Improve your IELTS Test Score - Experience and Tips

 My students in Kazakhstan, Astana (Nursultan) often ask me how to improve their speaking and writing score in IELTS Test. This question is understandable as English is not the primary language of many of my students. People in Kazakhstan speak Russian primarily, and Kazakh as their secondary language.

My tips has been to read a lot and practice a lot. In my view, you can improve the general understanding of any language by reading a lot in that language. So, the knowledge of English can be improved by reading a lot in English. You can start reading first with simple short texts and go on reading complex thematic books, such as books on arts, literature, science, fiction and non-fiction.

Reading a lot of English text will help you to improve your English language skill, and will eventually help you in getting good IELTS Score (band) in your IELTS test

******

To help expats in Kazakhstan, I regularly post on two sites: expat.com (https://www.expat.com/en/blog/asia/kazakhstan/astana/astana-almaty.blogspot.com). I post with a username Hyderabadgermany on expat.com forum, and on Caravanistan Forum. My user Name is IndianGuy there. You can read my posts, experiences there too. https://caravanistan.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=1190

IELTS Academic Speaking Test - Sample Questions and Answers

I have seen that many people face difficulties while answering questions in IELTS Speaking Test in Astana, Kazakhstan. In IELTS, speaking is generally the same for both Academic IELTS and General IELTS takers. So, the nature of questions and the expectations of answers from you is the same irrespective of the fact that you are appearing for General or Academic IELTS.

In Astana, Kazakhstan, an attempt has been made by the Government to introduce English as the third language after Russian and Kazakh. So, there is a rise of English speakers especially in the big towns such as in Astana and in Almaty, but, still, there is much to be desired.

Many young people who manage to speak English suffer from being unable to maintain fluency, lack of words & vocabulary and above all, lack of practice. Many people who speak English resort to translation of words from Russian language (their first language) and their speech suffers. You can see it on sentence construction, words placement and order, choice of words etc.

In this background, it's always a challenge to Kazakhstani students to get a good band especially in the Speaking section of IELTS. They simply fumble during the test, making all kinds of mistakes. But, that does not mean they don't try, or should not try. I appreciate their efforts and this blogpost is to help them.

In this post, I have taken few sample Speaking Questions from Past Papers of IELTS Test published as Cambridge IELTS 6 with Answers published by University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations. If you search on Google as Cambridge Practice Set 6 Speaking Questions, you should find plenty of them.

So, let us look at Test 1, Speaking Part - I.

1. Do you enjoy Dancing? (Why?/Why not?)

It's an easy question. Anyone can answer it. If you like dancing, you should say, "Yes, I like it" and if you don't, then, No. But, IELTS speaking test is not a test only about saying yes or no. There is where the tricks lie. I mean you are expected to show your speaking ability. This is where I would help you.

So, what should be the ideal good answer? Any answer which uses a lot of English words on the topic of liking or disliking dancing. That's it.

Look at the Sample answer below.

   <<Maybe you should try first, I will come back with an ideal (and one of such examples) answer on this one in my next post>>

Until then, keep on practicing to enhance your ilets speaking practice.

IELTS Academic Writing Task - II - IELTS Essay-Academic Task II-CEFR C1-IELTS Band 7.0

IELTS Academic Writing Task - II

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Some people say children use technology too much these days. Others believe that using technology now will help them in the future. Discuss both these views and give your opinion.

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant example from your knowledge or experience.

You should write at least 250 words.

Many people seem to have a common opinion when it comes to use of technology by young people. There are arguments in support of it and against it as there are equally overwhelming number of people on either side of the argument. In my opinion, children should be allowed to make use of technology on daily life as it helps them to be creative in a long run.

First of all, many parents are worried that children are not focusing on their study but are busy in browsing internet or in games on mobiles and tablets. It cannot be denied that excessive use of technology can affect their studies. For example, a child who plays a lot on his mobile or on tablet is likely to miss deadline for his homework and assignments. If such situations continue, it is a matter to worry as it can have negative consequences.

On the other hand, there are many guardians who give their children the liberty to make use of modern technology. Such parents encourage children to utilize technology not only for play and fun but also in studies. Sometimes, parents take their time out and assist their sons and daughters to find out new educational programs and websites. Such parents hold the view that the technology is very important to succeed in the future and their children need to have necessary skill and experience for their prosperous future. My parents, for example, always allow and encourage my brother to search for new mobile applications, which help him to write better English composition.

