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7 days for ielts exam - Practice suggestion required

Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2014 12:39 pm
by swetam
Hey friends,

I wanted to know what different can I do in my practice to increase my score in 7 days. I have my exam on 5th April, and so far with practice test my score have increased in Listening & Reading before a week I was scoring below 30 in both module but now it has increased to 35-36 in listening & 33-34 in reading but its not consistent :( .

Also, I have been reading lot of material on Writing Task 1 and 2 and understood the format and responses to give. Will start practice from today onwards again. As for more than a week I was surfing the net to understand the formats & likely vocab to improve.

For speaking practice I am talking to my friends in English, follow you tube speaking samples, Ryan I have been going through your resources in office too :) , speaking to self about the likely answers to be given for certain topics, recording alternate days on various topics. Also, I have started practicing cue card topic without taking a minute for preparation to see how well I can arrange my thoughts & how quickly I can think. But some how not gaining confidence :(.

I am planning to continue doing this, but would like to have suggestions from fellow members what more can I do to achieve band 7 each as this time I don't want to leave a single loop hole in my practice. :oops: :cry:.

Please advise.

Re: 7 days for ielts exam - Practice suggestion required

Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2014 5:29 pm
by OnlineEnglishTeacher
swetam wrote:Hey friends,

I wanted to know what different can I do in my practice to increase my score in 7 days. I have my exam on 5th April, and so far with practice test my score have increased in Listening & Reading before a week I was scoring below 30 in both module but now it has increased to 35-36 in listening & 33-34 in reading but its not consistent :( .

Also, I have been reading lot of material on Writing Task 1 and 2 and understood the format and responses to give. Will start practice from today onwards again. As for more than a week I was surfing the net to understand the formats & likely vocab to improve.

For speaking practice I am talking to my friends in English, follow you tube speaking samples, Ryan I have been going through your resources in office too :) , speaking to self about the likely answers to be given for certain topics, recording alternate days on various topics. Also, I have started practicing cue card topic without taking a minute for preparation to see how well I can arrange my thoughts & how quickly I can think. But some how not gaining confidence :(.

I am planning to continue doing this, but would like to have suggestions from fellow members what more can I do to achieve band 7 each as this time I don't want to leave a single loop hole in my practice. :oops: :cry:.

Please advise.
Here is some advice: practice writing by hand, rather than a computer, make sure your handwriting is clear and for the task 2 speaking make bullet points: for example 15, to help you know the data you will speak about.

Re: 7 days for ielts exam - Practice suggestion required

Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2014 12:23 pm
by swetam
Thanks a lot. I will definitely implement it.

Any other suggestions.

Re: 7 days for ielts exam - Practice suggestion required

Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2014 12:59 pm
by OnlineEnglishTeacher
swetam wrote:Thanks a lot. I will definitely implement it.

Any other suggestions.
For speaking practice I am talking to my friends in English
Whilst it is great that your friends are helping you, those with 100% correct grammar are best to avoid unhelpful habits :-). You can also check out Ryan's videos etc..

Re: 7 days for ielts exam - Practice suggestion required

Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2014 1:17 pm
by Ryan
swetam wrote:Hey friends,

I wanted to know what different can I do in my practice to increase my score in 7 days. I have my exam on 5th April, and so far with practice test my score have increased in Listening & Reading before a week I was scoring below 30 in both module but now it has increased to 35-36 in listening & 33-34 in reading but its not consistent :( .

Also, I have been reading lot of material on Writing Task 1 and 2 and understood the format and responses to give. Will start practice from today onwards again. As for more than a week I was surfing the net to understand the formats & likely vocab to improve.

For speaking practice I am talking to my friends in English, follow you tube speaking samples, Ryan I have been going through your resources in office too :) , speaking to self about the likely answers to be given for certain topics, recording alternate days on various topics. Also, I have started practicing cue card topic without taking a minute for preparation to see how well I can arrange my thoughts & how quickly I can think. But some how not gaining confidence :(.

I am planning to continue doing this, but would like to have suggestions from fellow members what more can I do to achieve band 7 each as this time I don't want to leave a single loop hole in my practice. :oops: :cry:.

Please advise.
You can always spot the person preparing for IELTS. They are the crazy one in the corner talking to themselves. :D

I'm glad to hear you have made some progress. As you know, the IELTS really isn't the sort of assessment you can cram for. This is particularly true for listening and reading. Steady, active practice coupled with rehearsing test strategy seems to be the pattern that most successful students follow.

For writing, sometimes a few quick alterations can make a world of difference to Task Achievement and Cohesion marks in particular. Be sure to maintain links in your writing at the sentence, paragraph and essay level. Conclusions in the supporting paragraph should be drawn from solid evidence and discussion and should link right back up to the main theme of the essay. The conclusion paragraph should present or reiterate a crystal clear position.

For speaking, brainstorm potential IELTS questions, get yourself a speaking partner via Skype and start exercising. Record your responses. Be sure to push yourself to talk at length. Practice using cohesive phrases from lists like this one (the post is writing related, but the language can be applied to speaking): viewtopic.php?f=5&t=76&p=200&hilit=nevertheless#p200 I think you've mentioned that you are doing the listen and repeat exercises (like this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f41QJAsFG18) Keep in mind that your examiner will want you to elaborate at times, so practice giving full answers. Share examples to prove points. Be sure you are staying on topic and tying your thoughts together at the end of every response. Pace yourself properly.

I hope that helps a bit. Good luck!