Hello! My name is Shannon Marshall, and I’ve been an IELTS Teacher for the past eight years.
I’ve helped my students get high scores in the IELTS exams so that they could study and become permanent residents in Canada. High scores in the IELTS exam is crucial for immigrants who are looking to move, live and work in Canada.
This article is for those of you preparing for the IELTS Exam and are looking to get high scores. I’ll explain each of the four sections – Speaking, Writing, Reading, and Listening.
I’ll share with you the primary goal, format, and study plan for each of these sections so that you can do well on test day and get high scores on the IELTS exam.
The Speaking Section
Main goal:
The Speaking section is conversational and informal. Aim to sound as close to a native speaker. We have many students who try to say really sophisticated and academic, but this hurts their scores. Pretend you’re telling interesting stories to a neighbour or a friend – that’s the right tone.
The format:
There are 3 Speaking Parts:
Part 1 – For this part, the examiner will ask you questions about your life and personal preferences. It’s best to respond with simple, 1-2 sentence answers.
Part 2 – During Part 2, you will need to describe a topic for 2 minutes. This means you should time yourself often; at home, practice speaking for 2 minutes straight about several different subjects!
Part 3 – For this part, you’ll need to answer a few questions about a topic, like an environment, travel, or education. You’ll get the best scores if you respond with 3-4 sentences for each question.
Study plan:
Practice answering a few speaking questions aloud every day, even if it’s just a few Part 1 questions. Practicing will help your fluency! If possible, have a native speaker administer the test to you and correct your mistakes. Ask a native speaker if there are any ways to make your speaking sound more natural.
Take a practice Speaking test here. Mastering the practice test will help you get high scores in the IELTS exam.
The Writing Section
Main goal:
Make sure your writing is simple and easy to read. Again, many students try to impress the examiner with “fancy” words, but this makes their essays confusing and cumbersome. Focus on communicating your ideas clearly in English. Please keep it simple.
The format:
There are two writing tasks to complete in 1 hour. You will spend 20 minutes on Task 1 and 40 minutes on Task 2.
Task 1 – 150+ words
General Training test:
You’ll write a letter to a friend, neighbour, hotel manager, etc.
Academic test: You’ll analyze and describe a graph, chart, diagram, table, or map.
Task 2 – 250+ words
For this task, you’ll write a semi-formal essay, with four paragraphs, about a specific topic.
Study plan:
First, look at how IELTS examiners score people’s writing. Using this link, choose either “General Training Writing” or “Academic Writing;” you’ll see sample Band 3, 4, 5, 6.5, 7 and 8 essays with examiners’ comments. These samples and comments will help you better distinguish between a lower-scoring essay and a 7+ one.
It would help if you also read band-9 level sample essays; there are samples on my blog, IELTS Marshalls. Make sure your writing style and sentence structure match these samples.
The students who do the best in the Writing section write 2-3 essays per week leading up to the test. For grammar issues, have a native speaker make corrections to your essay. Rewrite your essays over and over again until they’re error-free.
Take a practice General Training Writing test here.
Take a practice Academic Writing test here. The Writing section is one of the most challenging sections and these tips will help you get high scores in the IELTS exam.
The Reading Section
Main goal:
Get as many questions correct as you can out of 40! To do this, don’t start reading the passage right away. Read Question 1 first, and then you can go find the answer back in the text. Do this for each question.
It’s helpful to know that most answers are in chronological order in the passage (i.e., Answer two is located a couple of sentences after Answer 1, and so on). You can find the answers more easily that way!
Also, don’t skim and scan the text! Read the passage at an average pace. People who “skim and scan,” or read the text too quickly miss the answers and then have to reread everything! This ends up wasting even more time. The key to get high scores in the IELTS exam is to read the text with care.
The format:
There are three reading sections and a total of 40 questions. You have 1 hour to complete the section.
Study plan:
Practice as many reading tests as you can. You will continue to improve the more you practice. It’s not enough to read English articles every day – you need to practice actual exam questions.
Take a practice General Training Reading test here.
Take a practice Academic Reading test here.
The Listening Section
Main goal:
Get as many questions correct as you can out of 40! Underline important words in the questions before the recording starts so you know what words to listen for. The art of listening is a skill and mastering it will go along way to help you get high scores in the IELTS exam.
The format:
There are four recordings and a total of 40 questions. They will only play each audio recording once.
Study plan:
Practice, practice, practice! The people who do the best in the Listening section have done more than ten practice listening tests! Repeat the same listening tests over and over again until you get a 100% on each one! Again, listening to TV or Netflix alone will not get you a high score – you need to practice IELTS Listening questions that mirror the real test.
Take a practice Listening test here.
Those are the four sections of the IELTS Exam! Be sure to follow our study plan so that you can get all 7s and 8s on your exam!
Also, make sure you leave yourself at least a few weeks to study, and you should get the score you need! Good luck with your test.
Comment below: Are you taking your IELTS test sometime soon? When is your test date?
In preparation for your move to Canada check out StartGrowPivot’s most popular blog post “11 common mistakes newcomers to Canada make and how to avoid them.”
Shannon Marshall
Shannon Marshall is an IELTS teacher who helps people become permanent residents in Canada. Go to her website, www.ieltsmarshalls.com, and get three powerful writing strategies, like the specific-name method, that will get you a seven or higher on the IELTS Writing section.