To sum up, though there are parents with different approach to technological advances, it is my view that technology is going to be an integral part of our life and of future generation. Therefore, it is recommended that parents guide their children to make effective use of modern technologies in their daily activities.

IELTS Academic Writing Task - II - IELTS Essay Band 6.5-CEFR Level B2

IELTS Academic Writing Task - II

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Crime rates tend to be higher in cities than in smaller towns. Explain some possible reasons for this problem and suggest some solutions.

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant example from your knowledge or experience.

You should write at least 250 words.

Sample Answer

Our cities are overcrowded with people from different backgrounds and provide an opportunity for people with all intentions. One of the impacts of high population in cities can be seen in the rates of crimes. In my view, we can safely state that the high costs of living and the lack of proper law and order in the cities are the main causes of crimes in the big towns.

First of all, villages are small and very few people live there these days. The daily requirement of material things in the countryside is also very low. The costs of living such as rent, costs of transportation are much less in village than in cities. I think this explains why fewer crimes are committed in the villages.

On the other hand, people settle down in cities with a lot of hopes and ambitions. They have to struggle daily to meet the basic needs of their families. This means that there will be high financial burden on the people. To meet such challenges, people resort to financial crimes, for instance, corruption, bribery, theft, and robbery in villages. To solve such problems, government needs to enhance the police administration, install cameras on the streets and with the offices. Such measures are likely to help to reduce these crimes to certain extent.

Another reason of people mainly youth committing crime is lack of moral principle due to the reason that they are far from their parents and families. Many youths come to city and live alone. They are likely to meet some anti-social elements such as drug dealers, and smugglers. Young minds are likely to be attracted to such crimes to quickly be rich and powerful. This problem can be solved by constant moral counseling.

To sum up, the pressure of cost of living, and tendency to be affluent in short time induces people to commit crimes in cities and the solutions to tackle them could be the strengthening of law and order situation.

IELTS Essays-B2 CEFR Level- Essays for band 6.5

Should computers and tablets completely replace books in schools and universities?

Write an essay giving your opinion.
Computers, tablets and other modern advanced devices can be used in addition to textbooks in schools and universities as I do not believe that these modern tools can completely replace the traditional means of teaching.

First of all, tablets and computers may be ubiquitous but still are very expensive. Not all the students can afford it especially if they are from poor families. On the other hand, printed copy of text books, and references materials are much cheaper in comparison to computers and accessories.

Another drawback of having gadgets is that students may not be able to focus on a single task. There might be a temptation to play games online, or to watch videos instead of doing homework or revising lessons. Frequent shifting of tasks does not help in learning.

To conclude, the purpose of learning is not met unless the students have a good internet connection to make effective use of these gadgets. Unfortunately, high speed internet is beyond reach of many families in remote villages and in developing countries. Hence, instructions in a classroom should be based on printed books and articles.


How do you feel about birthdays? Do you think they are important? How would you choose to celebrate your birthday if you could do anything you wanted?

Write your autobiographical essay.

Birthdays are important milestone in our life as it reminds us an important day and event. Since a baby is born after a painful labor and a lot of care and love of a mother goes into it, I feel it is naturally significant day not only in a person's life whose birthday we celebrate but also in lives of close relatives. The birth of someone in a family is a moment of joy and happiness and it makes it even more significant to celebrate it.

I am no different than many others who would consider birthday as an important event. Since I have been brought in that environment where birthdays are regarded as sacred day, I think I am conditioned to think in this way.

For a minute, I would like to detach myself from the society and would like to give a serious thought on the necessity of celebration of birthday. On one hand, it is a customary practice to mark this day with dinner with close family and relatives. On the other, we sometimes need to question its purpose.

As I am not a natural extrovert, I feel that I would spend this day quietly and away from hustle and bustle of city life if were able to decide myself. Additionally, I would go on a long trip somewhere near to seashore and would love to feel the serene life in order to recharge my batteries. Such moments also provide ample opportunities to re-energize ourselves. I hate spending money on liquor and parties.

****************

Курсы английского в Астане. Подготовка к TOEFL, подготовка к IELTS в Астане
Повысим Ваш уровень английского языка. С нашей подготовкой нет границ в познании галактики. записаться на пробный урок.

