the exam and eliminating the need to rush between textbooks, not knowing which one is best. Well, the feeling that I just know English badly.

Decent English. The level at which it makes sense to take IELTS is intermediate or even upper intermediate (you can determine what level you are at, for example). With a lower level, you will simply spend too much effort and time on extracurricular material during preparation and will be confused in the exam. I took IELTS in my final year of university, during which I had virtually no English seminars. However, my school specialized in languages, so upon graduation I had a confident upper-intermediate, and then for four years I simply tried not to forget what I had “acquired through back-breaking labor.” As a result, it was difficult for me when preparing for the exam, since, as it turned out, I had forgotten some language nuances and lost my vocabulary. IELTS courses do not teach English: they only teach how to compose yourself and quickly navigate the exam and what special vocabulary you need to master. Of course, if the teacher sees that most of the group does not know some complex tenses or the use of prepositions, he can quickly write down the main points on the board. But otherwise, your bad English will only be your problem and the problem of your family, because you will sit over books at night.

Books. The principle “less is more” applies here. Choose one good textbook and go through it carefully. Its author most likely took care to consistently talk about all the features of IELTS and give tips on the main blocks of vocabulary. If you carefully complete each task proposed by the author, you will certainly have the necessary base. I studied using the book and workbook New Insight into IELTS by Vanessa Jakeman and Lare McDowell, honestly bought at a bookstore. But if you want to download them for free, try doing so on a root tracker.

Examples of tests. But here, on the contrary, the more, the better. Just don't try to master the basics for IELTS with them, because tests are only a way to check whether you have understood the textbook tips well, and an opportunity to highlight common "gotchas".

How I prepared

In total, it took me about three to four months to prepare for IELTS. Three times a week in the evenings I went to courses, and between them I studied at home. My training (there is no other way to describe it) consisted of reading texts from a textbook, listening to audio, describing charts about the dynamics of global warming, the gender and age structure of Internet users in Britain, forecasting rising oil prices, and also writing a two-page essay on the importance of motivation or the harm of public reprimands in companies. I filled a large notebook, and some of its pages were completely occupied by lists of introductory phrases or words characterizing the increase or decrease of some phenomenon. What is important is that I filled out the notebook not randomly, but in segments - a writing block separately, a speaking block separately, and this part contains useful words for each of the topics that may appear in the exam. Such a clear distribution helped me a lot when, a couple of days before the exam, I needed to brush up on the work of the first months. I laid out the most important pages from my notebook in photo album, so that you can also look at and remember the vocabulary, necessary figures of speech and phrases for logical oral and written statements.

About halfway through the course, I had already learned to guess what word should stand in place of a space in a listening task, which points of the text would later be touched upon by questions, and what essay structure should be followed when discussing the reasons for the low performance of individual children. I also learned the basic rules for working with each stage of the exam. I will briefly share them with you.

You first need to read the text without stopping, then study the tasks for it, and then read it again, highlighting logical blocks, underlining words that fit the gaps and noting points that can be understood in two ways in tasks like “true or false.”
When listening to an audio recording, it is useful to immediately make something like a transcript, writing down the most significant numbers, details and key words for context. If some words are not clear, it is important not to panic and try to catch them the second time.
When working on a written assignment, you must first determine which essay structure will be optimal in this case. The logic of presentation depends on this, which the examiner will definitely pay attention to. You can jot down a list of words that fit the topic on paper and cross them out as you use them in the text. The use of various introductory constructions, words that connect parts of a sentence and express the author’s personal attitude is highly encouraged. Looking ahead, I will say that for the writing stage of IELTS I received 7.5 points - this would be enough to enroll in a master’s program in journalism at a British university.
During a conversation with an examiner as part of a speaking block, you must remember that the interlocutor does not evaluate what you say. He cares about how you do it. Therefore, when preparing my oral mini-speech, I was even ready to sacrifice the truth or my own opinion if it was more convenient for me to tell a different version. After all, who cares what I think about rising sea levels, as long as I have a good command of vocabulary about pollution and can logically move from that topic to the topic of social inequality, which I have a better command of.

