Tips and Tricks to Pass IELTS Exam Within 10 Days

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IELTS is an important exam for students who want to study abroad, especially if their native language is not English. Students spend immense amount of money to pay to different academies and coaching centers to learn some tricks to pass this test which is absolutely insane. Trust me you do not need months of practice and training to prepare for this exam. I passed this exam last summer with only 7 days of preparation. I am going to share some of the tips that I used and hope it will help you pass your IELTS test with great bands.

There are total 9 bands, whereas, the acceptance rate depends upon the university you are applying to. Top universities in the world considered 7-8 bands or higher for admission, whereas, low rank universities may accept 5.5 to 6.5 bands as well. Therefore, it is important to check the criteria on the university’s website where you are applying for.

Set criteria for yourself that how much bands you require then start working hard to achieve them.

Purchase Cambridge English IELTS book from the local shop or purchase them online from the British council website. Moreover, get 5 to 6 versions of them; try to purchase the latest ones. I purchased mine from the local­­ shop- version 6 to version 12. You do not need to study any extra articles or books; trust me! Each book contains 4 complete tests with answers and CD’s to practice for the listening part, as well as it contains writing samples at the end of the book.

You can get all the basic information regarding the procedure or the exam environment from the Google or the IELTS Cambridge books you will buy from the market. Here I am writing to you about the tips and tricks that could work for you during the exam like they worked for me.

1. Speaking test

• This test normally conducted 3 days before the other three modules (i.e., reading, writing, listening) and is conducted by a trained examiner.

• Examiner could be a foreigner or like in most cases -your countries national.

• It will be a quite small room where the conversation will be recorded for the purpose of sending it to the main office where a panel would listen to it and will decide mutually about the bands you are going to get.

• The test takes between 11 to 15 minutes and a lot of questions can be asked during this period.

• There will be basically three parts. In the first part examiner will ask you general questions. In the second part, you will be given a card with a statement written on it; you have to talk on that topic for 3 to 5 minutes. Third part will again be exchange of Q/A’s but this time a bit more complex and detailed.

Tips and tricks:

• You are allowed to lie as much as you can, so do not hesitate to exaggerate your answers and lie without hesitation. The examiner is only going to test your fluency and the choice of words.

• Avoid repeating words as it may lessen your chance of obtaining higher bands.

• Try to speak long sentences instead of short ones and try to use conjunctive and transition words at the start of the sentence and for the purpose of combining the sentences and paragraphs.

For instance: consequently, therefore, accordingly, as a result, for this reason, hence, thus, furthermore, in addition, moreover, besides, further, in the first place, notwithstanding, however, nevertheless, in spite of, in contrast, yet etc.

• Answer the questions and relate them to your life incidents or try to give your opinions.

• If you have no one to practice English with, ask yourself questions from the practice books and give answers while recording your voice on the phone. Listen to that recording later and self-assessed your performance.

2. Listening

• This test consists of four sections, each with ten questions. The answer sheet will be in front of you to transfer your answers on it during the given 30 minutes. You will be given 10 minutes extra to transfer your answers on the sheet later. Moreover, you could listen to the recording only once, not more than this.

• During each section they will provide you some time (in seconds) to read the half portion first so you could have the idea about the conversation that is going to happen and also what questions should you focus more on.

• Remember the first section is a conversation/dialogue between two speakers and the second section is a monologue (where an individual talks). The third section is a conversation between up to four people and then again the fourth section is a monologue. So you better listen very carefully!

Tips and tricks:

• Best tip is to practice as many listening tests as you can before you appear for your final test and pay close attention to words. As we know, this is a British test, I suggest you to listen to British movies, songs and seasons-whatever you prefer to make yourself familiar with the accent and pronunciations.

• The most important tip is to start reading from the section 4^th first because there is no pause given in between once that sections starts, so students mostly underperform in that section.

• The recording will start with the introduction of the test and the rules to follow; utilize that time reading the 4^th Once the recording says, “now let’s start with the first section, immediately turn your pages to the section one and start reading it within the given time.

3. Reading

• Reading is the hardest module among all; it requires immense practice. Therefore, during those seven days, I spent 70% of my time practicing for this module. This test consists of three sections (consider them full chapters) with 40 questions

• Ideally you should spend about 15 minutes on the first passage, 20 minutes on the second and 25 minutes on the third passage as it considers the most difficult one. You will have no extra time to transfer the answers on the sheet like the listening test; therefore, you have to manage everything within that one hour.

• A variety of question types is used, example: matching headings, features or sentence endings; sentence completions, short-answer questions, (True/False/Not Given), (Yes, No, Not given), diagram labeling etc. Henceforth, the more you practice the better for you.

Tips and tricks:

• Always set a timer before practicing a reading test because time management is the most crucial element in it. You will not be able to complete it on time in the first 8 to 10 practice tests but eventually you will get better.

• Practice is the main key here because the words they use for the passage and the words they use for the questions actually differ a lot and students often not able to find the answers as the words are completely changed. So pay lots of attention!

• If you are asked to write an answer using a certain number of words or numbers, you should never exceed that limit or elsewise you will reduce your scores. Moreover, words should be either in upper case or in lower case- does not mix them.

4. Writing

• This test consists of two sections and candidates will be given one hour to complete this test. The first section normally consist of a graph, diagrams or a map and students will be asked to write down about it in their own words that should not exceed the limit of 150. Ideally one should spend 20 minutes on this section.

• The second section contains double the weightage as compared to this first one and requires at least 250 words which should be completed within 40 minutes. There will be a statement related to some current issue or general topic where students will be asked to write down their opinions and suggestions.

Tips and tricks

• Use linking words, like: however, therefore, henceforth, in addition to, moreover etc.

• Write 5 paragraphs in the second section; first for the introduction, second, third and fourth for the reasons (must add examples in these paragraphs from your daily life or something that you know or have experienced); the fifth paragraph would be for conclusion.

• Must write at least one topic daily from the second section and ask someone who is more experienced to cross check for you and point out your mistakes.

Bonus Advice

Forget everything and focus on giving your 100% by practicing day and night. 10 days will be enough if you practice a lot, otherwise there are many candidates who spend months in practicing. How you would like to ace this test? Do you want to spend months or days? The choice is yours!

Good luck and congrats on reading probably the longest article ever.

About the Author:

Anum Iqbal is a 22 years old Business student who has recently graduated from University of Central Punjab. She believes in dreaming big and turning them into realities. Serving the society where she lives in and motivating students to do something big are few of them.