Tips to Score more than 7 Bands in IELTS
Are you planning to study or work abroad and preparing for IELTS? Is this the first time you will be taking this test or you have tried a couple of times but failed to crack it?
Do not worry at all!!
Here I will discuss tricks of the trade on how one can score band 7 or more in IELTS exam. Firstly, you need to know that only exam preparation won’t be enough to help you, but regular practice of English and adapting this universal language is the key to achieve good score. So, if you want to improve your IELTS score, you must improve your English first.
Most of the students I work with need to score 7 or more bands and in many cases they require a band 7 in each module. We all know that IELTS test dates 2016 have announced. So, be ready for the exam and this is what I suggest.
Taking the test again and again will not improve your IELTS results until and unless you realize your weakness and work on it.
The Platinum RULE of IELTS
The Platinum Rule is “Always give the monkey exactly what it wants”. If a monkey asks for a banana, you must give it a banana and not an apple. In other words, your answers should be relevant, which means your answer to the question must be within acceptable range. Now you must be thinking that this little piece of advice is too simple to be worth remembering. It seems so obvious that you have to give the answers that test asks you to give. Yet failure to remember and implicate the platinum rule is one of the fundamental reasons why candidates do not score as well as they plan out.
I will discuss things that you need to do in order to achieve a satisfactory IELTS band score. You have to bring in these points to excel in all the four modules of IELTS and hence score 7 or more bands.
Listening
If you want to improve your overall score in IELTS exam then this is the part where you can score the highest band. The audio clip is heard once only, and the questions are answered as you listen. All you have to do is “carefully listen”. In this part of the test, the tempo of the speaker increases gradually, so it is essential to keep up with the speaker which in turn requires your full attention. If you have missed a question, don’t try to recall what the speaker said previously, it is advisable that you move on the next question. Important tip is “Listen to English language as much as you can”
Reading
My students often express that this is the challenging part of the test. So, you have to practice your reading skills as much as you can. In IELTS exam especially this sub test time is your enemy .So, you have to increase your reading speed as it is the chief element which will help you in completing this sub test in given time. Also, take a quick glance at the questions before reading the text. Take into consideration that the text can be a bit too much to read and comprehend word by word, so stick to reading techniques, skimming and scanning in particular. Remember that in IELTS reading test you are in charge of managing your own time.
Writing
This depends a lot on your own vocabulary and basic grammar. The main scoring point is being coherent which in context means each point should be in continuation of the preceding and the following one. Remember the “PLATINUM RULE”. Try to use the synonyms instead of using the same word consecutively. Punctuation is essential in achieving a high score in IELTS Writing Exam. Get good study material and go through the examples to familiarize yourself with the pattern of the exam. Using transition words plays an important role in scoring high in this test.
Speaking
Majority of students face difficulty in this part of test as they don’t get much time to think. But I feel that this is not true, the actual problem lies because they are very worried about speaking in English that they don’t think at all as to what they have to speak. What I am trying to say here is that speaking English is not the only thing you have to worry about but you need to open and shake up your mind for ideas about which you have to speak about. I do agree with the fact that a good vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar and content are very important, but in my opinion “Presentation precedes content, fluency precedes vocabulary” in speaking test. You have to make your answer presentable and exciting. Speed plays an important role in IELTS Speaking test, so try to speak at a moderate pace; neither too slow neither too fast. Take equal and regular pauses rather than taking long pauses in between. In order to be presentable, modulate your tone, make eye contact and use your hands in an expressive but appropriate manner. And yes don’t omit the “PLATINUM RULE”.
Key points to remember:
• Always choose a pragmatic and achievable goal.
• Practice English in daily life as much as you can.
• Watch English movies, TV serials, listen to English songs.
• If you want to improve your vocabulary you should read newspapers, magazines and novels.
• Take every opportunity to listen to English whenever and wherever you can.
• Read the exam instructions carefully as it contains vital information which must be understood in order to proceed correctly.
• Always look at the example, it is given so that you know how to answer questions
• Do not forget to make logical guesses in the end to the questions on which you are having trouble in answering.
• Make sure you check your spellings and then ……..check again.
• Give just one answer to a question, unless you are specifically instructed to give more than one answer. For e.g. If you are asked to name just three items that you hear or read about in a passage, it is wrong to list four items as your answer. You will score zero, even if all four items are correct.
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