How I took IELTS

It takes almost the entire day to pass the exam. The hardest thing was getting up at six in the morning and, having arrived at the place, waiting for the start. It’s almost impossible to bring something into the audience, and I didn’t even try. I felt that I was well prepared and watched with curiosity the other exam participants, most of whom were school graduates. During the reading block, I sometimes even had a few seconds to glance sideways at my desk neighbor. He was clearly panicking, and it was clear that he did not know the "matrix code" because he rushed from one task to another and behaved inconsistently. I did everything very quickly and was one of the first to leave the audience, feeling views. I remember the rest of the exam very vaguely. Only the word coach (“couch”) was clearly imprinted in my memory, which was one of the key words in listening. I hesitated for a long time whether I had misheard, but the context about the car museum still hinted.

It's funny that up until now I still doubt whether the word coach is translated exactly like that (and not as “coach” or “bus”, for example). However, my doubts did not play any role during the audition, because IELTS does not test language proficiency. It tests how well you can adapt and play by the given rules. And although I passed the exam with 8 points and can write a text about the state of the Russian shoe market for work, working last spring in an African reserve and selling bags of giraffe food to tourists, I periodically experienced language difficulties. I believe that this was due to fatigue and the terrible Danish-Dutch accent of the South Africans, but the fact that my English is still not perfect is for sure.

For some, the big obstacle to studying at foreign universities is the English language. In reality, this is not as big a problem as it might seem. It was the same with me; I once didn’t know how to pass IELTS and considered it a lifelong endeavor. The main thing when preparing for an exam is the right approach, which I did not immediately find. I will share useful tips , how to pass the language exam to study abroad.

First, you need to understand what exam the educational institution accepts. As a rule, these are the main IELTS (academic) and TOEFL. Certificates from these language exams are accepted by 99.99% of universities and colleges in English-speaking countries. In principle, the exams are similar and test 4 sections: listening, reading, writing, speaking. The difference between IELTS and TOEFL is that you take TOEFL entirely in front of a computer and you do not have an examiner. Everything is typed on a computer, listened to on headphones, and spoken into a microphone for recording. When taking IELTS, you talk to a live person, write by hand on paper and listen to speakers. Since, then I will describe this particular exam further.

The most important- Don’t start preparing on your own, as I once began to do. Firstly, it is almost useless since only a few manage to learn English on their own. Secondly, the exam has a bunch of nuances that you will 100% miss without a teacher. If you don’t know English well, you can sign up for general language courses for a month + study extra intensively at home (watch movies and read websites in English). During this month, it is necessary to strengthen the base as much as possible, study tenses and basic rules: how sentences are constructed, word formation, frequent figures of speech. After this, you need to immediately go look for a tutor or training courses specifically to IELTS!!! I’ll say right away that knowing English and passing IELTS are not always the same thing. I think that not even every native English speaker will be able to pass this exam with a high score. For example, in the writing section you need to know exactly the structure of the essay, since without it you will not be given a high mark, even if you wrote everything without errors and used complex figures of speech. During the first few lessons you will think that this exam is super difficult, but it is not. You just need to understand its principle and what skills need to be improved. For example, you definitely need to know how to pronounce all the letters in the alphabet. This is necessary in order to be able to write down surnames when they are spelled (you will definitely see this in the exam).