IELTS (International English Language Testing System) – это самая востребованная международная система тестирования на знание английского языка. Ежегодно IELTS сдают более 2 миллионов человек.

IELTS открывает перед вами новые возможности. Если вы успешно сдали экзамен, это поможет в учебе или работе за границей или в переезде в другую страну на постоянное место жительства. Более 9 000 организаций в 140 странах мира, включая правительственные учреждения, учебные заведения и агентства по трудоустройству, признают результаты IELTS.

Фактически, IELTS – единственный тест по английскому языку, который требуется сдать для иммиграции в страны, где требуется подтверждение знания английского языка.

Вам необходимо подтвердить уровень знания английского языка для подачи заявления в Иммиграционную и визовую службу Великобритании (UKVI)? IELTS входит в список тестов на знание английского языка (Secure English Language Tests; SELT), утвержденных UKVI.

IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 - Sample Question and Answer

IELTS Academic Writing Task 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The chart below shows the number of men and women in further education in Britain in three periods and whether they were studying full-time or part-time.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

Sample Answer:

The bar charts provide the information about number of men and women in tertiary education in Britain in three different periods from 1970/71 to 1990/91 and also show the data pertaining to full time and part time enrolment for further study. Overall, it can be observed that the number of men and women opting for full time study gradually increased in the given period whereas the choice of women in part time education was seen gradually increasing in contrast to the choice of men which did not follow any particular discernible pattern.

During the period 1970/71, men outnumbered women in part-time education (1,000,000 men versus about 700,000 women). By the time of 1990/91, this trend was reversed. In 1990/91, the number of women participating in part-time study was significantly higher than men (1,100,000 women versus 900,000 men). The selection of part-time education by women went up steadily in all the periods, i.e. in 1970/71, in 1980/81, and in 1990/91 (700,000, more than 850,000, and 1,100,000 consecutively).

With respect to full-time education among males, marginal increment in numbers could be seen after each decade. In case of female students, the rate of rise in number of full-time students was much more striking in 1980/81, and 1990/91 in comparison to 1970/71.

Comment by IELTS Teacher: The above essay will get 7 in IELTS Exam.

The comment below is from eRater/eGrader of Testbig.com

Grammar and spelling errors:

Line 1, column 191, Rule ID: EN_COMPOUNDS
Message: This word is normally spelled as one.
Suggestion: fulltime
...91 and also show the data pertaining to full time and part time enrolment for further stu...
^^^^^^^^^
Line 1, column 205, Rule ID: EN_COMPOUNDS
Message: This word is normally spelled with hyphen.
Suggestion: part-time
...ow the data pertaining to full time and part time enrolment for further study. Overall, i...
^^^^^^^^^
Line 1, column 316, Rule ID: EN_COMPOUNDS
Message: This word is normally spelled as one.
Suggestion: fulltime
... the number of men and women opting for full time study gradually increased in the given ...
^^^^^^^^^
Line 1, column 403, Rule ID: EN_COMPOUNDS
Message: This word is normally spelled with hyphen.
Suggestion: part-time
...n period whereas the choice of women in part time education was seen gradually increasing...
^^^^^^^^^
Line 4, column 262, Rule ID: WHITESPACE_RULE
Message: Possible typo: you repeated a whitespace
Suggestion:
..., and 1990/91 in comparison to 1970/71.
^^^^

Transition Words or Phrases used:
also, if, so, whereas, in contrast, in contrast to, with respect to

Attributes: Values AverageValues Percentages(Values/AverageValues)% => Comments

Performance on Part of Speech:
To be verbs : 6.0 7.0 86% => OK
Auxiliary verbs: 2.0 1.00243902439 200% => OK
Conjunction : 7.0 6.8 103% => OK
Relative clauses : 2.0 3.15609756098 63% => OK
Pronoun: 3.0 5.60731707317 54% => OK
Preposition: 43.0 33.7804878049 127% => OK
Nominalization: 9.0 3.97073170732 227% => Less nominalizations (nouns with a suffix like: tion ment ence ance) wanted.

