Are you a student, a working class citizen or a busy professional? And you have to take the IELTS to prove your English proficiency to qualify for school, work or immigration? Then you will want to know these 12 secrets of succeeding as an IELTS candidate.Do you already know what the IELS is all about? Sorry, let’s take a little glance at what IELTS is all about, in case of people who don’t know.
Briefly,The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is designed to help you work, study or migrate to a country where English is the native language. This includes countries such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and USA and many others.
Your ability to listen, read, write and speak in English will be assessed during the test.
IELTS has two types: IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training. Both tests assess your English language skills in listening, reading, writing and speaking.IELTS Academic
The IELTS Academic test is suitable for those wanting to study in an English-speaking environment or university (higher education). You can choose whether to take IELTS Academic on paper, on computer or online at home or other suitable location.IELTS General Training
The IELTS General Training test is being taken for work experience or other employment training. The test features everyday English language skills that you will need in social and workplace environments. IELTS General Training is available to take on paper and on computer only.
Now let’s progress…..Many candidates take the exam and end up failing due to different reasons which are mostly petty. Some people underestimate the exam, thinking it’s an easy pass until the result shows up and they realize they don't have what it takes.Even if you speak and write English every day, it doesn’t automatically mean you would pass the IELTS exam if you don’t know the secrets to.
Apparently, I have heard so many reasons why candidates fail the exam. Reasons like, I never had time, I always get back late from work/school, am not always at home, I didn’t have what to prepare with, I thought it was just English, I don’t know that’s how it will be, I prepared and I still failed, I bought dictionary, I bought one textbook like that, I read this and that… and so many more crappy excuses.After so much complaint from different candidates, this is why I have decided to put out a free report about 12 Hidden Secrets to Passing Your IELTS Exam and also a tested formula for crushing your IELTS Exam.
Let’s Dive In.Here are THE 12 HIDDEN SECRETS TO PASSING YOUR IELTS EXAM
1. DO NOT BE TOO QUICK TO CHOOSE AN EXAM DATE
This is a secret many tutor do not know is a barrier when preparing for IELTS exam. During the registration of your exam, you will be asked to pick an exam date for your exam. Most candidates tends to pick the nearest date which doesn’t give them enough time to prepare and end up coming out with a bad result. Do not be scared to pick a far date, as it gives you an avenue to prepare extensively. In fact, I recommend up to 2-3 months from the day of your registration.
2. TAKE THE EXAM SERIOUS
After registration, most candidates never get serious with the exam because they feel it’s just English. Yeah, it’s just English but you need to understand that it’s not just an English test compared to WAEC and JAMB. It is a more benefit-attached English Language test that determines the way forward of the candidate. Failing this exam or not beating your required score might either cause you to retake the exam or even disqualify you for the exam purpose. This is why I study I solely recommend a technique known as GUN TO THE HEAD. This is a technique that elaborates the fact that, you are meant to prepare for the exam like you have a gun pointed to your head and the only thing that can keep you alive is by passing the exam or else you get shot, which puts your life at stake. This pushes you to prepare like your life depends on it, even though it does.
3. UNDERSTAND THE EXAM FORMAT AND TIMING
Most candidates never try to understand the format of the exam nor the timing. This is as a result of not making enough research ahead of the exam. Below is the exam timing format for the IELTS ExamIELTS EXAM FORMAT
There are four distinct parts of the IELTS exam. Three of the sections (Listening, Reading, and Writing) are completed in one sitting. The final section, Speaking, may be completed on the same day or up to seven days before or after the other sections.
All test takers take the same Listening and Speaking tests. The Reading and Writing sections differ depending on whether the test taker is taking the Academic or General IELTS exam.Let's look at the four modules in more detail.Listening
The Listening module has four sections with ten questions in each.
Sections 1 and 2 are typical social situations. Sections 3 and 4 are education and training situations (such as a discussion between two university students).
During this section, test takers listen to a recording and then must answer questions based on what they've heard.Reading
The Reading module has three sections. Test takers will read three texts, which may come from books, journals, magazines, newspapers, or other forms of media. After reading the text, test takers must answer multiple-choice and short answer questions.Writing
The Writing module is comprised of two tasks. For the first task, test takers must write at least 150 words in 20 minutes. For the second task, test takers must write at least 250 words in 40 minutes. The tasks and topics vary depending on whether the test taker is taking the Academic or General Training Exam.Speaking
The Speaking module is a face-to-face interview during which the test taker sits with an examiner and has a conversation. The module has three different sections:Introduction: The test taker answers about his or her home, family, work, studies, hobbies, interests, reasons for taking IELTS exam as well as other general topics.Long Turn: The test taker is given a task card about a particular topic. The test taker has one minute to prepare to talk about the topic, then they must give a two-minute speech about the topic.Discussions: The examiner and test taker engage in a more in-depth discussion about the topics covered during the long turn section.IELTS EXAM TIMING
The IELTS exam is sectioned into 4 main areas with a total test time of 2 hours and 45 minutes.