Reading.
There will be 3 texts, 40 questions and an hour of time. For each text you need to measure 20 minutes yourself, this is your task. The texts are in order of difficulty. They are taken from magazines, articles, scientific sites. These are difficult to read, they are not adapted. As the teachers themselves say, this section is not called reading, but searching for information in the text. You will not have time to read, understand the text and answer questions in 20 minutes. This is physically impossible. As they taught me: skim the text for 2 minutes and understand the general meaning. Necessarily Underline all dates and proper names. IELTS preparation courses will explain all this to you. I can personally recommend reading scientific articles on CNN at home and practicing reading quickly. Skim and try to understand the general meaning. I received 8 points in this section. I focused on this part from the very beginning.
Letter
There are 2 essays here, the first is 150 words, the second is 250. How to write will be taught in more detail in the courses, this cannot be explained quickly. Considered the most difficult part. There is a life hack– for the first part of the essay you need to prepare standard sentences for the introduction and ending. Then you can immediately insert this template for any task, changing only the data. This will save a lot of time. For the second essay, you also need to prepare a number of standard sentences that need to be memorized and be sure to be used in the right places. If anyone needs it, write me, I still have my preparations, although they are given them at the courses. I received 6 points in this section
Listening
There will be 4 texts, read once and you need to immediately answer questions while listening. There will be 40 questions, 10 for each text. The difficulty is that if you haven’t heard something, you start to “float”, get nervous and miss the rest of the task. It may turn out that you didn’t hear something at the beginning and got distracted, and while you were trying to collect your thoughts, you didn’t answer all the other questions. Although these missed questions may have been simple and you would have answered them without difficulty, there will not be a second chance. There is only one option - if you didn’t hear the answer, how can the robot continue listening and answer the next questions, since all tasks are worth the same number of points. DO NOT be nervous, as soon as you start twitching - everything is gone. I received 6 points for listening ( although I was hoping for more) .
Speaking
It will be approximately 10 minutes and 3 sections. First, they ask standard questions, to which you give short answers. In the second section, you are given a topic and one minute to prepare. After that, you speak in a monologue for 2 minutes and expand on this topic. The third part contains questions on the topic of the second section, but the answers are more complete than in the first part. I found an excellent way to prepare - there are about 35 topics for speaking in IELTS, just write out a dictionary of words for each topic and learn them by heart. It’s just that sometimes there may be a non-standard topic for which you will need to have at least a minimum vocabulary. For example, there is the topic “flowers”, about which I knew nothing at all. I had to write down the main types of plants and verbs associated with flora. I got 7.5 points in IELTS speaking.

Thus, my average score came out to exactly 7. Admission often requires a 6.5 overall, and at least 6 in each section. According to my calculations, you can prepare for IELTS in 8-9 months if your English base is at an elementary level. But in this case you will have to do a lot of work. For people with an intermediate level, preparation for IELTS will take approximately 5-6 months. How I prepared and passed the exam

Today I will touch on the topic of self-preparation for IELTS, the international English language exam. We will highlight three important components of successful preparation for the IELTS exam, discuss the main mistakes and draw conclusions that will serve as advice on how to prepare for IELTS and how to pass the exam.

TOEFL or IELTS

I want to make it clear right away - depending on your goals, you should decide which test you need to take: TOEFL or IELTS.

The IELTS exam tests your knowledge of the British English language, so if you want to study, for example, in America, you should clarify: what if you need not IELTS, but TOEFL (American version).

As far as I know, most universities accept certificates from both tests, but you still need to make inquiries, if only because this exam is not a cheap pleasure.

General and Academic IELTS

The IELTS exam (test) is taken by those who want to live and work (General ielts) or study (Academic ielts) abroad. In this article, I will tell you how to prepare for the IELTS test on your own.

IELTS Preparation: Important Ingredients for Success

There are important ingredients to consider for success when preparing for the IELTS exam.

To successfully pass an exam or obtain the score required at a university, you need the right mindset to prepare for this important test, In second place - IELTS preparation itself, which differs from simply learning the language, and on the third – again the right attitude, but this time for correct behavior during the exam.

I took the IELTS exam three times, and the first two results did not suit me - and this despite the fact that I know and love English from school and have been tutoring in this subject!

In order not to find yourself in the same stupid position (English tutor - and didn’t “pass” IELTS?!), use my tips. Learn from other people's mistakes. And you will succeed!

Now let's move directly to the description of the main mistakes made when independently preparing and passing the English ielts exam. This information is based on personal experience, so I highly recommend listening to my findings and tips on how to pass IELTS.

Mistake #1. If you know the language, then you don’t have to worry about the test.

For how many years they have been telling the world... Before the first test, I nevertheless looked at various sites where they warned about this in the first place! But some kind of bearish logic is at work.

Well, of course! I explain such complex grammatical rules, I read literature in the original, I write essays in English, I have friends with whom I communicate in English and with whom I have mutual understanding!

How can I not pass IELTS?! Seven? Easily! Yes, I can do eight! (Dreamy: maybe they’ll give you a nine...)

But the sad result of 5.5 was a blow below the belt. The thing is that this exam is not an ordinary English language test. And preparation for IELTS must be special. This is why I like this test so much.

Here, during the IELTS exam, it is impossible to sneak a cheat sheet, phone number, or copy from a friend. It values smartness, time management, communication skills, the ability to listen carefully and, most importantly, working independently and taking responsibility for your mistakes.