Performance on vocabulary words:
No of characters: 1085.0 965.302439024 112% => OK
No of words: 209.0 196.424390244 106% => OK
Chars per words: 5.19138755981 4.92477711251 105% => OK
Fourth root words length: 3.80221413058 3.73543355544 102% => OK
Word Length SD: 2.71721472796 2.65546596893 102% => OK
Unique words: 113.0 106.607317073 106% => OK
Unique words percentage: 0.540669856459 0.547539520022 99% => OK
syllable_count: 302.4 283.868780488 107% => OK
avg_syllables_per_word: 1.4 1.45097560976 96% => OK

A sentence (or a clause, phrase) starts by:
Pronoun: 2.0 1.53170731707 131% => OK
Interrogative: 0.0 0.114634146341 0% => OK
Article: 4.0 4.33902439024 92% => OK
Subordination: 0.0 1.07073170732 0% => More adverbial clause wanted.
Conjunction: 3.0 0.482926829268 621% => Less conjunction wanted as sentence beginning.
Preposition: 7.0 3.36585365854 208% => Less preposition wanted as sentence beginnings.

Performance on sentences:
How many sentences: 8.0 8.94146341463 89% => OK
Sentence length: 26.0 22.4926829268 116% => OK
Sentence length SD: 74.370272959 43.030603864 173% => OK
Chars per sentence: 135.625 112.824112599 120% => OK
Words per sentence: 26.125 22.9334400587 114% => OK
Discourse Markers: 8.375 5.23603664747 160% => OK
Paragraphs: 3.0 3.83414634146 78% => More paragraphs wanted.
Language errors: 5.0 1.69756097561 295% => Less language errors wanted.
Sentences with positive sentiment : 5.0 3.70975609756 135% => OK
Sentences with negative sentiment : 0.0 1.13902439024 0% => More negative sentences wanted.
Sentences with neutral sentiment: 3.0 4.09268292683 73% => OK
What are sentences with positive/Negative/neutral sentiment?

Coherence and Cohesion:
Essay topic to essay body coherence: 0.323223211291 0.215688989381 150% => OK
Sentence topic coherence: 0.165704791841 0.103423049105 160% => OK
Sentence topic coherence SD: 0.0821434524584 0.0843802449381 97% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence: 0.226778267028 0.15604864568 145% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence SD: 0.0902626395604 0.0819641961636 110% => OK

Essay readability:
automated_readability_index: 16.1 13.2329268293 122% => OK
flesch_reading_ease: 62.01 61.2550243902 101% => OK
smog_index: 8.8 6.51609756098 135% => OK
flesch_kincaid_grade: 11.1 10.3012195122 108% => OK
coleman_liau_index: 13.12 11.4140731707 115% => OK
dale_chall_readability_score: 8.48 8.06136585366 105% => OK
difficult_words: 47.0 40.7170731707 115% => OK
linsear_write_formula: 19.0 11.4329268293 166% => OK
gunning_fog: 12.4 10.9970731707 113% => OK
text_standard: 9.0 11.0658536585 81% => OK
What are above readability scores?

---------------------

Rates: 78.6516853933 out of 100
Scores by essay e-grader: 7.0 Out of 9
---------------------
Note: the e-grader does NOT examine the meaning of words and ideas. VIP users will receive further evaluations by advanced module of e-grader and human graders.

IELTS General Writing Task - 1: Sample Writing and Comments from Examiner

WRITING TASK 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

You are applying for a job and need a letter of reference from someone who knew you when you were at school. Write a letter to one of your old teachers asking for a reference. In your letter:

-say what job you have applied for
-explain why you want this job
-suggest what information the teacher should include

Write at least 150 words.

**************

Dear Peter,

I hope this letter finds you well.

I am applying for a new job and would like to ask you to provide a reference letter to support my application. This is a project manager role which will focus on improving the interface between HR business partners and HR service desks. The project manager will lead the group of subject matter experts from different areas of HR. This will be a short term international assignment in London.
I am excited about this role as it affords a wonderful opportunity to put research findings on change management in practice. This project will set a base for future changes in the way HR function operates in the company. I think I will get a valuable experience from this opportunity.
It would be great if you could mention the research projects I have done and the experience I have had in change management and in HR operating models in the reference letter.

I appreciate your support.

Regards, 
Aida

**************

Examiner's Comments/My Comments/Rajib's Comments:

The letter is simple and well written. It has enough words (more than 150 words as required) and gives answers to all the questions asked. It is a writing sample for band of 7-7.5

Suggestion for improvements: Need to use more complex words and wide range of grammar should be used for better score.

