My IELTS Experience

[sahilchaudhary]

Hi,

I appeared for my IELTS exam on 8th June, 2013. After preparing for about 45 days, I finally decided to take the test. I used IELTS 5,6,7 & 8 books to prepare for the exam, These official books are the best source of information.

Listening - Practice as much as you can. Whenever you get any questions wrong go back and listen that part again. This helps you to avoid mistakes in future. On the exam, I lost concentration in the middle of section 2, which would have got me a few questions wrong.

Reading - Again practice is the key to success. Don't analyse too much as on the GMAT. Just focus on what is given in the passage. Infer very little.

Writing - This was my weak part. I did a lot of writing practice, which helped me get a decent score, but not a 7 as I was expecting. To improve on this section, practice is a must. Apart from that, the most important thing is to understand the marking scheme of the IELTS examiners by looking at the sample answers and the examiner's comment for that essay. You can also try to rate your essay based on the sample essays given in the passage.

Speaking - Please do not ignore this section as many people do. The best way to practice this section is to switch on the recording button on your phone and record your answer responses to the questions from the IELTS book. I did all the speaking tests from IELTS 7 & 8. After recording your responses, listen to the recording. Check for the timing. Avoid grammatical mistakes and avoid stammering if possible.

The bands are alloted out of 9. My target score was at least a 7 band in each part, with an overall 7 band.

My scores are:

Listening - 8.5
Reading - 7.5
Writing - 6.5
Speaking - 7

Overall - 7.5

When I saw my result, 7.5 overall, I was very excited. Although listening and reading bands were a bit beyond my expectation, writing band disappointed me as I was expecting a 7 or 7.5 after practising so much in this section. But, I decided not to retake the test as this score would be sufficient for me to get admission in the college of my choice.


Feel free to comment if you have any questions.