After all, this is what will be most useful to you when you go abroad, and not knowledge of complex grammatical rules. I know people who, in my opinion, know English worse than me, but they scored a seven the first time.

This means only one thing: they prepared better and all the qualities described above are better developed in them than in me. A reason to move in this direction, yes.

Advice: Even if you have no problems with the English language, start preparing for IELTS on your own at least a couple of months before the test. And not just from textbooks, “as they are,” but from those that tell you how to prepare for the ielts yourself.

There are many websites on the Internet dedicated to preparing for IELTS. Take advantage of them.

How to prepare for IELTS on your own

We continue to look at how to prepare for IELTS on your own.

Mistake #2. Neglect of time and structure

Not all of us have a solid 3-4 hours a day to take practice tests. You just have to be content with what you have. For me it was an hour in the evenings, and not every day.

In such an environment, when it was important for me to listen to sample listening, speaking, read reading and copy sample writing, or write my essay, I was not interested in the time frame.

And she wrote with a pen, not a pencil. While it is more convenient to do everything with a pencil during the exam!

As a result, during the first test I wrote terribly slowly (it’s faster with a pen!) and spent precious minutes on stupid word counting! It's funny, but don't make those mistakes.

It’s better to count how many words you can fit in one line. This way you will be sure that you have written the required amount.

When preparing for the IELTS exam, you should understand that in the Writing part you have 20 minutes for one task and 40 minutes for the second, 150 and 250 words respectively.

Since I love to write, I was sure that writing would not be a problem. But there was a problem and it was that during the exam I couldn’t pretend to be Gogol and write a super story. And there’s no time for that anyway.

All that is required of the examinee is clarity, conciseness, and adherence to instructions. There is no need for water and artistic digressions, write only to the point.

The main mistake was my desire to understand every word in the text. The texts are large. Even if you understand everything, to answer the questions you will have to go back to what you read and look for the right places. This takes time.

Tips on how to pass the IELTS exam successfully:

— practice writing straight away with a pencil and write as quickly as possible, maintaining neat, readable handwriting;

— for each form of an essay or description of a schedule, creating a business letter, there is its own structure - this also needs to be taken into account;

In principle, these forms are similar, and even with a little time to prepare for IELTS, you will have a clear understanding of correct spelling, paragraph separation, and what counts towards your score.

— Expand your vocabulary ahead of time, not on the eve of tests. Otherwise, the memorized words will become a complete mess in your head;

— master the skills of scanning (fluent reading of a text, when you read over the words and simply understand for yourself what the text is about) and (searching for the desired passage in the text);

Everything, of course, depends on the task, there are some nuances, but usually the text is a double page, or 2 A4 pages (sometimes a little more); after it there are tricky questions, the answers to which still need to be figured out, and all this takes 20 minutes.

There are three such texts. Decide for yourself.

IELTS special test

Mistake #3. You won’t be particularly prepared for the listening and speaking parts; we’re not in a language environment.

Here is my special message to my fellow sufferers: I took a special IELTS test for deaf people.

Since I have severe hearing loss and headphones wouldn’t solve the problem, I was assigned a special teacher who spoke to me a little slower and read listening tapescripts (printouts of the audio version) more slowly.

But this is where the relaxation ends, the time frame is the same as everyone else’s. So you need to prepare for IELTS.

By the way, remember: An application for a special IELTS exam is submitted three (!) months before the test; you will need to send by e-mail copies of a document on disability, an audiogram and a medical report from an ENT specialist from the district clinic. Also, a couple of days before the test, the manager may ask you to come to the office and present all these disability documents in the original.

How can we, people with hearing impairments, prepare for the IELTS test ourselves? Learn to read English articulation. And understand that English accents, of which there are many, also differ in articulation.

I prepared using films (English subtitles, English soundtrack + headphones), and since I have IELTS ACADEMIC, I needed something more serious.

The Coursera resource came to my aid. org. There are wonderful subtitles for almost all video lectures on many subjects, and many are free.

I spoke a lot of English out loud.

I combined preparation for writing (reading my essays out loud several times and retelling them) and learning new words (putting each new word in context and also rehearsing it), and all this had a positive effect on listening + speaking.

Adviсe:firstly, everything described above will also be useful for hearing people. Secondly, when preparing for IELTS on your own, don’t be afraid to speak.