This essay (Writing sample) was submitted to eRater site (testbig.com) and it suggested that the essay may get almost 8 in IELTS. Your IELTS teacher does not believe this but we are sharing the comments/feedback received from testbig.com as it will give you an idea on how this writing sample can be improved. Please have a look below and ask us if you have any questions. 

Transition Words or Phrases used:
if, well, i think
Attributes: Values AverageValues Percentages(Values/AverageValues)% => Comments
Performance on Part of Speech:
To be verbs : 3.0 7.48453608247 40% => More to be verbs wanted.
Auxiliary verbs: 8.0 4.92783505155 162% => OK
Conjunction : 4.0 5.05154639175 79% => OK
Relative clauses : 1.0 3.03092783505 33% => OK
Pronoun: 21.0 32.9175257732 64% => OK
Preposition: 20.0 26.3917525773 76% => OK
Nominalization: 10.0 3.85567010309 259% => Less nominalizations (nouns with a suffix like: tion ment ence ance) wanted.
Performance on vocabulary words:
No of characters: 801.0 937.175257732 85% => OK
No of words: 166.0 206.0 81% => More content wanted.
Chars per words: 4.82530120482 4.54256449028 106% => OK
Fourth root words length: 3.58944267634 3.78020617076 95% => OK
Word Length SD: 2.78126077987 2.54303337028 109% => OK
Unique words: 101.0 127.690721649 79% => More unique words wanted.
Unique words percentage: 0.60843373494 0.622605031667 98% => OK
syllable_count: 246.6 290.88556701 85% => OK
avg_syllables_per_word: 1.5 1.41237113402 106% => OK
A sentence (or a clause, phrase) starts by:
Pronoun: 9.0 9.13402061856 99% => OK
Interrogative: 0.0 0.360824742268 0% => OK
Article: 1.0 0.824742268041 121% => OK
Subordination: 0.0 1.83505154639 0% => More adverbial clause wanted.
Conjunction: 0.0 0.463917525773 0% => OK
Preposition: 0.0 1.44329896907 0% => More preposition wanted as sentence beginning.
Performance on sentences:
How many sentences: 10.0 12.6804123711 79% => Need more sentences. Double check the format of sentences, make sure there is a space between two sentences, or have enough periods. And also check the lengths of sentences, maybe they are too long.
Sentence length: 16.0 16.3608247423 98% => OK
Sentence length SD: 45.8356748713 44.8134815571 102% => OK
Chars per sentence: 80.1 76.5299724578 105% => OK
Words per sentence: 16.6 16.8248392259 99% => OK
Discourse Markers: 1.7 4.34317383033 39% => More transition words/phrases wanted.
Paragraphs: 5.0 4.29896907216 116% => OK
Language errors: 0.0 2.54639175258 0% => OK
Sentences with positive sentiment : 8.0 7.41237113402 108% => OK
Sentences with negative sentiment : 0.0 1.49484536082 0% => More negative sentences wanted.
Sentences with neutral sentiment: 3.0 3.94845360825 76% => OK
What are sentences with positive/Negative/neutral sentiment?
Coherence and Cohesion:
Essay topic to essay body coherence: 0.199950679304 0.216113520407 93% => OK
Sentence topic coherence: 0.0790339044926 0.0766984524023 103% => OK
Sentence topic coherence SD: 0.0799032048056 0.0603063233224 132% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence: 0.131468715158 0.12726935374 103% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence SD: 0.058680264071 0.0580467560999 101% => OK
Essay readability:
automated_readability_index: 9.6 8.37731958763 115% => OK
flesch_reading_ease: 63.7 70.7449484536 90% => OK
smog_index: 3.1 3.82989690722 81% => OK
flesch_kincaid_grade: 8.4 7.45979381443 113% => OK
coleman_liau_index: 10.44 8.71597938144 120% => OK
dale_chall_readability_score: 8.14 7.59969072165 107% => OK
difficult_words: 39.0 41.2886597938 94% => OK
linsear_write_formula: 8.0 8.62886597938 93% => OK
gunning_fog: 8.4 8.54432989691 98% => OK
text_standard: 8.0 8.15463917526 98% => OK
What are above readability scores?
---------------------
Rates: 87.0786516854 out of 100
Scores by essay e-grader: 7.75 Out of 9
---------------------
Note: the e-grader does NOT examine the meaning of words and ideas. VIP users will receive further evaluations by advanced module of e-grader and human graders.