• Reading (60 Minutes)
• Writing (60 Minutes)
• Listening (30 Minutes)
• Speaking (11-14 minutes)NB: The Listening, Reading and Writing tests are done in one sitting.
Now let’s continue….4. SET ASIDE A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF HOUR FOR PREPARATION
No matter how busy you are, either as a working class citizen, or a student, there is nothing as important as passing your IIELTS. On this note, you should practically set aside a certain amount of hour for practice either daily or weekly. Add it to your schedule, go hard on it, be mean with your practice hours because do not forget, there is a gun being pointed to your head which is about to get shot but can be avoided only if you pass your exam.
5. PREPARE WITH THE RIGHT MATERIAL THAT’S PROVEN TESTED
Most candidates check their results and feel so bad that they don’t want to talk about it. The only thing that comes out of their mouth is “But I prepared”. Yes, you prepared, but was it with the right material? The easiest and fastest way to failure is wrong information. Irregardless of your enormous study hours, hardwork and persistency, if you don’t prepare with the right material that’s not proven tested, you might end up not beating your required score. (RECOMMENDED: THE HIGH SCORE IELTS STUDY PROGRAM)
6. DO NOT OVERFEED YOUR BRAIN
Candidates these days tends to go online and download different study materials they’ve stumbled on which leaves them with voluminous materials they won’t have time to study or probably study but ending up getting their brain overfed. After you’ve gotten a proven tested preparation guide and material, practice it squarely, go hard on it, eat it, swallow it, digest it, sleep and wake up with it and don’t give a listening ear to any other material you stumble upon in order not to get your brain overfed which causes you to have too many information and end up leaving you not to know which one to decide on.
7. DO NOT MEMORIZE
Like what’s there to start to memorize? It’s English Language. It’s all about how you can speak, talk, read and listen effectively with another person. Nothing for you to start memorize. This is why many candidates waste time doing the wrong things they shouldn’t be doing and you would find this right inside the many resources they downloaded and never get to read or study at the end of the day. This is why it is very bad to memorize. What you need is just to know the criteria that help you pass.
8. SET YOUR TARGET SCORE
Most candidates never do this but it is best for you to think of a score you want to work towards, write it down, always allow it to ring in your head. This is a very useful tip that helps you to keep moving forward with your preparation. Practice tightly, keep up the energy and see how you smile at your result.
9. STICK AROUND COMMUNITY WITH THE SAME IDEOLOGY
During the preparation of your exam, keep your energy up with people who are of the same ideology with you. Join an online training session, ask questions, join a Whatsapp/Telegram/Facebook group that is related to IELTS. This helps you to know how far you’ve gone amidst others or how long you still have to work. Be open to new information and also work on them. (Continue reading to see how to get access to an IELTS community)
10. GET ACCESS TO A MENTOR
During the preparation of your exam, your preparation is set to be incomplete if you don’t have access to a mentor. This is to guide you, access your practice result and rightfully show you the way forward. Mentor gives and shows you different examples of your fellow mates who are also preparing for the same exam which gives you insight of what you are doing wrong or right. (Continue reading to know how to get access to a mentor)
11. INCREASE YOUR LEVEL OF CONCENTRATION
I understand that many Nigerians are going through a lot of difficulties and hardship, which is causing most of us to think and over think. Trying to escape from these negativities is one of the natural reasons most people are writing this exam. Most students/candidates tend to open a material to practice, but after some hours of practice, they end up not gaining any added knowledge. Why? This is because, they are looking at the material and the material is looking at them. They tend to be studying physically but mentally, they are lost in thought and have lost concentration, maybe due to a heavy heart or some bad situation. Before you begin to practice, learn to breathe in and out, relax yourself, check around you, and move away anything that might cause you distraction, stay hydrated and concentrate closely. Take a break if the need be, and stay away from frustration. This will help you hasten your learning process and gets you your required results to travel out of the country, achieve your goal and live some better life.
12. PRACTICE REPEATEDLY
This is very important during preparation. Do not finish a material and relax. Practice repeatedly; set a practice period you can meet up with. You can’t be working from 9am – 5pm and set a practice hour of 10am -12pm. In a week, your probability of practicing is 0-5%. This will cause you not to meet up with the time to practice repeatedly.
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