Until you become fluent in the language, you will not be able to carry on a dialogue or answer questions (skills assessed in speaking in the IELTS exam).

And without constant training, due to the differences in the speeds of the Russian and English languages (plus accents), you will simply get confused and will not be able to adequately listen.

So, I talked about self-preparation for IELTS, the English language test. I wish that my advice on how to pass the IELTS exam will be useful to you in this difficult task. I hope I haven’t bored you, and in the future I will write several more articles on this topic, for example, about useful and scanning. See you soon!

Today I will share my personal experience and talk about how to pass IELTS. I took IELTS (Academic) in 2006 in London. My initial practical goal was the CPE certification. But it so happened that the agency, through whose efforts I was able to obtain a visa to the UK the first time, could offer me an educational program at ISIS Greenwich School of English only for taking IELTS. And despite the fact that neither immigration nor admission to a foreign university interested me, I still decided to take IELTS, since I needed an international certificate for work.

I deliberately studied the structure and nature of CPE tasks for several weeks, and when the situation turned in favor of IELTS, I had exactly 1 month left before taking it. And considering that this was my first visit to England and I was incredibly interested in all kinds of excursions, walks and trips around the country, I was pleased with my result, especially Speaking): Listening - 7.0, Reading - 6.5, Writing - 7.0, Speaking - 8.0, overall score - 7.0. So how to pass IELTS?

What is IELTS?

Briefly about the international IELTS exam in the form of frequently asked questions and answers:
— What is IELTS?
— IELTS — International English Language Testing System. The test has two modules: Academic Module and General Training Module and was developed by three organizations: University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations, IDP Australia and British Council. IELTS is one of the most popular international language exams - 1,400,000 people take it every year in 135 countries, and IELTS certificates are accepted by about 6,000 educational institutions.

— What is the structure of IELTS?

— IELTS consists of 4 parts: Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking, while the Listening and Speaking modules are the same for all examinees, while Reading and Writing are much more difficult for those taking Academic IELTS.

— How long does IELTS last and how is it passed?
— IELTS lasts 2 hours 45 minutes and is taken in two stages: the main part (Listening, Reading, Writing) takes place on one day, the Speaking part can take place on the same day, or a day (or two) before or after the main part of the exam . You will be informed in advance about the date, time and location of the Speaking.

— What does the IELTS certificate provide? Who needs it?
— Passing the IELTS exam is a necessary step when entering foreign universities, as well as in case of immigration or obtaining a visa to Canada, Australia, New Zealand and other English-speaking countries

— How is knowledge assessed when taking IELTS?
— The IELTS certificate is valid for two years. Maximum score - 9.0:

In this case, each module is assessed separately (Listening, Reading, Writing, Speaking) and the overall score for the entire exam is calculated. It is this total score that is taken into account when entering a foreign university (Academic IELTS) or when immigrating (General IELTS).

Perhaps some of my recommendations for passing IELTS will seem banal. But sometimes even simple advice heard at the right time can bring a lot of benefit. Let me remind you that these are my personal conclusions based on the experience of passing Academic IELTS and the experience of passing General IELTS of my students.

Be positive and confident! Since you are taking the exam, it means this is very important for you. More precisely, the result is very important. Mobilize and give 100% on this day. Believe that you will get the score you want.
If you have the opportunity to take IELTS in the UK (English speaking country), don't waste it. I deliberately wanted to take the international English exam in England, because I saw a certain sense in being immersed in the living English environment and having a good conversation with native speakers before the exam. And I was not mistaken - all this one way or another helped me to relax and focus on the language as much as possible, because the atmosphere in language schools is usually very friendly, the teachers are high-level professionals; you get drawn in quickly and don’t want to leave later)
The night before the exam, go to bed early to ensure you get a good night's sleep. As the British say: “Don’t burn the midnight oil” - sleep better than midnight oil on eve of exams.
During the exam attentively listen to the examiners' instructions and hang on their every word. Even if you know the essence of the task by heart, do not neglect additional explanations.
Do not try to cheat or peek at answers from other examinees - such behavior will lead to disqualification and you will be asked to leave the exam room without explanation. No one will stand on ceremony, that's for sure.
IELTS is a difficult exam, and like any other international exam, it requires strong knowledge of the English language. It is impossible to pass IELTS 7.0 if you have an Intermediate level of English or lower. More precisely, you can pass it, but it will be a matter of your money and time. I recommend that you fully complete all levels, including Upper-Intermediate, and only then begin preparing for IELTS, which will take you a maximum of 3 to 4 weeks.
There is an opinion that it is not difficult to pass IELTS with a decent score (usually 7.0) - just learn the structure of the exam and the nature of the tasks. It is a myth. Knowledge of the structure is important, but without solid knowledge of the language, I repeat, it is meaningless.
In addition to a clear understanding of the structure and nature of IELTS tasks, maximum concentration is required.
Details matter much - missing endings, spelling mistakes, incorrect pronunciation of words, confusion with tenses will cause a decrease in points.
Naturalness and ease when speaking is the key to a high score.
The ability to use linking (link) words is also highly valued.
Well-readness, general development, the ability to navigate different life situations, a practical approach to solving everyday and educational problems, as well as personal qualities such as flexibility, creativity, the ability to analyze and synthesize, will serve you well in Writing and Speaking.