Important language points in IELTS Exam, in IELTS Test

There was a question at FUTURELEARN Forum, and the question was:

What have you identified as the most important language points you need to work on to help improve your IELTS score?

First of all, FutureLearn is a Forum which conducts/organises many free courses in English Language. I was attending a course on IELTS. For example, the course on IELTS which I am attending at the moment is: INSIDE IELTS CAMBRIDGE ENGLISH LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT. You can get the more ideas about IELTS and this free course by visiting this link:

https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/cambridge-english-ielts/2/study-group

Now, let us talk about IELTS. IELTS is one of the toughest exams if you have not studied in English medium, or if you have not studied enough English. I have seen that many people in Kazakhstan and especially in Astana - the new capital of Kazakhstan - dream of "passing" IELTS though there is no such concepts as pass or fail in IELTS. What they mean is that they want to receive a good score in IELTS so that they can prove their English language skills, or apply to foreign Universities.

I am always ready to help you in case you need any help from me to crack IELTS examinations in Kazakhstan. I will be able to help you in reading, writing, listening and speaking part of IELTS. You can contact me through this blog to realise your dreams of getting good IELTS score. If you are based in Astana, Kazakhstan, we can meet face to face and talk about IELTS in Kazakhstan, and if you are located in other cities, you can learn via SKYPE.

******

What have you identified as the most important language points you need to work on to help improve your IELTS score?

I think it is difficult to pinpoint to only one language skill to get good scores in IELTS. Vocabulary is very important in reading, writing and speaking. If you know a lot of multi-syllable words, good collocations and compound words, you can read the text easily, quickly and can understand it without much efforts. It will enhance your confidence and helps to save a lot of time.

In writing and speaking, vocabulary plays a good role but I think examiners are not only looking for your word lists. You need to be able to exhibit multiple skills when it comes to writing and speaking exams. In writing, a good grammar is very important and use of complex grammar without mistakes is highly desirable. Similarly, coherence in expression of ideas, use of suitable collocation is extremely important.

When it comes to speaking, you need to speak like a native speaker. That means we need to use correct grammar, varieties of colloquial expressions, diverse words but not necessarily complex ones.

Now, in listening, ability to understand different accents and dialects of English is important and it comes only through practice. So, the students start from reading different texts on variety of topics. 

Writing and Reading in IELTS-Is 60 minutes enough?

There was a question at FUTURELEARN Forum, and the question was:

Some people struggle to finish the reading and writing tests in the time limit. How does the time limit affect the way that you read and write? What can you do to improve this?

First of all, FutureLearn is a Forum which conducts/organises many free courses in English Language. I was attending a course on IELTS. For example, the course on IELTS which I am attending at the moment is: INSIDE IELTS CAMBRIDGE ENGLISH LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT. You can get the more ideas about IELTS and this free course by visiting this link: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/cambridge-english-ielts/2/study-group

Now, let us talk about IELTS. IELTS is one of the toughest exams if you have not studied in English medium, or if you have not studied enough English. I have seen that many people in Kazakhstan dream of "passing" IELTS though there is no such concepts as pass or fail in IELTS. What they mean is that they want to receive a good score in IELTS so that they can prove their English language skills, or apply to foreign Universities.

I am always ready to help you in case you need any help from me to crack IELTS examinations. I will be able to help you in reading, writing, listening and speaking part of IELTS. You can contact me through this blog to realise your dreams of getting good IELTS score.

******

Please look below my advice on how you can manage your time in IELTS examination.

Some people struggle to finish the reading and writing tests in the time limit. How does the time limit affect the way that you read and write? What can you do to improve this?



First of all, if you want to get a good score in IELTS reading, you should have a good reading skills. That means you have to be able to read any text on any topics quickly, you have to have the ability to understand any sentence with ease. Having a good knowledge of vocabulary is definitely an asset.

In reading, different tricks, tactics and strategies work for different people. IELTS teachers have their own views on how to master the reading part of the IELTS. Some will say that you have to read the question first, some will say that you have to read the topic sentence or find the keyword. For me, these tricks do not work. I need to read the text completely and try to understand everything quickly. If I have a difficulty over a word or phrase (s), I will highlight that part and come back to it again later. As I consider myself good reader with decent knowledge of vocabulary, I am not afraid of reading text.

I advise students to read modern literature from day to day print. Reading The Economist, The Guardian and The New York Times help you a lot. The start will not be easy but you need to make an attempt everyday, learn new words, new complex sentence structures and you will find the rhythm.
In writing, 60 minutes is a lot of time. I had sufficient time to do both the Academic writing tasks. I had the difficulty to keep the essays within the word limit.

I always tend to write a lot and I think I got penalised there. Of course, my score was low not because IELTS examiners penalise you because of long essay but long essays tend to have more mistakes, obscure ideas, conflicting or repetitive views. If you have practiced writing few times at home before exam, you should not be scared of time issue. It is better to focus on meaningful ideas and their presentation. I hope my comments help you.

IELTS Academic Test - Questions from the past - conducted by InterPress, Astana

My another student Assem appeared for Academic IELTS yesterday (on 27.08.2016). She had registered for IELTS via InterPress, Astana, Kazakhstan and it was conducted in Miras International School in Astana. Her Speaking Test was conducted few days ago. When I asked her if the examiner in Speaking test was a native english speaker. Her answer was very interesting. She said, "No, there was a Russian woman with blond hair." Well, that is not important.

We generally talked about her test and she could remember only the few questions from reading paragraphs.

The questions were:

1. The first passage about "Movement of Honey bees, and their effect on pollination"
2.  Corporates and their marketing strategies and consumer behaviour
3. She could not remember the third question/reading passage. :)

Let me know your exam experiences and the questions if you remember.

Regards,
-Your Astana English Teacher: Raj

IELTS Academic Test - Questions from the past - conducted by British Council in Astana, Kazakhstan

These are the questions sent by my student-Nargis. She appeared for Academic IELTS Test conducted in Astana, Kazakhstan. Her IELTS Academic Test in Astana, Kazakhstan was conducted sometimes ago- most probably a month ago but due to lack of time, I could not update my post earlier. Here are the questions for Speaking from The IELTS Academic Test.

Part I

1. Do you work or study? Where do you work? What work do you do?
2. Why do you like your work?
3. Do you like advertisements on TV?
4. Is there any type of advertisement that you especially like? or that attracts you, or influence you to buy something?
5. Do you like Sunny weather? and why?
6. Where can we see advertisements?
7. Do we really need advertisements?
8. Why do people put/publish advertisements on Internet?

Part II

(To be prepared in a minute and to be spoken for 1-2 minutes)

1. Tell us a situation when you felt angry.
- When you felt it.
-What kind of situation that made you feel angry.
- Overall, how you felt and why you felt so.

The image of the Questions can be seen here:

IELTS Academic Test - Questions from the past - conducted by British Council in Astana, Kazakhstan

These are the questions sent by my student-Nargis. She appeared for Academic IELTS Test conducted in Astana, Kazakhstan. Her IELTS Academic Test in Astana, Kazakhstan was conducted sometimes ago- most probably a month ago but due to lack of time, I could not update my post earlier. Here are the questions for Speaking from The IELTS Academic Test.

Part I

1. Do you work or study? Where do you work? What work do you do?
2. Why do you like your work?
3. Do you like advertisements on TV?
4. Is there any type of advertisement that you especially like? or that attracts you, or influence you to buy something?
5. Do you like Sunny weather? and why?
6. Where can we see advertisements?
7. Do we really need advertisements?
8. Why do people put/publish advertisements on Internet?

Part II

(To be prepared in a minute and to be spoken for 1-2 minutes)

1. Tell us a situation when you felt angry.
- When you felt it.
-What kind of situation that made you feel angry.
- Overall, how you felt and why you felt so.

The image of the Questions can be seen here:

How to get 7 in IELTS Examinations - Some tips from Astana

I have written a facebook post and you can access it from here: https://www.facebook.com/astanaenglish?hc_ref=NEWSFEED&fref=nf

For those who are preparing for IELTS exam in Astana, Kazakhstan.

I often get questions from students in Astana if I have proven and tested tricks and tips to get IELTS score anything more than 7. Quite Often, they are happy to know that I have multiple tricks and tips but the most important one is "the hard work". Not many appreciate my answer but I repeat many times that there is no shortcut to success.

My only advice to everyone (who has a dream to have a wonderful english language skill) is they should constantly read, read and read and practice, practice and practice. 3-4 hours classes alone will not take you that far when your foundation of english is not that great.

1. Please read the modern english literature (books and magazines) and not the books from 19th Century with "Shakespearean" English.

2. While preparing for IELTS, please focus on your general english as well. Many students struggle even to produce simple sentences with proper "Subject verb agreement" and the correct use of passive sentences is a rare phenomenon. Therefore, while reading texts, read slowly and understand how the writers have formed the sentences.

3. Don't be obsessed with "difficult" words from early stage of your learning. Let the progression be natural. If you are trying to use not so ordinary words, understand their collocation. Don't just throw off words randomly.

4. Avoid talking nonsense. I often hear the sentences: "Yesterday, I went somewhere to do something." "Before coming to class, I had to do something, or I had some deal to do."

5. Please give up the habits of using Ving/Continuous tense.

6. The final tip for the day, Listen (No need to watch) to natural native accent on youtube. If you have difficulty to catch properly pronounced words, start from elementary podcasts/dialogues/lectures.

Academic IELTS Writing Task -1/Writing Task -1 Academic IELTS

IELTS Academic Task -1/ Writing Task -1 Academic IELTS

1.      You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The figure gives information about smoking habits of the UK population by age.

Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

The bar chart compares the data about the patterns of smoking habits of the UK residents and the comparisons have been done by age group. Overall, the majority of people who have never smoked belong to the age group of 16-24 and the least number of people from the age group of 65-74 are people those have never smoked.

As can be seen from the pie chart, almost two-thirds of young people below 24 years of age have never smoked in their life. However, as people grow, the numbers of people who have never smoked start getting reduced. Therefore, in the age category of 65-74 years, the number of people who have never smoked is the least.

Another glaring feature the pie chart presents is that there are more numbers of people who start quitting smoking as they grow older especially after they attain the age group of 45-54. Therefore, the ex-smokers, the people who have stopped smoking, keep on rising significantly in each age group after they are older than 54. For example, when people are in the age bracket of 45-54, there are only 10% ex-smokers. The figures get more than doubled (almost 25%) when people are within the age group of 55-64. This trend continues and the maximum number of people who have given up smoking are older than 65. In this group of 65-74, almost 40% people can be seen as those who used to smoke earlier but do not smoke any more.

The number of heavy smoker has risen in each age category and has reached the high of almost 15% when people are in the age bracket of 45-54 but thereafter, it has fallen gradually. The similar trend can be observed even in case of light smokers after they reach the age of 45 and thereafter. (Total 302 Words)

(My Note: In actual IELTS exam, you cannot write answer with 302 words because you do not have time to write this long and there is no point to write a long answer. Try to make your answer within the word limits i.e. little more than 150 words. The above Task has been rated as answer falling around the IELTS band of 7.0)

IELTS Writing Task -2: Academic IELTS Essay Writing Task 2

IELTS Writing Task 2/ IELTS Essay:

1.      You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Too much emphasis is placed on testing these days. The need to prepare for tests and examinations is a restriction on teachers and also exerts unnecessary pressure on young learners. 

To what extend do you agree or disagree?

Give reasons for your answer and include relevant example from your own knowledge or experience.

It is no doubt that students need to be tested before awarding any degree or certificate. Every institution must conduct its own examination to assess students so that they can declare if the students have sufficiently gained required knowledge on the given subject. Therefore, in my view exams are as important as other segments of education and I disagree with such views which may think tests and examinations are unnecessary.

First of all, examinations provide an opportunity for students to display their ability. They can provide the proof of successful completion of their education in the future when they enter the job market by submitting the grades and marks received by them. In the absence of exams, neither the students get motivated to excel academically nor can prove in the future the amount of knowledge he has acquired.

Secondly, it is difficult to imagine any alternative mechanism by which progress of a student can be measured. If we do not have any benchmark, for example, grades, then, it will be extremely problematic for a prospective employer to award the job contract to the best and the deserving candidate. For example, if a pharmaceutical company need a graduate with outstanding credentials in the field, it may certainly be very challenging to them to select the best one in absence of grades as grades can be awarded only after formal examinations.

Therefore, in my conclusion, I would like to summarise my argument that exams and tests are indispensable in the sphere of education. This is why every student should be encouraged to take academic tests seriously in his life. It is beyond our imagination to have any alternative to formal testing. (Total 279 Words)

(My Note: The above Task has been rated as answer falling around the IELTS band of 6.0)