Full Time IELTS is essential for moving to a foreign country for higher studies or work. Candidates need to score a high band score in IELTS to qualify for admission to universities and work abroad. A score above band 7 is considered good for IELTS that is not easy to achieve if your mother tongue is not English. Before you appear in another test, here are some useful tips that you should follow to improve your score in IELTS.
If you have any queries regarding abroad study, CEA Study Abroad Program, is an excellent resource for consultation.
Focus on your weak areas
Taking the test, again and again, does not work unless you improve your weak areas in IELTS. Focus on your weakest skill according to the four sections of the test. Once you identify your weakest skill think about how to improve it and the areas within that skill. Consider your current score that if you have already scored 6.5, you need to improve only a few areas to score band 7 or above.
For example, if you’re spoken English is weak; you should talk in your daily conversations in English and improve your vocabulary. Moreover, listening to radio, TV shows in English will help you to speak the words correctly. While taking the speaking test, you should try to speak in a normal way as if you are talking to a person in your day to day life.
Study the assessment criteria
You should study the assessment criteria, especially for speaking and writing sections. The examiner grades as per the assessment criteria. Read the requirements carefully to understand which skills you need to improve the most. For example, in the speaking test, if you want to score a band 7, you need to speak continuously and comfortably. It is good to use a variety of words to express your ideas and speak in complete sentences without mistakes. Study the assessment criteria for all the four sections in detail to have an idea of how much you need to improve in specific areas.
Don’t waste time on the reading test
Candidates usually spend time in the finding the answers in the reading section. When you don’t understand a question or you cannot find its answer, you should move to the next question without wasting time. You are given only 60 minutes to complete the reading test. Wasting a little time on a single question will leave you with less time for other questions.
It is better to read the questions first before reading the passage. The best way to attempt the reading section is to underline the keywords in the questions and look for the similar keywords and their synonyms in the passage while answering them.
Grammar
Grammar is important in the speaking and writing sections. Moreover, the punctuation is also important in the writing section. Improve your punctuation and learn the rules of grammar to get a better score in the writing section. Although grammar is not asked directly in any section, correct use of grammar is essential to write the accurate answers. Learn the proper use of tenses, active voice, passive voice, adverbs, conjunctions and prepositions to write and speak the correct sentences in writing and speaking sections.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary plays a vital role in the reading and listening test, which means your ability to recognize and understand the words correctly. More the meanings of words you know, the more you will be better at finding the answers in the reading section. In the reading section, a strong vocabulary helps you to find the similar keywords and synonyms of the words given in the questions. Moreover, in the listening test, vocabulary is required to understand the meanings of words in sentences. If your vocabulary is strong, you will be better able to answer the questions in the listening section.
Consider taking an IELTS preparation course
You should not spend your money on taking another IELTS test without improving your skills. Instead, join a training institute for IELTS preparation. Spare some time to attend IELTS classes to get clear about and improve your weak areas. You can get expert guidance from the teachers and improve your skills in reading, writing, speaking and listening. IELTS classes also take practice tests to help you practice your skills in all four areas. Also, you can clear your doubts by asking questions, which is not possible in case of self-preparation.
Final Words
Finding your weak areas will help you to focus more on those areas and improve them to score better in the IELTS test. As IELTS is a test of English language which cannot be learned overnight, it needs practice. Follow the above-given tips and practice the skills as much as you can. You need to practice a lot to prepare for the test. Even the native English speakers need to prepare and develop the right skills required for IELTS.