IELTS Listening Module

Be sure to review the text of the assignments, identify key words and predict answers before you start listening.

IELTS Reading Module

Be prepared for these types of exam tasks:

Completion
Matching
True/False/Does Not Say or Yes/No/Not Given
Multiple choice
Labeling
Short answer questions
Classification
Headings
Locating information

When completing assignments for the Reading section, try to think generally, objectively, even, I would say, globally. For example, I consider my incorrect answer to the task: “List all European countries mentioned in the text” to be an unforgivable mistake, due to which my Reading score turned out to be so low (6.5). I have included all the necessary ones except the UK. Stupid mistake, I even remember that for some reason I deliberately did not include it in the list.
Don't waste precious minutes to understand the meaning of each word, try to guess their meanings.
Carefully study the headings, questions and tasks for the text - this will help you tune in to the desired topic and predict the correct answers.
Watch a useful video about IELTS Reading:

IELTS Writing Module

If you are taking IELTS (Academic), then when describing graphs you cannot do without 20-30 learned clichés. In order to remember these phrases, you need practice, of course. Describe 10 - 20 graphs, each time analyzing errors and comparing your answer with model answers. By “comparing” I mean not just reading the sample, but writing down useful expressions and definitely trying to include them in your next written work.
Writing down and remembering key phrases is also necessary when writing an essay. In general, any work aimed at memorizing vocabulary and grammatical structures is justified only with subsequent active use in written and oral speech.
Watch a useful video about IELTS Writing.

IELTS Speaking Module

During the exam, the Speaking part is preceded by a short break (provided that Speaking is carried out on the same day), which must be used wisely: rest, eat, drink. After all, after 3 modules Listening, Reading and Writing you will get tired; exam is stressful.
During the dialogue with the examiner, be thoughtful, do not rush to answer immediately, but do not hesitate to answer.
Be natural, conduct the dialogue the same way as you would in your native language: use gestures, facial expressions, pause-fillers in moderation.

Where to prepare for IELTS

Experienced teachers at the English Voyage online school will help you prepare and pass IELTS with the desired score. Preparing for IELTS via Skype is an effective way to your success in English.

How to prepare for IELTS on your own

If you can easily pass Upper-Intermediate English language tests, then you are ready to take such a serious exam as IELTS.

Study the exam structure in detail. To do this, write down on a piece of paper all the parts of the exam, their duration and the nature of the tasks. Revisit this note again and again until you have mastered it, as knowing the structure is the foundation of any exam; Such information will help you feel confident during the test and navigate what is happening.
It is advisable to prepare Listening and Reading yourself - here you just need to organize yourself and not be lazy. For example, to begin with, good listening practice can be obtained by working through audio files

Thousands of students make the same mistakes every year that result in poor IELTS scores. And today we will talk about the most common mistakes when passing the international English language exam IELTS.

1. Wrong approach to learning.

First of all, you must understand why take IELTS. This is done to ensure that you have the opportunity to communicate freely in English. By reading literature and communicating in English, you strengthen your language fluency skills.

However, some students simply try to memorize texts or dialogues so that they can answer monotonously in the exam. Be sure that the examiner will immediately determine whether you speak fluent or “memorized” English.

By the way, if you don’t know how much it costs to take IELTS, you can get information on the certification center’s website. The cost of taking IELTS in Moscow is 15,000 – 20,000 rubles.

No need to waste time on rote learning. Of course, this method can be used for grammar and other tasks. But to speak English fluently, you should practice more: reading, speaking and listening to English speech. This approach will ensure you get a good exam grade.

2. Misunderstanding of the task.

Perfect punctuation and spelling do not guarantee a top grade in a writing task, just like vocabulary and pronunciation in Speaking. When you visit an IELTS center, your job is to convince the examiner that you fully understand the content, can present clear arguments, and can literally think in English.

AllRight

Cost of education: From 750rub/hour

Discounts: Available with promotional codes

Training mode: Online

Free lesson: Provided

Teaching method: Cambridge Communication Method and Total Physical Response Method

Online testing: Provided

Customer Feedback: (5/5)

Literature: Online library

Cost of education: From $35/lesson

Discounts: Not provided

Training mode: Online/Skype

Free lesson: Not provided

Teaching method: Determined by the teacher

Online testing: Provided

Literature: Determined by the teacher

Address: Mountain View, California

Lux: 2018-12-25 09:19:54
a service that helps you look at many countries differently. I love traveling around the world, I’ve been to the Czech Republic, Thailand, Canada... but as a tourist who would like a hotel and a bunch of restaurants and shops nearby. over time, priorities changed, I wanted to learn something new and interesting, but what if not English, and in such a wonderful way that linguatrip offers? After a dozen lessons with Joe, I achieved more or less normal pronunciation and arranged a 4-week trip to Oxford, Canada...
Lara: 2018-12-21 17:07:47
I plan to get a second degree abroad, presumably in Canada. At the moment, my spoken English is too weak to take such a step, so with the linguatrip school I’ll start small: first, remote lessons via Skype, then I’ll visit a couple of Canadian schools for courses - since I’ve already gone, this fall, but I was very shy and I didn’t really speak, apparently because being in an English-speaking environment was new to me. Linguatrip also helped a lot with the visa, in just a little...
Olga: 2018-12-21 16:47:54
Thanks to this platform, my friend and I spent the whole summer in Cyprus!) The summer camp we chose, “English in Cyprus”, is just a bomb!) We were worried that studying would take up all our free time and we wouldn’t have enough energy for anything else, but everything turned out to be much better: there were evening and daytime entertainment, again, coupled with education, the most comfortable housing, amusement parks there - amazing! In short, next year we’ll rush there)...

In addition, you must clearly know the examiners' requirements. To do this, try to get more information about your IELTS test center and its teachers.

With classes of 30-40 minutes, you can work for a long time and without noticeable fatigue. However, during IELTS you will have to take Reading and Writing in one sitting. At the same time, much more time is allocated for this and you need to fit into it.

During the exam, you will work at an intense pace for an hour and a half. Therefore, it is worth preparing in advance for such loads and asking your tutor for help in passing IELTS.

4. Banal inattention.

Questions in the exam can often be repeated, so it is very easy to miss or make a mistake in the correctness of your option. Try not to rush while reading the assignment. It’s better to answer the questions a little longer, but correctly. After all, completing a test early does not provide you with bonus points or other benefits.

And if you don’t know whether IELTS is difficult to pass, you can always take the preliminary test online.

5. Spelling.

It is very difficult to avoid at least one mistake during the exam. A spelling mistake is a lost point. Therefore, constantly practice grammar tasks and write dictations. Spend as much time as possible preparing.

6. Pronunciation and intonation Speaking.

If you still have a pronounced accent, this will not affect your grade in any way. However, if you pronounce words incorrectly and place stress in the wrong places, then you are unlikely to be able to pass Speaking.

When communicating, intonation is more important than even correct pronunciation. And to improve your speech, watch more films in English, listen to podcasts and communicate in English as often as possible. This practice will allow you to reach the next level of language proficiency much faster.

7. Low student activity.

This applies more to the Speaking part. Sometimes the examiner has to conduct the conversation himself so that the student does not remain silent. If you are overly shy, it will still lower your score, even though you know the correct answer.

Therefore, have an active conversation with the examiner to show your level of knowledge and excellent command of spoken English. After all, next time you won’t be able to take IELTS for free. You'll have to sign up again and pay money.

It might be useful to read: