After your test, share your IELTS results and experiences to inspire others π
Post your IELTS test results
- Post your results in the comments box below
- Please add your profession or academic subject
- Add tips and share experiences
- It is always a pleasure for me to see your results π
Notice:
- Not all results will be displayed. I receive hundreds of results, only some will be posted – usually the top ones.
- If you want remarking advice – please read the other comments as I have already replied about this.
- Scores under band 8 might be delete after a few months. This keeps the page loading time down.
- If you results are withheld, click here:Β results are withheld info
Your Own IELTS Tips Page
If youΒ scored band score 8, 8.5 or 9, and you wish to share your tips and experiences with others, email me.: liz@ieltsliz.com. Click here to see an example of a successful candidate’s tips: How I scored….
I hope you did well and are happy with your results π
Liz
If you would like information about the IELTS Test and Results, click here.
If you would like information about the Band Scores, click here.
Hello Liz, Good morning and hope you are doing well. So I gave my Academic and received the below results.
Listening – 8.5 (missed a question due to excitement)
Reading – 7.5 (I am wondering how, i thought I did better)
Writing – 7
Speaking – 7
Overall – 7.5.
I wanted only 6.5 overall, thus didn’t put in much effort to change my score from GT test which I gave 3 weeks ago. Your tips on Writing part 1 are amazing, I would request readers to go through all the topics and all the different types of writing part 1. Academic reading is very tricky, as there would be 2 answers which are similar and you need to mark one only. Academic speaking is more about student stuff. All the future test takers, go through all video’s of IELTSliz and follow her, so that you have clear understanding of what will come in the test and what you have to write.
Great to see your score!! So easy to drop a point or two in the listening test – but 8.5 is still excellent! Glad my website was useful π
Dear Liz,
Thank you so much for the resources on this site! They definitely helped me to score well on my IELTS. Especially on T, F, NG questions, and important tips for listening and reading. My results are just in and I’m so so glad!!!!
I obtained:
Listening- 9.0
Reading- 8.5
Writing- 7.0
Speaking- 8.5
Overall: 8.5
Love,
Joy
Brilliant!! Well done! I hope your name is a sign of good things to come for you π
At the outset, I would like to thank Liz for her outstanding efforts for helping aspirants like us.
This website ticks all the boxes when it comes to quick preparation, in addition I read Barronβs sixth edition for deeper understanding which helped me during my first attempt.
Listening-8.5
Reading-8
Writing-8
Speaking-7.5
There is no substitute to hard work.
And the hand work shows in your results!! Very well done π
I took my first IELTS Academic test on April 9th and got my results today (I took the computer-delivered test):
Listening – 9.0
Reading – 9.0
Writing – 7.0
Speaking – 8.0
Overall: 8.5!!!
I cannot express how much I appreciate your website and what you are doing. I thought I messed up my speaking test (I had long pauses to find ideas) and was quite surprised when I got that band 8! I never got above 8.0 overall during practice tests until I found your amazing blog. My friends are taking the test soon and I will definitely recommend them your website! Thank you so much, Liz!!
Love from Vietnam <3
Wonderful to see your results!! A fantastic overall score and very well done in your listening and reading tests!! Thanks for recommending my site.
Hello Liz, today I got my provisional IELTS GT scores. These are L-9, R-8.5, W-7, S-7 and an overall band 8. I would like to thank you for the study material and quick hacks which are very much needed to get high score. I plan to now give my Academic module in couple of weeks and will update you as well on its results. Thanks again and be safe always.Bye.
Great to see your results for the GT test. Very well done π Wishing you lots of luck with the Academic test π
Thank you lizzy! Started preparing for my general test about 1 month ago. Got my result today!
L- 8
R- 9
S- 7.5
W- 7
Band score – 8.0
I know I could have done better but glad it came out good either ways. Thank you and welldone!
It’s a really great score!! Well done π IELTS is just a stepping stone – so if you got the scores you needed, you hit the jackpot!! π
Hello Liz. I’m a student doing his master’s degree in music, in Turkey. I got my IELTS Academic results, it’s overall 7. I don’t think that would be possible without your great and free website. Thank you for your immense effort !
Great to get an overall 7. Well done π
Omg! Liz!!! I’m ecstatic. My results for IELTS Academic just came in and I’m beyond happy. I was really worried about my reading score because I need a minimum of 7 in each of the 4 parts and I got an overall score of 8.5.
L-9
R-8.5
W-8 (this made me so happy)
S-8.
A friend recommended your site to me and I’m glad it worked out for me. Thank you very much for all you’ve done and keep doing. I wish you divine health.
Great to see your scores!! Very well done, particularly in the writing test π Thanks for recommending my site π
Hi Liz!
Just wanted to say thank you so sooo much. Your site was recommended by a dear friend and proved so worthwhile. These were my results for academic IELTS:
Listening: 8.5
Reading: 7.5
Writing: 8.5
Speaking: 8.5
OVERALL: 8.5
I needed 7 and above in each category and I owe it al to you. Thank you.
An overall 8.5 is fantastic!! Very well done π
Hi Liz,
I hope you’re doing well! I just got my test results and I don’t know how to thank you!! I overall got a Band 8 and I’m over the moon! Your page is really helpful and I don’t know what I’d have done without it… Keep up the good work and again thank you for everything.
Band 8 is a great score. Very well done π Not surprising you are over the moon with your result π
Dear Liz,
I hope you and your family are well. π
I am writing to express my appreciation for all your work you share on your website. I have never expected to come across such a wonderful webpage with those extremely useful materials as yours! Thank you, Liz!
I only had two weeks to get prepared for taking my IELTS (AC) and learning from your lessons helped me gain overall band score 7.5 (listening 8.5, reading 8, speaking 7, writing 6.5).
Thank you so much! God bless you π
Best wishes,
Kata from Hungary
Well done, Kata!! Great to see your results π
Hello Liz,
I am changing careers, I have a PhD in Mechanical Engineering, but I have been a stay-home mom for the past 14 years. Now I am planning to enroll in a CELTA course. I took Academic Computer-Delivered IELTS in February 2022 and got
L: 9
R: 8.5
W: 7
S: 9
overall: 8.5
I messed up my writing, I assumed no shortcuts would work except for CTRL-C and CTRL-V, so when I accidentally deleted a paragraph, I typed it in again. I did that twice, then tried CTRL-Z and it worked.
So here are my tips:
– In Writing, use CTRL-Z to undo changes.
– In Speaking, especially if you have a scientific background, keep in mind that your job is not to get your message across but to create a huge variety of sentences using fancy words and structures.
Also, they do not let you go to the bathroom during the last 10 minutes of Reading.
Liz, your website is the absolute best!!! I had watched all your videos and studied everything on your site religiously and on the day of the test I felt very confident.
AΒ million thanks from the bottom of my heart!
Thanks for sharing your results and well done π You are absolutely right about aiming for range in IELTS Speaking – not just in vocabulary, but also in topics, grammar features and pronunciation features.
I just want to say thanks a lot, Liz. Your site as well as your youtube videos really helped me a lot. My aim was to get 7, but I got an 8, thanks to you.Thanks again for the good work and I am sure you will keep on helping a lot of people.My score in detail is given below:
Listening – 8.5
Reading – 8.0
Speaking – 7.5
Writing – 7.0
Overall – 8.0
Brilliant to get one whole band score above what you were aiming for!! Very well done π
Hello Liz,
I must admit that all the study material, sample tests, tips n tricks are quite useful to achieve good score in IELTS .I took IELTS GT on 17th Feb 2022 and got the following scores:
L-9
R-7.5
W-7.5
S-7
OverallScore: 8
Thanks again for this kind deed of sharing your valuable knowledge.I praticed for around a week before taking the test and were able to achieve overall score of 8.0.
Great results in just one week. Good for you π
Dear Liz,
Firstly, thank you so much for your guidance and support. Once I got the results, you were the first person who came into my mind.
I’m writing to tell you that correct guidance, self-confidence and effort can do anything.
I am from Sri Lanka and not an English speaking country. I did IELTS academic on 12th February 2022. Honestly, I just had 12 days to prepare for the test since I urgently needed the results to submit for an international course. As people are saying that it requires at least one month for preparation, I was stressed and frustrated to face the test. I could not find any class or adviser. However, while searching on the internet, I found you. I found all I need on a single website. Within the first 4 -5 days, I studied what IELTS is? What are the expectations of the test? How to answer? How marks are given? What are the critical situations where we can lose marks? I found everything on your website with examples. You are teaching everything smiling. I watched most of the videos on your website but could not cover all within the time limitation.
Then I found the Cambridge English book series. I did the first set of tests within the given time and corrected them as in a real test. I still remember the results (listening- 3.5 and reading – 3.0). I thought I probably not pass this test. But facing the test is better for the experience. So I continued. I prepared a timetable to do the tests in the books and to study the tips and model answers on your website.
I completed book 01, book 16 and two tests in book 15. For the last tests I did before the exam, I scored around 6.0-7.0. The only thing I did apart from studying your website was watch youtube videos to study for the speaking test. I watched real tests and mock tests to study how marks were allocated and to find common questions to be prepared.
I faced the speaking test one day earlier than the other three tests. After doing the speaking test, I was a little bit confident about the exam. The following day, I did the other three tests and felt I may get a good result. I got results exactly on the 14th day.
Listening – 8.0
Reading – 6.5
Speaking – 6.5
Writing – 6.5
Overall – 7.0
I required only a 6.5 grade. But I got 7.0 on my first attempt.
I know this is not an excellent mark. But for me, I felt like I am soo lucky and proud of myself. I confidently applied to that course.
Honestly, the result is yours. I don’t have enough words to thank you. My blessings are always with you, and you deserve whatever you wish since you are doing a great service by providing these materials for free.
Thank you again.
Good Luck.
IELTS isn’t always about hitting those really high band scores – it’s about achieving your goal for your future. You did it!! It’s an achievement to be proud of. Well done π
Hello Liz,
So, my overall score is 8.0 (8.5 L, 8.5 R, 7.0 W, 7.0 S) ALL THANKS TO YOU!!
I hesitated a lot take this exam but after registering all I did was to follow your tips and videos. And that’s been my “Study Material” which is just more than enough. I’m really grateful to you for creating this amazing website and for your content.
Whenever someone ask me, “How to prepare for IELTS?” The only answer I give is, scan through IELTS Liz website and videos. Those are the only tips you need to follow!
Thanks a lot for this. Truly means a lot!
Glad you did so well. Band 8 is a great result π Thanks for recommending my site π
Hi Liz,
I used all your preparation materials in the website to prepare for my IELTS test. Here are my scores:
L: 8.5
R: 8.5
W: 7 (got a map which I wasnβt well-prepared for π
S: 7
Overall: 8
Great score!! And well done getting band 7 in writing with a map for task 1. I think people tend to ignore maps and diagrams for task 1 Academic when they are preparing. It’s always best to prepare for all types of task 1.
Hi Liz
I am an Office Manager with an international law firm. I did my very first IELTs test on 22 Jan 2022. And I am more than happy to share my results:
L – 7.5
R – 8
W – 7
S – 8.5
Overall – 8
I cannot thank you enough for the wonderful tips. Your tip of answering all the answers for reading/listening in UPPER CASE really made my life easier, as I did not have to worry about names, proper nouns etc.
Secondly, whilst reading focusing on the question in depth rather than just blindly reading the content helped me a lot.
Thirdly, I took lots of mock tests available online and always cross checked the answers, this made me understand my mistakes, which I kept improving as I moved on.
Practice is the key to my success.
Once again a great thank Liz, you are a star!
Best wishes,
Sakshi
Abu Dhabi, UAE
Thanks for sharing your results!! And very well done π
Hi Liz. π
I gave my academic ielts on 11 Dec 2021.
Listening – 8
Reading – 8
Speaking – 7.5
Writing – 7
Overall – 7.5
I had gone through most of your material in all 4 sections. I definitely owe all scores to you. Infact I got the exact same topic as one of your sample essays in my writing section 2 and that was such a blessing in disguise.
It’s hard to find such vital info free online.
Thank you for educating and inspiring.
Regards
Yasmin Lokhandwala
UAE.
Great score!! Well done π And how lucky to get a topic you were prepared for π
Thank you Liz π
Regards,
Yasmin Lokhandwala
Dear Liz,
I can’t thank you enough for your resources. Got an overall 8.
L 8
R 8
W 7
S 8
You are a compassionate teacher and I never know I could do well in IELTS with less than a week’s time of preparation.
It was a blessing that I came across your videos and I am so grateful to you.
Thank you so much for the videos and of course, your positivity.
Charan
Very well done π And you’re welcome π
Hi Liz,
I hope you are doing good.
I am from Pakistan and I accidentally came across your website while I was preparing for my IELTS test in August 2019. Since then I am a huge fan and tell everyone to prepare from your website.
My Test Results in Sep 2019 were
Listening – 9
Reading – 9
Writing – 8
Speaking – 8
Overall – 8.5
I could not have gotten such a good score without your guidance
What great scores!! Very well done to you!! π I’m glad you like my site and thanks for recommending it to others π
Hi, Ms Elizabeth Feruguson (Liz). I have been meaning to do this for a long time now, although now is the only time I am free to do so. I took my CBT-Academic IELTS on 18th Nov 2021 and here are my results; O:8 L: 8.5 R:8.5 W: 7 S:7.
I come from an English-medium education throughout my life, so the learning English part was not so difficult for me. In this post, I will try to share some of the tricks that I followed to achieve the above score. I am a bachelor of technology and am currently applying for a master’s program abroad, and I was fortunate enough to dedicate about 2 months to the preparation.
Tips:
Listening: I have watched many movies and series before the preparation, although I started watching them without subs after starting my prep. This has helped me a lot. Moreover, I have practised about 20 listening mock tests using the Cambridge Academic books.
Reading: Although many have mentioned that skim reading is helpful during the exam, it probably did not work for me. So, I started reading the whole passage, took my time (about 4-5 min for each passage) and then went to the questions. I was able to navigate easily to the part of the passage where the answer might be paraphrased.
Writing: As Liz mentioned in one of her pages, brainstorm the ideas first. Start eliminating the ones that seem irrelevant. Develop the selected ideas with more examples and citings. Finally, make it into proper content.
Speaking: The only suggestion any could give for this section is – be yourself. Do not take much pressure; if you do so, you might probably end up saying something wrong. DO NOT use the wrong vocabulary, I think this is where I lost the marks. Finally, rehearse your speaking at home. Take the help of your friend or a sibling. Show them the topics available on Liz’s website and ask them to generate questions. Create a test-similar environment and record yourself. Listen again and again till you identify and rectify that error.
– I made a personal dictionary with the words that I find daily in newspapers or movies. If I am being frank, this has helped me a lot and I suggest you make something of this sort.
– Moreover, I took the help of grammar checking software like Grammarly and Prowriting aid to identify the errors in my document.
– Finally, if you are looking for something that might help you prepare for the Speaking test – watch Speaking by KEITH on youtube. The channel is full of free content that might bolster your speaking ability.
PS 1: Dear Liz, I do not know your medical condition as of now, but I sincerely hope that you recover from it and keep up the good work you have been doing. I was initially sceptical about your website, but after reading your story, it not only motivated to push myself higher, but also inspired me for life. I will surely suggest this blog with all the IELTS test taker who approach me.
PS 2: Please note that if you come from a English speaking nation or an English-medium background, the IELTS exam might not be that difficult for you. So, do not take much pressure and be yourself during the exam.
Thanks for sharing your tips and results! Very well done to you π
Hi Liz,
I’m from Pakistan and I first came across your website and videos in 2019 when I was preparing for my first IELTS Academic test. My results in 2019 were:
Overall: 8.0
Speaking: 7.0
Listening: 9.0
Reading: 8.5
Writing: 7.5
That test’s results expired this year and I had to give it again for academic purposes. This year (November 2021) my results are:
Overall: 8.0
Speaking: 7.5
Listening: 8.5
Reading: 8.5
Writing: 7.5
My academic subject is physiotherapy. I only watched your videos both times and only practiced through the questions available here on your website. I also recommend you to anyone who asks me for tips on preparation for IELTS.
Thank you so much for the amazing work you have done and for helping thousands of people! Hope you’re doing well these days. Best wishes.
Wonderful to see you’ve maintained your skills over the years!! Well done π Thanks for sharing my site with others
Hey Liz,
Two years ago and now!
In Nov 2019:
L- 8.5
S – 7.5
R – 8.5
W – 8.0 (Band 8).
In Nov 2021
L – 9
S – 8.5
R – 8 ( I had 11 TFNG questions π’)
W – 7.5 (I was absolutely guttedπ)
Band 8.5!
Thanks Liz, youβre tested and trustedππ
Great to see your results. Very well done π 11 TFNG questions – what bad luck!! But still you hit band 8 in Reading – fantastic!
Hi Liz,
I took the pen and paper based test on the 17th of October 2021. I got the following results:
Listening : 9.0
Reading : 9.0
Writing : 7.5
Speaking : 8.0
My overall score is 8.5
This was my first attempt at the IELTS. I only took the test because of university requirements. I had no idea about anything, so your lessons and tips really helped a lot. I can confidently say that the resources you have provided here are enough to get any band score that you want. I registered for my test just a week in advance, without really thinking about preparation. I heard about your site from a friend and decided to give it a try. Honestly, I didn’t use any other material for my preparation and just went through all the material you’ve provided here.
The Reading and Listening tests are easy enough if you know how to pay attention and read between the lines. The speaking test was a bit of a challenge, as I had to wear a mask for the entirety of the test. I am so glad that I had an understanding examiner, who excused me for repeating a lot of what I said for the purpose of clarification.
I lost a lot of time in the writing tasks (mostly because I kept making mistakes while writing and wasted a lot of time, so I wasn’t able to complete the writing task to my satisfaction). In my opinion, it would be much better to take the computer delivered test, as it would save you a lot of time. Unfortunately for me, there were no available centers near me for the computer delivered test. My advice to any future test-takers is this: Take the computer delivered test if you can!
I am very grateful to you for providing all these lessons and practice resources to students like me who can’t afford professional coaching. I wish you good health and happiness, and may you continue the wonderful work you are doing here!
Yours sincerely,
Miral from India.
Wonderful to see your results. Very well done π Thanks for sharing your tips. It’s always useful for other people preparing for IELTS to read tips from successful test takers. Glad you find my site useful. Best of luck for your future plans π
Hi Liz,
Firstly a million thanks for this amazingly comprehensive website, your videos really boosted my understanding of the overall test and my scores too!
I got an overall 8.5 (R: 9.0, L: 8.5, S: 8.0, W:7.5) on my first attempt for academic, I didn’t do very well on my speaking test due to nerves so my biggest tip would be: get plenty of rest and try to calm yourself down before you go into the test it’ll help with your fluency..
– Go through this page and practise meticulously
I guess I should have worked more on my writing but nonetheless, using varied language will help. Also plan your time right from the very beginning, I spent too long writing the essay and not enough time re-reading (I just checked my spellings, but do reread to see if it makes sense)
For listening and reading – just one tip: Practise! And don’t overthink it..
A huge thank you once again Liz, means a lot to us students!!
All the best everyone!
Great results! Well done π I definitely agree with being as calm as you can be in the Speaking Test. Being yourself is really important so that you can chat naturally with the examiner
Hi Liz,
I took the IELTS Computer Based Academic test on 13th Sept 2021 for the first time.
My result:
Listening: 9
Reading: 8
Writing: 8
Speaking: 8
Overall: 8.5
Your Blog is an absolute lifesaver, and I would recommend your Youtube channel as well.
I got a lot of useful preparation tips that helped me score a high band, especially for the Writing sections.
I took the test in order to prepare for my Applications for Masters Abroad next year.
However, I have a few tips that might help others:
– Checkout the model answers and questions for writing section on Liz’s blog and practice them in a timed manner.
– For the speaking section find a friend who can conduct a mock speaking test and evaluate your performance in an unbiased manner and conduct at least one/two tests a day. (It hardly takes 30 mins)
– You can even checkout the speaking tests on Liz’s Youtube channel and practice on your own, practice as many different tests that you can.
– Checkout the Videos on Liz’s youtube channel about the Format of the writing tasks, they’re really informative.
– Skimming and Scanning for reading sections are essential techniques, but constant practice would help as well. To be honest, I wasn’t that good at skimming and scanning but I practiced enough mock tests to gain confidence.
– For listening, practicing at least 2/3 listening tests would be a good strategy as this is the section where you can score the most.
– Give mock tests (Initially, give one to get accustomed to the format) as frequently as possible before your Examination.
– Time management for each section is really important, so practice well.
Thanks for all the Help Liz, you’re a great teacher.
Brilliant results!! Very well done indeed. Thanks for sharing your tips π Lots of people forget to practice mock tests at home before their test – I’m glad you mentioned that
Hello Liz,
I took Academic IELTS computer based on the 31th of May. My results were:
Listening: 9.0
Reading: 8.5
Writing: 7.5
Speaking:8.5
Overall: 8.5
Your website and resources are fantastic and I would have never managed such an high score without you.
I strongly recommend the advance lessons, they were sooo helpful and clear. I also purchased the ebook “Ideas for Ielts”, it was really well done and the exercises helped me memorise new terms and words.
Thank you sooo much again.
Brilliant to see your results. Very well done!! An overall 8.5 is impressive. I’m pleased the Advanced lessons helped. I wish you lots of luck with your future plans π
Hi Liz,
I took the CD General IELTS on 04/09/2021 and received my results today.
My over all result was 9.0:
Listening 9.0
Reading 9.0
Writing 8.0
Speaking 9.0
I am a native speaker but I needed a high grade for a visa application. I read through as much of your site as I could, including the comments and it helped a great deal. The reading and listening tasks really helped me train my brain and focus on what was required. (I was struggling with T/F/NG q’s and constantly over thinking things)
I would recommend everyone read the comments section too as they are a gold mine of FAQs.
As a native speaker it might feel silly having to practice but it is so easy to lose concentration and to make assumptions without reading and understanding the instructions fully.
Although, my biggest problem was that I broke one of my fingers a few weeks ago and still have a wire and a splint. That made typing a bit more difficult and I had far more spelling errors than I usually would have. I made sure to allow additional time to proofread the written section at the end. Ultimately the broken finger did negatively affect my score but I’m delighted with my overall result.
One piece of advice that may be of help to others is in regards to the listening test. Once the first recording is finished, check your spelling etc, but don’t hang around waiting for the instructor to tell you to move on to part two. If you are comfortable with your answers & formatting, click the arrow and get a jump on reading through the questions on the next section. The questions/answers seem to get longer in each section so there is more to read, having those extra 20seconds on top of the given review time can make a huge difference.
In the writing test just remember you are not being judged on your ideas or your opinion. Don’t try to over explain or over analyse, just make sure you are answering all the parts of the question without it turning into a novel.
Thank you Liz for such a wonderfully informative site and all the hard work you put into it. It is very much appreciated.
Em
Wonderful to see your results. Thanks for sharing them and very well done. Even native speakers need to prepare for IELTS. As with any test, understanding the requirements of the higher band scores and being familiar with topics and questions will help people maximise their score. I’m glad you made the most of the comments sections on the pages of my website. There is so much to learn by reading my explanations and answers to people’s comments. Thanks also for sharing your tips – useful for everyone. Well done again π
Hi Liz,
I recently took the IELTS Academic Computer-delivered test on 31 Aug.
My results:
L: 9.0
R: 8.0
W: 8.0
S: 8.0
Overall: 8.5
Generally, I’m pretty happy with my results, although I’m a bit disappointed with my reading score. Despite that, this is my highest score ever so I’m just thrilled!
My advice for those about to take the computer-delivered test:
General tips:
1. Get yourself familiarised with the format of the test: The content may be the same, but taking a test online feels very different from writing it down on paper. Get to know how the test is presented, what the buttons are for and how to manoeuvre between different questions and sections.
2. Know your grammar. I think grammatical errors are the easiest to spot, hence if you mess up it would pull you down immediately. Also, kinda weird tactic(?) but before you write or speak (in the 2nd part) you can try to note down the different complex sentence structures that you know and try to squeeze them in somewhere in your answer. Please don’t do it excessively and don’t try to awkwardly put it in just for the sake of it though. It’s just that personally writing down those things help me remember the structures that I can use, which helped me diversify my sentences.
Section-specific tips:
R: Get used to annotating/reading the passages on a computer screen. I really struggled to read because of my short attention span and my terrible eyesight. Before the test, you can choose the font size of the test and for reading, I chose the largest size possible but it was still a struggle for me. If you’re not used to reading passages on the computer or you always find yourself zooming in when you surf the web, maybe you can try to ask for a bigger font size when you register for the test. One other perk of taking this section on the computer is that you can directly copy and paste the words from the passage so there’s no need to constantly check your spelling.
L: You won’t have much time to check your answers after the test so make sure to always stay ahead (or at least at the same pace) of the recordings so you can anticipate what is gonna come next. For some questions, it might be good to mentally eliminate the obviously wrong answers from the list before you even start if you tend to get confused by the recordings.
W: Honestly, although I really benefitted from being able to copy, paste and basically shift sentences/paragraphs around, the mechanical keyboard really threw me off so I spent the better half of my time punching down on the keys because they were heavier than what I was used to. However, there’s also the added benefit of not having to count your words manually since there’s a word counter.
S: I had had several speaking exams in the past few years where the main strategy was to speak till I die or the teacher stops me so I got too used to that and ended up speaking too much during my Speaking test. The examiner had to stop me for the 2nd part (but thankfully right after I managed to give an answer, albeit very briefly, to the last bullet point) and again in the 3rd part haha. In the end, I guess it mattered more to her that I spoke fluently and confidently rather than what I actually spoke about. Finally, be confident! I tripped over my words multiple times and I had to restart my sentences a few times but in my opinion, it’s better to restart your sentences correctly than to go along with the wrong structures just for fluency sake.
Last but not least, thank you Liz for all the tips you’ve posted here! It definitely helped me a lot when I was preparing for the test. Really insightful remarks!
Wonderful to see your results!! Very well done to you. Thanks for sharing your experience and tips. I know many people will be grateful π
You are such an angel who ever you are.Thank you for the tips
The results are in!
2019: Overall band 7.5. Listening 8, Reading 8.5, Writing 7, Speaking 7.
2021: Overall 8. Listening 9, Reading 8.5, Writing 7, Speaking 8πππ
Great to see how you’ve improved your listening and speaking scores. Well done π
Hi Liz,
I took IELTS Academic test on 29th August 2021 and got overall band of 8.5. My scores are as follows:
Listening 8.5
Reading 8.5
Writing 7.5
Speaking 8.5
I had taken general test couple years back and had got overall band of 8.
Since I was taking Academic this time, I was extremely apprehensive about writing task 1, report writing, which i hadn’t prepared at the time of general test.
In Academic test, i was given a diagram of soft cheese making process and was asked to describe it. Writing task 2 was – ‘nowadays people share their personal and private information online for activities such as banking, shopping and on social media. Is this a positive or negative development?’
I panicked when i saw this question because i was lost as to what kind of essay was i expected to write. I eventually decided to treat it like an opinion essay and stick with my reasons for considering this trend a negative development.
I speaking, my part 2 long run question was ‘describe a place in your city/ town where you like spending time’.
I found Listening part 3 a bit challenging because the speakers spoke really fast and the answers were one after another with no time to catch my breath in between.
In reading section, in one of the passages, i got confused between ‘not given’ and ‘no’.
However, overall it was a great experience and your website helped me immensely in preparation! Thanks so much!!
Considering you struggled with your essay question and the TFNG in reading, you’ve done amazingly well. Your scores are really great π
Hello Liz,
I gave the IELTS academic on 7th Aug and here are my results:
Overall: 8.5
L-9
R-9
W-7.5
S-7.5
I really cannot thank you enough. I honestly never expected this good result, for this was my very first attempt at the test.
As a piece of advice, I can only say that for anyone who aims at getting a band 7 or above, going through every single page of this website is a must. Liz explains every topic clearly, especially the writing part.
Thank you so much Liz.
Great to see your scores!! Good for you!!! Glad you’ve found my site useful
Hey there Liz,
Saw your blog recently and thought I’d share some views as well. Hopefully it helps.
Here’s my score:
Listening: 9
Reading: 9
Writing: 8
Speaking: 9
Overall: 8.5
I sat for the test as a requirement for my PR and took the test for a second time (last scores expired). Previously I managed a decent score too: Speaking: 8.5, Listening: 8.5, Writing: 8, Reading: 8.5, Overall: 8.5
Firstly, Take the CBT. It’s better, you can manage your time better and get the results in 3 days π
In my opinion there are two kinds of test takers: 1) Someone who is well versed in English i.e can think in English and the 2) Someone who is not so well versed in the language.
For the more fluent person, they just need to focus on their grammar (yes it maters), vocabulary and practice test taking. They should do some practice tests, especially writing and speaking sections. I myself spent a day taking as many test as possible, under time pressure, because your performance changes under pressure. Get used to the pressure and you’ll score well.
For the less fluent ones, there should be good amount of practice before the test. Now, most test takers score fairly well in reading and listening since there’s plenty of time, but also because amount of time spent practicing is exponentially proportional to the result. However, for speaking and writing sections, amount of time spent practicing is, I believe, quite linear. The more you practice the better you’ll score.
Speaking: Practice not only speaking skills, but also reading up about topics that have been talked about in previous tests. Gain knowledge about topics – if you have knowledge, you’ll be confident enough to talk about it. Most importantly, you wont stutter. Record yourself while speaking and listen to where you should improve and next time keep that in mind.
Writing: Write letters, write small articles… as many as you can initially. Get in to the habit of paragraphing. Then start using idioms and metaphors in your content. Start to use other parts of speech to improve grammar. And finally start using better vocabulary. All this will count towards a good writing score. Try to keep to a semi-formal, formal tone. It’s always safer. At the end it’s all about Practice Practice Practice!
i would have wished to get a better score in writing, leading to an overall 9 band, but I’m satisfied with my result.
All the best to all the test takers out there!
Regards
Brilliant scores!! You almost hit band 9!! Very well done π Thanks for sharing your experience
Hello Liz,
This was my very first attempt at the test (academic module) and I’m ecstatic to tell you my result.
Overall: 8.5
L-9
R-9
S-7.5
W-7.5
I believe the entire credit for my result should be given to your website and the effort you’ve put into it. The resources provided by you are a must-read for anyone hoping to score well in IELTS, especially for the writing section.
I don’t have any particular tips, but I feel that reading wouldn’t be a big challenge if one’s an avid reader.
As for listening, try to watch English shows or movies without captions. Trust me, it’s a bit annoying at first ( I found it hard to understand the Australian accent), but you get used to it over time.
Writing….I can’t give any better advice than to go through every single essay on this website.
For speaking, the best way to practice is either to speak in front of the mirror or better even hold zoom calls with your friends and try to speak to them.
Wishing all of you luck!
And thank you once again Liz.
Fantastic listening and reading scores – very well done π
Dearest Liz,
A heartfelt thank you for this great website! I came across it when I was nervously searching for some IELTS information on the Internet way before I even considered applying for the exam; passing the academic type of the exam was a necessity for me in order to support my application as a pharmacist in the UK. I sat the exam on 17th July:
Listening: 8.5
Reading: 8
Writing: 7
Speaking: 8.5
Overall: 8
Overall advice:
While sitting this exam was more of a formality for me as I have lived in the UK for quite some time now and I am comfortable with my level of English, it was really important to familiarise myself with the format of the exam. Knowing what to expect on the day put my mind at ease and helped me prepare my strategy to tackle the tasks. Apart from Lizβs website I also reviewed free resources that are listed in oneβs British Council IELTS profile under the βPreparationβ tab and βIELTS 15 Academic Studentβs Bookβ. I started preparing 2-3 weeks before and I did around 5 listening and reading parts each.
Listening:
I made use of the time that I was given to review a specific set of questions before the dialogue started. I tried to underline some key words which would help me identify synonyms from the recording and identify the missing information.
Reading:
While practicing at home I found out that reading all the questions for a particular passage really helped as it gave me a good understanding of what information I was being asked to provide. I would then go and fast read the passage in full but not in detail. As I read, I was able to answer questions (usually not in order); I believe that reviewing the questions before and then reading the passage was a better strategy for me rather than going to task 1, referring back to the text and after that continuing with task 2 only to refer back to the text again etc.
A lot of advice is given on this saying that one only has to read the first and the last sentence of each paragraph. I think that tackling this task will really depend on your level of English but if you are able to quickly skim through the whole text, I see no reason why you would not do so.
Writing:
Now this was the part I was really afraid of, probably because I did not attempt it while I was preparing. I only searched for what types of reports/essays one could get and I read high band answers. However, what I did do was reviewing exactly what examiners were looking for and Lizβs website was invaluable here. I really recommend reviewing her tips when it comes to writing in both free and paid parts of the website. While listening to Lizβs videos, I was taking notes and made sure to review them as many times as I could! I also suggest that you attempt writing at home as well to see how much you can do in 60 minutes. I almost ran out of time myself and I found that I spent way too much time on the first task; when they announced that we had 40 min left and I was only about ΒΎ through the first task which made me panic a little. Ultimately, this was for the best because had I not sped up, I would not have finished the second task on time. I had no chance to review my sentences, let alone evaluating whether I wrote a sufficient number of words or not. I honestly thought that I would score less than 7 in this part. While the outcome was favourable at the end, I suggest that you do not make the same mistake as I did. I would actually advice you to perhaps tackle the second task first as it is worth more points. I am confident that had it not been for Lizβs website, I would not have passed this part with the band that I required.
Speaking:
I did not spend any time on this one at all. I would suggest that you read what other people said but my piece of advice is to just be yourself.
Overall, this website is gold. Take your time to review it in full and allow for at least 2 weeks of preparation even if your English skills are excellent. Thank you, Liz and keep up the good work!!
Great results π Thanks for taking the time to share your experience and tips. It’s so useful for other people who are in the process of preparing for IELTS. So glad you like my website π
Hi Liz,
I took my exam 2 weeks ago(1 July 2021) and I’ve just got my result.
Listening: 8.5
Reading: 9
Writing: 7
Speaking: 7
Overall: 8
Thank you for your perfect website, without your videos, website and comments it would be very hard for me to get this mark. I really appreciate your help.
Your writing videos and posts are absolutely helpful and great. Before I become familiar with your website, I took a mock test which results were : L –> 7 R–>8.5 W–>6 S–>6.5, but then I watched your videos and read your posts, comment and books.
Thank you so much again. <3
Great to see that you did better in the real test than in your mock test. Well done π
Hi Liz,
I am a Computer Science student from Pakistan. I got my IELTS results today with a total band score of 8.0
Score details:
Listening: 9
Reading: 7.5
Writing: 7.5
Speaking: 7.5
I want to thank you for creating this website and teaching confused students like me through your videos. I looked up for other IELTS material online as well, but yours was the most organized and easy to understand without lengthy intros or any clickbait. I prepared for one month before appearing in the test.
Practice helped me a lot to improve, specially in identifying my weak areas. Most of the questions in the IELTS test were similar to the sample questions provided on your website, so I felt like my brain was pre-trained to answer everything properly.
I also think practicing your timing for every section beforehand is very important because in actual test it may take you more time based on the difficulty level.
I just want to share that identification of weak areas is very important. My listening was very weak and I practiced it the most. Practice helped me to develop focus. I still can’t believe I got the highest band in this.
I gave computer based test and the highlighting feature helped me a lot in listening and reading.
For writing I would suggest students to write the essay or report in MS word so they are aware of spelling and grammar mistakes. I also used Grammarly extension which helped me learn about correct article usage. Also, students should practice as many topic groups as they can for writing as it helps with the speaking section as well. I improved a lot in my report writing for graphs with practice from your website.
I didn’t spend a lot of time on speaking practice but the best tip I can give someone is to be honest in your answers as it helps with the fluency. Also, being confident and relaxed and treating it like a normal conversation instead of a test, helps in the fluency as well. Practicing by recording your voice and listening to it to identify mistakes is also very helpful.
I would recommend this website to everyone starting their IELTS preparation. This is an excellent resource to get started.
May God bless you Liz for all your efforts. I am extremely thankful for all the cintent you upload. I couldn’t have done it without you.
Great to see your results π Well done hitting band 9 in listening π I appreciate your comment on my website. I tried to make it as focused and helpful as possible without distracting adverts or pop ups that so many other sites have
Hi Liz,
I want to thank you for providing all of this preparation material and these tips for free, because you could easily charge a lot of money for the quality of your content! I took the IELTS Academic paper-based one in Germany and I managed to get an overall score of 8.
Here are the details:
Listening: 9
Reading: 9
Writing: 6.5
Speaking: 8
You helped me a lot and without you I wouldn’t have been able to prepare myself as well as I did in only 2 days. Unfortunately, as you can tell by my score, I couldn’t fully prepare for the Writing Part, but obviously that’s on me.
My tips are the following:
– start preparing at least 1 or 2 week prior to the test (!!) – I learned this the hard way
– you need to be familiar with the test format and the different types of questions
– especially for the Listening Part, I’d recommend to test yourself multiple times and try to understand why exactly your answers are false (e.g. Do you have a particular problem with time (periods) or the spelling of words? Work on that!)
– Don’t panic when you’re lost during the Listening Part! At one point I wasn’t quite sure if a certain question had already been mentioned or not. Take a deep breath and concentrate on the questions. Try to find a starting point to get back on track, I my case I chose a specific word from the next question and voilΓ , it worked. Don’t worry about missing one question, just try to follow along in order to not miss any other ones.
– My tip for the Reading Part is: don’t overthink and practice a lot. In particular True/ False/ Not Given! Sometimes it can be tricky, but remember: Is this statement with all of it’s details 100% true or false? If it’s neither of these two, it’s not given!!
– Due to my poor time management and starting so late I only prepared for the 1st Exercise of the Writing Part π It’s important to not give any opinion or interpretation. You only need to describe what the graph/ chart/ … is showing. In my case I had to describe 1 table and two bar charts, so be prepared to describe multiple graphs/ charts/ …
I can’t really give any tips on the 2nd Exercise, except that you’ll need to have a conclusion.
– Arrive early for your Speaking test, because in my case it was 30 minutes earlier than expected (because 2 people didn’t show up for their tests and then the instructors carried on with the next person)
– Just keep talking during your Speaking Part! I always kept talking until I was stopped by the instructor. Even if you don’t know anything about a specific topic, try to continue talking about something else (e.g. you’re asked about your favourite building and don’t know anything about architecture: Talk about a building with a special meaning to you and tell the instructor about your favourite memory there; maybe the first time you saw it was with your best friend and you can continue talking about your best friend; and so on)
– Another tip I’ve got for the Speaking Part is that you should practice talking about something for 2 minutes straight! Please, believe me when I tell you that two minutes can feel like such a long time and you don’t want to stop talking after 1 minute during your IELTS
– Answer every single question of the IELTS, even if you’re unsure.
I guess that’s it and hopefully I can help someone else with these tips like Liz helped me with her preparation.
Thanks again,
Dana π
Well done with your results, Dana π
Hi Liz
My husband and I would like to thank you for the help the website and YouTube videos rendered during our preparation for the IELTS GT exam. A friend recommended your content and we couldn’t be more grateful.
We both got an 8.5 overall score
Mine
Listening: 8.5
Reading: 9.0
Writing: 7.5
Speaking: 8.5
Hubby’s
Listening: 9.0
Reading: 8.5
Writing: 8.0
Speaking: 8.0
We are both accountants and Ugandan natives.
So great to see that both of you have done so well π Thanks for sharing your results π
Hi Liz! I am from Malaysia and I got an overall band score of 8.
L:9
R:8.5
S:7
W:6.5
Your youtube videos and tips on this website helped me a lot, I was able to get myself mentally prepared with your on the day tips.
I do not have many tips to share but I believe practice is the main key to succeed in the listening and reading section(i have done about 20 sets respectively in two months before the exam). As for speaking, remember to speak confidently and never be afraid of making any mistakes, eye contact is important too. For writing task 1, I will say reading model essays is a good way to learn writing techniques.
I took the IELTS exam in order to attend Taylor’s law school in Malaysia, now I will be able to start my uni in August this year! My English still has a scope of improvement and I will keep learning English keenly.
Liz, thanks for your effort, I really appreciate it, hope you will get rid of your illness soon and live joyously every day.
Great to see your results. Very well done π Good luck at uni π Thanks for your best wishes for my health – much appreciated.
Hi Liz,
You are a great teacher. I can’t thank you enough for the effort you put in here.
I did purchase you writing lectures few years ago, they did help me a lot, but back then I was not able to score band 7 in Writing. But this time I appeared in CD IELTS , and I was able to score band 7.
I think my bad handwriting contributed to my lower score in earlier attempts. Apart from it, I guess I do not think linearly, hence being able to edit text while writing was an added advantage.
It took me 24 minutes on Task 1 (Academic Test), and I was left with 36 minutes for task 2, so I was not able to block time to planning in the beginning, but I understood the question well, and had a basic understanding of the topic; so I went forward thinking and writing spontaneously. In the end I was left with little time leading to a momentary panic, but I managed it. I did cut short my opinion paragraph, converted it to conclusion, and made some last minute edits to two body paragraphs – writing my opinions there and making minor adjustments in the language. I ended up at 342 words.
My test was on 29th of May, 2021, and my result came on 3th of June, 2021. I scored 7. 5 in speaking, 7.0 in Writing, and 9 in both Listening and Reading.
Great to hear about your results. Well done π Certainly, handwriting is an issue if you struggle to keep it neat. Also, I agree fully with your comments about how easy it is to edit and make big changes on a computer rather than a laptop – a distinct advantage. Wonderful to hear how well you’ve done π
Dear Liz,
You are a terrific teacher! I just received my 8 band score. I binge watched your videos before my exam and I am so pleased by the result. Thank you for all that you do!
My tips:
Speaking
Just relax, you got this!
Donβt rush the segment where you are asked to speak on a topic. Take your time, itβs an opportunity to exhibit how fluent you are.
Listening
Please practise this. Zoning out and missing answers is very real if you arenβt used to this segment.
Reading
Donβt overthink your answers. Match elements of the question by skimming through the paragraph.
Writing
Definitely go through the model answers on this site. It is also important to see the vocabulary section here to link sentences and describe statistics. Make sure to write a conclusion in task 2 and an overview in task 1.
Band 8 overall is excellent – very well done π
Hello again Liz,
It’s been a couple of months since my results came out. I didn’t really score near what I was hoping, but oh well, it was due to my bad. Maybe next time. However, it was way more than enough for me to study abroad. I got an overall 7.5, listening 8.5, reading 7, speaking 8.5, writing 6.5. Really messed up the reading and writing I guess… Was hoping an 8 or 8.5 overall at least. Eh, can’t complain for a first time and it coulda been worse. And just 12 days of preparation alongside having to look after my baby brother almost all day, what more can I ask for?
It was careless of me to not let you know about my results after relying on your resources for the entire studies and asking you about any sorta hesitations I had. Sorry for such a late response. Not getting the score I hoped for and only best friend dying not much later… I didn’t really feel like sharing at all.
Now I’m sure if it’s gonna be of any help but I’ve got some tips to not mess up.
1. In case you leave some answers blank in the section of the reading test just to clear out the easy ones first. Make sure you don’t mess up the order later. This is most probably how I messed up my reading test and got 9 answers wrong. I might be wrong but I have the feeling this is what happened. It’s just so obvious. Now there’s no excuse for my reading test seeming a lot harder than what I prepared for.
2. Do not ever get worried about a previous part of the exam. After I finished my reading test, I had that previous feeling which made me really nervous. A perfectly planned and prepared chart description and essay writing gone to waste. I also believe I would’ve organized my essay much better if I actually took a computer based exam. Unfortunately, they are unavailable where I live.
3. I guess I’ve come to the actual parts of the test I actually gave my best shot at. The listening test is quite simple and straightforward. Never double think about the conversations. That’s probably I got an 8.5 in listening and not a 9. I probably went overboard on thinking about a simple conversation between two people. Just answer the most obvious thing and nothing outta your think box. These shouldn’t even make you think at all.
4. The speaking test is quite simple and really quite fun. Speak as if you are talking to your best friend. On the morning of this test, I actually called up my friend and he had the patience and time to dedicate to this mumbling fool. A really neat way to get you up and going if you hardly talk in English. The fun part about this test is, you feel like you are the one controlling the questions. Now, how to get a 9 is just beyond me. I got an 8.5 and I’m happy with that.
Thanks for your time on making these resources, Liz. Sorry again for being so careless. Maybe next time, after grads, I’ll get a result way better (*coughs* won’t really matter over 6.5 to 7 though, would it?). Your writing tips have been helping me out even while writing university projects and reports. Thanks! π
Don’t be hard on yourself. It’s a great score, particularly your 8.5 in speaking. Very well done π And considering you had such little time to prepare – amazing!! Glad you thought the speaking test was enjoyable – I think it’s the best way to approach it – just a friendly chat with the examiner
Hi Liz! I just wanted to thank you for all the marvelous tips and videos that are available on your site for free. I got my result a few days back and my band score is
Overall-8
Listening-9
Reading-8.5
Writing- 7.0
Speaking-7.5
I would suggest
1. Watching all the videos on this site with great deal of attention and paying focus on everything she suggests.
2. Attempting maximum number of mock tests so as to get an idea of the pattern as well as about the time restriction.
3. Watching YouTube videos about speaking and practicing with a partner.
4. Don’t stress too much so that you can perform better on the day of test.
5. Playing games which are available online to improve your vocabulary as well as typing speed in case of CBT.
6. Reading BBC articles to improve vocabulary and to know how to frame sentences in a better way.
7. Read model answers on this site to get a better idea about what is expected out of you in writing.
8. Knowing band parameters well for a better score.
Overall 8 is a great score – very well done π
You are an absolute angel. I really want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. You make my cry.
I got my Ielts Result:
L-9
R-8.5
S-8
W-7.5( Finally, so scary it is!!!!)
Your way of teaching is just available nowhere. Every candidate is very blessed for a person like you. My habit was to read techniques for writing from a bunch of websites. But this time, I had thought in my mind “JUST FOLLOW IELTSLIZ” and I locked myself on your website for 15 days and sat for the exam again and here I am. I will be a PR soon:)
Thank you for everything you do. I wish I would know where you live, I would have sent chocolates:) S
Achieving those scores in just 15 days is brilliant!! Hats off to you π Enjoy being a PR π
Hi Liz!
My university requirements were 6.5 and with the preparation of just 2-3 days I scored a 7 overall
With listening 7.5 and reading 7 I did poor in writing with 6.5. I am disappointed with a 7 in speaking as I performed really well in the speaking session and I wouldn’t be surprised if I’d scored a 9 because it went so well and smooth. I was able to answer every question in time with proper framing and correctness. I give equal stress on every point and use good vocabulary as well. But again, nothing can be done now and I’m kind of satisfied with the result.
I would like to thank you for your efforts on your YouTube channel and on the website. I was able to find the information which I required and I believe that you have provided every little detail that is required for anyone to perform well. So thank you so much and have a good one!
Well done getting above the score you needed π
Thank you very much Liz. Your videos are great for people who do not have much time to study for IELTS. I took IELTS Academic for the first time last week and only had less than a month to prepare for the test however, I had a great overall band score of 8.
Listening: 8.5
Reading: 8.5
Writing: 7
Speaking: 7
Thank you very much!
Greetings from Turkey π
Greetings to Turkey!! Great to see your results – very well done π
Sooo I received my IELTS results and Iβm super pleased with my results. I booked my test on Monday and had to attempt it on Friday, which is obviously quite less time. I received an 8.5 overall with the following score distribution.
Listening- 8.5
Reading- 8.5
Writing – 7.5
Speaking – 8.5
I took the computer based test and I did not buy any books/learning materials and made use of online resources!
Reading – This comes with practice, and even though it recommends that each paragraph should be finished in 20 mins each,I implore all of you to finish it with a maximum of 15 minutes. Every answer that youβre unsure of, mark it as review so when you go over your answers you can spend extra time on only those youβre unsure about and remember
True – There is a statement with synonyms that match your answer.
False- disagrees with this statement
Not given- information is not given in the text
For not given answers, remember that questions come in order of the paragraph so do not scan the whole paragraph for that information, just scan from the statements regarding the previous question to the statements regarding the next question.
Listening- Read of all the questions beforehand! Make sure whatever answer you input also makes grammatical sense. For example one question in my exam was βNameβ took inspiration from president Washington and I had to fill out the question in the following way.
βNameβ took inspiration from a _____
The correct answer is president due to the addition of an βaβ in between whereas otherwise if I didnβt read it carefully I would have probably said President Washington. There are many online mock ielts listening tests posted on YouTube! You do not need to buy a book to get the practice you require π
Writing- This is where I have to thank Liz completely π In my writing task 1, I seemed to think writing a conclusion is necessary and a nice way to end any writing assignment, however I watched her videos and immediately corrected myself. Watch all of her videos relating to writing task 1 and make sure to go over the different types of questions that can be asked – graphs , maps , diagrams. This will ensure you use proper terminology for each . I got a map and had to make use of cardinal directions which I didnβt think was that important but was able to view Lizβs video before and was thus able to incorporate them in my answer. Also make sure there is an overview section! This is crucial and to know more about it just watch her video related to writing task 1. Structuring is also extremely important.
Speaking: I have grown up speaking English so while I stuttered in the beginning due to nerves, this section was a breeze was for π
Thanks for sharing your results and your tips π Congrats on your score π
Hello Liz
This is Apoorva, Human Resources Manager from India. I hope you are safe and doing well. I took my IELTS GT (Computer based) on 24 Jan 2021 and here are my results:
Listening -9
Reading -9
Writing -7.5
Speaking -8
Overall Band – 8.5
These are my key takeaways for other readers to crack IELTS:
Listening & Reading –
Synonyms – They helped me in understanding the context.
Paraphrasing – Very important as the passage and question can look absolutely different but they actually mean the same.
Concentration – This is the most important bit. We could know the best of English but if we loose focus in those 20 mins of listening, that can ruin all our efforts. Listening being the first section can make or break our confidence in the rest of the exam. So give those 20 mins all you can and do not divert your mind.
Moreover, L&R are sections are where IELTS is giving you the answers, you just have to find it. π
Writing –
Understanding the question is extremely crucial as it can make or break our context.
Structure of the answer – Imagine yourself as the reader and see if you can understand your own writing. If not, we should identify the difficult bits and try to simplify them. As simple as our essay and letter will be, higher the understanding of the examiner and larger chances of a better band score.
Speaking – This needs a lot of practice. Record yourself and listen. So do you understand what you say? Also read a lot, that gives you ideas which can help you to be spontaneous in last section.
Lastly, practice a lot! Atleast one full practice exam everyday should be taken. I did this religiously when i had ten days left for my actual exam.
Thank you Liz for your lessons and practice tests. They were instrumental for me in getting my dream score. There is no other simpler site than yours to understand and solve IELTS.
Best Regards
Apoorva
Well done getting the score you wanted π Glad you’ve benefited from my site π
Dear Liz,
Your website has guided me from the beginning of my studies for IELTS. I took my IELTS GT exam on 9th Jan 2021 and have obtained the below score:
Listening: 8.5
Reading: 8.5
Writing: 7.0
Speaking: 7.5
Thank you for your magnanimous gesture ( of putting up so much material for students reference) and I would recommend your website to everyone who is planning to take the test.
Regards,
Tejaswi
Well done with your results, Tejaswi!! π
Dear Liz,
Thank you so much to all of your lessons. It helped me a lot. I was able to increase my reading scores from 6.5 to 8.5! Your tips really made a difference β€οΈ
L R W S
8.5 8.5 7 7.5
Wishing you all the best and your fast recovery.
That’s a huge improvement in your reading – very well done π
Hi Liz,
I wanted to thank you for the extensive information you’ve put up for us, that too so selflessly.
I’m delighted to share my results which I just got an hour back:
Listening: 9.0
Reading: 8.5
Writing: 7.5
Speaking: 8.0
I would have gotten a 7 at best in all had it not been for you & your website. A friend referred me to it, and I’d be doing the same with anyone who asks me.
For everyone else, I took my (General Training) exam on Jan 02, 2021.
Listening test: It felt easy after going through all the resources Liz has on her website. The key was to highlight the main expressions/text & listen for the synonyms. Of course, there were multiple distractions, wherein the answer came up after a classic misdirection with a similar wrong answer.
Reading test: I had trouble with T, F, NG despite having gone through all the resources. I think one must focus on the F / NG question the most during their preparation. However, the rest of it felt easy again because of so many practice exercises here.
Writing test: I think Liz has given us such clear directions which we must follow. I had trouble managing time, and spent the last few minutes only proof-reading my Task 1. Please earmark some time to proof read – you’d be surprised that I corrected over 5 mistakes in the last 3 minutes (mostly typographical).
Moreover, please take care of what Liz has mentioned about the conclusion/opinion in task 2. It is imperative that you put that in if you don’t have a lot of time. I did the same, and I think it was a life saver. Glad that I read this/heard this on your website, Liz.
Speaking test: I think I bombed it, mostly because my nerves got the best of me. Then, I remembered how Liz does it, take slow deep breaths in the interview between sentences. It helps calm you down.
Panic and anxiety were going to take over, ad I’m pretty sure they did for the first 5 minutes. I’m glad that the interviewer also helped by taking pauses when conversing. It was a short interview, 11-12 minutes long.
Extra tips:
R: I got a passage that I had read in a Cambridge IELTS test example (Skyscrapers) which was a pleasant surprise. The questions were different but the passage was identical.
W: The topics were close to my heart – task 1 was about a formal letter to offer help to an elderly center asking for help, task 2 was about if we should spend huge amounts of money on wedding celebration, discuss both sides agree / disagree, give your opinion along with an experience from your life.
S: Take deep breaths before you go in the interview room. Also, don’t think about your previous tests (LRW) and how they went. They don’t need to affect how you do in this one. I made this mistake which led to panic and anxiety.
Make sure you do as many practice tests as possible. You may know your English, but this is a completely different ball game altogether.
All the best everyone! Thanks a lot Liz for everything you do! Take care & stay safe!
Well done with your results π Thanks for sharing your tips π Stay safe!!
Hello Liz.
I just got my test results.
L = 8.5
R = 9
W = 7.5
S = 7.5
Tips
1. Go through the whole resources on the website, including the comments. I went through more than once.
2. Practice, practice, practice. I think I did better in both L and R because I did not less than 20 full exam questions each. This trained my mind to concentrate during the listening exam. When I started, I would lose a lot of answers because my thoughts kept drifting off.
3. Practice also helps you spot problem areas; these for me were the last passage in L and the true/false/NG questions in R.
4. Time yourself during practice sessions. This is vital for both R and W. Train yourself finish with the given time frame. Leave enough time to go through your work. I was able to correct 3 mistakes when I went through my essay.
5. Remember to plan your essay. Take a few minutes write out any ideas you want to include. I forgot to include a perfect example because i neglected this and the question required relevant examples.
Observations
I noticed that the more essay questions I tackled, the easier it was for me to think up ideas for part 2 and 3 speaking.
Thanks Liz for such a comprehensive content on this website. My sister recommended it and I have recommended it to everyone of my friends and family preparing for the ielts exam. I pray for full recovery of your health. You have been of great help to a lot of people. Thanks and God bless you.
Great results!! Very well done π Thanks for sharing your tips. I’m glad you noticed how much there was to learn in the comments boxes on this website. A lot of the answers I give to people serve as mini lessons for everyone to benefit from. I agree with your tips – they are very useful. Particularly with your tip about planning the essay – so many people skip this vital step. Thanks for your concern for my health. I’m hoping 2021 will be a better year for my health and for all of our lives. Wishing you all the best π
Hey, Liz and everyone reading this! Hope that you’re doing alright this pandemic.
I got my results today and I scored:
Overall : 8.5
Listening : 9
Reading : 9
Writing : 7
Speaking : 8
I know, I know, the Writing score is super low and I am disappointed with that. I was more freaked out by the Speaking part as I suffer from a considerable amount of social anxiety. It went pretty well thanks to the fact that I kept speaking with encouraging nods from the kind examiner.
My tips are:
To be very honest, I didn’t prepare much. I prepared a day before the exam but if I were you, I’d not repeat this. It caused much stress, yet I could afford this. I’ve been studying and speaking English since the last 15 years even though I’m an Indian. The training I’ve gotten in high school and my own reading habit eased my path to score an 8.5. A part of me (a major part, actually) wanted to score a perfect 9, but I guess you can’t have everything.
Major tips which I would ask anyone to keep in mind would be:
1. For any and all practice and guidelines, do, do follow Liz. She has a treasure trove of all things IELTS worthy. I personally only watched her Youtube videos as I didn’t leave myself enough time to go through the website. I recommend you watch videos only if you are in a time crunch like me. Else, the blog is a great place to start. Also remember to leave time for mocks.
2. Do remember that IELTS is an English test. A test of how well you can get your point across in English. It is completely fine to not use high class vocabulary. At the end of it all, you should focus on communicating efficiently. Efficiency can be achieved by simple English! Do not stress about big words. Focus on your grammar, say, the linking words, complex sentences.
3. Listening: Get used to watching videos without subtitles and keep the video playing while you do household chores. Do not focus on the accent, but focus on the point which the speaker is trying to make. Keep a ear out for all numbers, names (with titles).
4. Reading: Speed reading is the key. Instead of focusing on understanding the paragraph, only focus on finding the answer. If a why is asked, look for the reason. If a where is asked, look for a place or time. So on and so forth. Do look out for true/false questions as they can trip you up.
5. Writing: I need advise on this myself. I recommend on linking your points together and supporting any point you make with sufficient sub-points. Do not break the flow. I made this mistake.
6. Speaking: Be coherent and chatty. Support all points with more sub-points. The focus should be on your English rather than the ideas. 3-4 well supported ideas will do the trick. Do no break the flow of conversation. Speak slowly if needed, so that you can catch any yourself before you make a mistake and hence, avoid self correction.
That’s all for today. Thank you so much, Liz. Your resources help a lot of em. It must be difficult even to calculate the number.
Great to see your results! Very well done π Thanks for sharing your tips. I’m glad you urge people to do mock tests. It’s so important to be prepared not just for the content of the test, but for the length of doing Listening, Reading and Writing back to back without a break. It certainly is a challenge for a person’s concentration. I hope 2021 brings even more success and happiness into your life π
OVERALL = 8
LISTENING = 8.5
READING = 8.5
WRITING = 7.5
SPEAKING = 8
Listening:-
Practice makes perfect, one of the only ways you can score full or near to full in your listening.
Reading:-
I was surprised by my reading scores as I would score no more than 7 on mocks and practice tests. I would recommend using Liz’s reading course that really helped me boost my score.
Don’t read the entire passage but rather ‘Skim’ through it.
Writing:-
I knew writing was my strength and hence tried perfecting my ability as much as I could, here again, I recommend following Liz’s tips on writing.
Speaking:-
Get a friend to interview you/conduct your speaking tests it would help a lot. I believe I could’ve done a lot better on my speaking however when the examiner questioned me on ‘fishing’, it took me by surprise prompting me to let the nervousness take over.
Overall, I’m extremely satisfied with my scores following your advice, I would definitely recommend and have recommended your website for IELTS prep.
Really strong results! Very well done π I’m glad you found my Reading Lessons useful. I’m currently working on Advanced lessons for IELTS Reading and hope to have some ready in 2021. All the best with your future plans π
Hello Liz,
I can’t thank you enough for providing us with this enormously helpful resource to prepare for IELTS. You have a beautiful way of teaching! I went through your study materials over about a three-week time period before my General Training test and I got excellent results.
Listening: 9.0
Reading: 9.0
Writing: 7.5
Speaking: 8.5
Overall: 8.5
With this score, I could easily get an invitation to apply for Canadian PR. My wife and two other friends also did the test with me and they also scored very well.
You have my sincerest gratitude for your selfless service.
Best regards,
TG
That’s wonderful news! I hope you all celebrated π Wishing you lots of luck in Canada π
Hello Liz and everybody,
Before I start with my tips and, I must say that I owe my success in IELTS exam to this phenomenon website and to you, incredible Liz.
I took my first test with no preparation and was not really able to get the score I was looking for. After around 2 months of practice, I was finally able to grant the desirable score.
July – 1st test: GT L: 7.5, R: 6, W: 7 and S: 7.5
Oct- 2ndtest: GT L: 8.5, R: 9, W: 7 and S: 7.5
Now letβs jump to the tips Iβd like to offer:
Listening:
1- BE AHEAD OF THE RECORDING: Listening, especially the MCQ question types, is all about time management. Use the precious time you have on hands very wisely. DO NOT wait for the recording of the next section to start; as soon as you fill in the last question of part 1 or 2, rush to the next section and start reading the multiple-choice questions and answer options. (Do not forget to HIGHLIGHT the keywords)
2- Speed is another factor to keep in mind. If youβre not a fast reader, keep on practicing and you will eventually bring yourself up to speed.
Reading:
Writing was the most challenging section for me, I generally take time to read. But one thing you need to realize is you DO NOT need to read the passage; you only have to LOCATE THE INFROMATION required.
1- True, false & NG:
– DO NOT OVERTHINK
– Match meanings, not words.
2- Match heading:
– Answers do not always come in the first or last sentences, they could come within the passage. By reading only the first and last sentences, you might confuse yourself with too many options. Once you read the whole paragraph, you can better understand the aim of it. DO NOT read word for word but go through it all quickly to catch the aim.
3- Multiple choice:
– Read the question CAREFULLY
– Answers are almost always paraphrased
– If you see the same word in the passage as the one in your option answer, it is 99% not the correct option.
Writing:
If you are aiming at a high band score, I canβt recommend anything beyond LIZβS COURSES. Go to the βadvanced lessonsβ section on her website and get your copies. And if you ask me which lesson you should buy, Iβd say ALL OF THEM including her e-books. You would be surprised to see the time and energy sheβs put into them.
Speaking:
You may have no problem speaking English but when it comes to testing your English you start getting nervous. Get enough rest the night before, arrive early and take deep breathes before taking your turn.
Some common tips:
1- Be chatty
2- Speak with confidence
3- Do not use vocabulary you not confident about
4- Speak
Finally, DO NOT book your exam date without enough practice. YOU MUST have done enough real tests from IELTS books.
Happy new year to you and your family Liz. Sending you all the love and wishing.
Great to see your results. Very well done π And thanks for sharing your tips. I can see that you’ve really nailed IELTS and have really understood how to tackle it with efficiency and competence. Brilliant! I know lots of people will benefit from your tips. Wishing you a great 2021 π
Hi Liz,
I hope you’re doing well π
I had appeared for Computer-based General Training IELTS on 10th Oct 2020. My results are as below :
Listening: 8.5
Reading : 9
Writing :7
Speaking: 8
Overall : 8 π π
I would like to thank you Liz so much for such an informative website. Your methods and strategies helped me in the initial stage when I wanted to learn more about the exam itself and aided my decision to take the exam.
I especially followed your videos for writing and speaking as writing was particularly tricky sections for me. Although, I could have done better in the Writing section, this was my desired score for a very good overall CRS score.
Your tips re very simple to follow and I believe if I can do this, anyone with dedication and determination can achieve their desired scores with sufficient practice.
I followed all your videos and understood practice is the key. I practice two sample listening and reading tests for 1.5 months everyday. Additionally, I overcame my fear of writing tasks and must have practices around 20-30 tasks over a period of a month.
Speaking must have been easiest as I am a working professional and general English conversation is a part of my every day routine. Even so, I went through all the videos on introducing yourselves, and how to manage the fluency and speed during the speaking task.
Thanks a lot for all your help. I hope you keep inspiring all the students to achieve their dreams. π
Great to see your results! Very well done π
Hi Liz,
I got my IELTS GT results some days ago and I still canβt believe these are my actual scores:
Listening- 9
Reading- 8
Speaking- 8
Writing- 8
Overall- 8.5
I was pleasantly surprised, especially because I panicked, due to lack of ideas, when i got to the writing part of the test.
Iβm so grateful for your blog, it was my go to website all through my preparation. I also went through the comments often to read through questions from other students and how they were answered, this help me a lot.
Thank you so much for all you do to help us and I hope you are back on your feet soon.
Great to see your results!! I’m glad you made the most of my website. I’m also glad you read the comments sections because you can learn a lot from my advice given to others over the years. Well done nailing your test!! π
Hi Liz
my results:
listening-9
reading-9
writing -7
speaking-8
Tips: practice practice and practice…it is one thing that is in ur hands and i am glad that because of thorough practice i could manage my time really well and revise and relook everything. and even picked up two of my own mistakes in my revision. i really feel that i should have scored more in writing as according to me, that was the module i thought i performed best on. but i am satisfied. i though that the actualu test was fast paced as compared to the mock tests, even the ones on british ielts/cambridge test books. speaking examiner spoke really clearly but it was a rapid fire kinda interview…really went on fast. but practice can get you there. all the best to everyone
@Liz: just cant thank you enough darling… found out about your website just a week before exam…and that is all I studied for rest of the week. I wish I had known this website earlier. All the tips (like the simplest ones of writing R and L answers in block letters) were really helpful. God bless you with all the success and prosperity …may you and ur family shine and be blessed …and may the light that you spread reach back to you. Loads of love!!!
Wonderful to see your results. Very well done π Thanks for sharing your tips π
Hi Liz. I used your website almost exclusively for my prep, and was able to score 8.5 band overall. The score breakdown was:
Reading- 9
Listening- 9
Speaking- 8.5
Writing- 7.5
The tips for the writing section given on the website seriously helped me completely change my approach and figure out how to get the required bands. Everything was exactly how its been described here. I don’t think I would’ve passed writing despite having excellent writing skills without the technical instructions I found here. Thank you so much for all the help! I’ve recommended this website to four other friends and they’ve all scored 8-8.5 bands, so I just want you to know how much of an impact you’ve made on our careers. Can’t thank you enough.
Fantastic to hear how well you did and your friends too π Well done to you all π
Hi Liz,
I am greatly influenced by the way you give ideas of writing. I have recently booked for the Ielts exam , but constantly struggling with writing, in particular, task 2. Actually i need above 7 band score in writing. After a few days of research and attention to the lessons and examples that you had delivered, I tried to do my best in writing and finally this is the eassy, which I attempted. I am looking forward to your feedback. THANK YOU.
In many countries today, parents choose to send their children to single sex school or co- educational schools.Some people think that children going to single sex school have disadvantages in later life. To whate do you agree?
Now, in the majority of countries ,the parents have two educational institution options, for instance same sex or co- educational to choose where they want to send their children. At the the time, some people say about the future negative effects in studying in the same sex school.I completely agree with the peoplesβ statement that future consequences of sending children to a single sex school are enormous.
First of all, sending children to a same sex designed school prevents from socializing and that results possibility of unemployment in future. As a human and living in the society, we need to interact or get in tauch with people, the same sex schooling do not provide this opportunity to children. As a result, children may have either poor performance level or lack confident in their later life because they do not want to cross the boundary of comfortable. In other words, they hesitate to work with opposite sex. Furthermore, at present, companies prioritize equality in employment as per the employment Act; therefore, it is less likely to find single sex in the workplaces. In this light who spent years in the same sex school may face difficulty to develop themselves and meet future career goals working in such company.
Another obvious impact of studying in the same gender school is that they might be fail in their personal life as well. People, as a social being requires to develop socio-emotional skills, such as awareness and relationship.If a person do not know or have experience of how to share emotions , feelings with others in particular, with contrasting sex, there will be hard for them to establish a strong and long relationship with family. When they do not have the friends and family to care, of course they prone to be frustrated and unhappy in life. Thus, those children who are educated form a single sex schooldo not reach to the point of self- esteem as other becomes successful in life whose parents chose to send them to co- educational school.
In conclusion, although educational institutions offer a wide range of ways that parents could choose for their children schooling , for example single or mixed sex schools, choose to send children to the same sex is a worse decision as some people believe that children wll be affected in the later life. I, in fact support this argument because children need to be dynamic and they should be grown up in a socialized atmosphere so that they could development in the future.
As a first language English speaker who writes detailed reports daily I was not sure what to expect.
Overall – 8.5
Speaking 9
Listening 8.5
Reading 8.5
WRITING 7.0
Writing – My best advice is to practice for the TEST even if you are a first language speaker because it is different from normal reports. It is the same as practicing for your driving test – how you drive during the test is not how one actually drives. It is a different way of thinking and you will run out of time.
Listening – The speakers are clear and eloquent. They speak unnaturally s-l-o-w-l-y though which made me impatient. Take your time and listen for the answers in order.
Thank you so much Liz for all of the valuable information – it made all the difference
Thanks for sharing your results. Well done! I like the way to describe the approach to preparing for IELTS. I completely agree.
Honestly Liz,you are a great instructor i must say.
Wish you all the best and God Bless you.
Regards
It’s been a teary eye joyful moment for me as I go through all of these wonderful results of my co-ielts stars and learn from their experience. Honestly its a huge confidence booster. I’m saying to myself again – Courage. Success will certainly identify with me during the main test coupled with the fact that I’m at the right learning centre and with the right coach.
Much love,
Chioma
Wishing you lots of luck!! π
Have you written your test now??
I’m scared, I’ll be writing mine soon too.
Hey Liz!
I scored;
Listening – 9
Reading – 9
Writing- 7
Speaking – 9
Overall: 8.5
Literally my only practice was your website and that’s what I went through for a month.
My tips for others would be to first understand the techniques and tips and then start attempting practice tests. Simply practicing won’t be sufficient, find out WHY you made a mistake in a practice test as to not repeat it again.
Well done on your fantastic score!! Thanks for sharing your tips. You really hit the nail on the head. It isn’t about doing test after test. It’s about analysing mistakes to avoid making them again. Being strategic in your approach is essential. Thanks for sharing your results π
Hi Liz,
I received my Academic IELTS result today and I am thrilled to inform you that I scored an overall band of 8.0
Listening-8.5
Reading-8.5
Writing-7.5
Speaking-7.0
I am really grateful to you for providing us with such high quality material through your Youtube channel and your website.You are an exceptional teacher and an amazing person!!May God bless you!
Stay safe!!
Love from India!!
I’m really pleased to see you results. Very well done to you π I hope you are proud of that result. Good luck with your next step π
Hi Liz,
Iβm excited to share the news that I have now achieved my target score of 8777 for Canada PR. I wanted to thank you heart fully as your website and paid content for Writing Task 2 really helped me prepare for IELTS in a right away and get my desired bands. Many Many thanks to you π. My prayers and good wishes for you π₯°
My individual scores:
Listening- 8
Reading – 7.5
Writing – 7
Speaking – 7
Well done with your results! I’m glad you found my lessons useful. All the best with your future plans π
Thank you, Liz.
You have been of invaluable support although I did not interact with you directly. I got to know your page through a friend’s recommendation.
I took the ielts indicator and had L:8, R:8, W:6.5 and S:9. That is an overall 8 band score.
It’s a great overall score! Well done !! I’m glad you found my website.
Hello Liz
I took the IELTS Academic test and got my results back and I scored an overall band of 8.5!
Listening: 8
Reading: 9
Writing: 8
Speaking: 8
(The mode of examination was computer based)
I could have easily scored more, but I made the following mistakes:
Listening : I missed 3 questions as I couldn’t find them on screen
Reading: I guess I did well
Writing: I wrote about 356 words in the first part and 416 in part 2, also my vocabulary wasn’t diverse for the first part.
Speaking: I don’t really know what went wrong, I thought it was perfect. Nevertheless, I’m satisfied with the score
Going through your content helped me a lot in achieving this score. Walking into the exam center I didn’t expect to do so well. I want to thank you for all the tips that you’ve put up on Youtube and on this website. π
A great score – very well done indeed π Sounds like you underestimate yourself. Hopefully now you can see your true potential π Thanks for sharing your results with me and everyone else π
Hello Liz,
I am so grateful for all the material you provide on this website. I only had a month to prepare for the test and I was on your page constantly to prepare for the exam. There is so much information on here that really helped me do well in the IELTS exam. Along with these materials, your youtube videos were helpful as well.
I gave my test on the 22nd of September, 2020, and this is what I scored:
Listening: 9.0
Reading: 9.0
Writing: 8.0
Speaking: 9.0
Overall: 9.0
I couldn’t handle my excitement went I received the results.
Two major things, in addition, I think really helped, was:
1) I did quite a few practice tests. Especially during my last week of prep, I did one practice test every day under exam conditions.
2) I had booked a mock speaking test to get feedback on how I can improve.
Those things really boosted my confidence and made me familiar with the format.
So, I wanted to say Thank you so much for your guidance. I appreciate all that you do to help with the IELTS EXAM.
FANTASTIC! Band score 9 is exceptional. Very well done to you. I know many people will be encouraged and inspired to see your results. Thanks for sharing them. I’m glad you found my site useful π
Hi Liz,
First of all, I want to say thank you a million times!!! I cannot stress enough on how thankful I am for all the help you gave me throughout these 2 months I prepared for my IELTS test. Right now, I am a high school student and, with all your tips and strategies, I obtained the following results for the CBT Academic test that I took on September 13, 2020:
Overall: 8.5
Listening: 8.5
Reading: 8.5
Writing: 8.0
Speaking: 8.5
About tips, I would say that it is tremendously important to keep track of time during the test, look for specific information in the reading section, and watch out for traps in the listening section.
My writing task 1 gave me a table reporting information on tax collection in 5 different countries for 5 different years. My writing task 2 prompt was an “advantage/disadvantage” about experiences abroad for high school students.
My speaking test included, in part 1, questions about my home, the differences between my childhood home and my current one, celebrities, and laughter. In part 2, my cue card was about a public building that I liked a lot. In part 3, the examiner asked me questions about preserving old buildings, who should be responsible for that, whether buildings have to serve a specific function in order to be preserved, etc.
You are a wonderful teacher who deserves the world for providing all these resources for free! I’m sure there are many generations to come that will still enjoy all your lessons and succeed as well!
All the best,
Rodrigo (Brazil)
You’ve done really well – good for you!! Your results show not only your excellent level of English but also your ability to take on board new skills. It’s a score to be proud of. I’m glad my website helped π
WOAH!!! That is actually a great score, good for you! I wish I would score the same as you already did.
But I’d like to ask how did you improved your reading and writing scores?
How long did you prepare? (a month or more?)
Did you go to some courses or only with online resources like ielts.com?
What would you advise students like me to do?
All the best, and thank you for your possibly answer! I would be glad if you answered!
Hy Liz,
I don’t know how to start thanking you. I got my IELTS results yesterday.
Listening 8
Writing 7.5
Speaking 7
Reading 6.5
Credit of my writing band score should go to you as i only referred this website to be prepared for the writing one. Once again, Thanks a lot for helping me to achieve an overall score of 7.5. Keep doing the good work…
May God Bless You…!!!!
Band 7.5 in writing with 7.5 overall is great. Very well done to you π
Dearest Liz,
I cannot even begin to thank you for all the things you’ve done for us. Got my results a couple days back, and I was shocked , to say the least.
L 9, R 9, W 7.5, S 8.5 /Overall 8.5 ( Academic)
You were my go-to for all the essay samples and the usual tips for approaching the exam and needless to say, they helped a ton.
I just wanted to say that your kindness and selflessness and the warmth that you so effortlessly exude in all your videos made me feel very comforted. And a simple thank you wouldn’t suffice to convey the gratitude I have. I truly hope and pray that you’re happy , that your health gets better with each passing day, and that you continue giving all those people out there wonderful guidance for a long long time to come.
Love ,G
Excellent result! Very well done! I’m glad you found my site and could benefit from it. I wish you all the best with your future plans π
Thank you…
Soon, my husband, daughter and I are going to migrate from one of the most corrupted countries in the world (Lebanon) to the friendliest nation ever (Canada).
My IELTS results: Speaking 7.5, Reading 8, Listening 7.5 and writing 7.
It’s great to see your results. Very well done π I wish you lots of luck in Canada – it really does sound like a lovely future for you all π
Hello Liz, you really are a life saver. Thank you for all the lessons and for holding nothing back. I had a 6.5 in writing, 8.5 in Reading, 8.5 in Listening and 9.0 in speaking. The Writing section was the most challenging part of the exam for me because I had a migraine and the keyboard sounds were so distracting . I’ve been adviced to apply for a remark but I’m worried if it will change. I’m devastated because I worked really hard for this.
Great to see your results, but I am sorry that you struggled with your writing test. Getting 6.5 whilst having a migraine is actually really amazing!! Your speaking score was 9 and your writing score was 6.5, this means your writing test will already have been marked by two examiners who both agree that the score should be 6.5. When you go for a remark, a senior examiner will mark it. It is not common at all that two examiner both are wrong in their marking, but it is not impossible. Take your time to decide if you want to remark or do the test again or both. Good luck!
Hello Liz
Good afternoon and I hope you are doing well.
I want to say a big thank you for selflessly devoting your time, energy and other resources to helping people passed the IELTS EXAMS.
When I first stumbled on on your site, your way of instructing made feel comfortable and confident that I could passed with ease.
I took my academic test on 12th September 2020 and this is my test results.
LISTENING. 7.5
READING. 7.5
SPEAKING. 7
WRITING. 7
OVERALL SCORE. 7.5
THANK YOU ONCE MORE FOR CONTRIBUTING REMARKABLY TO THIS SUCCESS.
Great to see your results! Well done π I’m glad you could gain confidence and understanding of IELTS from my site. It brings a smile to my face to know I’ve helped π
Hi, time and again I come to your website for knowledge. Thank you!
My result (general) is:
Listening: 9
Reading: 9
Writing: 7
Speaking: 8
Overall: 8.5
I ran out of time in Writing, couldn’t revise the Task2.
I sat the computer-delivered mode, so my Speaking was on the same day. It was a bit tiring.
Great results! Considering you ran out of time in the writing test, getting band 7 is excellent. Well done π
Dear Liz,
I’d like to thank you wholeheartedly for the selfless tips and videos that you have provided us with.
I could score the following in my first attempt at IELTS GT (10th Sept 2020)
Overall: 8
Listening: 9
Reading: 7.5
Speaking: 8
Writing: 8
I goofed up in the reading section, wish I had practiced more like you always suggest!!
But nevertheless, I’m elated and feel so grateful for all the tips and tricks I received from your website.
I followed everything you said and especially in the writing section, I made sure I carefully divided my letter and essay into the required paragraphs and made sure I responded to every point that was asked.
The listening was the easiest and I guess the trick is, 100% attention every single second!
Speaking was a breeze and I made sure I was confident throughout and didn’t falter too much.
I would like to say that reading has always been a bit annoying for me, and that was the case during my practice tests as well. I feel I messed up the T/F/NG the most and hence only 7.5
Not complaining though!
Thank you once again Liz for your selfless wealth of knowledge!
Love and luck to you always! <3
Great to see your results! Very well done! This year I’m going to prepare an Advanced Lesson for reading which will include the TFNG questions. Hopefully that will help more people understand them and conquer them. Your band 8 in speaking and writing with band 9 in listening is excellent π
Thank you Liz π
Oh that would be extremely useful for people like me who find the reading section a bit tricky!
Hi Liz, I just have to drop a comment to say a huge thank you for all the clear, concise and free content you put out there. A friend recommended your videos to me and I watched them without having an idea of what IELTS entailed and they gave me all I needed to know.
I got my results this week and for my first (and only :D) attempt it was:
Overall – 8.5
Listening – 9
Reading – 9
Speaking – 9
Writing – 7.5
I did visit other sites and watched more videos for extra prep, but your lessons were a huge help. Giving clear tips on Speaking from even the little stuff like the greetings to the rest helped boost my confidence and removed anxiety.
Just to give back, my 2 min speaking topic was on someone I know who is a good leader and follow up questions were around attributes of a good leader, if leaders are born or made and if followers should be included in decision making (paraphrasing).
My writing was a table for part 1 and an essay on students who study business are more beneficial than those who study history, to what extent do you agree for part 2.
Thanks once again and keep doing an amazing job!!
It’s wonderful to see your results. Very well done to you. To get such scores for listening, reading and speaking is not at all common. I hope you celebrated π
Hellow Meena,
Congrats for such a brilliant score!
I am planning to attempt in a week, Can you share how you managed to secure 9 in reading. I am trying alot but nothing helps to improve my score.
I would be glad if you share strategies that worked specifically in reading
Thank You
Apologies, I am just seeing your question. I hope you did well in your test.
Still to answer your question, I read a lot and so I am a fast reader and that helped me to get through the texts in the limited time. Kindly do more leisure reading so you can get used to reading for general information, not for academic purpose only. Use the IELTS mobile app to get links to helpful sites for leisure reading.
For the test, you need to learn to skim and scan for information. Liz has great tips for Reading and you can find other great prep sites as well.
All the best with your future plans.
Hey Liz,
I am very happy to post this comment. I just received my IELTS General Training scores. Couldn’t be happier as this was my very first attempt. I scored an overall band score of 8 with individual scores as below:
Listening : 9
Reading : 8.5
Writing : 7 ( I tried to make some last minute tweaks , Not recommended )
Speaking : 7.5 ( Could have done better here)
First, I would like to thank you for you guidance. Your tutorials are just brilliant and spot on with no frills or tricks (that I believe don’t work) . There is so much content available online which might be really overwhelming and confusing to begin with. It is so easy to get distracted which can lead to dilution of efforts. Your carefully curated course, videos, valuable tips and model answers/essays helped me achieve the required band in the first attempt.
(Tips for listening/Reading : All Caps in L/R, T/F/NG, Match the headings , listening for s) I definitely recommend all test takers to go through the course.
Thank you once again!!
Best Wishes
Thanks for sharing your results. You’ve done very well π Congratulations! Thanks also for your feedback on my site. I’m so glad you found the content useful and comprehensive π
First took the General IELTS Late July, got the result August 7th or so (IDP paper delivered).
Listening 8.0
Reading 8.0
Speaking 8.0
Writing 7.0
I needed to max all components, so I immediately registered on BC Computer delivered. Took the exam on 22nd August, 2020 and got the result yesterday.
Listening 8.5
Reading 9.0
Writing 7.5
Speaking 7.5
I’m a Nigerian. My Canadian based sister (coincidentally, she’s your namesake) referred me to your website. Before then, I didn’t even know the meaning of IELTS. Got all tips and lessons from this great website. Used a month to prepare. Not to be unnecessarily modest, I worked several hours, and was kinda obsessed. Promised God I would drop a thank you note here if/when I get it done. I am very grateful.
Thank you Liz, I owe you a lot.
Glad you messaged me. It’s great to see how you’ve upped your scores. Brilliant π
Hi Liz
I am very happy to write this comment after receiving my IELTS General training results yesterday. I scored an overall band score of 8.5 and each individual section score shown below
Listening : 9
Reading: 8.5
Writing : 8
Speaking: 8
I did most of preparations through your website, blogs and videos. They were extremely helpful in explaining key concepts and giving a great direction for someone who has to give the test in 2 weeks.
Apart from your tutorials, I did a few Cambridge IELTS General training tests myself where I applied your concepts and saw myself doing quite well.
Thank you for being such a great teacher and guide for everyone π
Apoorva
Excellent scores! Very well done indeed π I’m glad you found my site π
Hey Liz,
Got my IELTS General Training result today. I had just 10 days to prepare. Glad that I stumbled upon your videos on YouTube as they helped me get a good understanding of the different sections and what’s needed for each. Thank you very much.
As for my scores, I got an overall band score of 8.5.
Reading – 9
Listening – 8.5
Speaking – 8.5
Writing – 7 (Expected a little more, but I knew I hadn’t done a really good job anyway)
Great results. Very well done π
Hi Liz .. Thank you for your great advice and preparations tips.. I had sat the IELTS exam in march 2020 and gotten a band score of 7.5. However I needed a band score of 8.0 .. with just 10 days to prepare I managed to acquire a band score of 8.5.
Speaking 9
Listening 8
Writing 8
Reading 8
Keep up the good job!!
Brilliant results!! Very well done. It really shows how much increase is possible if you apply yourself properly. Your results will inspire others π
Got the exact same score!
Overall: 8.5
Reading 9.0
Writing 7.0
Speaking 8.5
Listening 8.5
The listening was quite difficult cuz i usually score a 9.0
Writing was fabulous but I have no idea what went wrong. Maybe the marker was harsh? Seems like a common problem in IELTS
Examiner in speaking was nice and friendly, even though she did cut me off and hurled a few weird questions at me. Got that huge smile on her face the whole time
Done the exam in August 2020 so the covid pandemic was full blown.
Speaking tips: speak louder cuz they put a plastic board between you and the examiner for sanitary reasons.
Awesome!
Iβm actually planning to request a remark for the writing section. I think I did better than a 7. Anyway, thereβs no harm in giving it a shot.
For listening, I kinda lost focus towards the end. Thatβs where I missed like 2 of the questions.
Hi liz!
Iβve scored overall 7 bands with 8.5 in listening. It wasnβt possible without your lessons. Thank you so much!
Parneet Bhullar
Well done with your score π
Hello Liz,
I received my score yesterday,
Listening – 9
Reading – 8
Writing – 7
Speaking – 7
I followed everything you said strictly! I practiced all your speaking topics and read all model answers for writing. This page has helped me the most and I recommended it to all my friends already!
Thank you so much for everything!
Great to see how well you have done π Good job π
Hi Liz,
I’m a bit late, but it doesn’t matter.
IELTS IDP:
OVERALL — 8.0
Listening – 8.5
Reading – 8.5
Writing – 7.0
Speaking – 7.5
Thanks for providing us with such a massive amount of free content!
Great score – very well done to you π I’m glad my website was helpful π
I took my first ielts exam on the 18th of July and today (23.07.2004) the results have come:
Speaking – 8.5
Listening – 8
Reading – 9
Writing – 7
To begin with, I believe , it is worth mentioning that my native language is Ukrainian and when I started prepairing for the exam ,which was in the beginning of summer, I was 15 years old and that was my major concern. I was afraid that my general knowledge wouldn’t be enough…Since I still have another year to study at school , I figured out that the best thing I can do for now is take ielts , so that I could focus on other things required to matriculate at a higher educational institution thereafter. That is why I commenced prepairing for the exam in the beginning of this summer on my own and discovered that there is so much useful and wonderful information on the internet ( especially this website) that the desire is the only thing that matters.
I had no other options than to take a computer test at their organisation and this made me a bit worried since never have I owned my own computer. However, this didn’t influence my mark in a bad way whatsoever and ,on the contrary , made it more covenient for me.So if there is anyone reading this comment and doubting whether a computer-delivered test is your option – don’t hesitate,irrespective of whether you are a digital native or not ! Besides, u anyway get a piece of paper)
Now ,with regards to the preparation itself, I made myself a special curriculum for 5 weeks in order to cover all the necessary ielts points. In the beginning I decided to watch videos and write many ielts essays and reports to understand and single out the patterns which I resort to most frequently , including the best ways to start sentences , paragraphs in addition to examplifying. For instance, I resolved that my perfect essay had to have 1 inversion, 3 idioms, 2 passive tenses and 1 conditional at least. In terms of listening and reading, I believe , the best means of preparation is merely practising. While, on the first week I was only using tasks from this websites, which helped me greatly and acquainted me with the format, during the next weeks I was finding real ielts tasks and did them with accurate timing. Primarily ,despite the fact that the exam is checking English level, I focused on deriving knowledge of different popular topics like gobal warming, renewable energy, asteroid-mining ,technology to detect criminals and much more. That is why perhaps the part of this website I used the most was the page with over 100 essay topics. I advise everyone to take all the given topics from there and a bit reflect on them, understanding the topics which might be your weak point .Thus, as u might guess , what I definitely improved this summer was erudition π With respect to speaking, I found some new topics on the internet from the previous months and skimmed through them , taking several hard ones and forcing my sister to listen to her older crazy sister :))
BTW, I had to write a discussion essay on the following topic: Some people think that children have to be taught to recycle materials and avoid wastes at home .Others believe that this has to be done at school . Discuss both views and give your opinion.
My biggest problem was that I first couldn’t come up with examples and instead decided to add some more arguments. However, in the last 10 minutes I made up some examples , forgetting about deleting the unnecessary arguments . Therefore, in the end I had about 350 words , no time left and not fully developed conclusion which states my view ,yet doesn’t reveal the key reasons.
Nonetheless, Liz ,thank u soo much for the material on your website and Youtube channel ! It helped me a lot! I will be indeed happy if this comment helps or inspires anyone . Good luck everybody)))
Great results – very well done π From your comments, it sounds like you are very strategic and approached your preparation in a logical way. This is exactly the right thing to do. Your work paid off π
Dear Liz,
I got my certificate for IELTS Academic a week ago – and I was shocked with the results:
L – 8.5, R – 8.5, W – 7.5, S – 7.0
Overall – 8.0
I started my preparation in the beginning of this year and immediately found your YouTube channel and this website. I carefully watched all the video lessons, but barely read 30% of materials on the website. Nevertheless, I decided to buy video and text lessons on essay writing (including both books – Ideas and Grammar), as it was my biggest concern. Certainly, it helped me a lot! I made an unbelievable progress from 6.5 on my mock exam in March to much needed 7.5 in July.
I can’t thank you enough for all your efforts on developing these materials, maintaining your website and creating exciting lessons so often! You helped me not only pass the exam and get high score, which I need for my PhD, but also develop true love and deep understanding of English, which I have been studying since 5th grade, but only half-heartedly.
I promise that I will use this knowledge and will progress even further!
Thank you so much Liz! All the best and warm wishes from Russia!
It’s wonderful to see your results and learn how much you improved your score – very well done π It’s great that you feel enthusiasm for learning English and will continue on this path. That is what I want everyone to feel. Wishing you all the best with your future plans π
Liz, I got overall 8! Did the exam within a week! Followed only your great tips, examples, practice lessons! I have missed one or two types here and there, if not I’m sure I can achieve more! Thank you, thank you, thanks you so very much!
Great to hear how well you’ve done π Band 8 is a great score π
Hello Liz,
I really appreciate you as I utilized all the tips in your videos and with the help of God, I got my desired results especially my writing.
Overall band: 8.5
Listening: 8.5
Reading: 9
Writing: 8
Speaking: 7.5
General training, June 20 2020.
I am not a native speaker.
Great results – very well done π
Hi Liz,
I wanted to get in touch to offer my sincere thanks for all you do in this community. Your commitment fuels hope and aspiration for our professional and geographical futures.
Although I am British, it is a long time since I have done any English language tests. I worked really hard and to develop the skills you suggest over the course of a month. Additionally, I spent 90 minutes a day working on reading and listening tests from the Cambridge IELTS books.
I am so happy to say that it paid off. The following results were confirmed today:
Listening: 9.0
Reading: 9.0
Writing: 9.0
Speaking: 9.0
Overall: 9.0
It is clear to me that this wouldn’t have been possible without this site. Being able to make my application for Canadian residency with the highest possible language mark has given me a really possible boost.
Keep up the great work and thanks again!
Band 9 overall !! Fantastic! I’m so pleased you posted your results. So many people think it isn’t possible and now you’ve proved them wrong. Of course being a native speaker is an obvious advantage, but as you said, people need to do the preparation and develop skills to prepare properly to get their target score. I know many people will be encouraged by your results π I wish you all the very best in Canada!! π
Hello, my name is Alex and I am from Germany.
Just got my results for General Test:
Overall Band: 7,0
Listening: 7,0
Reading: 7,0
Writing: 7,0
Speaking: 7,0
My wife: Overall Band 6,5
We are very happy. Thank you very much for your work. Especially your videos about writing tips were very helpful.
Best wishes
Alexa & Julie
Well done to you both π
Hi Liz,
Your tutorials were quite helpful. I checked my IELTS (General Training) test result today.
Overall score – 8.0
Listening – 9.0
Speaking – 8.0
Reading – 8.5
Writing – 7.0
Thank you!
Great score ! Well done π
Hi Liz,
I received my IELTS result about 2 weeks ago. I managed an 8.0 Overall, with 9 in Reading, 8.5 in Listening and 7.0 in both Writing and Speaking.
I primarily used your site for preparation, most notably for Writing, Listening and Reading practice, and watched several videos for Speaking on YouTube. Thank you Liz.
My advice (should anyone want it):
For Reading (me: 9.0), it would be to practice at least 10-15 exercises on Liz’s website, while being cautious of time and you will be fine. There’s no reason to expect <8.0 with that. Almost all answers are explicitly answered in the paragraphs of the actual test, so it is very easy.
About Listening (me: 8.5), use the time before the audio very very wisely and anticipate the answers you're supposed to get in the audio. Once the audio starts, follow it on the paragraph and write the answers at the same time. If you are able to follow these directions, you can easily get a 9. You can practice Liz's exercises, at least 10 of them, to get comfortable with it.
For Speaking (me: 7.0), speaking at your natural pace, don't stop talking, if you're thinking of an idea and keep talking about what's going on in your mind (like saying I'm thinking, wondering, but then this thought comes o my mind, I can't arrive at a conclusion, but I can't decide). Try not to stammer or grammar-correct your already spoken sentences, this is probably what cost me an 8.0 here. And remember, your ideas can be crazy and stupid, nobody cares, they are there to check your English.
For Writing (me: 7.0), try to practice Liz's exercises, try about 10 of them. Follow all the rules Liz has highlighted in her videos and you will be fine. Do see her videos on Writing for this, she tells about a lot of rules.
Needless to say, time yourself in practice sessions.
Trust yourself, stay calm, practice well and hope for the best.
Great to see your results – very well done π Thanks also for sharing your tips. I know people will appreciate them π
Thank You Liz
Hello Elizabeth,
I want to thank you deep from my heart, your lectures helped me a lot to get the desired score I wanted, specially in the Writing Section.
My results came out today, I scored 8 overall with 8.5 in both listening and reading, an 8 in writing and 7 in speaking( probably because I gave the test via video calling and there was too much stuttering in the communication). Anyways, I now am eligible for the registration of PLAB 1 exam.
Some crucial tips I found useful for Writing section are-
1. Write clearly and don’t ever complicate ideas.
2. spare at least 5 min in the end to recheck your essay.
3. Do not waste time on writing complex sentences with rare words.
4. Task achievement is important too, and is the easiest criteria in which you can score 8 or 9.
5. Do not write words whose spelling you are not sure of, write simple words instead.
At last, I again want to thank Liz for her simplistic approach towards IELTS and I hope she continues to help people in future.
Thank You
Garvit Nama
Doctor, India
Very well done with your results π Thanks also for sharing your tips. Good luck with your Plab tests. There are also specific rules that apply for Plab tests so take your time to familiarise yourself with all aspects of them π
Dear Liz,
I am so glad to share with you that I received my IELTS results yesterday and I got the score I wanted.
L: 8.5
R: 8.5
W: 7.0
S: 8.5
You have been my teacher for all the sections from the time I decided to take IELTS. Your videos helped to prepare extensively, especially Writing. Getting a 7 in writing was really tough for me.
Your idea book helped a lot because I used to struggle to find ideas, and also all the tips and videos for writing sections.
I also purchased your advanced essay lessons and got the clear understanding on how to address each part of the essay question.
I always watched your videos on reading and listening tips and kept consistently practiced.
And the most important thing which motivated me is your kindness and encouragement to practice and work hard.
Thank you for being my Teacher, my Guru throughout this journey. I am always grateful to you.
Manpreet
Thanks for sharing your results π Great scores! It’s my pleasure to have played a part in helping you π
Hi Liz!
I am so grateful for your help! I studied alone during covid using your website. You do a great job. I knew what I had to face thanks to the information you provide us with about the process of the examination and the format. I was so stressed and I was afraid that I wouldnβt make it because I didnβt have a teacher to help me. Fortunately I was accepted in the university with an unconditional offer, so they didnβt need an IELTS test but I decided to take it to prove to myself that I can do it and because I had already studied. So I managed to pass the examination only by studying for 10 days. You are amazing. I owe this to you xx
Overall: 7.5
Listening: 8.0
Reading: 7.0
Writing: 7.5
Speaking: 8.0
Considering you had an unconditional offer, your IELTS test results are brilliant!! Well done π
I took IELTS General earlier this year with one month of self-study at home. I got the following results. I’m mostly okay with the score but was hoping to score more in Reading. As far as writing is concerned, the Pen and Paper killed it for me. If I’m to take the exam again I would certainly go for CBT- just for the ease of writing.
Overall – 8.0
Listening – 9
Reading – 7.5
Writing – 7
Speaking – 8.5
Honestly, I didn’t really prepare at all for the speaking section of the test. It was all impromptu and more of a conversation between the examiner and myself. I reckon that’s the way to go about speaking part. All the very best to everyone !
Great results! Band 7 is still a strong score for IELTS Writing π
Hi Liz
Thanks for your great help via the website. I got my results which are
R9
L9
S8
W8
Overall 8.5
Thanks again for your great yeoman service.
Excellent results – very well done to you π
Hi Liz and everyone,
I usually don’t comment on websites, however, I just got my results and I couldn’t remain silent on the role your website played in my score. I had no idea what it was like to take the IETLS test for immigration purposes until I looked for some tips online and randomly landed on your site. And my mouth dropped! I had expected some pretty straight forward exam since I’ve lived in English speaking countries for a couple of years now, but your website was full of weird T/F/NG questions, tricky matching titles, scary lists of possible speaking topics and very specific rules for writing essays. That’s when I realized that my level in English wasn’t going to be sufficient and I would actually have to study!
So thank you so much for these hundreds of pages full of tips, examples, explanations and FAQ. It must have taken you an incredible amount of time to put all this information together in a well designed website, and even more time to patiently reply to us all.
I’m so grateful I found your website two months before my exam and had enough time to study and practice. I know Liz says it quite a few time, but it’s true guys, practice is the key!!!
Also, definitely something that I’ve noticed for the listening part for the computer-based exam and might reassure some of you: they were speaking very slowly in the recording. I had always struggled in all the online practice tests I found ( whether it was the official IDP ietls/British council free ones or posted by random people) with the multitasking required. I often had a hard time listening while typing the answer while reading the next questions. However, during the official test, they were speaking so slowly that I had plenty of time to read the next question while they were off topic ( speaking about stuff that wasn’t important for my answers). Also, even during the 30min test, they give you 30sec to 1min after each section ( 4 sections in total) to check your answers. And that’s not counting the full 2min at the end to go through all your answers once again. So plenty of time to check and you can even use some of this time to start reading the next section if you’re done with checking your answers.
Now, the writing and speaking subjects. As you will see, some of them were in Liz’s list!!! So it’s totally worth it to go through the most common ones and practice them!
Writing:
1. You have borrowed something from a friend and you have accidentally damaged it. Write a letter to your friend to remind them of what you borrowed, how you damaged it and what you’ll do about it.
2. Some people become famous at a very young age. Is it a good or a bad thing?
Speaking:
1. Questions about my work, if people should learn sciences at school, how important science is in today’s world,…
2. Talk about a uniform you wore ( at school, at work,…): where you wore it, who payed for it, what it looked like, what you thought about it.
3. Questions about uniforms and clothes in general: did your friends like their uniforms? What do clothes say about someone’s personality? Do uniforms play an important role in today’s society?
Results: overall 8.5
Listening: 8.5
Reading: 9
Writing: 7.5
Speaking: 8.5
Hope that helps and thank you again Liz for your hard work!
Sabine
Really great to see your results – very well done π I’m glad you tackled the test in the right way. You are right, a person’s level of English doesn’t guarantee a score unless you also have awareness of the exam format and techniques. I appreciate you noticing the amount of work I’ve done creating this site. It was a huge task to create the lessons and the website which was made even harder because I have been constantly struggling with my health the whole time. But when I see your results and appreciation, it makes it all worth it π Very well done again π
Hello Liz,
First of all, many thanks for creating such a wonderful platform to study for IELTS. Hats off to your dedication. Got to know about your website at IDP center, Nehru Place, Delhi. The day lockdown announced in India, I started studying for IELTS on your website. Your videos and explanations are so elaborate and clear that I personally believe that there is absolutely no need of any textbooks. I am a doctor (Doctorate in Gastroenterology) and appeared for academic computer-based IELTS recently. My score (1st and only attempt) is
overall-7.5, L-8, R-7.5, S-7, W-7. I achieved the score I needed to apply for the UK and all credit is yours.
Finally, thank you once again from the core of my heart.
I love to hear about someone doing so well – it warms my heart π Very well done π I hope you enjoy the UK – stay safe!!
Hi Liz!
I wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your amazing website. It has been such a good addition to my studies for IELTS. I had attempted the exam last September but fell short in one of the sections by just 0.5. So this time when I made a rash decision and booked my exam, I had only 2 weeks to study for it.
I am a recent medical graduate and I needed this for my GMC registration. Through the suggestion of some of my friends, I came across your site and it was a blessing. I managed to get more than what was needed:
Speaking – 9
Reading – 9
Listening – 8.5
Writing – 7.5
I had messaged on this website the other day because I was stressed about how I had answered my Writing Task 2, and I want to thank you for reassuring me.
For those who are struggling with your IELTS Writing, and are quite confident in their typing speed. I would suggest doing the Computer Based IELTS exam. On my first attempt, I had struggled with writing enough words, which meant that I was penalised, but you can see the word count in CBT which really helps. It also helped me correct any mistakes along the way, as the first time I became quite flustered with crossing things out and generally how messy it looked in the end.
So thanks again Liz, and wish you only happiness and health.
Great results – very well done π Good luck with your future plans π
Hello liz
Hope youβre doing good.
I just wanted to say a big Thank You to you for posting all the tips and lessons on your website. It has helped me a lot specially in writing as I struggled so much to score 7 for my higher studies.
I lost my all hope to hit the band 7 after failing 3 times. Every time I was only able to score 6.5 and in my 4th attempt I practiced a lot( Thanks to the lockdown too as Iβm a full time worker) through your video lessons and the books which I bought probably more than a year ago.
Below are my scores:
L- 8.5
R-6.5
W-7.0
S-7.0
Thanks a lot once again for all your guidanceπ
It really goes to show how perseverance pays off!! Very well done for sticking it out and get such great results in the end π
I was recommended your channel on YouTube as the best Ielts teacher and truly they were right.
I just received my scores today: Listening 9
Reading 8.5
Writing 7.5
Speaking 7.5
Overall 8
This was my first attempt and it was all made possible bcoz of ur tips and explanations of the whole test.
Very well done π Considering it was your first try is excellent π
Hi Liz,
Thank you for everything. I only used the website and watched a few videos on your YouTube page but both resources helped a lot. This is my first attempt and I needed an Academic IELTS score of overall 7 for my Law Degree.
I got the following scores;
Overall: 8
Listening: 8
Reading: 8.5
Writing: 7
Speaking: 8.5
I am over the moon with the results, thank you so much. Without you, I wouldn’t have been able to achieve these scores.
Thanks again!
It’s great to see your results – very well done π I’m glad my website and videos helped you – but the credit must go to you! Band 8 is only possible if you have excellent English and sharp exam skills π
Hello Liz,
I want to specially thank you for your help in practicing for my IELTS exam. I used a lot of resources to practice and quite frankly they were overwhelming.
I made up my mind to stick only with your lessons via youtube and on the website, infact i read through your essay writing tips 30 minutes before my exam started and i must say that was my saving grace. Writing was my biggest worry when it came to writing the exam and your tips and advice helped me a great lot.
I sat for the exam (GT) on May 30 2020 and my results came in last week and i passed on my first attempt.
My overall band score was 8.0
Listening 9.0
Reading 8.0
Writing 7.5
Speaking 7.5.
Thank you for all that you do.
Treasure.
Brilliant results!! Very well done π Looks like you took on board all the main techniques and tackled the test in the right way. Thanks for sharing your results with everyone π
Hi Liz,
I wrote my exam on May 30, 2020. Your website was really of great help. I used your website to achieve the following score: Listening 8.5, Reading 8.0, Writing 8.0 and Speaking 7.5. The first time I wrote the exam, I had 6.5 in writing. Following your tips and strategy moved me from 6.5 to 8.0 in writing. I would definitely recommend your website to anyone who wants to perform exceptionally well in IELTS. Thank you so much.
Going from band 6.5 to 8 in IELTS Writing is brilliant!! Very well done π
General training : Overall band- 8 (15 March 2020)
Listening-9 , Reading -9 , Writing -7 , Speaking-7
I went through your website and your videos for all the sections of this exam. Your reading and listening tips are spot on. I don’t think I followed any strategy other than your tips in the videos and website.
For writing, I bought your training lessons. I think for any non-native like me, who has not written a formal essay in English in a decade, it was the best decision to buy your training lessons. I focused on the paragraphs , structure and meaning. Also, I make a lot of spelling mistakes, so learned spellings for frequently used words as you told in your training videos for essays.
Speaking: I took the speaking test on the same day. I think I was tired after writing and should have taken the test next day. Anyways, I don’t mind my score as I reached my goal of overall band 8 π
It’s a great result – very well done to you π It certainly is tiring doing all 4 sections in one day, but you came out of it with a great score π
Hello Liz and hello dear English learning community,
I had IELTS Academic on Monday in Australia and just received my provisional results:
Listening 8.5
Reading 9
Writing 7.5
Speaking 7.5
I work as a technical translator from German into French.
Thank you Liz for your fantastic tips, videos and explanations. I will definitely recommend you to some friends!
Here a couple of personal recommandations:
– Follow Liz’ tips for writing (how to write an introduction, etc.). The time for writing is EXTREMLY short. It is essential to know what is expected and how to structure your texts.
– During the Listening test, you have 1 minute between 2 sections : use it to read the questions of the next section. It is very helpful to know what you have to listen to.
– During Listening: correct your spelling mistakes afterwards; otherwise you lose time and cannot listen carefully. That’s what happened to me: I couldn’t listen for 30 seconds while I was panicking and changing “heitgh” into “hegth” and then into “height” π I think that’s why I got 8.5 instead of 9. That’s a shame!
Fingers crossed everybody!
Emma
Great results π Thanks also for sharing your tips π
Hi Liz,
In the third year of secondary school, I failed my year because of a four for English (C-). My English wasnβt great at all. But since I started practising for my IELTS test, it gradually improved. For this, I owe you a lot. It has helped me so much, and I donβt know how to thank you! So much excellent tips and information, and all this without any costs.
Overall band score: 8.0
Listening: 7.5
Reading: 8.5
Writing 7.0
Speaking: 8.0
It’s great to see how well you’ve done π It’s a huge improvement to go from a 4 to an overall 8. Sometime for you to be really proud of π
Hello, Liz.
I received my IELTS Academic test result about 2 months ago and thought that I should (finally) write you a thank you note and also share my experience with the others. I sat for the test on the 7th of March 2020 and I suppose it is also worth mentioning that it was my second attempt. I needed a minimum of 6.5 for each component and an overall band score of 7.0 to apply for the Overseas Registration Exam; an exam foreign graduate dentists have to take to register with the General Dental Council, UK.
My first attempt was on the 22nd of June 2019 and I had postponed the dreaded second attempt for the longest time because I felt discouraged and demotivated to sit for the test a second time. English has always been a favourite subject, but to receive a band score of 6.0 for my writing test when I initially sat for the test made me doubt myself. So much so that it held me back from registering for the IELTS test the second time around. :/ I just could not believe my eyes when I saw the test result, and I had let my ego get the better of me and went on to apply for an Enquiry on Results (EOR). The feedback, of course, bruised my ego even further as I read the sentence ‘Writing – The band score awarded for this module has remained unchanged.’.
I had let myself dwell on the past for far too long and I regret ever allowing that to happen. I guess I was too hard on myself considering that English is my third language. I should not have waited that long to take the test again because I had to study for the test all over again given my poor memory. On a side note, I wish someone had recommended me your website when I first sat for the test because I think it could have made a difference with regard to my writing band score. I had relied on another IELTS teacherβs tips for essay-writing during the first attempt, but they proved to be inferior to yours after a comprehensive comparison had been made.
My results for both attempts are as follows:
# First attempt:
β Overall Band: 7.5
β Listening: 8.0
β Reading: 8.0
β Writing: 6.0
β Speaking: 8.5
# Second attempt:
β Overall Band: 8.0
β Listening: 8.5
β Reading: 9.0
β Writing: 7.5
β Speaking: 7.5
I would like to thank you, Liz, for doing what you do. It took me roughly 2 weeks (around 3 hours a day) to prepare for the test and during that period, I relied solely on your website to help me improve my band scores, especially for the writing module. Although there were many other websites that I could have chosen from, I personally think that your teaching technique works for people who are looking for study materials that are straightforward, such as myself. It is very concise and helped me understand what the examiner expected to see in my essay in order for him to give me a band score of at least 6.5, because I honestly did not expect anything more than a 6.5 for this type of writing tasks, as I have always been better at writing narrative essays.
Argumentative essay was something I struggled with because I did not know how to expand the ideas and I noticed that I tended to drift from the central topic as I reached the third or fourth sentence of the body paragraph. I had read a few comments about candidates who struggled to improve their band scores when it came to writing and thought to myself that I could be stuck with the same band score just like them, since I did not get myself a tutor and would not have known if my writing did or did not improve after some self-studying. But with your help, I got a general idea of how to write a more directed and convincing argumentative essay.
I do apologise for this lengthy comment. If anyone wants to know how I improved my band scores for the listening, reading, and writing modules, or even how my speaking score decreased by 1.0, do let me know in the comments. π I hope everyone is doing all right during this challenging time. And to Liz, thank you for creating this website to help IELTS candidates prepare for our tests. You are truly a blessing to all of us. Take care and stay safe.
It’s great to see how you’ve improved your scores – very well done π I also appreciate you sharing your experience and tips with others. I know people will appreciate your effort. Glad my lessons have been helpful π
Dear Liz,
Thank you for your kind words. I think I speak for all of us when I say your lessons have been more than helpful and that you are a lifesaver. May God bless you abundantly.
Hi CC; I want to ask how you got 9 in reading? From where you did your practice? My test is on June 6 and I am struggling hard with it. Please reply soon.
Hi, Tayyaba,
I was able to get that score with the help from Lizβs website. I made notes on all 14 types of reading questions based on this website (https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-reading-question-types/ ) to understand each question type, especially Matching Headings and True False Not Given/Yes No Not Given (TFNG/YNNG) questions, as those are the hardest in my opinion, and I tried out all the reading practice lessons Liz has provided on her website. I also watched Lizβs video on TFNG/YNNG questions, which helped me grasp the meaning of each answer.
During the test, there were around 15 TFNG/YNNG questions and I was quite worried I did not do well enough to score at least 8.0 in Reading. I kept reminding myself of what each answer meant, while circling all the keywords and paraphrasing them to see if they would match with the words in the passages at all. And most importantly, I went with my gut feeling whenever the questions were really confusing. I hate to admit this but luck does play a role in some situations. π
I also followed tips from Manal (https://ieltsliz.com/how-i-scored-9-in-ielts-reading); they are spot-on. Time management is crucial in IELTS Reading. Do try to answer all 40 questions within 50-55 minutes because you will need at least 5 minutes to check all your answers for spelling and grammatical errors.
As for books, I used the Cambridge English Academic with Answers: Authentic Examination Papers (series 12 and 13), which are also recommended by Liz (https://ieltsliz.com/recommended-books-for-ielts/). Since I focused more on writing during my second attempt, I only had time to do 2 practice tests for the reading section and I did that 2 days before the real IELTS test (I thought I did more, but when I checked the answer sheets that I did the practices on, I managed to do just 2 tests on Reading due to time constraints). My conclusion is, as long as you have grasped the technique of answering the questions, the types of questions you get during the test do not matter.
I hope this helps. π
Hi Liz and CC;
I received my results on 10th June and I got an overall 7.5 in IELTS Academics in my first attempt. My overall goal was to achievement 6.5
L=8.5
R=7.5
W=6.5
S=6.5
This website was a great help and the post of CC really helped me to use this website quite efficiently, before that I was using multiple sites and always got confused!
I recommend everyone to just stick to this website by Liz and Cambridge books.
Special Thanks to Liz! You will always be in my recommendation list.
Great to see your results – very well done π Cc has done a great job supporting everyone – Thanks Cc π
Hi, Liz and Tayyaba,
Congratulations on your results, Tayyaba! π I am so happy you nailed it on your very first attempt and I am glad my posts have made studying for the test less confusing for you. π
Thank YOU, Liz. I would not be here sharing my tips with the others if it were not for your remarkable website, which helped me with my scores. π
Hi CC,
Can u tell us more about how you scored well in you Speaking exam.
As i am not taking any coaching so its really hard to assess yourself.
Hi, SS,
I have to admit that the topics I got during the first attempt were much easier and relatable, so I managed to speak without stammering, although I did pause a few times to think about the points, and not because I could not find the words to fill up the gaps in my sentences. There is a big difference between the two, and the trained and experienced IELTS examiner will notice it. I hope this makes sense to you. These are some of the examples of questions for my speaking tests:
# First attempt:
β Part 1:
β Do you work or study?
β What do you like most about your job?
β Do you like crowded places?
β Name a place youβve been where itβs crowded.
β Would you ever like being part of a crowd?
β Would you like to live in isolation?
β How important do you think sleep is?
β Do you sleep more now or less?
β What do you think of sleeping in the middle of the day?
β Part 2: A friend who inspired you:
β Who she/he is
β What success has she/he achieved
β How has she/he inspired you
β What makes you proud of him/her
β Part 3:
β Is money important?
β Does success bring happiness in life?
β What to do to achieve a successful life?
β Some people are given opportunities but donβt succeed. Why?
# Second attempt:
β Part 1:
β Do you work or study?
β Do you have any good friends from childhood?
β How often do you see your friends?
β Is there anything special about your friends?
β Do you enjoy traveling?
β Have you done much traveling?
β Where would you like to travel in the future?
β Part 2: A new public place that youβve been to:
β Where is it?
β What is it like?
β What do you know about it?
β Part 3:
β Why public places are important?
β Which is more important: preserving old buildings or building new ones?
β What is most important for a public building: design, location, or facilities?
β Do you think the appearance of a building is important?
I guess I was really lucky during the first time around to have been given topics I was more familiar with compared to the ones during my second attempt. I did not have enough ideas about public places, and I certainly had not been to a NEW public place for as long as I could remember. I knew I had to be βcreativeβ. To me, it is much easier to talk on events I have actually experienced rather than to make them up. I stammered and paused every now and then during parts 2 and 3 of the second test and I think that is why I got a 7.5. Having said that, it is imperative that you practise answering as many sample questions as you can. I managed to practise on 5 topics before the second test because my focus was more on the writing component during the latest test.
Practice is the fundamental key to getting oneβs desired band score for this part of the test, especially when the candidate is not a native English speaker. You could do it in front of a mirror, as suggested by many candidates and teachers, or even record yourself, so you could then listen back to your recordings and evaluate yourself accordingly. I felt that the recording method was a more effective way to help me improve my speaking skills. I could see how stiff I was during the first few videos and how often I fumbled helplessly for words, but gradually, as I did more mock tests, I became more natural when answering the questions. I had also printed out the band descriptors sheet to roughly evaluate myself because similar to you, I did not have a tutor.
One habit I developed while I was preparing for the test was that I would automatically link my sentences with the word ‘because’ and I suppose the habit came in handy during the real test. For the speaking test, it is crucial that we do not stop talking until we are signalled by the examiner to do so because it is after all a test to evaluate whether we are able to speak the language fluently. By asking ourselves questions, one phrase after another, we should be able to create longer sentences. I think it is also important for us to know our weaknesses. For me, it was my vocabulary, so I tried to play it safe by using just simple words and paying more attention to my grammar, since my aim was to get a higher score for the latter.
You should also try doing a 24-hour English warm up. Think and speak in English one day before the test. I know this may seem unrealistic because not all of us have family and friends who could speak English. What I would suggest is to at least speak to the IELTS candidates (in English only) right before the speaking test, while waiting for your name to be called. I spoke to the invigilators at the waiting room as I was 45 minutes early. So that was my little βwarm upβ to prepare my mind (and tongue) for the test.
I hope this answers your question. π
Hello CC. Thank you for taking out time to give a thorough explanation. God bless your heart. I am impressed that you are willing to help others do even better.
Hi, Oluwatobi,
You are very welcome. I hope that the tips I have shared based on my personal experience will turn out to be just as useful to the others as they were to me. And thank you. May God bless you too. π
Hi, Oluwatobi,
Sorry for my late response. I thought I sent out a reply to your kind comment but there might have been some technical issues, as the reply does not seem to appear on this page.
You are most welcome. It is the least I can do and may God bless you, too. π
Hi CC,
I am Stessy, can you please share how you improved your Writing. Because I am an Overseas Nurse trying to obtain UK Nurse Registration. In all of my last 3 IELTS attempts I scored 7.5 and above whereas I got only 6 or 5.5 in Writing. I need 6.5 in writing and 7 for the rest. I have booked my next exam on 3rd of June, 2020. Therefore, kindly help me please.
Hi, Stessy,
Presuming that you are taking IELTS Academic, basically, what I did was I practised writing all types of task 1 reports (bar chart, line graph, pie chart, table, map, and diagram) and task 2 essays (opinion, advantage/disadvantage, solutions, discussion, and direct questions), at least once for each type, within a week, around 2-3 hours a day, using the questions, model answers, and the official IELTS writing answer sheets Liz has provided (https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-answer-sheet-writing/).
The more practice I did, the clearer it was to me that for task 1, we need to look at a number of charts of the same type to figure out the pattern(s) for each type. For instance, I compared how Liz would write the reports on bar charts with 2 categories to the ones with 3 categories and made notes on what I should keep an eye out for when determining key features. Once the key features had been determined in the overview paragraph, I made sure the body paragraphs followed the sequence of the highlighted main trends, since how we organise the report is also what makes it logical. I hope that makes sense. On a side note, the diagrams I had to write reports on were bar charts for both tests. I have now come to realise how poorly-written my report was during the first test (it must have been quite bad considering that I did not fully grasp the concept of diagram interpretation then), hence, the lower band score.
As for task 2, I practised writing essays which Liz has provided model answers to, so I could check my work to get a rough idea of how band-9 essays were written as compared to mine. During the real test, I got an opinion essay. I kept my essay as simple as possible, while attempting to address all parts of the task. I did not use any uncommon vocabulary because I lacked confidence in my understanding of the few less common words I actually had memorised just before the test. The structure I used is the one Liz has recommended on this website; 4/5-paragraph-essay that starts with an introduction, followed by 2/3 body paragraphs, and ends with a conclusion.
The hardest part for me was the elaboration of ideas I had generated during the 5-minute-essay-planning (DO spend some time to plan your essay. As clichΓ© as it may sound, a well-planned essay not only helps you to save a lot of time, but also makes your essay more coherent, thus the higher band score.). Lizβs way of writing body paragraphs, in my opinion, is quite an easy one to adapt to (topic sentence, explanation, further explanation/example). During my first attempt of the test, I tried writing my essay using another method, which is similar to Lizβs but it does not seem natural now that I think about it because it is somewhat memorised. It is a method of writing I learned from another teacher, who recommends using examples such as this one: ‘For example, at X University in 2018, 72% of graduates achieved …, while only 28% achieved ….’ The data are, of course, not authentic but the teacher assures on his website that the examiner will never check the authenticity of given examples. My advice? Stick to Lizβs technique.
I hope this is somewhat helpful to you. Good luck on your IELTS test, Stessy. π
Hi, Stessy,
I actually posted this comment a couple of days before your test date but I think there was probably a technical error, since it has not appeared on this page. My apologies for not realising this earlier. This is what I wrote:
“I have just remembered about this one tip that I stumbled upon in an IELTS video on YouTube, which advises candidates to write at least 5 complex sentences using words such as:
β although,
β as,
β because,
β even though,
β if,
β provided that,
β rather than,
β since,
β so that,
β than,
β that,
β when,
β where,
β whereas,
β who,
β whether,
β while, and
β which.
Liz also stresses on the importance of linking words to get a higher score for Task 2 (https://ieltsliz.com/linking-words-for-writing/). If you could download the IELTS Task 2 Writing band descriptors (public version) copy, you would see that it is stated in the band 7 Grammatical Range and Accuracy box that the candidate who βuses a variety of complex structuresβ would be rewarded at least a 7 under this marking criterion. I hope you see this comment before your test because I think this is another reason which contributes to the increase in my score.
Sorry for the short notice. I hope preparation is going well.”
I really hope you did well in your test. π
Hi there ,
First of all congratulations on scoring great bands,ielts can sometime really get on nerves.
It is been a year since i am struggling to score band 7 in writing, i have tried everything from online sites to tutor still couldn’t get the desired score. I have tried like 6 times, i do not have any idea where i am lacking and what should do to further improve myself. Please let me know any tips and strategies. It would be much appreciated.
Hi, Sanday,
Thank you for the congratulations. I really appreciate your kind gesture. I am sorry to hear that, Sanday. And my sincerest apologies for the slow response. I have thought long and hard about this, and decided that instead of giving you tips on what to study, I could give you tips on how to strategise. Since you said you have attempted IELTS 6 times in the past, I am sure you have come across a lot of books and online resources, and would know what you need in terms of study materials.
The IELTS Writing rubric evaluates four different aspects of your responses, namely task achievement (or task response, for task 2), coherence and cohesion, lexical resource, and grammatical range and accuracy. That means you have to master most of the aspects before attempting the next test. I used the word ‘most’, because the band score for each task of the writing module is the average out of the scores of the four criteria I have just mentioned (https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-scoring/).
You could aim to achieve a band score of 8 for one criterion, 7 for two criteria, and 6 for the last criterion, to get a score of 7 for the task, preferably task 2, since it carries more points. As for task 1, you may still need a band score of 7 in order to get a total writing score of 7, since a 6.5 for this task means that you would get a total score of 6.83, which may be rounded up (to 7) or down (to 6.5). These are all just estimations and there are many conflicting views online on how the precise scoring is done by IELTS.
In my opinion, you should be able to get a high band score for ‘task achievement/responseβ if you spend some time to truly understand how the marking is done for this criterion. (Learn how to increase your score through Liz’s website: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-1-band-scores/and https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2-band-scores-5-to-8/.) To get a 7 for each marking criterion, for example, your writing needs to fulfil the points mentioned below:
# Task achievement (Task 1):
β Covers the requirements of the task
β (A) Presents a clear overview of main trends, differences or stages
β (GT) Presents a clear purpose, with the tone consistent and appropriate
β Clearly presents and highlights key features/bullet points but could be more fully extended
# Task response (Task 2):
β Addresses all parts of the task
β Presents a clear position throughout the response
β Presents, extends and supports main ideas, but there may be a tendency to overgeneralise and/or supporting ideas may lack focus
# Coherence and cohesion:
β Logically organises information and ideas; there is clear progression throughout
β Uses a range of cohesive devices appropriately although there may be some under-/over-use
β Presents a clear central topic within each paragraph (Task 2 only)
# Lexical resource:
β Uses a sufficient range of vocabulary to allow some flexibility and precision
β Uses less common lexical items with some awareness of style and collocation
β May produce occasional errors in word choice, spelling and/or word formation
# Grammatical range and accuracy:
β Uses a variety of complex structures
β Produces frequent error-free sentences
β Has good control of grammar and punctuation but may make a few errors
(Sources: https://takeielts.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/ielts_task_1_writing_band_descriptors.pdf and https://takeielts.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/ielts_task_2_writing_band_descriptors.pdf)
And of course it goes without saying that you will still have to spend some time practising for the test. You could try using a different approach this time, because I do believe that with the right studying technique, any candidate can achieve his/her desired band score. It is also important to bear in mind that each of us has a different level of proficiency of the language at the point when we start our preparation for the test. I have read a few comments posted by candidates who prepared for IELTS just a night before the test and got amazing scores. I, personally, took 2 weeks to study for my test.
It is up to you to decide how much time is needed for the preparation as you know your strengths and weaknesses best. Please register for the test only when you are confident that you have high chances of getting a high band score (read: well-prepared). It is, after all, not an inexpensive test. You could also give the tips on writing, which I have provided in the previous comments, a try. They worked for me and I certainly hope they would work for you and the others as well.
As I am not an English teacher, nor am I a native speaker, I do not have all the answers, but I sure hope these tips are somewhat helpful. Good luck on your test. π
I got a 7.5 overall thanks to you!
I had only about couple of weeks to prepare.
Luckily, I did it
Thank you, Liz!
Very well done π A great score with just a few weeks to prep π
Hi Liz,
The last time I had written it was to thank you for the notes and how much your website had helped me to prepare well and had given me confidence. Here,I want to thank you once more
and give you all the credits for my results. I got listening 8.5, speaking 7, reading and writing 7.5.
Although,at first your tips seemed easy and I took it for granted but later realized the importance of it.
I believe that if a person follows your method he can easily score above 7. That’s exactly what I did.
Thank you so much Liz
It’s lovely to read your comment. Very well done with your results π It really brings a smile to my face to see someone understanding the tips and techniques, and then succeeding to get the score they needed π
Hello Liz,
I want to appreciate you and your team for the excellent work youβre doing in mentoring people to do well in IELTS.
i basically used your site with some few materials in preparing for the exam. Iβm glad to get a band 7.5 at my very first attempt despite my tight schedule. Though I thought I should have done better in writing test being my major area of strength.
Speaking β 7.5
Writing β 7.0
Listening β 7.0
Reading β 8.5
Thanks once again, and keep the good work going.
Kano, Nigeria.
Reply
It’s great to see your scores. Very well done π I don’t have a team. It’s just me working alone. I’m glad my site was useful π
Masha Allah ππ€©
God bless you Liz
Hello Liz,
Hope you are doing well in this difficult time.
Just wanted to take a minute and share my IELTS General results with you and also appreciate the great work that you have been doing.
I scored an 8.5 band overall. (Listening -8.5; Reading -9; Writing-7.5; Speaking 9).
I have been following your website, right from the time I gave IELTS Academic for pursuing my Masters and have always admired your extraordinary skill set. More and more power to you and hope you continue to rock.
Stay safe and god bless π
That’s a great result. Very well done π Glad my lessons were useful. Wishing you luck with your Masters π
OMGπ± 9 band in writing!!! How!!
You misread it π
Its 7.5 in writing!!
Wow, 9 in speaking that’s great! Can you please share how you prepared for the speaking test.
Hello Liz
I really want to thank you because on February I was unemployed and I could accomplish my purpose on IELTS thanks to your videos and exercises.
I seriously can recommend your website instead of other internet sources that you can find. So, anyone who don’t have the time or money to play a complete course to present the IELTS can rely on your website that is enought to prepare it.
You can’t imagine how usefull was your website. I only have gratefull words for you.
That’s really lovely to read your comment. Thanks π Well done getting the score you needed π
Hi Liz. I wanted to thank you for this wonderful platform you have created to help others. I got my results yesterday and I scored an overall score of 8.5 (R-9, L-8.5, S-8 and W-7.5) in my first attempt. Your easy to understand methods are student friendly and you are god send for people who can’t afford expensive coaching classes.
I did not refer anything else and just watched all your videos, tips and did most of the practice exercises. I used your blog for approximately a month to increase my understanding of exam and actively spent 6-7 hours daily in the last week.
I was confident but never thought I’ll get 8.5 so all thanks to the area specific tips that you provide which makes it so easier to avoid obvious mistakes.
To everyone else, I’ll suggest to carefully plan your preparation and know your weakness and strengths ahead of exams. During last few days, do watch the videos all over again and focus on the mistakes that you may commit and avoid them at all costs.
Thanks Again Liz. You are wonderful!!!
Great results!! Band 8.5 overall is excellent π I hope you have celebrated. At this difficult time, it’s great to have something positive to celebrate π
Thanks. Yes we did. It was my wife’s birthday as well. So we doubled it up! π
I also wanted to mention one suggestion that can be helpful to Canada aspirants from India. The IELTS score when converted into language points works best when you have a score of 8,7,7,7 (8 being the Listening score). They give highest weightage to listening marks and if you don’t have 8 in listening, it won’t matter even if you have 8 in all others. This is what I have understood and I did not find this explicit guidance anywhere (may be I missed). I believe if I knew this, I would have put in more effort for listening than what I actually did.
May be you can include this in any of your tips and it may help others. Thanks again!
Hi mam
When u will publish your grammar book?
Soon. I’m getting it ready for publication now. It should be about two or three weeks. That means either end of this month or first week of May π
HI Liz, your books on ideas for ielts essay and grammar prove extremely helpful to score above 7 bands in writing as well as speaking. I appreciate your hard work.
Could you please make one book of ideas related to the task 1 letters.
Thank so much for both your praise of my e-books and your suggestion. I’m glad my e-books are helpful. I think you’ve hit on a really great idea. On my list of tasks, do I have an idea for an e-book of model letters which would cover most common topics. The problem is just my health. I’m not well enough to produce new e-books frequently. It takes enormous work and effort, and I’m not strong. However, it will be on my list and it will hopefully happen at some time. Thanks for your message π
Great work for helping so many candidates preparing for IELTS without investing on expensive coaching classes.
Congratulations!!!
Take care of your health.
Hi Ravi Kapoor!
Your success is so admirable! Congrats! How long did you prepare for your test, if I can ask? Iβm going to take a test in Mid April and Iβve just been working on it for only two months.
Hi Phuong,
Thank you! I prepared for about 3 weeks I guess. During last week, I decided to dedicate 8-10 hours in a day. Fortunately, I have a job that requires me to use the language all day. So L,W,S,R in English came naturally to me. Also, it’s not right to use one scale to measure preparation time for all. So, I would recommend you continue to practice exercises to see how comfortable you are and devote your time basis that.
Another suggestion would be to increase your understanding about the type of questions being asked. During exam, every moment is crucial and you cannot afford to be surprised with the type of question. WATCH ALL LIZ VIDEOS 2-3 TIMES AT LEAST SO THAT YOU REMEMBER ALL TIPS AND TRICKS. If you avoid falling for obvious mistakes (spelling, punctuation, trick questions etc.), you would come out with flying colors.
Again I am no expert like Liz :-). Above helped me. You would need to find what help your needs. All the best!!
Dear Liz,
Your tips on True/False/Not Given were very helpful. I managed to get a Band Score of 7.5 overall in my first attempt and believe me when i say that the credit goes to your tutorials. Got a little nervous during the speaking test though and believe that i could have done better. The examiner was yawning in the middle of my speech so i thought i was doing something wrong. Does that happen often? You’re doing a wonderful job. Thank You π
Very well done hitting band 7.5 overall !! I’m really glad my TFNG video lesson was useful. Here’s a link to my free reading lessons and videos for others: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-reading-lessons-information-and-tips/. Shame about your examiner. Their body language is supposed to be encouraging and calming. But, they are all human at the end of the day and get tired like the rest of us. Anyway, your results are great π Stay safe!!
Thanks Liz, for your support through your website.I sat for the exam March 14,2020 in Canada. I was disappointed with my score as I was expecting at least a band 8 in all the sections, but I am grateful as I do not need to take the test again.
Listening 8
Reading 7.5
Writing 7
Speaking 7. 5
Overall 7.5
Thanks for all the free info in your website.
Your results are great π I’m glad they are enough for the next step in your future π
Hi Elizabeth,
I hope you would read my comment. I cannot thank you enough for your website, and I promise I would recommend it to anyone who approaches me for IELTS advice.
General Training (Singapore, 22 Mar 2020)
Listening: 9.0
Reading: 8.5
Speaking: 7.5
Writing: 8.0
I was a bit nervous when it comes to the Speaking test. This is the very first attempt to IELTS test in my entire life.
Just to share my preparation experience:
Listening + Reading: I have finished all the tests provided in the IELTS Cambridge books (5-14). You actually don’t have to go through those before book 9. Older books are a bit out of date, and their confusion might affect your mind negatively.
Writing: I had written about 1-2 Task 2 Essays per day for a period of 3-4 weeks. Also, do focus on analysing samples and learn how they were constructed. However, please ensure that the samples are from reliable sources (Liz’s website is one of them; another would be Simon’s. Both of them have a very similar style). I do write emails every day as part of my work, so I did not focus too much on task 1. I chose to practise this part during weekends.
Speaking: Besides Liz’s website, you should follow Ielts Speaking Success Youtube channel by Keith. He posts videos once a week on recent topics and questions. Keep yourself updated with the latest contents, and you should be fine.
Personally, I think I have over-prepared. Don’t get my wrong. My scores are far from perfect. However, we should manage our expectation as we cannot improve our English command tremendously after 1-2 months. We focus on test preparation, and this is definitely not an English course.
Very well done with your results and thanks for sharing your tips π
Hello Liz,
Thank you So much for everything ! Your tips were really helpful!
I had to write IELTS in urgency due to Corona lock down . I had only 2 days in hand to prepare and someone recommends your website & boom :
Date : 15th March 2020
Mode : CBT – GT
Listening : 8.5
Reading : 8,5
Writing : 7.0
Speaking : 8.5
Overall : 8.0
I would like to share my experience :
Listening
It is easy provided you are able to maintain very good level of concentration . Trust what you hear and don’t apply too much of logic . Keep the key words in the questions highlighted and try to predict the conversion and comprehend the conversations don’t merely look for key words and answers for that. Since sometimes the answers change as the conversation continues. Try to be in the conversation as the second person and understand better
Focus is the key! Dont get distracted.
Reading
I felt time is excess in this section (can have bio breaks here) T/F N/G tips by Liz worked for me. Not just that knowing the pattern from this website helps a lot. Make sure you have good amount of time for last 2 sections as it gets progressively difficult , true for other parts as well. Re-read the answer statements to make sure it sounds grammatically correct.
Highlight the key words in questions , Skim through the passage at a very high level to understand the structure . Go through the questions again and identify where the answer could lie in the passage and read those sentence carefully to get the answer.
parallel reading helps a lot.
In one of my passage 50% of the paras were junk.
Writing
1st topic was
Letter to university requesting change of course enrolled
2nd topic was
Some belief work from home is beneficial for both worker and his family . Others think work from home is stressful for both worker and his family, Discuss both and give opinion
I dint do well in this section. Time management could be challenging here. I would give 10 mins for letter , 35 mins for the essay and the last 15 mins for review to make sure all ideas conveyed are coherent , grammatically correct and probably many more. I would have missed something for sure . since i had completed in time and probably just had 5 mins to review. I wasted a bit of time here in overthinking. I feel You need to have the template ready and then come to the exam rather than thinking there.
My word count was a 50% increase than the instruction . did that cost me ?
Speaking
First thing to remember it is not an exam of knowledge on the topic. Your ideas and answers might be similar to a grade 5 kid , but what matters is articulation and usage of correct English.
Intro was normal
– make it pleasant
Then was asked about my place of stay and about concentration – why it is and where ?
– Gave short answers and an extended short answer
Speech about Indoor game I played recently
With prompts in mind I focused on making him understand what I wanted to talk about in the first 2 sentence . Then went on with an example and how it made me happy and why it was memorable
Dont stop here ! Keep going and get all your ideas and thoughts however silly it may sound. keep speaking without worrying anything about the content but only about the English . I used little out of context sentence while drawling parallels show some strong English
Then we talked about team games. Mostly here i focused on first giving an opinion and then examples and reasoning to support that.
I use lot of filers when i talk , but this i used to my strength. I took a tip from Liz and instead of filers I used lot of “well., Let me think” , ” In this context,” , “good question ,perhaps it tickles my dead brain” and ” oh! there are many ways, In this context though I have to be careful not disrespecting any sport” Things like that
Remember the tone is informal not a very formal
Rest all good! Having a very positive mind is the biggest factor
Thanks a ton Liz ! God bless you
Regards
Ash
Very well done π Great scores with such little time to prep!! Thanks for sharing all your tips – very useful for everyone π
I had three weeks to prepare for this test and this was the first i was hearing or even learning about such test. and i don’t have much to pay for tutor until i found your website. what an incredible place to learn. within three weeks i was able to grasp what the test was all about and not but also understanding how to perform well in it. i got band 7.0. to be honest I was not expecting such in first trial but i got it. thanks a lot for what you are doing for people. the most amazing part is that it’s free! and yet accurate and easy to understand.
That’s great! I’m so glad you found my site. I made this site precisely for people like you. Well done with your results π
Hi Liz,
Firstly, the score breakdown: L9, R8.5, W8.5, S8.5.
This was my second time attempting the GT module, as my previous scores (L9, R8.5, W8, S7.5) had expired. I was determined to make sure that all the sections scored 8 and above in order to meet the required score. Writing was something that really stressed me out as I felt like I wasn’t particularly good at coming up with ideas. I caved and bought your Essay Ideas books, and it was a godsend even though I only made it through 2/3 of the entire thing.
With regards to speaking, I’m not sure if this would work for others but this is what I did – I would take a particular topic/cue card and just practise speaking aloud for 2-3 minutes, then review how I could’ve done better, what phrases could’ve sounded more natural and if there was any alternative suitable vocabulary to be used. I would then practise that topic again for 2-3 minutes. I typically went through each topic 3-4 times. After practising this way for several days, I started to realise the general pattern of my speech and the mistakes that I am prone to making. It took me a while but I managed to correct myself eventually. π
In general, I also went through your site extremely thoroughly. I think it’s one of the best IELTS websites out there and extremely consistent in terms of quality and suggestions. Thank you so much for all the work that you do.
Fantastic results!! Looks like your determination to up your scores paid off. I’m glad my Ideas E-book was useful – I tried to make sure it covered as many topics as possible. Very well done π
I have been looking forward to doing this. I would read comments in the section as a motivation to put in my absolute best to achieve a great result.
I wrote my first ielts exam on the 7th of December, 2019 and I scored 8.5, 6.5, 7 and 8 in LRWS. To be fair, I under prepared for the reading test because I didn’t imagine it was going to be that difficult to pass. In my head, I believed it was just English and how hard could it possibly be?
I was very devastated when I saw my result. On my second attempt, I focused mainly on the reading module. I made sure to answer all the practice questions on your website. I also practiced using the cambridge test books. I channeled my energy into improving my reading. I took the test again on the 7th of March and I was very happy when I saw my result.
8,7.5,7,7.5 – L,R,W,S.
I’m impressed with you pulling your reading score up from 6.5 to 7.5 – brilliant!! Very well done to you π
Hello Liz,
Thank you so much for all your help. I work as an IT specialist and the demand of my Job afforded me only 4days to study – and study i did with your website which is heavily loaded.
I took the IELTS test on 7th March 2020 and results were out on 20th March, 2020
Listening: 9
Reading: 8.5
Writing: 7.0
Speaking: 8.0
Overall Band: 8.0
Thanks a lot for choosing to help us all.
My tips especially for reading – study and know what areas you need to develop. After 3 samples, i realized i had a weakness in answering the TFNG and YNNG questions. So i used you materials to understand the difference.
With writing, i guess my low score was a result of my poor planning of my points. I realized during the test that i could not make up my mind on what side to tilt to – Agree or disagree. I wasted too much time deciding points to suit both arguments before deciding on which to take. I advise other candidates to take a lot of practice on developing ideas and writing them down – donβt assume you have the points in your head and can give it some βfleshβ.
Once again, thanks a lot for all your help Liz and i do hope your health is much better.
All the best always.
Great results π Good for you π Thanks for sharing your tips. Ideas are an issue with Writing Task 2. Without them, your essay will be weak. I do have an Ideas E-book which might be useful for others preparing for the test. Click here: Liz’s Store
Hey Liz!
I was ted to start by thanking you so much, you are a great person for offering what you do on this website. I did my IELTS test (General PBT) on the 7th of March 2020 and i just got the results yesterday.
Listening – 9.0
Reading – 9.0
Speaking – 7.5
Writing – 7.5
Overall – 8.5
I studied everything from your website, i took it slowly and did all of your exercises especially on the listening and reading. For the writing i did everything i was supposed to but i have no idea why i got a 7.5 and same for the speaking but overall i am super satisfied with the results. All thanks to you great efforts on this website. However, in addition to this website i did some of the tests in the Cambridge General Books 12 & 13.
For my tips:
– Stay focused and dont be scared of the exam. It is not hard and if u study from this website you will most probably achieve a high score.
1) Listening:
They will always try and trick you by saying a wrong answer first and then correcting it. Also, i noticed they keep filling unnecessary conversations or information between the answers to get you lost and not follow up, so make sure you have full concentration.
2) Reading:
Always proof read the passages and the answers or questions to take a general idea. focus on each question alone and underline your answer and remember that the questions are in order and so are the answers. Also make sure you move your answers to the answers sheet after each section to not be short on time by the end. Do not try to understand the whole passage. If its has nothing to do with the questions, dont even bother and search for your answers only.
Speaking:
Just be yourself and dont fake it. I think one of my issues is that maybe i wasnt fully specific and straight to the point when answering which is why i got a 7.5. Other than that, study from this website and you will be good to go as you dont need much preparation for this section.
EXAM: The examiner started with general questions and then asked me to describe a situation where i wasnt able to use my mobile phone. She asked to describe the place, the situation and why i couldnt use it and how the situation made me feel.
Writing:
Again, another section which i did moderately in, the website has great info about how to tackle this section. Keeping an eye on the watch and proof reading are also really important. The very most important thing to manage all, is planning your passages before starting to write and ensuring you have all your supporting arguments.
EXAM: First letter was for a friend to congratulate him on a new house and tell him im getting him a gift. They asked me to describe the gift, why i brought it for him and how im going to deliver the gift. (Informal)
Second one was about whether or not mobile phones have affected our social life negatively, i had either to agree or disagree and provide examples.
Overall, i think i achieved what i wanted to achieve and im really thankful to LIZ for that.
I hope this helped, and good luck in your preparations.
Great results!! Brilliant scores for Listening and Reading!! π Your tips are great. I love your Speaking Tip: “Just be yourself and don’t fake it” – that really sums it up nicely. Thanks for sharing all your useful tips π
Hi Liz,
Just wanted to come here and say Thank you for the knowledge that you share on this website. Hope you are doing well!
I gave my IELTS CBT on Mar 16th and scored overall 8 (L:8, R:9, W:7.5, S:7.5). It was my 1st attempt and I gave it 2 weeks for preparation.
Sharing some pointers on how I prepared, if that helps:
1. I solely used IELTS Liz for understanding the format and strategies. While I checked a few other forums, I quickly realized what I wanted.
2. Spent 3-4 days, around 2 hours a day, going through examples and strategies on this website. Reviewed speaking strategies 2 days before the test.
3. Used IELTS Official 13 and 14 for preparation and spent 7-8 days completing the tests. I, actually, never completed all sections in one sitting, but spent somewhere around 1.5 hours a day.
4. Only challenge I faced on CBT was that the screen was quite big for me. I am used to a 13” laptop and craning my neck all over the screen was a bit distracting. Also, I am more familiar with Mac, so I had to make some adjustment using a Windows computer.
Some strategies that I wrote down and that worked for me (some might just be copied as is from this site); just copy-pasting here:
Listening:
1. Tense has to make sense. If a sentence reads in plural, pay attention for plural form
2. Always check for articles (A, AN, THE) for using singular or plural
3. Focus on sound modulation. Answers are often emphasized in the way they speak
4. Look for titles
5. Technical/Academic language is not always paraphrased
6. Read questions first and mark keywords
Reading:
1. Question: TFNG. question/answers come in order. Skim para first. Reach sentence and re-read for question. Donβt read before or after the sentence to assume answer.
2. TFNG: Donβt overthink. STAY ON THE SAME SENTENCE. DONβT ADD LOGIC TO ANSWER!!
3. TFNG: Donβt overthink. Have to match question exactly with para. No match, then NG
4. TFNG: mark keywords that need to be present in the sentence you are looking for. Sentences look similar, but keywords need to be present.
5. TFNG: mark extreme keywords – all, must, will have to, always etcβ¦ and read sentence
6. Question: title or heading. Skim para. Paraphrase questions. When you know the location, read one sentence before and one after to understand the context completely. 1st 2 lines and last sentence should give the answer. Donβt overthink.
7. Question: title. Should be the last question. Donβt overspend time. Be quick on this one. Donβt add extra info into answer
8. Question: match para/which para info is found. Skim para, then look at the questions.
9. Question: match sentence ending. Stay within the same sentence. Donβt read before or after the sentence to assume answer. Donβt overthink
10. Question: short answer/match description. Read questions. Then para.
11. Question: sentence completion. ques come in order. Read ques first. Paraphrase same sentence. Donβt overthink
12. Question: multiple choice. Skim para for gist. Then questions for paraphrase. Ques come in order. Use same sentence for answer.
Writing (I wrote 180+ and 280+ words respectively):
1. Use sentences starting with: although, while, becauseβ¦. Or have so as to, so that, nevertheless, use 5-6 complex sentences.
2. Add one question in the essay
3. Conditional sentence: starting with βifβ
4. Questions need to be answered in the opening para
Letter (spend 20 mins), 150-200 words, 33% of total marks
1. Format: personal, semi-formal, formal
2. Paragraphs are not equal length, intro, explanation, additional information, closing
3. No exclamation marks. Just use commas and full stops.
4. Keep it within 170-190 words
5. Opening remark. Para 1. Para 2. Para 3 (based on questions given).
6. Formal: Dear Sir / Yours faithfully
7. Semi-formal: Dear Mr John / Yours sincerely
8. Informal: hi, hello / take care / see you soon / All the best
Opinion/essay (spend 40 mins), 250-300 words, it is a formal essay
1. Format:
2. Introduction (40-50 words). Para1. Para2. Para3. Conclusion (40-50 words)
3. On one hand⦠However, on the other hand⦠finally, in my opinion⦠(give example)
4. Paraphrase question. In my opinionβ¦and introduce thesis ideas here (intro para)
5. Avoid we, his, him reference
6. Positive or negative trend essay
1. One problem that canβ¦
2. Another issue is thatβ¦
7. In conclusion, to conclude, to sum up
Speaking
1. Willingness to speak could actually get you a higher band score. Stay informal, chatty, friendly, and open.
Thanks!
Great results π Well done π Thanks for sharing your tips. I know many people will enjoy reading them π
Hi Liz,
My results were out today and I must thank you from my heart, you are truly amazing. I was able to score all becoz of your tips, everyday i watched & read videos in your page which helped me to achieve this score.
Overall Band: 8
Reading: 8.5
Listening: 8.5
Writing: 7
Speaking: 7.5
Thanks again.
Karthick
Sounds like you nailed the test – very well done π
Hello Liz,
Thank you so much for everything! Your tips were really helpful !
I had to write IELTS in urgency. I only had 2 days in my hand and someone recommended your website. And boom:
Date of Exam : 15th March 2020
Mode : CBT
Listening : 8.5
Reading : 8.5
Writing : 7.0
Speaking : 8.5
Overall : 8
Listening
It is easy provided you are able to maintain good concentration level. Trust what you hear and don’t overthink. Imagine yourself in the situation as a third person and you will understand the conversation better. Well that helped me . At some point I applied too much of myself and probably added some more meaning and got some wrong answers. Focus and focus! You will get it all correct.
Pro tip: for some answers write it down in the paper provided, in short hand ,as the conversation goes on . Parallel typing may take time for some type of questions.
Reading:
I felt I had lot of time in this section. T/F NG tips by Liz worked for me. Not only that, even for other parts just knowing the pattern of questions from Liz helped me a lot. Make sure keep good amount of time for the last 2 sections. In IELTS it gets progressively difficult:True even for other parts.
Re-read the answer statements to make sure it sounds grammatically correct.
Parallel reading helps. I followed an approach of marking key words in the questions, the skimming the passage and slowing down when I found the key words to get the answer
Writing
Topic one was
A letter to university requesting change of course enrolled.
Topic two was :
Some belief work from home is beneficial for both worker & his family. Others think work from home is stressful for both worker and his family. Discuss both ideas and give opinion.
I dint get good grades here. Stick to time. I would give 10mins for the first letter, 35 mins for the second one. And last 15 mins to review the ideas to be coherent and grammatically correct and probably something else as well.
Another thing I did was for both sections my word count exceeded by at least 50% . 212 and 350 words respectively. Did that cost me?
Speaking:
First thing don’t think it is an viva exam or someone is checking your knowledge. Your ideas and answers might be similar to grade 5 kid. But what matters is Articulation , fluency and usage of correct English.
Introduction was normal.
– make it pleasant
Was asked about my place of stay and about concentration – why it is important and where?
– Gave short answers and gave a very small extended answer
Speech about Indoor sport that I played
With the prompts in mind I focused on making him understand what I wanted to tell in first two sentence.Then went on with an example and how it made me happy and why it was memorable.
Don’t stop here! Keep going and get all your ideas and thoughts how ever silly it may sound.
Then we talked about Team games
Mostly here I focused on first giving an opinion and giving examples and reasoning why I felt it that way.
I use lot of filers while I talk. But here the big tip I picked up from Liz was use words instead of filers. I used lot of” Well,” ” Let me think” ” Good question ” ” Oh !there are many ways” “In context,let me think a bit”. Things like that.
Remember the tone is informal not formal
Rest all good. Having a very positive mindset on the day of the exam helps a lot!!!
Thanks a ton Liz! God bless you
Regards
Ash
Great score, Ash!! Very well done π Thanks for sharing your tips and helping others π
Hi Liz,
I wrote the Academic IELTS last week Saturday and received my results today. I used your website and videos extensively and also the Cambridge books for practice tests.
I received the following scores:
L – 9
R – 9
W – 7.5
S – 9
I’m not surprised by L&R, did well on them in all the practice tests. Speaking I thought I had messed up on the day so I was pleasantly surprised (I was very nervous and felt like I made many mistakes). I’m sad about my writing score, I do a lot of writing every day and paid attention to the test format and felt that it went very well on the day. I think I am going to submit EOR for writing because I need a band 8 for maximum visa points.
Fantastic results! Good luck with your remark. Sorry I’m replying so late.
Hey Liz, your website materials helped me to score a whopping 8. They asked me to speak about jeans and I just went on speaking like a train. Great content, all the support.π
That’s excellent news!! Very well done π You approached speaking exactly right – keep on “speaking like a train” π
Hi Liz!
I sat the computer-delivered IELTS test (Academic Module) last Sunday (March 08, 2020) and I just received my test results today. Here are my scores:
Reading: 9.0
Listening: 8.5
Speaking: 8.0
Writing: 7.0
OVERALL SCORE: 8.0
For Reading test, I worked on one particular question type/reading task (e.g., T/F/NG) at a time whenever I practiced. Also, I only focused on tasks that I had difficulty answering or getting my desired scores (e.g., Heading Task).
For Writing Task 2, I panicked because I found it to be “culture-specific”. The question was, “It is neither possible nor useful for a country to provide university places for a large number of young individuals. To what extent do you agree or disagree?”. I had three interpretations for the word “university place” (i.e., 1) dormitories, 2) admission/placement, and 3) building sites for new universities). I almost cried because I had 20 minutes left to finish my essay. To make matters worse, I decided to completely scrap my essay and started all over again. I couldn’t really decide which interpretation I should base my answers on. What I did was, I just gave answers that are applicable to the three possible interpretations that I had. I got these answers from your e-book which I purchased/downloaded last January. At the end of that subtest, I managed to generate 356 words. Thank God, I got a band 7.0.
If there is one important and crucial tip that you want me to share Liz, that is to buy and read your IELTS e-book (Title: Ideas for IELTS Essay Topics).
Thank you so much, Liz! You are heaven-sent! =)
Very well done with your results π Sorry to hear of your difficulty in task 2 – luckily you handled it well.
The term “universities places” only refers to admission in the English language. If you are thinking about buildings sites, we use the word “site” or “plot” or “building site”. For accommodation, such as dormitories, rooms and flats, the words “accommodation” or “accommodation places” would be used. But as IELTS has common topics which are repeated again and again every year, the topic of university admissions is relatively common one to predict. The typical question is “Should there be equal admissions of both males and females into university” (or on a particular university course). Anyway, it sounds like you did the right thing, even though it was an awful situation to face: you made logical decisions and tackled things strategically. This always pays off in IELTS.
I’m glad you found my Ideas E-book useful π Here’s a link for anyone who needs it: https://elizabethferguson.podia.com/. Well done again with your well-deserved results. I hope it inspires others to think quickly and calmly in the test π
It was indeed a roller-coaster ride that led to a desirable result. Thank you, Liz!
Hello Liz. I want to thank you for being so kind and sharing so much useful information on your platforms. I pray for your full recovery and God’s blessings on you always.
Your site and videos helped me immensely as I had a short time to prepare.
I wrote my academic test in Lagos, Nigeria on the 22nd of February (first attempt). My scores are below:
Overall: 7.5
Listening: 8.0
Reading: 7.0
Writing: 7.0
Speaking: 7.5
The speaking part was quite interesting because I didn’t prepare the particular topics I was asked to talk about. I was asked about numbers; what numbers mean to me, how much I work with numbers at the office and my competence with numbers. For the second part, I was asked to talk about a dance and drama exhibition I attended. The interviewer later asked me about gender roles in dance and drama for kids, what the benefits of dance and drama might be to kids, what skills it could develop, why I think Art is important to nations, what Art represents to nations, why there should be specialist schools for the arts and many other questions I wasn’t quite familiar with because I’m Science oriented.
Anyway, it was an interesting experience overall and I’m grateful for all your help. Thank you so much Liz.
Great results – well done π You certainly had challenging topics for your speaking test. But it looks like you handled it all very well. Glad you enjoyed learning about IELTS and taking the test. It should be an enjoyable experience as well as a challenging one π
Hi Liz,
I took my second IELTS exam on 20 February (Computer Based) in Lebanon, Beirut.
Overall band: 8.0
Listening: 8.0
Reading: 8.5
Writing: 7.0
Speaking: 7.5
It was an improvement after failing to get the score I needed in my first exam(L:7.5, R: 7.0, W: 6.5, S: 6.0). Your tips and courses helped me understand the structure and requirements of the exam.
Thank you.
Such a great improvement !! It really shows how important it is to grasp the requirements of IELTS and the finer points of the test. Very well done getting it right π
Hi Liz,
I am so happy to write you this morning. I checked my IELTS result last Thursday and I was so excited at my scores.
Overall band score: 8.0
Listening 8.0
Reading 8.5
Writing 7.5
Speaking 8.0.
This is my 4th attempt and I decided to rely solely on your page. I am really grateful and will sure recommend this site to any and everyone intending to take the exam. Please how can i donate to your work? I really want to. You have helped me so very much.
I love you Liz. Thank you
I wrote the IELTS GT exam.
I hope you celebrated your results – brilliant π No need to donate although thanks for the very kind thought. I’m glad my website was useful π
Hi Liz
It’ s so wonderful to learn through your website all the concepts of Ielts. Because of ur selfless service, so many people around the world has finally achieved their desired results. Hats of to u for ur such devoted and sincere efforts for helping thousands of students.
I got my desired result today by studying through the content on ur website and really want to thank from bottom of my heart for ur such dedicated service.
My general result is as follows:
Listening 8.5
Reading 8.5
Writing 7.5
Speaking 7.5
Overall 8
GOD BLESS U in ample and always keep u fresh, healthy, joyful and blissful.
Love from India
Thanks and Regards
Tushar Sood
Well done with your results, Tushar π It’s great to know that my website helped you π
Hi Liz,
I took IELTS GT (Computer delivered) with IDP late in Feb 2020 for the first and am pleased with my results. Iβm from a business management background.
L – 8.5, R – 9, S – 7.5, W – 7.5
Here are my test tips:
Listening – Try to read the questions ahead if you can versus reviewing your answers. Try to predict the possible answers or activate your vocabulary for the subject. On the matching type qs, I focused on the answers and listen for the keywords in the audio. Itβs convenient to drag and drop the answers in CD.
Reading – scanning and skimming are your best weapons here. I read the Qs first and try to find the possible answers in text. Lastly, your tips on T/F/NG were a life saver. Thereβs like 10 of those questions in my reading exam.
Speaking – to be honest, I didnβt have much practice on this, so I got a bit nervous. I think what was lacking in my responses where examples and felt that my answers were hurried.
Writing – bad move here, I started with task 1 and spent 20 minutes without realizing I was writing over 300 words. 40 minutes for task 2 was barely enough to complete my writing but I endeavored to have at least get the intro and conclusion to match as well as provide a central topic for the body paragraphs. I made sure that the structure you provided in your tutorials was ingrained in my brain. CDβs word count feature is also a great help.
For my prep, I just took the 10-13 editions of the Cambridge IELTS books. Downloaded the 250 academic list of words. Read lots of articles on IELTS topics in BBC and the Guardian. And of course, your website.
I took computer delivered and I didnβt notice any difference on how fast the speaker is in the actual exam vs. the practice books.
You’ve done really well π Thanks for sharing your tips – all very useful. When you write over 300 words in task 1, it usually means a lack of planning. In other words, you start writing without a fully developed plan and get too absorbed in writing to notice how long it’s getting. But anyway, you still did very well in writing – band 7.5. I agree, the word count feature on the CD IELTS is invaluable. Well done again π
Hello Liz! I felt the need to say thank you for the hard work you do and the efforts you’ve made to put out tips and material. Your tips and lessons were very helpful to me. My IELTS General Training scores have just been released, and I am very happy.
Reading: 9, Listening: 8.5, Speaking: 7.5, Writing: 7.5
Cheers!
You should be happy π A great result π
Hi Liz !
I’d like to thank you for everything! You are doing such a great effort to help others and are a truly amazing and charismatic teacher.
I’m from Cyprus so I had to take the IELTS Academic last week in order to be able to register as a doctor in the UK (General Medical Council UK). I studied using IELTS Cambridge book and your videos along with some blog tips.
I got an overall score of 8 (9 listening, 8.5 reading, 7 writing, 7.5 speaking).
Thanks again!
P.S. in the speaking part I was asked about wild animals, an event that would make me happy in part 2 and general things about happiness in part 3.
Lovely to see your results – very well done π I’m glad you can now take that step forward and get registered as a doctor here in the UK π
Hi Liz,
I got an overall Band 8 on my first attempt and you did play a crucial role in this . I diligently followed all your videos and learnt a lot from your model essays.
Your were my invisible teacher for this exam and I THANK YOU for the support.
Its absolutely amazing that you are able to help so many of us not just for this exam but for the future as well.
These were my scores :
Listening 9
Reading 9
Speaking 7.5
Writing 7
For Writing , in task 2, I wrote only 230 words and I’m pretty sure that cost me some points .
I would definetely advice everyone to put in the minimal word count first and then, review both your essays .
Wishing you a speedy recovery
Hugs
Great to see your results – well done π Yes, it is possible that the low word count on task 2 is responsible for your score. One of the marking requirements of a high score is that all ideas are fully extended and developed which means each body paragraph has been a good length. But even so, you still hit that elusive band 7 in writing π Thanks for your best wishes for my health π
Hi Liz
Thank you so much for the website. Your website helped us prepare well for the exam.
Firstly I and my husband gave this exam with almost 20 days of hard preparation. This was his 4th attempt and mine was 2nd. Both of us were stuck with a writing score of 6.5. We gave the exam on Feb 1st and results were out on 14 Feb.
His score
L 9 W 6.5 R 8 S 8.5 overall 8
After revaluation
L9 W 7 R 8 S 8.5
Mine
L 7 R 7 W 7 S 8 overall 7
Our both study pattern in writing was the same. We checked each other work and worked on our errors. We were shocked to see his writing score with 6.5 (for the fourth time) whereas mine with 7. Hence we decided to reevaluate his writing score. After almost 10days we got an email with score change of .5 making writing score 7 which very important.
We are happy with the score.
With this I want to let people know that if your confident on your writing and feel you did your best please reevaluate your score.
I know the feeling of being stuck at 6.5.
Thank you Liz for your essay topics and recent questions post!! It helped us achieve our desired score.
Great results for both of you – well done π I’m glad to see that the remark worked. I agree that if you are confident that you fulfilled the requirements of a higher score, it is good to give remarking a go.
Good day Liz,
I will like to say thank you for the tips shared on your youtube page and website. I took IELTS Academic exam on February 8th, 2020 and I got more than the required score. I only had two weeks to prepare and all I did was follow all your tips.
L- 7.5
S-7.5
W-7.0
R-7.0
Overall score 7.5
Thanks and God bless you LIZ
A strong score with just two weeks to prep π
Dear Liz.
I wish to thank you for your resourceful materials on writing amd other parts of ielts….I am a medical doctor and been wanting to write my plab but didn’t get the scores i needed till now..and it was frustrating. Getting stuck with 6.5, 6 and 5.5..i even attended a tutorial and after that i got the least mark 5.5 in writing.i started taking the ielts test since august 2019…..other areas of the test have been pretty good except writing up until now… this was my 4th attempt at the test and i made it…i went through a forum with feedbacks from some colleagues about how resourceful your materials are….i took up the challenge . Studied your tips and various model essays very well…then i was familiar with the structure for various essay types….mind you the time between my 3rd and 4th attempt was 1 week….i used it to focus on my writing. With the format…i practiced on my own writing various essays and had them corrected… i got and agree disagree easay on the test day and used your format throughout..My result came out today..i have my the required score for plab now..am so happy
L…8.5
R…7.5
W….7
S……7.5
0vearall….7.5
Am so happy……..GOD BLESS YOU ALL THE WAY
Brilliant! It really goes to show that determination to succeed pays off in the end. Well done π Good luck with your Plab test!
Thank you so much Ma.
Dear Liz,
Thank you so much for all the help you offer through your website and videos. I practiced all the exercises in your website and also practically implemented your advices. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your efforts.
I took my first IELTS UKVI for academics test on 1st Feb and scored band 8 at British Council, Central London .
My scores are Listening : 8.5 ; Speaking : 7 ; Reading 8.5 ; Writing : 7
Overall Band 8
The thing is that I have stammering disfluency and hence require more time to finish my sentences AND
I also have asymmetric conductive hearing loss which results in muffled reception of speeches. I wear hearing aid and still frequently ask people to enunciate the muffled words again to me.
Fortunately, headphones work like a charm in my condition.
But the test centre uses loud speakers which is a very difficult situation for me to fairly test.
So I had to enter through special requirements team to address my following needs:
– Usage of hearing aid in the speaking skill assessment (However, I had to ask the
examiner to repeat the questing twice during the assessment)
– Usage of headphones in the Listening skills assessment(A true blessing for my
condition)
– Additional time to finish my speaking skill assessment. ( Initial few minutes were
awful since I stammered severely, however, it gradually got reduced after a while)
The team supported with all the above requirements and were very understanding. A big thanks to them and to the staff and the examiners at the centre π
My suggestions to all test takers are
1. know your limitations and work on it.
2. Play your strengths well.
3. Implement ALL the strategies given by Liz in her website and videos.
4. Confidence is the key.
If I can do it, You can do it too !
A great result π Very well done π I want to thank you for sharing your tips about the support available for people who are hearing impaired. It will really help others in a similar position. Your final points are all useful. I constantly tell people to know their own strengths and play to them – thanks for the reminder π
Am happy as am reading the comments and seeing good result I also hope your site will be helpful for me. Thanks2
Good luck!
Hi Liz,
I am writing this comments to appreciate your efforts in teaching selflessly about IELTS. By studying your tips for only 4 days before exam, I was able to score AVG band of 7.5. As i am working more than 10 hrs a day < i hardly get sufficient time for IELTS. So I took 4 days off from work & followed only your tips. Below is my IELTS ACADEMIC score.
Listening- 8.
Reading – 7.
Writing – 7.
Speaking – 7.
Which is more than sufficient to get me qualified in any university.
Thanks Indeed & take care
Sounds like you used your time very well. It isn’t just about how much time you have to prepare, but how organised and focused you are with the time you have. Well done π
Hi Liz,
I just received my IELTS TRF (Academic)
Overall – 7.5
Listening – 8.5
Reading – 7.5
Writing – 6.5
Speaking – 6.5
I prepared for the test merely in 10 days.
I gave all the mock test from IELTS 11, 12 & 13 by setting timer and referred your blog for tips simultaneously. It helped me a lot. I was confident about my writing skills and was a bit complacent about it. Writing tasks were easy but I panicked in the test, consequently getting 6.5. But your suggestion of writing on sample answer sheets before appearing for the test assured me that I will get above 6 in writing.
Since I do not interact much with anyone in English, I was worried about Speaking. But I kept talking to myself and that gave me confidence. I fumbled a lot in Part 2 of the speaking test and many times I was running out of ideas and kept repeating same words but one thing I made sure that I was constantly talking, which I think helped me in the end.
Thank You.
Well done π You found ways to work around whatever problems you had – great π
I want to take out this time to thank you for all your lessons, they were extremely helpful. I recently got my results for February 1st examination and it goes thus:
L: 9.0
R: 8.5
S: 8.0
W: 7.5
Overall band score: 8.5
This is my second attempt.
First attempt
L: 7.5
R: 7.0
S: 7.5
W: 8.0
Overall band score: 7.5
Thank you again
Fantastic to see how much your score has gone up – very well done π
Thank you βΊοΈ
Hie Liz,
Greetings from Zimbabwe!!
Many thanks for your great advise as i managed to to get relatively good scores (1st attempt) after a few days of studying on the back of work pressure. My cousin recommended your website and i can also testify that you are doing an excellent job!. My prayer to you is that may the the good Lord grant you all the wishes of your heart!!
My only source was your website
Listening -7.5
Reading – 8
Writing -7.5
Speaking – 8.5
Overall Band score – 8
Not just a relatively good score but a very good score – well done π
I got my results yesterday, a week after the exams:
Listening – 9.0
Reading (took me 17mins) – 9.0
Writing – 7.5
Speaking – 7.5
I did not have time to prepare, so, I went through Liz tips and tricks on the day of the exams.
Reading was fast for me because I read the question before looking for a passage that closely answer teh question.
Great results π
Hi Liz,
Your website is a goldmine! A friend of mine recently took the test and scored a 9 in Listening, like everyone I asked her “How did you do it?”, she recommended your site. I had 2 weeks to go through your entire site as I had already registered for the test. I scanned through all tips, mini-tests, suggestions and found answers to my questions in the blog below each section. I received my score yesterday and I too scored a 9 in Listening π
Thank you for all the information you have posted – did I forget to mention “FOR FREE”. I will recommend anyone taking the test to go through your site. There is enough here to score 9’s in all aspects if the test. I did not refer any other materials but your site and paid very close attentions to your instructions. The results speak for themselves.
My scores from taking the IELTS GT tests from Oct 2019 vs Feb 2020.
Overall 7.5 —– 8.0
Listening 6.5 —– 9.0
Reading 7.0 —– 7.5
Writing 7.0 —– 8.0
Speaking 8.5 —– 7.5
I am not sure what I did differently in Speaking, but, I am happy with my scores.
Thank you for all your hard work in creating this site Liz. It is a blessing and I hope you continue to provide and maintain this site.
-Karan
An impressive increase in your scores – very well done π It really goes to show what proper preparation can do π I’m glad you found my site and could use it to your advantage π
Hello Liz,
I came across your site via youtube, and it helped me tremendously with my very first attempt in GT – IELTS (paper based).
These are my scores (received today 14th Feb) – LRWS – 8, 8, 8, 8.5 (overall 8).
I was a little disappointed with my reading scores – probably the True / False / Not Given took me down. Listening scores did not surprise me since I was a little distracted during this part – the order of the test was changed to Writing, Reading and then Listening (to everyone’s surprise).
Anyone reading this comment – let me assure you – Liz’s paid Writing task 2 videos are the only resources you need to prepare well for IELTS essay task. The way she has structured the videos, and explained every aspect is really helpful, and took all my nervousness away. I could apply her strategy very clearly during the exam.
Thank you Liz for the wonderful chest of materials you so carefully created.
I am sorry to hear about your health – and pray you get well very very soon!
God bless and thank you once again π
Such a great score – well done π It isn’t easy to hit band 8 or more in every single part of the test. I’m so glad my Advanced Writing Task 2 Lessons were useful. Thanks for your wishes for my health – I’m keeping my fingers crossed for improvement this year π
Hello Liz,
I had appeared for IELTS General module on Feb 01, 2020(1st attempt). I am glad to share my results with you:
Listening : 8.5
Reading : 9
Writing : 7
Speaking: 7
Overall I have received Band 8.
I dint have much time to study, all I had was one week for preparation. All I could manage was to go through all your lessons. Trust me , without your valuable guidance it would have been impossible to get this score. I am highly thankful to you and have already recommended my friends who will be appearing for IELTS in near future to visit your site without fail.
Thanks for all your hard work that you put into videos and lessons.
Wish you the best health soon.
Best Regards,
Meenakshi
Very well done π Great to see what you could do in just one week π
I want to thank you IELTS LIZ for your amazing website. Education should be free for all and you have made that possible with your fantastic website I studied your materials for 5 days and received the following scores;
Listening: 8.0
Reading: 7.5
Writing: 7.5
Speaking: 8.0
Overall Score 8.0.
I cannot thank you enough. God bless you.
You’re very welcome π And very well done to you π
Hi Liz, It turns out to be a Valentine gift from IELTS. The result of the General Training IELTS test I took on 01/02/2020 just came in.
L: 8.0 R: 7.0 W: 8.0 S: 8.0 Overall: 8.0.
So I am back here to show my sincere appreciation to you for providing the best IELTS preparation tips anybody can find on the internet and unimaginably for FREE!!!. It doesn’t get any better than that…The surprising thing is that I didn’t bother to study for the Reading module because I thought it should be the simplest and it shows up as an anomaly in my result. My only tip is that it pays to read and practice all that is written on this great website before the exam date. My job now is to spread your website to all that I know is preparing for IELTS and continue to pray that you win the battle over your health and bounce back to full life. Thanks Liz, It’s a perfect day to let you know that we love you.
NB: I am a research scientist
Great to see your results π Sorry it’s taken me time to post them. I only get round to reviewing this page about once a month. Lovely to see what a great Valentine’s gift IELTS gave you hehe π Thanks for your concern about my health – much appreciated. Glad to see you are a research scientist – the world needs more of them π
Dear Liz:
I am a learner from China and I took GT test for several times. I learned from your website and resources in August 2019. After I studied with the video and Ideas, I got 7 in both writing and speaking for 7 times (From Oct 2019 – Feb 2020). Yeah, I always lose marks on Listening (7.5) or Reading (6.5). Fortunately, I got 8.58.577(LRWS) in Feb with computer-delievered test. Thanks a lot ! your resources are extremely helpful
Great results – well done π
Hi Liz,
Thank you for your informative videos and content.
I have practiced for around 7 days.
I received my IELTS results today. L-7.5 , R-8.5, W-6.5, S-7.5, overall-7.5
Before the test, I expected at least 8 to 8.5 in listening. But, during the exam due to some noise from the class, I missed the conversation. Also, for the writing, I addressed only one side of the question in task 2, as I did not read the question properly. This pulled my score to 6.5. However, I just need 6.5 overall, and I have 7.5. Thanks again π
If all you needed was 6.5, you have smashed it! Well done π A full band score more than you needed π
I took the IELTS General Training in April 2019. My overall score: 9.0 π
S – 9.0
L – 9.0
R – 9.0
W – 8.0
OVERALL BAND 9 !! I’m sure you have properly celebrated this π Very well done π
Hi Liz,
I appeared for the Ielts GT Exam not so long ago. My scorecard is as under: –
L – 9.0
R – 8.0
S – 8.0
W-7.5
Overall – 8 Bands
I just can’t thank you enough for your awe-amazing website and its content. Your strategies quintessentially the ones pertaining to “Listening”, “Reading” & “Writing” are out of the ordinary.
Please get well soon, for you are a lifeblood for the ever-expanding Ielts community.
Sincere Regards,
Ankit
Great results – very well done π Glad you found my lessons and tips useful π Thanks for your message about my health π
Hello Liz.
I would like to appreciate you for the great work you do on your blog.
I wrote my IELTS on the 7th of Dec 2019 and it has taken me this long to share my scores because I had to request for remarking of my speaking test.
Prior to the outcome of the remarking, I had 8,7.5,7,6.5 (L,W,R,S). After going through your comments on remarking, I decided to apply for my speaking test to be remarked. I got a pleasant surprise this morning… my Speaking score was changed to 8 from 6.5!!!
Iβm so grateful to God and to you for the tips on IELTS and even for the insight about requesting for remarking.
Thanks Liz, youβre simply the best π
By the way, this was my third attempt.
Wow!! That was a really surprising increase – from 6.5 to 8!! Well done judging correctly and going for that remark!! π
Hi Liz,
I gave my IELTS GT on 25th Jan’20 and got my results on 1st Feb. My overall score is 8.5 with below breakup:
Listening – 9
Reading – 9
Writing – 8
Speaking – 7.5
I also sent you an email a couple of days back with a screenshot of my results.
I was quite overjoyed with my results. I improved drastically in writing as I could only manage 6.5 in my previous 2 attempts. I would like to thank you for the amazing content that has been posted on this website. It was really very helpful. And yes, as I was going through many of the comments, I would completely agree with you that despite having good English, it is impossible to score 7 or more in writing if one is not aware of the marking criteria. One very good tutor also suggested to me that we should write the essay as if we are explaining to a 5-year-old child as we are not present there to explain what we mean. Our words should be clear and communication should be precise and understandable. Avoid using fancy and uncommon words, rather focus on relevant vocabulary and the words you are most comfortable in putting across your point.
For the speaking part, I would strongly recommend conversing in English with your friends and family. If you live alone, practice using a timer and record your answers on mobile and listen to them as well. You will realize how you sound and how fluent you actually are. Moreover, I have seen many students stressed out right before entering the examiner’s hall. Never be nervous. This is not even an interview. Consider the test as a speaking exercise with one of your friends and sound confident. Remember, there are no right or wrong answers.
I have some special tips for listening and reading. For improving your listening score, practice as many tests as you can until you familiarize yourself with various accents and speed levels. There are many free videos on Youtube and some of them are really fast-paced so practice them repeatedly. Even if you lose track in the middle of the exam, stay focused and concentrate on the next question. You can always recall the conversation or try put in some logic during the last 2 minute (or 10 mins in case of the paper-based exam) and answer.
For reading, I would suggest that you should read the entire passage (for a specific section) once, not thoroughly but still focusing on key data. Once that is done, go through every question in the section. In all likelihood, you will get answers to at least 50% of the questions. Some of them might require you to read parallelly as well. Again, in reading, focus is the key. Be sure of what exactly is asked. Do not jump to the conclusion and try to read the question at least 2 times. Even if you are not able to locate a particular answer, never waste time and keep moving forward. Imagine in the last 15 min, you know you have got 35 right answers and that you cannot fall below 7 in any case now, that knowledge will give you confidence and help you stay calm which will be of great help to find the remaining 5 answers.
One last word. For those who are used to typing, I would strongly recommend the computer-based test. That it is a little costly than the paper-based test is its only flaw. Trust me, the computer-based was very helpful to me, particularly in writing. I would cut and paste and reorganize my essay many times. For those who are concerned about no extra time at the end of the listening test in the computer-based, I would like to tell you that there are in fact additional 2 minutes at the end of the recording. This is in addition to 30 seconds of time to check answers at the end of each section. The time is just more than enough if you have practised enough.
Wish everyone all the very best. And thank you Liz once again. It would have been nearly impossible without your tremendous help.
Cheers!!
Great results – very well done π Thanks for sharing so much of your experience and your tips – all very useful. Your tutor was right about writing task 2. Ideas need to be explained step by step because you are not there to explain yourself. Never presume that the reader understands what you mean or infer – always make it crystal clear. This is the requirement of a higher band score. Well done again π
Hi Liz.
My wife and I would like to thank you for the videos and the blogs you have posted on your website. It has helped us immensely while studying for the exam. Especially, the writing and speaking questions were so useful. We got the following the scores,
Wife’s score
L – 7
R – 7
W – 7
S – 7
For me
L – 8
R – 8.5
w – 7.5
S – 8
We can now proceed to the next stage of our immigration. Thank you again.
Great to see both of your scores – very well done π Good luck with the next step towards a brighter future π
Hi Liz,
I appeared for the Ielts GT not so long ago. My scorecard is as under: –
L – 9.0
R – 8.0
W-7.5
S – 8.0
Overall Band – 8.0
I am super stoked to share that I’ve attained CLB10 level across all sections of the exam. I just can’t thank you enough for your awe-amazing strategies quintessentially the ones pertaining to ‘Listening’ & ‘Reading’ that acted as an extremely strong catalyst helping me achieve my target score(s).
On the contrary, I’m equally sad to hear about your health. Please get well soon, for you’re a lifeblood of the ever-expanding Ielts community.
Keep rising, keep shining & keep aspiring!
Sincere Regards,
Ankit
Band 8 overall is a great result – very well done π Glad my website was useful π I’m hoping this year will see my feeling a little bit better π
Hello Liz,
Thank you so much for all of your helpful tips!!
I got an overall score of 7,5 π
Speaking: 7.5
Writing: 7.5
Reading: 7
Listening: 8,5
I’m so glad that I achieved the results at my first attempt!!
Thanks a lot,
Leticia
A great score for a first attempt π
Hi Liz,
Me and my fiance gave IELTS general test on 24th November, 2019. And I am glad to say that we both scored overall 8 band score. It is thanks to your well laid-out material, guidance and tips that we were able to achieve it. Your website is invaluable for all IELTS aspirants.
Below are our scores respectively.
Mine:-
Listening: 8.5
Reading: 7
Writing: 7.5
Speaking: 8
Hers:-
Listening: 8
Reading: 8.5
Writing: 7.5
Speaking: 7.5
Thanks for all the positive vibes and I will recommend your site to others in the future. Lastly, you rock Liz! Thanks a ton!
It’s great to see both scores – well done to you both π I’m so pleased my lessons were helpful. Thanks for recommending my site π
Does they get free training or had they paid for your services ?
I am making up my mind to give general ielts anytime soon.
This website is 100% free and contains hundreds of pages of lessons, tips etc. My Advanced Lessons are paid for anyone wishing for more in-depth training.
Hello!Liz
Where can I find model answers for writing task2?Thanks in advance
In the writing task 2 section of this site. Use the RED MENU BAR at the top of the site to open it.
Hello Liz! I recently got my IELTS Academic results. I’m about to apply to my Master’s degree in Biology in Germany so I’m thrilled with my score.
I think that I got this score because of your blog and all the information you provide. Thank you!!
My result was:
Overall 8
Speaking: 9
Reading 8.5
Listening 7.5
Writing: 6.5
PD. I’m still confused about my writing score. Nevertheless, I’m satisfied with the overall score π
Regards from Mexico.
Lupita
Well done with your score π The problem with writing is that the scores are not based on only English language. There are other criteria and requirement which you need to learn about in order to ensure a high score. This is a common problem. People need to remember that unless you understand these requirements, you can’t delivery a high score essay. If there is anyone who needs to learn the right techniques for a high score, get my Advanced Essay Lessons: https://elizabethferguson.podia.com/. Anyway, your overall score is excellent – very well done π
Hi liz, i hope you’re much better now. I wrote ielta academic on 18th jan and my results just came in yesterday and beyond my expectation for a first attempt.
Overall 8.0
Listening 9.0
Reading 9.0
Writing 7.0
Speaking 7.5
Your teachings are amazing and i’m grateful for your time and effort, your reward is sure. Thanks
A great score – well done π
Hello Liz
I want to sincerely appreciate you for all the effort you put into making us have good results
I wrote my IELTS Jan 19 for the first time:
Total score 8
Reading 9
Speaking 8.5
Writing 7.5
Listening 7.5
I have to say, your tips, practice questions and ideas were very very helpful.
Please continue your good work and may God bless you.
Well done with your results π I’m really pleased my website was useful π
Good job ma
Hi Liz,
I got my test results and scored 9,8.5,7.5,7 (LRWS).
I had been referred to your website by a friend and it was indeed very helpful, especially the writing section. I wish I had got 7.5 in speaking too as it would have led me to CLB level 10.
I actually did this within a few days practice only so I am satisfied, but not ecstatic.
Thank you once again and keep up the good work.
Also, best wishes for your speedy and complete recovery.
Regards
It’s a really good score – well done π Shame about the speaking score, but it’s all about your future – if your score is enough for your future, you have succeeded π
Hi Liz,
Thank you. I got a band score of 8 and I didn’t really have enough time to prepare. I relied a lot on your instructions and preparation advice. You were a great help. Please get well soon.
Band 8 overall is great – well done π Thanks for your concern about my health – hopefully this year will see things improve for me π
Hey liz, i will explain my success story in short.. i got overall band 7.5 in general ielts test n individual scores r as follows-
L-8
R-8
W-7
S-7.5
I actually religiously followed each n every word said n written by u in ur blogs n videos.. i was amazed by ur tips.. my true false not given alwaz made a hurdle in my score,so i went fr ur video over there.. n since i had no tutor to check my writing tasks, ur videos over this section were commendable.. i really appreciate ur work.. thank u so much.. wat i have achieved is bcoz of u.. now wen i am able to suggest someone, i tell everyone that they should come to u only .. u r d mantra of ielts
Great score! Sounds like you really took on board all the techniques π Well done π
Thank God! Thank you Liz!!
Let me start by asking after your health. I hope you’re fine now.
I received my scores yesterday, at my very first attempt:
Listening 8.5
Reading 8.5
Writing 8.0
Speaking 7.0
Your lesson on writing the introduction in Writing task 2 was really helpful. I believed I wrote a good introduction and that laid the foundation for the three additional paragraphs.
Furthermore, your practice tests are top notch. They really drove me to prepare better for the IELTS test.
I was at a point not picking my words slowly and carefully during the speaking test, and I think that affected my score. Potential test takers need to be wary of this.
Thank you Liz and God bless you real good!
Great scores – well done π I’m surprised at your speaking score. Usually if you are feeling relaxed and not getting stressed about language, you get a good score. But, even so, you’ve got great results overall. Your writing score is excellent π I’m so glad my lessons were useful for you. Thanks for asking about my health – I’m still sick. No quick cure unfortunately. But I hope to see improvement this year π Thanks for sharing your results and experience.
Thankyou Liz. Just got my test results today
I attempted General test
W 7
S 7.5
L 8.5
R 9
THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HELP
Brilliant reading score – well done π
Hello Liz,
I had 1 week to prepare for my academic IELTS. My results came yestrday: overall – 8.5, R – 9, L – 9, S – 8.5, W -7. I am a doctor by profession and needed min 7 each and 7.5 Overall and I acheived it. Your tips helped a lot, especially writing and speaking which is difficult to score and judge while practicing. I had computer delivered IELTS and I ran out of time while I was writing my essay and it got auto-submitted. I was really upset about it!! That must have costed me as I left it incomplete. But the rest was great so I was able to score 7, owing to your guidelines!! thank you so much!!
A tip for others, please keep an eye on the clock!!
Great results – very well done π Given the fact that you ran out of time in the writing test, your writing score is still very strong. Thanks for highlighting the importance of time management – I hope others will learn from this π
Hi Liz,
It has been an amazing experience on your website. I got the desired score in GT IELTs held on 11th Jan 2020.I cannot thank you enough for your free tutorials.
I highly recommend your website to my peers as the only website to prepare for ielts.
Overall 7.5
Listening 8.5
Reading 7.5
Writing 7
Speaking 7.5
Once again thanks a ton !
It’s such a good score – well done π
Hi Liz,
I scored 8.5 bands overall.
Listening – 8.5
Reading – 9
Writing – 8.5
Speaking – 7.5
I believe your YouTube videos, and the tips on this website were very useful. Keep up the good work.
Band 8.5 overall is excellent π I’m so pleased my videos were useful π
Hello Liz.
First of all, I want to thank you for the great material you are providing on your website, and I can’t stress enough how important it has been to improve my marks on my exams.
On the first try, in December, I took the Academic paper-based exam, but was floored with the results, as they were far from what I expected and wouldn’t be of use due to being too low. I got an overall score of 8, but when checking each band, I got the following: R-9, L-9, W-6.5, S-7. I was very disappointed, as I’d been studying English for a long time and knew I was fluent, but also knew I was terribly nervous during the exam and felt very unprepared for it.
I came across your website and started to work on my greatest weakness: the Writing exam. It is EXTREMELY helpful, specially with Task 1, as I had no clue of how I needed to structure my report and which features I needed to highlight. I practiced each type of task that could come up, and it was very important to do so, as two completely different assignments were requested on each try (a line graph on the first, and a diagram to compare two images on the second).
Last week, I took the Academic computer-based exam (I can gladly talk about my experience with each type of exam later, if it could help other people) and I finally got the marks I needed. I scored an overall of 8.5, with each exam as it follows: R:9, L:9, W:7.5, S:8.
From personal experience, a few tips:
Listening-> even with a few differences between the computer-based and paper-based exams, the general tips are the same: read the questions beforehand and pay close attention to the information that they are providing, as it will most definitely be paraphrased and not exactly given as it is asked. Also, be careful with misleading information in the recordings, as they might mention something that is in one of the options, but discard that same option right afterwards. Have patience and fully listen to the recording before setting your mind on one option, as it might end up not being the correct one. The last part is a bit difficult, as you have to fill the gaps with words from the recording and it tends to be quicker and have a more robust language, so read the sentences in advance and try to come up with some words that might make sense in that gap. If you don’t get a word, don’t fret over it and just go to the next one. They are worth the same marks and it’s better to miss one point than two.
Reading-> same tips for both types of exam: I preferred to read the questions first and then filter what I was looking for as I went on reading. I found it easier to do it that way, specially with the TRUE/FALSE/NOT GIVEN questions, which I always found a bit hard. Always be aware, just as in the Listening exam, of what they require in the question: read carefully if they want NO MORE THAN ONE, TWO or THREE words or numbers, as you can easily miss a mark by putting more than allowed.
Writing-> PRACTICE. That is the key advice to do well on this part. As I said, task 1 is the most unpredictable one, so you have to be confident with each type of task they might ask. I have sat a few IELTS exams, and they have asked for different things on each exam: a line graph, tables, pie charts… The last one I took asked to describe and compare two images of cutting tools from ancient times. You need to be prepared for the unexpected, but if you ALWAYS have the report structure in mind, it will be okay, as it’ll flow with ease. Take your time to prepare your arguments in task 2, and my personal tip here is: never stay on the fence with the topic. It’s easier, if they ask for your opinion, to completely agree with one side, even if you don’t fully believe in it. Just establish strong points to support your opinion and follow the essay structure.
Speaking-> I have always been confident with my speaking, but on my last exam I was absolutely nervous about it. I had practiced a bit at home and had pre-prepared answers, and this was my downfall. Face it as a conversation, a normal chat, and try to talk, in part 2, from personal experience. This way, things will flow easier as it’s something you know about. Be careful with practiced answers, as you may get in your head and fumble words and your flow of ideas (that’s what happened to me and what brought my score down). Be confident, and try your best to expand your answers, as more is better in this exam.
Once again, couldn’t have done it without your website. Thank you SO much!
I’m really impressed with how much you increased your score – from 6.5 to 7.5 in writing and from 7 to 8 in speaking – well done π Thanks for sharing your tips. They will be so useful for other candidates π
Hi, I gave my IELTS on 11-01-2020. I got
Overall 7.5 band
Listening. 8
Reading. 8
Writing. 7
Speaking. 7
Frankly speaking, I just prepared for IELTS in a week. I focused on following:
1) Paper pattern (Types of questions)
2) How to attempt each section
3) Liz tips for all section ( it helped me the most) + Liz practice exercises
4) Time management
5) Rechecking my essays probably helped me secure 7 band in writing.
Thank you Liz. You are a savior and a really great teacher. More power to you π
Well done with your results π You certainly tackled IELTS in a logical, strategic way π
Hello Liz, I am currently preparing for IELTS. Saw the YouTube videos on your channel and found them very useful.However I have noticed that the last video posted there is around 4 years old. Are the tips shared there still applicable? Also please advise why you have discontinued posting those extremely useful videos. We request you to continue posting more such useful videos that will help those who are preparing for the IELTS exam. Regards, Francis
Yes, all tips, videos and lessons are all relevant today. I stopped making videos for health reasons. I’m still not well enough to make more. Hopefully later this year or next year π
Hi Liz , I would like to thank you for you wonderful website, I just received my IELTS General results today and I am chuffed to bits to share that I finally acced it. My scores are
Listening 9
Reading 8
Writing 7
Speaking 7
Regards
MUHAMMAD USMAN KHAN, Dubai
I’m really pleased for you π Great results π
Hi Liz where will I get the practise exercise questions trying to check on your link but am not seeing them…kindly assist me
Just use the RED MENU BAR at the top of the site to open the section of the test you want to learn about.
Hi Liz,
You are truly a gift to humanity. Thanks for all you do free of charge to help others. I got my result for the academic test today. Though it was my first attempt, I got the scores I needed-
Overall- 7.5
Listening- 8
Reading- 8.5
Writing- 7
Speaking-7
I basically used your blog to prepare for the test and did some Cambridge practice questions. Thanks so much!
You’ve achieved a great score – well done π I’m so pleased my website helped you π
I needed to raise my scores for my postgraduate offer that was conditional on language. Finally, I was able to achieve the cut off score in writing after struggling several times to score higher than 6. Thanks to the advanced writing lessons from Liz, I was able to get the cut off score with only ONE week of preparation!
L (7.0)
R (8.0)
W (7.0)
S (7.5)
Overall 7.5
Very well done getting your writing score up in such a short amount of time π I’m really glad my Advanced Lessons helped π Here’s a link in case anyone else wants them: https://elizabethferguson.podia.com/ Thanks for sharing your success π
Hi Liz, I have been using your website and youtube videos to prepare for my academic test and I got my results today! Overall 8.5!
Listening – 9
Reading – 8.5
Writing – 7
Speaking – 9
I took this test for immigration purposes and I have to say, as a native English speaker the test was harder than I thought it was going to be. I found it’s more about the formula to answering the questions than anything else. Even as an English speaker, if you haven’t practiced how to answer the questions you will probably find it quite difficult!
I did practice examples online and watching your videos. The reading on the test day was harder than all the examples I had practiced.
Writing task 2 was an opinions question on how combining cultures can make a place more interesting and developed.. I attempted this before task 1.
I was asked about my work, the use of robots in work places and a job I would not like to do in speaking.
If you are reading this as someone who has English as a first language do not think you will just pass it (especially the academic), practice and get yourself familiar with the format… and hats off to every person who even attempts this test with English as a second language! You should be proud of yourself just for trying!! I could not do this in another language!
Great to see your results – well done π Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts on the test and for respecting the incredible challenge that IELTS can be for non-native speakers. It really goes to show just what fantastic achievements all these high scores actually are. You are right about warning native English speakers not to be complacent – a test is still a test and this particular one needs all candidates to have awareness of question types, techniques and the marking criteria/band score requirements for them to be successful.
Hello Liz,
I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to you for the priceless guidance provided by you through your website. It is basically a heaven for any IELTS test taker and this website provides concise tips while maintaining the premium quality.
I took the IELTS Academic Test (Computer Delivered) on 05th January 2020 and surprisingly received results within almost 5 days, as follows.
Listening – 9.0
Reading – 8.0
Writing – 7.0
Speaking – 7.5
Overall – 8.0
This was my first attempt at IELTS Academic Test and I had only about 5-6 days for preparation (while working full-time). As a result, I couldn’t practice writing much, but I am extremely happy with the result that I earned as this result could be enough for my future ambitions.
Thank you again.
I wish you all the best in your future endeavours. Best of luck!
Well done getting band 8 overall – a great result π
Hi Liz,
I just got an overall band score of 8.5 in my first attempt.
Listening – 8.5
Reading – 9
Writing – 8.5
Speaking – 8.5
Special thanks to all your videos. They were really helpful. Keep up the good work.
An exceptional result – very well done π
Hi Liz. I am a Nurse by profession from Nigeria. A friend recommended your website to me as soon as he learnt I was preparing for IELTS. I have just received my results and I was super excited to see that I had passed , especially Writing, which I found the most technical.
My scores were LRWS 9, 8.5, 7.5, 7.5 and an overall of 8.
I really threw myself into studying your tips and watching your videos. I found them very helpful especially how to answer the NG, T and F questions. Also your website helped me brush up my listening skills especially in writing Names and units of measurements.
I also found your writing videos very easy to follow and the model essays helped me identify my erorrs.
I have always looked forward to this moment when I would be able to post my results. π It was part of the things that motivated me to work harder. Thanks Liz for the great work you do!
It’s lovely to see someone get such a good result from self-study π Well done π Sounds like you actually enjoyed your preparation and learning. Glad my website was useful π
Hello LIz,
This is my second attempt and I got my desired bands. Thanks to you.
My L/R/S/W are 9/9/7.5/7.5.. Total-8.5/9
I read your ideas book in detail and it helped me not only in writing but also in speaking. Watched all your videos and followed your instructions in detail.
My writing task was about extreme sports.. I used the ideas given in your book.I would recommend everybody to read this book in detail and practice all the questions properly.
A big thank you to you.
Very well done with your results π Band 8.5 overall is an excellent way to start 2020 π I’m glad you found my lessons and e-book useful. Here’s a link for anyone interested – https://elizabethferguson.podia.com/
Hi, Liz. Thank you for such useful videos and materials. I wonder why did you stop uploading new videos?
Unfortunately, I became very sick after making those videos and I am still too sick to make any more. Hopefully at the end of this year or possibly next year I might be well enough to start again.
Where can I get E-book written by Liz
You can find my Ideas for Essay Topics E-book on this page with my Advanced Essay Lessons: https://elizabethferguson.podia.com/
Hi Liz,
I would like to commend you and thank u very much for your exceptional work…kudos to you, your website is a treasure. I decided to just focus on your website and teachings only for just a short period in preparation for my GENERAL TRAINING test and below are my results:
Test date : 14 December 2019
Listening – 8
Reading – 9
Speaking – 8
Writing – 7.5
Overall – 8
I believe I would have scored higher on the listening part but lost concentration for a bit and did what you advised, guessed some answers hence being skeptical about the outcome…I’m surprised though. As for speaking I was asked a lot of questions I remember, something about voice tones and whether voices change with moods which I found weird haha; about technology and of course my workplace. Thank you once again, you are amazing.
Excellent reading score and great overall results π Well done π The topic of Voice is a weird topic, I agree. IELTS sometimes thinking of really bizarre topics for part 1 speaking. But you conquered it with band 8 π
Hi everyone!
I am from Uzbekistan. I took IELTS academic test on 7th of December. I am a senior year student majoring in Computer Science and Engineering. I want to pursue maters degree abroad. That’s why I took the IELTS exam. My results are as following:
Speaking – 8.0
Reading – 8.0
Listening – 9.0
Writing – 7.0
Overall: 8.0
This was my second attempt, before I had an overall 6.5 score (5.5 from writing). I attribute my success to following advices given by Liz to the letter. I have to admit that Liz puts up the most useful materials for IELTS preparation available on the web. I would really recommend to focus only on the materials on this web-site and to buy books written by Liz.
I’m really pleased to see you got your writing score up – it’s not easy to do π Well done π
Hi,
I took my test on 14th December and got a good score. Thank you so much Liz for the content and website you have put up. It was so damn helpful. This was my first attempt and I devoted around 30 hours to study time. My scores were:
Overall Band – 8.5/9
Listening – 8.5/9
Reading – 9/9
Speaking – 8.5/9
Writing – 7.5/9
All the basic concepts of the test section wise were prepped for using your content.
That’s a really great result – well done π
Hello Liz,
I took an IELTS general training exam on Dec 7th, 2019 in the U.S and received my results today. Following are my band scores,
Listening – 9
Reading – 9
Writing – 8.5
Speaking – 9
Overall – 9
I work as an IT professional and the primary reason for taking the test is immigration oriented.
Your training videos and tips were by far the best I had encountered while preparing for the test. A very big thank you for your time and effort in making these amazing and insightful videos.
Following is my experience with respect to the various sections in the test,
Listening – Apart from your amazing videos and tips, the Cambridge books 7-14 were also of great value while preparing for the listening section. The tests in the Cambridge books were tricky at times, however they did help with focusing on what to listen for and also with paraphrasing and anticipating. In my experience, the actual test was much more straightforward than the tests that were available in these books.
Reading – This section has been the easiest for me during practice, however, in the real test the questions were a bit more tricky than the practice tests especially in the final section. I was able to take a bathroom break during this section of the test, there is a security protocol to be followed while leaving and re-entering the examination hall so that took a couple of extra minutes. While I had anticipated that I would be able to finish ahead of time, I was only able to finish just on time during the real test.
Writing – Like you mentioned in your videos, time is of the essence during this section. I started with task 2 since it has a higher weightage with respect to the band score and was able to finish it in just about 40 mins, the remaining 20 minutes were barely sufficient to finish task 1. I did not have enough time to form an outline for task 1 (the letter task) so I did to a certain extent wing it with this task.
Speaking – An interesting point to note is that I saw the examiner write a 9 on a sheet of paper after the initial introductions, very likely nothing to do with the actual test but something that I found very intriguing since my final band score in this section is also a 9. I did not try to deliberately use any out of the box vocabulary while speaking to the examiner during any of the sections. Section 2 of this test was about a book that I had borrowed recently, in reality I had no such recent experience so in the 1 min that was provided I made a few points with respect to a book that I recently read and used that as the premise to speak for a couple of minutes. As expected, Section 3 was a bunch of follow up questions about Section 2.
Overall, I think what helped the most was to practice all three sections (Listening, Reading, and Writing) together within a 2 hour 40 minute window.
Once again, I highly appreciate all your amazing work. Thank You.
Sincerely,
DSV
Congratulations on getting BAND 9 OVERALL !! A great achievement and one I hope you are very proud of. Thanks for sharing your experience – I know others preparing for their test will greatly appreciate it. Well done again π
Hi Liz.
I’ve done my exam on Dec 7th and received my results today. Very happy to have scored 8.5 on my first attempt.
Details are as follows :
Writing 7.5
Speaking 8.5
Reading 9
Listening 9
I just want to say THANK YOU . Most of my test preparation was through your website . I read no other books nor purchased other material.
Your practice questions and your tips and comments are extremely useful and clear. Can’t express enough gratitude πΉπΉπΉ
That’s a great result π Well done π It’s a great way to enter 2020 !!
You’re the best β£οΈ
Happy new year
Hi Liz,
this website was such a great resource to learn from. I am so glad with my results and now I can apply for the Master’s program.
This was my first attempt and I’ve got the following scores:
Overall 8
Listening 8.5
Reading 9
Writing 7
Speaking 7.5
Also, I would like to highlight the fact that it is NOT true that there is always at least on TRUE, FALSE and NOT GIVEN answer in the reading section. I’ve read this fact on several websites and I thought I am doing something false in the exam because there were no true answers. But I had this gut feeling that all of my answers are right and I will not mark a question true just because someone says there should be at least one true answer.
And I got band 9 in reading, I did the General Exam so this is only possible with 40 right answers. Please be aware of this!
I’m glad you posted this. Such tips can be so misleading for people. Just take each question in turn and do not try to anticipate π
Such a great result – very well done π
Thank you Liz.. your website is really helpful also I got my target score β€οΈ
Glad to hear you achieved the score you needed π
Hi Liz,
I’ve used your website, advanced lessons and book of ideas for IELTS topics to prepare for the writing and speaking sections of the academic test and managed to achieve the necessary score on first attempt!
Speaking – 8.5
Listening – 8.5
Writing – 7.5
Reading – 9
Overall – 8.5
You are an exceptional teacher and your tutorials are by far the best I’ve encountered online.
Thank you!
Very well done hitting band 8.5 overall π Fantastic reading score π I’m so glad you like my teaching π
Hello Elizabeth
I am very thankful to you for creating wonderful content you have shared on your website and your YouTube channel. With your guidance and god’s grace I was able to get the desired band score in my first attempt.
I gave ielts academic on 23 November 2019. The score is as follows :
Listening 8.5
Reading 8.5
Writing 7.5
Speaking 8.0
Overall 8.0
I am a doctor by profession and the score is required for further studies. I am highly pleased by my performance and I am highly obliged to you. Keep up the good work.
Very well done with your final score π It isn’t easy to hit band 8 overall π Glad my website was useful.
Got really helpful support and information from this website and scored an overall band 8 (Speaking: 7.5 Listening: 8.0 Reading: 9.0 Writing: 7.0). Thank you for this service.
Well done π
Hi Liz,
I would like to thank you for your helpful lessons. I took IELTS Academic on 30 November 2019. This was my first attempt and I was quite worried if I didnβt get overall band 7.0, the minimum requirement for my masterβs programme admission.
I relied heavily on your website besides some textbooks and IELTS exercise questions. I also learned from your advanced writing lessons two weeks before my IELTS exam. They are incredibly beneficial to boost my writing score.
Big thanks to you, I finally get overall band 8.0 with L 8.5, R 8.0, W 7.0, and S 7.5. This is beyond my expectation. I thought I would only get around 7.0 for the overall band. Surely couldnβt make it without you and your lessons!
I admire your service to others. I see you as a really kind and sincere person who loves to help people develop their skills without expecting much profit. You provide lots of free helpful resources and spend time replying peopleβs comments/questions. Even your advanced lessons are sold affordably for a lifetime access. You are a talented teacher and blessing for all of us! And I love your smile too! Keep making more lessons that will help more people.
Wishing you a speedy recovery, Liz!
Thanks for sharing your results and very well done π You certainly got more than you needed which shows how well you have understood IELTS and the level of your English. I’m so glad my Advanced lessons helped your writing score π Here’s a link for anyone else: https://elizabethferguson.podia.com/. Thanks for your kind comments about my work – I love helping and post lessons π Well done again with your great results π
Hi Liz,
I sat for IELTS Academic on Dec 8 and my score breakdown is as follows:
Listening: 9
Reading: 8.5
Writing: 7
Speaking: 7
Overall: 8
I would just like to thank you for your amazing tutorials and tips. It really helped me. This was my first attempt at IELTS and I am very happy that I got this score.
Overall 8 in your first attempt is great – well done π
Hi Liz,
Hope you are well. I wanted to thank you for your amazing website and the brilliant efforts you have put in for IELTS candidates. My husband and I took GT in Munich in Nov 19 for the first time. I scored a band of 8.5
L- 8.5
R- 8.5
W- 8
S- 8.5
My husband scored 8 overall after 10-12 hours of preparation and he only referred your website. I can’t recommend your website enough for anyone looking to score high in IELTS.
Thanks much and wishes!
Priya
Nice to hear both results were so strong! Very well done to you and your husband π
Hi Liz,
Listening: 9
Reading: 9
Writing: 7.5
Speaking: 7.5
Overall: 8.5
I am really excited. I wrote my exam on the 23rd of November and gladly passed in my first try.
For reading and listening I practiced and documented my scores for Cambridge 10-14, ensuring I did not repeat same mistake twice. I read the questions first before searching for the answers in the passage and circling it. This helped when I was done with the test as I was able to fully review my answers and confirm I gave correct answers.
Thank you for your videos and tips.
A great score – very well done π
Hi Liz, I’m Yasemin and I’m currently studying Medicine! I took my academic IELTS on 30th of November and the results came on the 6th day. Thank you so much for this website because it helped me a lot especially about gaining the writing skills I lacked.Btw it was my first attempt !
Overall:8
L:8.5
R:9
W:7
S:7
It’s a great result, particularly when it was your first try π Well done π
Liz
I appeared for my IELTS 3rd time last month on 23/11, as 1st two times was not able to get through with the required score.
My scores this time are
L-8.5
R-7.5
W-7.5
S-8.0
Overall 8.0
The difference this time in my preparation was that I used your website as my main means of preparation and your videos on tips helped me a great deal in getting through this time.
So glad I choose your website this time for my IELTS Exam.
Well done pushing through on your third try π Great result π Glad my website was useful.
Hi, Liz. I took my Academic Paper Based IELTS exam on 23rd November 2019 and got my results just today. I’m italian and I’m studying Medicine at University.
I was aiming for band score 7, but actually I scored better than I could ever imagine, and that was thanks to your website for sure.
Here are my results:
overall band 8
listening 8.5
reading 9
writing 6.5
speaking 7.5
Again, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing useful tips for test takers, especially for your video on T F NG reading questions: that’s why I improved more and more and finally was able to score so high on this section. I’m also happy with my speaking and listening and just a bit disappointed with writing, but I’ll keep practicing. Practice makes perfect!
Thank you, God bless you
Well done with your results π Your writing score is lower than it should be judging by your other results. See my Advanced Writing Task 2 lessons to boost your score further: https://elizabethferguson.podia.com/
Hi Liz!
Your page is awesome and super helpful. No doubt I scored the below marks in great part because of your tips and lessons!!
Listening 8.5
Reading 8.5
Writing 7
Speaking 8.5
I am very grateful with you and congratulations on the work you have done here!
Tom
Your score shows how well you’ve tackled IELTS and the great level of your English π Well done π
Thank you Liz for this website and all the good work.
I prepared using your website and with a dedicated 1 week was able to score
L,R,W, S… 9, 8.5, 7, 7.5 Overall 8. FYI this was my 1st attempt.
I highly recommend your skill preparation material for anyone planning for IELTS.
Thanks again.
Timothy
With just 1 week to prep, it’s a great result π
I had my IELTS Academic test 2 weeks ago and thanks to Liz, my scores are amazing!
Listening- 8.5
Reading – 9
Writing – 8.5
Speaking – 8
Yes! Amazing π Very well done! With just two weeks prep, you’ve done a great job π
hi Liz
I just received the result of the my ielts academic exam taken on the 16th of november.
listening: 9
reading: 8.5
writing: 7.5
speaking:8
I really appreciate the help u offered during my preparation through your website and videos. I was stuck on 6.5 on the writing part for about 5 attempts. I had to really focus on task 1 because i realised was not meeting all the requirements. I followed your lessons and practiced several times until i was confident i could write a good task 1 essay.
My advice to those still trying to get a high score is to avoid or limit the number of mistakes made in your essay because I think that helped me.
Very well done π You are right about limiting mistakes. Too many people forget about how the density of errors can affect their writing score. Sounds like you had the right approach π
Sorry Liz, I should have added that I am a retired financial specialist while my wife is a teacher and Head of Year at an International school in Sharjah.
Regards
Hi Liz, my wife and I did the computer based IELTS test on 23 November 2019. Our results which we received this afternoon were only possible because we prepared using only your website – we would both like to thank you!! We both got an overall band score of 8.
Thank you
I’m so pleased to hear how well both you and your wife did. Excellent results π Well done π I hope you enjoyed a double celebration π I’m glad my lessons were useful to you both.
Hi Liz!
I just received my IELTS result and can’t thank you enough for that.
My scores are
L-8.5
R-9
W-7
S-7
Overall score 8, this was my 10th attempt but I never thought of giving up. I owe the credit of my success to you. Because of your advanced writing lessons, I was able to write well and score well.
Furthermore, this site was immensely helpful in providing the student’s experience with the exam and current exam pattern. Your teaching style is completely amazing. I wish you all the very best.
I also want to tell everybody here that never ever give up on your dreams and ambitions, keep working hard, your time will come definitely. It was my dream to post my success score on this website and I just did.
Thank you so much, everyone! All the very best to all of you.
PS: Dreams do come true.. π
Very well done indeed π It’s wonderful to read when someone finally hits the score they need after such a long struggle. It really shows your strength and positive attitude which I believe are essential for any type of success in life. Thanks for sharing this with everyone – you are an inspiration. Yes – dreams can come true π
Hi
Thanks for sharing your strugle to achieve your dream score.
I have exame on 14 can you please give me some tips for listening
Took my IELTS Nov 22, 2019
Listening: 8.5
Reading: 9
Speaking: 7.5
Writing: 7
Liz, thanks for sharing your knowledge. I took advantage of the 50% discount on your Task 2 lessons and it worth it every penny! Thank you π π
Well done with your results π Glad my Advanced lessons helped π
Dear Liz,
I wanted to add to IELTS Remark success stories by sharing mine,
I got
L8.5
R8.5
S8
W6.5
The latter jumped to 7 on remark,
that was my first attempt, and i was inspired to remark by stories shared on your blog
Thanks for sharing your remark results. Well done getting your writing score pushed to band 7 π
Hi Liz!!!!
I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to you for one great work that you are doing. I appeared for the 7th November 2019 ielts (GT) .This was my second attempt as I wanted to improve my writing scores. My scores are:-
1st attempt- LRWS- 8.5/8/6.5/7
2nd attempt – LRWS-8.5/9/7/8
I referred to your blog videos and followed all your tips. You are a wonderful person and a doting teacher. I shall highly recommend your site to all the aspirants.
Thank you a lot!!! Hope your health is better now
Very well done with your results π Sorry for the late reply. I’ve been trying to take time off for health reasons. I’m impressed with the improvement in your scores – great job π
Hi Liz,
Thank you so much for your reply.Hope you are feeling better now. I wish and pray for your good health. You are a blessing from God for all of us. I had attempted my first IELTS (GT) on 27th july 2019 and the second one on 7th november 2019. For both my attempts your website and videos were my only teachers. In my first attempt I made a mistake in writing of spending too much time on task 1 that affected my band score. You have time and again emphasized the need to stick to time and that task 2 carries twice the weightage. I just want to say to all the aspirants to strictly stick to this advice so as to achieve a good band score. Also the way you have described in one of your videos about writing introduction and parts of introduction is a must for all.
Wish you a great health and happiness always. Believe me you are an angel.
Deepti
I’m really glad to hear that my lessons and tips were useful to you π Yes, time management is essential in the writing test and also the reading test as well. Thanks for your best wishes for my health – hopefully next year will bring better luck for me π
I hope and pray that you always get all the best in life and stay healthy and happy. Also I can’t thank you enough for the reading tips especially the TFNG/YNNG and matching the heading/information. I couldn’t have imagined a band 9 in reading without your tips.
Love and regards
Hi, Liz. Finally wrote my IELTS last month. Your blog was really helpful. It helped me a great deal, especially in writing task 2.
Scored a 7.0 overall band. Breakdown as follows:
Reading: 6.5
Speaking: 7.5
Listening: 7.5
Writing: 7.0
Keep doing what you do.
Thank you.
Great score – well done π
Hi Liz,
I sat for IELTS test on 7th November, 2019 and got the following result: 8: 8.5, 8, 7.5, 8 (OB: L, R, W, S). This is a marked improvement on my very first attempt two years ago, which I had 7.5: 8, 8.5, 7, 6.5.
I’m particularly thrilled with my speaking and writing scores because I was really nervous during the speaking test and I felt I spoke too fast, even though I responded well generally, and the writing, I wasted so much time on task 1, that I ended up spending 30mins for task 2, making me unable to revise my essay before I submitted.
Your tips here also helped quite a lot and my tip for everyone would be to; practice as any times as possible for all sections, try to practice speaking on various topics or areas you can think of for speaking section 2, and always write an outline before you begin writing task 2, it will save you a lot of time, trust me, Also don’t forget to include a sentence conclusion, even if you couldn’t finish your writing.
All the best to everyone ππ€
Really good to see how much your score has improved. Thanks for sharing your tips – very useful for everyone. Particularly the tip about creating an outline for the essay – so many people skip that step, but it really does save time in the long run. Well done π
hi liz,
would love to extend my heartfelt gratitude to you for the wonderful work you are doing. just got my IELTS(GT) results today. this was my second attempt as i wanted to improve upon my writing score. I just referred to your site for both my attempts and all videos for my preparation and highly recommend it to all the aspirants.
My scores:-
1st attempt- LRWS-8.5/8/6.5/7
2nd attempt-LRWS-8.5/9/7/8
Once again thank you sooooooooooo much to help me achieve my dream score!!!!!
Really glad to see the improvement in your results π Very well done π Glad my site was useful π
Hii liz I am from India I recently gave my ielts exam and my band score is
Listening 9
Reading 7.5
Writing 7.5
Speaking 8
Overall 8
I am very glad to receive this band score
It is just because of you that I achieved my goal
Thanks liz
Great score – well done π
Hi Liz,
I recently took the test and scored an 8.5. i would suggest everyone to try and score maximum in listening and reading as the other two are based on individual capacity. Good scores in L&R helping in scoring higher on the overall band.
Band 8.5 is an excellent score – well done π
Hi Liz,
At first, thanks a lot for all your help. You are really a life saviour and assisted me in my Ielts exam when all other faculties refrained.
I diligently followed your advice and score 7.5 in Ielts in feb 2019 (L 8.5 R 8 , S 7.5 W 6.5) in GT
I am unsure why I got 6,5 in writing. I wrote way more than the word limit. (Around 220 in letter and 300+ in essay)
I am planning to write another again soon (Acad). Any tips and tricks please ?
I am still facing the challenge of writing over 200 for report and 300 for essay
Well done with your scores π You should not be aiming to write over 200 for task 1 or over 300 for task 2. Writing more just opens up your writing for a lower score based on density of errors and lack of focus. IELTS writing tasks are designed to be written in under that word count. See this page for word count advice: https://ieltsliz.com/how-many-words-ielts-writing/. You should also consider my Advanced Writing Task 2 lessons which are aimed at high band score techniques and show how to write an essay step by step according to the higher band score requirements: https://elizabethferguson.podia.com/. Good luck in your next test π
Hey Liz,
First of all a BIG thanks to you for being such a great help. You are genuinely helping and guiding so many people world-wide. Hats off to you π
I am a Mechanical Engineer by profession with 12 years work experience. I gave my IELTS (GT) exam on 8-Nov-19. I gave a Computer Based Test and definitely for professionals it was very convenient and well-organized. This was my first attempt for IELTS and any examination in years. So nerves were definitely there π
Listening – 9.0
Reading – 8.5
Writing – 7.0
Speaking – 8.5
Overall Band – 8.5.
Your website was only study material that I used other than 4 practice tests on the IELTS booklet, that I received from IDP, for preparation of IELTS. I studied almost all sections on Listening and Reading on your website and practiced all tests. Those were really helpful and gave me a clear understanding of how IELTS scoring criteria is so different. Who knew ‘False’ in TFNG question means opposite lol…
Your work on speaking also gave me a good insight on how to manage the speaking test. The do’s and don’ts were really helpful. Amazingly, questions from your speaking practice test, ‘type of house you live in?’ actually came in my test as well.
I’m little unhappy with my writing score. I thought it went pretty well. I went through your lessons on writing but wasn’t able to put a lot on emphasis on writing preparation. And, I have learned, it too requires good practice to understand the structure and marking criteria even if you have a good command on the language.
Thanks Liz once again for keeping sincerity alive and being a gem of a person. Be Blessed!!!
Warm Regards
Amanpreet Singh Marwaha (New Delhi, India)
I’m so pleased to read your results – very well done π How lucky to get that topic in your speaking test – brilliant!! You are right about the writing test. Even with excellent English, there are techniques to learn and band score requirements to take into consideration. But even so, you hit band 7 which is not easy to do π Thank you for your kind words to me – I wish you all the very best !! π
Hi Liz,
I recently applied for the general module of IELTS.
My score is
L 7
W 7
R 7
and S 8
My overall is 7.5.
My question to you is that is is possible to have Speaking score higher than the other scores? Because I have always come across scores where the Listening is maximum and others are less. but my case looks different.
Could you kindly share your thoughts on this?
Well done with your results π Certainly it is possible to have one particular skill higher than the others. We all have our strengths and also performance on the day depending on topics can vary for each section. As there is only one band score difference, it isn’t something unusual.
Hi Liz,
I just went through your Youtube channel a day before my IELTS academic exam which was on 3rd November,your pointers on writing and speaking were quite helpful in brushing up my approach for those modules which I was a bit unsure of. Below are my scores :
Listening : 8.5
Writing : 7.5
Speaking : 7.5
Reading : 8.5
Overall : 8
Thanks for your youtube channel I could manage the exam at ease,I really appreciate your methodology of teaching and efforts in helping out people appearing for the exam.
Thanks & Regards,
Abhilash Halappanavar
Great score – glad my tips helped π
I took my IELTS (GT) in Akure, Nigeria on the 26th of October. I am extremely happy for my result. Your website was really helpful.
Overall band 8
Listening 8.5
Speaking 7.5
Writing 8
Reading 8
Well done with your results π
Hi Liz,
I found your website rather late (3 days to my exam), but just by following the tips provided, my reading and writing scores improved dramatically.
Listening: 9
Reading: 8
Writing: 7
Speaking: 8.5
Overall Band Score: 8
Thanks a lot and keep on the good work
Great score – well done π Glad you found my site π
Hi Liz !
I am extremely happy to share my IELTS ACADEMIC Result.
Overall Band Score: 8
Reading: 9
Listening: 8.5
Speaking: 7.5
Writing: 7
I must say Thank You Very Much to you for your guidance, help and support in the form of your individual comments and the detailed material on this website. I would surely recommend your website to future test takers.
Stay Blessed !
Band 8 is an excellent score – well done π I’m glad my materials and tips were useful π
Hi Liz! I just received my test result today
I took the Academic one on October 26th
Listening: 8.5
Reading: 9.0
Writing: 6.5
Speaking: 7.0
Overall: 8
This was my first attempt, and I honestly didnβt expect it
Unfortunately I didnβt finish my task one in time, but I just wanted to say that your website has helped massively
Thank you for everything youβve done !
Well done !! For your first attempt, it’s great π I hope it shows you how great your potential is π
Hey guys! Just wanted to let you know about my Ielts journey… Sooo in the 13th attempt and after 3 EOR, I finally got my required band in 12 oct results. It was withheld due to quality check and I received the results on 31st October with the golden score
Over all -8
Listening-9
Reading -8.5
Writing-7
Speaking-7
I was never able to score 7 in writing, it was always 6 or 6.5, but this time I cracked it.. I can only say that Ielts lizβs paid advanced lessons are blessings. It has everything that you need to score 7+ in writing and trust me in my previous 12 attempts I always scored 6 or 6.5, however, after referring to her videos I got 7 and the way she explained in those videos are amazing and easy to understand.
So you guys donβt loss hope anyone who is struggling to get the score, you will get it. Keep working and pray for the best.
all the best everyone
Here is the link if anybody wants it-
https://elizabethferguson.podia.com/
Dear liz, I canβt thank you enough. Itβs because of you I was able to score 7 in writing. I can be at peace now after my struggle and multiple attempts. thank you soo much once again.
YAY!! It really goes to show how much determination and a positive attitude pay off in the end. Well done for persevering and finally getting the results you needed π Well done π I’m so pleased my Advanced lessons were useful.
Hello Liz, I received my IELTS GT exam results today. Had appeared in the 26th Oct slot. This was my 4th attempt π
Scores:
L-8
R-8
W-7.5
S-8.5
Missed out on half mark yet again. This has been the case in all the last 3 attempts. Writing went from 7 to 7.5 but then is stuck there. I CANNOT do without scoring an all 8. It sometimes is so frustrating but will prepare more and reappear.
You are so close to what you need. Don’t give up! The stars will align themselves for you at some point. Review your essays and make sure you are keeping your ideas very focused and well connected to the exact issue in the essay question. Always re-read the essay question before you start each paragraph because it’s all about phrasing your ideas properly. Also review minor grammar errors to eliminate as many as possible, Fingers crossed you finally get the score you need π
Hello Liz,
I am writing to express my gratitude for all the help you’ve done through your free youtube videos and this wonderful blog. This website is worth more than any other book one could read to prepare for IELTS. I scored an overall band score of 8.5 with the distribution as follows:
Listening: 9.0
Reading: 9.0
Writing: 7.0
Speaking: 8.5
(IELTS Academic)
Thanks a lot for your hard work!
Vaibhav
Band 8.5 overall is excellent – very well done indeed π I’m so glad you found my website lessons useful. I really wanted to put up materials that could make a difference π
Hi Liz, just wanted to Thank You for providing such invaluable materials for IELTS preparation. Your website is the IELTS bible! It certainly prepared me for the test i did on 2/11/19 which i got L 9, R 8.5, W 8, S 9 with an average of 8.5. I wouldn’t be able to achieve this without your guidance and examples.
Thank you for doing this! You are definitely making a difference.
Great score – very well done π Your score certainly shows how well you’ve taken on board all IELTS requirements and skills π Thanks for showing people what is possible π
Hello Liz,
I am Rajkumar and I am a Software Engineer by profession.
I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your simple and clear explanations in all your lessons. When people told me about IELTS, everyone scared me about writing module that it is very difficult to score 7.
I had gone through all your free writing lessons and I decided to subscribe for advanced writing lessons after being very impressed by your teaching approach. I was very happy to score 7 in the writing module in very first attempt. However I did not get the desired score in other modules (L-7, R-6, S-6.5, W-7) due to nervousness and lengthy lengthy processes followed in paper based exam.
Then I switched to computer delivered test and gone through your listening, reading and speaking lessons and my scores improved incredibly to L-8, R-7.5, S-7, W-6.5. My score in writing dropped to 6.5 as I wrote about 320 words in which I could have easily made more mistakes.
I wish IETLS had an option like ‘Best of 2’ for each module separately π
I did not stop here. Before every time I go through your advanced lessons at least couple of times and one advice that you gave which I genuinely feel that got me 7 is “If you are planning to score Band 7, don’t try to write more than 270-280 words”. It worked wonders as I wrote a crisp, to the point essay of 272 words only.
My latest score is L-8.5, R-7.5, S-8, W-7 (Overall – 8) (GT, IDP, Computer Delivered) and I got my expected score in the third attempt finally. I thank you again for the way you have compiled this website, the free lessons and the advanced lessons.
Yours sincerely, (GT Task-1 π )
Rajkumar
A great result for great perseverance π Well done π It takes a calmness of mind to keep going with IELTS when you don’t initially get the results you want. But you have shown what is possible π
Hi Liz…
Thank you so much for all the lessons and resources. May God ease your affairs just like you are easing the affairs of many applicants out there.
So, I wrote my third attempt on the 10th of October and to be honest, It was the first time I really prepared for the exam.
My result came out on the 25th of October 2019 and I had L8 S8 R8.5 W. 6.5.
Knowing how prepared I was for the exam, less than two hours after receiving my score, I paid for a remark. Today, the first of November 2019. My W module was remarked and my score increased to 7.
Two lessons I want students to take away from my experience.
1. If you keep having .5 less than the band score you want. You can absolutely achieve the exact score you want. Just like you, I have perused every comment on this page and I also doubted myself so if I can you certainly can too.
To achieve your desired point, you need to genuinely adopt a work-play philosophy to IELTS. When you make IELTS practice your passion, itβll be as fun as watching your favorite tv show. Can you imagine that?
The best way to know that your practice is resonating is when you start to think, act and feel your practice… everything you see, do and/or read takes you back IELTS terms. (Yes! That level of studying).
I struggled with Listening in my first test but I later found out that it is the easiest of them all. All you need to do is to try to answer the question ahead of the tape, you will be the wrong majority of the time but your mind is prepared to insert the answer when the tape gets there. LIZ mentioned it but didn’t emphasize it.
2. If you are sure of what you had and for some reason they scored you less. Contrary to popular belief, scores actually do increase. I and my younger sister wrote the same day and we both scored 6.5 in writing. After the re-evaluation, we both got 7.
Good luck folks.
Well done getting your writing upgraded to band 7!! What a relief for you. Thanks for sharing your words of support for others. You are absolutely right – people need to have faith and keep going even though it can seen daunting. Sounds like you really nailed it in the end. Well done π And well done to your sister too π
Hello Liz,
L:7
R:7
W:7.5
S:7.5
Overall 7.5
Thank you very much for all your help.I was struggling to find descent free IELTS prep materials until i came across your blog just a week before the test.your tips helped me a lot.i couldn’t have done this without you.Hoping these results will just be enough to secure my PR.
Again BIG THANKS
Your fan from ottawa
Well done with your results π Glad you found my site π
Hi Liz,
I took the IELTS Computer Based Test (GT) last 17th of October 2019. I got the following results:
Listening- 9.0
Reading- 9.0
Writing- 8.0
Speaking- 7.5
I got 8.5 Overall Score.
I would highly recommend computer-based test as the outcome is such an improvement as compared to the last paper-based test I took 3 years ago.
Very well done with your results π
Hi Liz,
Firstly, thank you for maintaining this free resource. Many people giving IELTS are students from developing countries (like myself) and I am sure you get countless prayers from people around the world for this amazing public service. I would encourage anyone who is struggling with writing to buy Liz’s paid videos as well. You will learn a lot, and in my view, we will be inadvertently supporting the blog as well!
I am from the accountancy profession and scored 8 bands in IELTS – GT in my first attempt. Like many of my peers here, I had not consciously studied English after school ended (which was a decade ago). Therefore, I was very anxious about giving the exam (especially after reading that people had given it multiple times without getting the desired score). Finally, I registered for the October 20, 2019 session and challenged myself with 2 weeks of preparation time.
I scored – L=8.5, R= 8.5, W= 7.0 & S=8.5; Overall= 8.0 bands.
MY EXPERIENCE
In my two weeks of time, I had office in the morning and only had evenings to study. Here’s how I managed:
Day -10 to Day 0: Bought the Official Cambridge guide and learnt format / tested my level.
Day 1 to Day 3: Procrastinated and bought Cambridge books 12 to 14. Aimed for 1 test per working day and 2 tests per weekend. Of course, mimicking timed exam conditions.
Day 4 to Day 10: Did practice tests every day and carefully evaluated areas where I lacked. Watched videos and read Liz’s blog on areas which I had identified for improvement.
Day 10 to Day 12: Took 2 days off from office as I was getting mixed scores between band 7 – 9 in L & R. Also wanted to practice writing in timed conditions.
Day 12 – Day 14: Anxiety took over whenever I started to practice. Therefore, I stopped practicing and just relaxed. Went jogging, spent time with family and watched Netflix for two days. Only managed Test 2 & 3 in fragments from Book 13 in these two days.
Test Day: I went in relaxed and with the belief that I have to give my best in those 2 hrs 40 mins, and not to worry about the result. Question after question, I gave answers to the best of my knowledge. Although by the middle of the reading exam, I was starting to exhaust but still I kept going until the end.
TOP TIPS WHICH WORKED FOR ME IN EACH SECTION
Listening
– Before the speaker starts speaking, read the upcoming questions and answer options first by skimming. Then, read them a second time and try to internalize the gist of question and their answers options (all this in a few seconds seems impossible but practice trains you, and one idea on how to crack this in the next 2 sentences). This can be done with a simple tweak namely DO NOT CHECK YOUR ANSWERS after each section. When the recording says, now you have some time to review your answers, ignore it and move immediately to the next section to internalize the next 10 questions and their options. Repeat and conquer! Then at the end of the exam, you have 2 minutes to check everything. Use it to check and not the precious time given during the exam.
Reading
– Reading in general is easy except when there is an abstract question (headings of paragraphs, some MCQs etc.). I found that for these questions, try to find the overall feel of the section in question. Often the mood of the paragraph gives the answer away, and suddenly all other competing answers seem stupid. That is when you lock your answer to the abstract question.
Writing
– Follow the gurus and don’t reinvent the wheel. If you follow the format and practice in abundance according to the marking criteria, then writing is not very difficult. For essays, I used writing9.com to self-evaluate and it helped me a lot.
Speaking
– Just be confident. Think of it as a general conversation and not an exam.
Sorry for the long post but I wanted my fellow students to take away two things from this post. Firstly, IELTS is possible with full time office, anxiety and only 2 weeks of prep time. Second, practice makes a man / woman perfect. Practice, then evaluate your mistakes, then make strategies to rectify them in your next practice exam. Repeat. This was the key for me.
If I can crack the IELTS in first attempt, anyone can. Thanks, and best of luck!
Very well done with your results and thank you for sharing your tips π I know people will really appreciate the time you have taken to share them π Glad my Advanced Writing Task 2 lessons helped π
Hi Liz,
I took my IELTS General Training on 12th oct. 2019. I am a dentist by profession. This was my first attempt at the test.
Overall band : 8
Listening: 8.5
Reading: 9
Writing: 7
Speaking: 7
Your website was instrumental for achieving these scores, Ms. Liz. So grateful to you!
Much love,
Moksha, from India
That’s a great result for a first attempt. Very well done π
Dear Liz,
My IELTS test results go as follows:
L:9
R:8.5
W:7
S:7.5
Overall band 8.
I am extremely delighted at my results and a big thanks to you for sharing such useful and valuable tips and lessons. I only followed your blog and youtube videos for my prep and was able to get such great result. I will strongly recommend everyone taking IELTS to prepare from your blog. You are really doing an awesome job…more power to you and god bless..!!! Once again thank you for all your lessons.
You’ve done really well getting band 8 π I’m so glad my website and videos were useful π
Hi Elizabeth,
your tutorials are extremely helpful. keep up the good work.
my RECENT IELTS EXAM score is :
L 8
R 8
W 6.5( i scored 7.5 in my previous attempt….and improved my writing even more this time)
S 8.5
please suggest. should i go for EOR?(i am 100% confident about my writing but i have heard that BC intentionally score u low in one section)…please shed some light on this matter.
URGENT QUERY: which test score remains valid, the latest one or the best one(both given same year and valid for two years)?????????
thanks,
RS
Well done with your results. IELTS do not intentionally mark down – it is a fair test. You mentioned that you felt you deserve more than this score in writing. Are you basing this feeling on the marking criteria and the requirement of the higher band scores? Or are you basing this on the feeling that you write well in general? If you feel you fulfilled the requirements of a higher band score then you could consider a remark. However, your speaking score is 8.5 which means two examiners have already reviewed your writing and both have agreed on 6.5. Of course, a senior examiner might think otherwise, but it is less likely. All IELTS certificates remain valid for 2 years – use the one you want to use.
Hi Liz,
I got EOR results of the same exam.
Writing score got increased from 6.5 to 7.
Final score 8,8,7,8.5.
You are extremely responsible tutor and your lessons are incredibly helpful… keep up the good work.
Thanks.
Great news – well done π
Dear Liz,
I don’t usually do public posts but this time I feel that I just had to.
I had my exam on 28.09 and I have finally got the scores I needed. My weakness was always writing as I was struggling to get higher than 6.5 and on my 5th attempt I finally did (thanks to your “advanced writing lessons”).
Listening: 8.5
Reading: 8.5
Writing: 7.0
Speaking: 8.0
Just want to say THANK YOU for all your lessons, advises and tips and for your personality. Your site is extremely useful and highly RECOMMENDED !!! xx
Sending you my best wishes x
I’m so pleased to see your results. Very well done π I’m glad my Advanced lessons helped.
hi Liz,
I hope you are doing well!!!
I have already bought your 3 paid videos. I want to know what your 4th video contains.
Thanks
I don’t have a fourth one yet. I became sick after making the videos and I had to take a break. Hopefully later next year I might feel well enough to make more videos π
Hi Liz,
Wish you a speedy recovery. Take care π
Thank you for all the content you put out there.
Hi , how do I purchase advanced writing lessons and how much is it?
My Advanced Writing Task 2 lessons can be purchased on this page along with my Ideas E-book: https://elizabethferguson.podia.com/
Hi Liz
Thanks so much. Your website is great and your YouTube channel extraordinary. It was great preparing with your material and online lectures. Scored L9 R8.5 W8 S8.5 Overall 8.5. I totally endorse this site. Itβs great. One month preparation here. Did Cambridge practice tests as well.
Very well done with your results π I’m really pleased my lessons have been useful π
Hey Liz. Hope you’re doing well.
I had a query because its quite contrasting from what I’ve learnt from your lessons.
So in the listening test module of the official preparation material from British Council (Road to IELTS), there’s this MCQ question as follows
INTRO – You will hear a committee member giving a talk to a Nature Club about coming events.
QUES – On the bird observation outing it is recommended that you have
A – waterproof footwear
B – a bird identification book
C – binoculars
ANS – We’ll be searching for both migratory and native birds as we walk through tidal marshlands and mangroves and you can expect to get your feet uncomfortably wet and muddy if you don’t wear RUBBER BOOTS – THESE ARE A MUST. The leader will have a strong pair of binoculars so we’ll rely on her to name the species for us… and we’ve ordered some bird identification books that you may wish to purchase at a later date.
Liz, if I’m not wrong, I remember you saying that recommended means that ‘we may or may not but it is advised to do so’, whereas here, for the answer it says rubber boots are A MUST.
So how do I approach such questions? What is right and what is wrong?
Please provide your expert advice. Thanks in advance!
As you can see from the transcript, the bird book is available to buy and the binoculars are given to you. This means the only option is A. This is what you are recommended to use – you should use them. We often use the term “a must” when we strongly recommend something for s trip. These options are not differentiating between requirements and recommendations – so don’t get confused about that. These options are differentiating between what you might be given and what you need to bring yourself.
Hi Liz,
I took my test (Academic) on 14th September, 2019. These are my scores at my first attempt!
My overall band score – 8
Listening- 8.5
Speaking- 8.5
Reading – 8
Writing- 7
Thank you for your tips on speaking and writing topics! Going through them a week before my test helped me a lot with what to expect. I am so glad I found your website.
Great score – very well done getting those results in your first attempt π
Hi Liz,
I appeared for computer-delivered (GT) exam in Mississauga, Canada. Before sharing my results, I want to thank you with all my heart for the help you are providing to the community. May God bless you for your generosity and selfless help to people like me.
Being my first time, I am feeling proud to share my result here:
Listening => 8.5
Reading => 8.5
Writing => 7.0
Speaking => 7.5
Overall => 8.0
As a suggestion to upcoming test takers, if you have good computer proficiency, I strongly suggest going for computer-delivered as it really helps in reading and writing.
Thanks to Liz again and best of luck to all!
Such a good result – very well done π You certainly should feel proud to get band 8 in your first attempt. I’m sure other’s will be inspired π
Amazing result!!
Can you please share how did you prepare for it? and in how many days you covered it?
I am a working woman with a hectic job routine can’t take admission for test preparation :/
@Jaweria: I focused mainly on my listening as it’s the first thing you’ll attempt on the test day and it will set your momentum and confidence for reading and writing. Also, listening helped me improve my vocabulary and sentences.
Since I attempted the computer-delivered test, and I have computer typing proficiency, I prepared for my written test by reading a lot of sample letters and essays online and from the books that I borrowed from the library. This helped me in preparing for my reading as a bonus as I tried to read quick and test my understanding of what I was reading.
Lastly, try to let go of the stress and stay confident on the test day, and don’t forget to get a good night’s sleep before your test day.
Hi Liz
I scored 8 bands in IELTS (Academic)
L. 8.5
R. 8.5
W 7.5
S. 8.0
I want to ask u something. My writing band score is 7.5 . If the test would be in GENERAL Module . What would be my scores then . Please help me.
Well done with your results. I’m not sure I understand your comment about scoring at all. A band 7.5 in GT writing is a band 7.5. Band 7.5 in Academic writing is band 7.5. Your score is your score. There’s no such thing as comparing GT or Academic writing scores.
Amazing Results , would you please share your tips briefly for each part of the IELTS Test and how long your preparation took?
Hi Liz!
I am thankful & grateful for all the hardwork you put in. Thanks to you I got 9,9,7.5,8.5 in LRWS respectively with overall of 8.5 which translates to CLB 10 in my very first attempt!! π I was blown away.. never expected it you know! With a full time job it was often quite difficult to spend some time to prepare for IELTS however your blog helped big time. Tips & strategies are to the point. Thank you once again for been so awesome. I hope you get well soon & keep slaying.
My personal learnings which I would like to share: Speak English as if it is your first language. Quite often, we think in our native language & then translate the same in english but that’s when your sentence structure & grammar goes for a toss. Think in english & you will see the magic happen. Stay calm & believe in yourself.
– From Mumbai, India
Great results – particularly for a first attempt. Very well done π Glad my tips were helpful π
Hi Liz,
Two years ago, I was struggled to pass my IELTS general test for getting my Permanent Residency card in Canada. That is the toughest one in my life until I visited your blog and read and followed tips you post in the blog. I watched all your youtube video in the channel. Suddenly one day, I easily got listening-7.5, speaking-7.5,reading -7,writing-7. I revisit your blog and recommend you to my brother. hope he can benefit from your blog too. Thank you so much for your generous contribution and impact everyone by sharing your experience and knowledge.
Jacey
I’m so pleased that my site helped you move forward in your life – that’s great π You’ve done really well with your results and I hope your brother will do the same π
Hi Liz. You deserve a medal. I have had 4 attempts at ielts
1st- LRWS- 8,7,6,6.5
2nd- LRWS- 7.5,7,6,7.5
3rd- LRWS- 9,7,6.5,8.5
Last (7-09-2019)- LRWS- 8.5,8.5,7,8
The previous 3 were done last year and then I took a long break, which was worth it in the end. I was on your website 24/7 and also got your writing paid videos, which made me see it in a simpler way.
I am elated right now and I have been pinching myself ever since I saw my result. Thank you tremendously.
You deserve a medal for perseverance and great results π You are right that a break can help. Sometimes you need to take a step back and approach IELTS with a fresh perspective, renewed energy and also the right technique. Glad my Advanced Writing Task 2 Lessons were helpful π Here’s a link in case anyone else wants them: https://elizabethferguson.podia.com/
Hello Mam,
Today my IELTS result came out and I secured overall 8 band with scores as
LRWS – 8.5 9 7 7.5
All credit goes to you. Thank you for all stimulating and engaging videos. It won’t be possible without this site. God bless you π
Great result – well done π I’m so glad that my videos were both useful and enjoyable π
Hey Liz,
Heartfelt thanks to you! I was able to get a band 8 with just a week of prep.
Overall: 8.0
Listening: 8.0
Reading: 9.0
Writing: 7.0
Speaking: 8.0
Great score – well done π
Good Liz,
I wish to share my happiness and express my gratitude to you . I had appeared for IELTS exam, just two weeks after registering. Your website was my only source of coaching, without even any other hardcopies or study materials.
It was my first attempt and today I received the score as following.
Listening- 9
Reading- 6.5
Writing- 7.5
Speaking- 7
Overall- 7.5
I really appreciate your classes and videos. The tips and techniques were totally useful and I just followed them. I must also admit your positive attitude , accent and pleasant way of delivering classes were very beneficial.
Thank you once again.
May your website continue to be a source of inspiration to many.
Thanks and regards,
Jiji Manu.
I’m so pleased to see your results – very well done π Thank you for your kind words about my lessons – they brought a smile to my face π
Hello Liz ma’am,
I got only 10 days preparation time for my IELTS exam. I was very tensed and was searching for some help in YouTube when I came across your channel. Your channel helped me alot in my preparations. Your advices and your techniques were of immense help.
I got my test results today. I scored reading 7, writing 7, listening 8 and speaking 8.
If someday I get to meet you in person then according to our Indian culture, I would definitely touch your feet and take blessings. You are the best teacher for IELTS. I am very grateful to you. Thank you so much.
Very well done with your results. I’m very happy for you π I’m glad my videos were useful π
Nice words….!!
Hi Liz, I got my IELTS-GT results today ( L-8 R-7 S-7.5 W-7) and it was my first attempt. I give the credit to you for helping me clear the exam in just 1 and a half month of practice. Your videos and tutorials have worked wonders for me. I thank you wholeheartedly and appreciate the noble work you are doing free of cost. May Lord shower his blessings on you.
I’m pleased to hear your results. You’ve done really well π
Hi Liz,
Thank you so much for offering this website to assist IELTS aspirants like me.
Your video lessons are amazing and your tips are absolutely a “MUST FOLLOW” in my opinion.
I’d like to share my experience with IELTS. I have last written my IELTS exam on 27th July 2019 and secured the following scores
Listening 8.5
Reading 7.5
Writing 7
Speaking 9
In my previous two attempts Listening , Reading and Speaking were easy for me. Writing was the only section in which I struggled to achieve the desired band ‘7’ and was stuck at 6.5. That was only because of my nervousness. But the third time I was relaxed and wrote the exam with a natural flow of English. It really helped and I’d like to suggest this to people who get stuck at 6.5 in writing.
Please do not get nervous during the exam especially in writing section. If somebody gets 6.5 , it means he or she is definitely above 6 and all they have to do is — use the right technique (Just as said by Liz!).
Understand the band descriptors and find out areas where you can improve your writing skills to get that 0.5 extra score.
Thank you once again Liz for your guidance !!
I’m really pleased for you. Very well done with your results π You are completely right about the writing section. People get incredibly worried about it and this results in them producing unnatural English which lowers their score. People forget that clear communication of ideas is much more important in writing than trying to impress. I’m glad you hit band 7 for writing π
Here is a link to an explanation of the writing task 2 band score descriptors with tips: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2-band-scores-5-to-8/
If anyone needs Advanced Lessons, click here: https://elizabethferguson.podia.com/
I took my ielts test on August 17th.Thanks to your writing idea book.I got a 7 in writing after 2 trials
L,R,W,S-8.5,8,7,7
That’s great – well done π I’m really pleased that my Ideas E-book was useful π Here’s a link in case anyone else wants it: https://elizabethferguson.podia.com/
Thanks Liz,
You have put together top notch tutorials that can help anyone get a good IELTS score, especially writing. I previously got a 6.5 in writing, but was able to increase it to 7.5 by going through your tutorials. Here are my overall scores:
Listening: 8
Reading: 8
Writing: 7.5
Speaking: 8.5
Going from 6.5 to 7.5 in writing is excellent – well done π
Dear Liz,
I got my Ielts General Training Results today, sat for the test on 17 Aug 2019. Test Centre: Singapore Napier Road. I work as a Pastry Chef π
Overal: 8.5
Listening: 8.5
Reading: 8.5
Writing: 7.5
Speaking: 8.5
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to you. I followed all your IELTS advance writing lessons and the result was an increase from 6.5 to 7.5 in writing. I cannot express my happiness in words now!!! I strongly recommend your speaking topics to other IELTS candidates! I got the same question in Part Two: Describe a person on phone. Since I have prepared all the topics before hand, I could talk with ease under the real exam context! Speaking 8.5 was far beyond my expectation, I guess I simply managed to impress the examiner with my personality, haha π Dress clean, be confident, maintain a positive and friendly eye contact! I think that’s really important!
As for extra readings. I recommend: ‘word power made easy’ by Norman Lewis and ‘verbal advantage’ as a vocab booster and ‘Building Great Sentences’ by Brooks Landon as a grammar and writing reference. I find the use of free modifiers in sentence does magic in writing. If your English is strong enough, practice writing with coordinate and subordinate modifiers. This will bring your writing to the next level!
Once again, Thank you so very very much!
you are the best! You changed my life! Keep it up!
E
Great job getting your writing score up – well done π Thanks for sharing your tips π
Hi Liz,
I got the desired results for ielts general exam on my 3rd attempt. Your blog helped me a lot in achieving these scores, especially tips to score higher. I had issues with my writing task but your suggestions and essay structures lead me for better marks. Thank you very much for your kind support.
Country : Sri Lanka
attempt 1 (2018/11) L 8.5 R 8 S 7 W 6
attempt 2 (2019/01) L 7.5 R 7.5 S 7 W 6
attempt 3 (2019/08) L 8.5 R 8.5 S 7.5 W 7
Very well done increasing your writing score π
Hi Liz,
I just got my IELTS General Test result and here is the breakdown:
Listening – 8.0
Reading – 9.0
Writing – 7.5
Speaking – 9.0
Overall – 8.5
I am extremely thankful for your help during my preparation. I relied heavily on the study materials on your website. Thank you so much for doing such a great work to help those in need. God bless you!
Excellent score – very well done to you π I’m really pleased my website was useful π
Liz, thanks for the tips on this website…i got 8.5,9,8,8 on LRWS respectively. Overall, 8.5
Greatly appreciate your tips and tricks
Such a great score – well done π
Hi Liz!
I took my IELTS academic for UKVI on August 10th in India. I am a practising ophthalmologist and I did not have much time to prepare for the test. I am thrilled to have achieved my target score in the first attempt.
Listening 8.5
Reading 9.0
Writing 7.0
Speaking 8.0
Overall band score 8.0
Thank you so much for your brilliant, informative videos which told me precisely what is required to get a good band score… Your advice was of great help , and it’s superb that you are uploading these videos free of cost for everyone…
To all who are planning to take the exam, just one small advice.. don’t forget to count the number of words in the essay… I got carried away writing and as a result did not get time to count the words, which is why I feel I scored a little less in writing… but overall I’m quite happy with my score.. All the best to everyone, and thanks a lot once again Liz for all your help!
It’s a great score – well done π It is useful to have an idea of how many words you have written – count the number of words on one line and then multiple by the number of lines. For computer based IELTS, the word count is given.
Dear Liz,
Thank you very much for all your tips and courses, especially for writing. I prepared for almost 2 months on my own and found your tips wonderful! I took the computer-delivered academic IELTS test on 9th August. Even though I did struggle and nervous a bit on the speaking test due to the unexpected questions, I got a higher score than my target on the first try ^^
Overall: 8.0
Listening: 9.0
Reading: 9.0
Writing: 7.0
Speaking: 7.0
The only tip I can give is tons of practice. Nothing works better than that.
I highly recommend the computer-delivered test for those who are computer-literate and need a quick result. I didn’t face any difficulties with this type of test and got the result in only four days.
Thank you again, Liz π
Shella
Well done getting overall band 8 π I’m sure you are super pleased with your listening and reading score π
Hi Liz,
I have been following you and using your tips for my ielts,I have almost given 4 attempts in ielts exams. Each time my score keeps changing in reading,listening and writing,but always remains in range of 7- 8.5.The only issues I am facing is speaking,it remains unchanged 6.5,not able to improvise .I totally confused where I lost the 0.5 marks even after trying new methods. I am practicing with my partners,who is very good in English.she got 8 marks.she corrects me every time.But even then speaking score doesnβt move.what other strategies can be used? I am not a native speaker,but residing in USA.
I think you need to forget strategies and start understanding more about the marking. It’s all about making the most of each question and demonstrating your English as much as you can in a natural way. For example, in part 2 – do you offer past tense easily and often? Do you offer comparatives, superlatives, second conditional statements? Do you expand all answers in part 1 and 3? Do you keep talking until the examiner stops you? You need to do all these things. Vocabulary should be topic related and relevant – but also remember it is only 25% and so don’t get too heavily focused in that one area. Did you prepare lots of opinions and your own past memories of all common and current topics? You really need to think about the scoring and think about what you are not understanding about the speaking test.
Hi Liz!
I gave my GT test on 27/07/19. The bands I got are as following:-
Listening- 8.5
Reading- 7.5
Speaking- 7
Writing- 6.5
My target was to get 8777, so missed by 0.5 in writing. This was my 3rd attempt. In all the attempts the common failure is writing with the same band score i.e. 6.5.
I will attempt again on 07/09/19. Fingers crossed!
Well done with your results π Hitting band 7 isn’t always easy. Did you get my Advanced Writing Task 2 Lessons? They are paid, but they might help you: https://elizabethferguson.podia.com/. Make sure you focus on presenting accurate language instead of trying to impress. Accuracy is the only way to reduce errors and increase your score. Spend lots of time planning – not only what ideas to have, but how to present those ideas. And don’t forget task 1 – it’s only 33%, but it could be the vital 33% that increases your score. Good luck π
Hi there. I would like to share my latest results with all of you. It was my 4th attempt and I scored the following marks:
9th August 2019, IDP Abu Dhabi.
Listening 8.5
Reading 7.5
Writing 7
Speaking 7 (I was seriously expecting more than this)
Overall 7.5
For those who are facing troubles achieving a decent score in all modules, please bear in mind that it is not impossible to achieve it. So, keep trying and you shall succeed.
Well done with your score π Thanks for sharing positive words π
Dear Liz,
Your website is such a great initiative. Very few people in todayβs world are willing to help others so selflessly! β€οΈ
I took my test for the first time on 17 August 2019 in India and achieved a Band 8 – L 8.5, R 9, W 7, S 7.5
Thank you and God bless you always!
Great score – well done π
Hie Liz, I sat for my IELTS exam on 27 July 2019 in South Africa. I got the following results:
Listening 9.0
Reading 9.0
Writing 7.0
Speaking 9.0
Overall 8.5
Thank you so very much for the wonderful and simple lessons, may God give you the strength and good health to help even more people. I did not particularly get a high mark in writing because I did not give myself time to do grammar and spellcheck, the handwriting may not have helped as well (being a medical doctor and all that). All the best to future IELTS test-takers
Well done π Hitting band 7 in writing is an achievement that many struggle to get – so be happy. Writing isn’t just about your level of English and that is why so many people struggle with it. There are other aspects that are marked that aren’t language related. So, your writing score is not a reflection of your English at all. Handwriting certainly might have been an issue – my father is a doctor and I can’t read anything he writes π Anyway, brilliant scores in the other sections π
Hi Liz
I would like to thank you for helping me achieve my desired test score. I am a pharmacist from South Africa and would like to immigrate to New Zealand.
I only used your website to prepare. I started preparing about six weeks before my test date and practiced every day. I would recommend spending more time on writing task 2, as it is the part that most students fail.
I took the Academic test on 27 July 2019 and my results are as follows:
Overall band: 8
Listening: 8.5
Reading: 8.5
Writing: 7.0
Speaking: 7.5
Good luck to all aspiring students! Remember: practice is key!
Kind regards
Lu-Zane
Very well done with your results π Good luck in New Zealand. I did my teacher training there – great place π
For me ieltsliz.com has been the best resource for cracking the IELTS.. I took academic module on 27th June (India) and got my results on 9th of this month..
Overall, it’s 8 bands..π..
With
8.5 L
8.5 R
7 W
7.5 S….
And yes, i never miss an opportunity to recommend this amazing website to the IELTS aspirants i meet..
Thanks Liz for ur awesome support…..
You’ve done really well π Great scores for listening and reading! I’m so pleased you like my site – it means a lot to me π
Hi Liz,
I did my IELTS speaking test today at IDP. I did very well.
When I reached home, I got a call from idp, and they said that my speaking test was not recorded due to a technical error, and they asked me to do the test again in the next day.
I am bit upset about this circumstance. I sacrificed many things to do the test, but I have to repeat it again.
What do you think about this situation? Should I do anything else?
There is nothing you can do. You have a chance to do better in your second test. You need to take a positive view and tackle the second test with more determination to show the examiner how good your English is.
Hello Mam,
I am indebted to you, your videos are awesome. Period.
Your great work has allowed me to score this :
L 8
S 8
R 8.5
W 7
Overall : 8
Thankyou Liz.
Also, to everyone, if you are confident, please go for re-eval, my initial writing was 6.5 but was bumped to 7 after re-eval.
Well done π Glad to hear the remark worked π
Hey Liz! I got my results today and they were:
Listening: 9
Reading: 8.5
Writing: 7
Speaking: 9
Overall: 8.5
I’m insanely happy with my result and I wanted to thank you! You were one of my main sources of study since I had to study at home by myself, so I’m very grateful. π
My tips include:
– Knowing how proficient you are in English. You need to have a lot of free time in order to study for the IELTS, so if you know what your weaknesses and strengths are you can organize your time more efficiently. For me, I spent about a month studying because I knew that I was pretty good at English and that I just needed some fine-tuning.
– Finding reliable study sources. Most videos on Youtube are contradictory so you have to find people that actually know what they’re talking about and won’t give you wrong information. For me, they were IeltsLiz, Ielts Simon and E2 Language’s videos! I can confidently say that all of them are experts and can be trusted.
– Don’t panic in the speaking test. My examiner seemed kind of stoic and cold at the beginning (because he was tired I’m guessing), however when he saw how good I was he actually relaxed and smiled at me, and we even almost laughed at one of the questions. Thinking of it as a casual conversation and being friendly with the examiner helps to calm you down.
Anyway, this was mostly to thank you Liz! Again, I’m very grateful. ππ
Great score π Thanks for sharing your tips π
Hi Liz,
I want to thank you for the awesome videos and website that you’ve made!
I received my IELTS GT results and the scores were beyond my expectations!
First attempt (June 2, 2018): LRSW 8.5/9.0/8.0/6.5
Second attempt (July 20, 2019): LRSW 8.5/8.0/7.0/6.5
Third attempt (Aug 4, 2019): LRSW 8.5/9.0/7.0/8.0
My writing jumped from 6.5 to 8.0 within two weeks. I had done very well on my other parts except writing for the first two attempts, this means that my English is good, but I just couldn’t get a 7 on writing. I believe there are many people who are in the same situation and I would like to share some tips. Hopefully it will be useful.
1. Planning is Essential!
For my first and second attempts, I started writing even though I haven’t fully planned out my essay. So when I started writing, I kept on changing my ideas and words which the essays turn out to be not as logical as I thought it would be.
For my third attempt, I spent around 10 minutes and ensure my ideas and supporting points are planned out before writing my essay. Once I’ve finished planning, it was a lot easier and faster to write my essay. After writing my essay, I spent the leftover time to make my essay perfect by changing some words and grammar.
2. Write Task 2 First
I realized when I was in my writing test for my first two attempts, I had been spent a lot of time on task 1 and having lesser time for task 2. So for my third attempt, I started writing Task 2 first and then going back to task 1 after. This is because when I saw the time is getting lesser, I did not try to any unnecessary additional information on the letter. I just kept it short and answered all the questions. Even though you don’t lose marks for writing more, but you increase the chance of having grammar mistakes.
3. Practice
I spent a lot of time practicing on planning my ideas. I went to the list of Task 2 questions on Liz’s website and practice planning one by one. I made sure I had done different types of categories of questions. If I couldn’t think of an idea, I would just google for ideas. The more ideas on different topics you know, the easier for the test. You won’t spent too much time struggling to think of a supporting point.
Great final score π Determination is the key. Thanks for sharing your tips π If anyone is struggling with ideas, I have just released an “Ideas for Essay Topics” e-book. Available here: https://elizabethferguson.podia.com/
Hello Liz,
I received my results yesterday.
A Big thank you for all your content and tips.
It was my 2nd IELTS attempt(first after watching your videos) and the most important video which helped me get 7.0 in my writing module was the one where you tell us about the Last 5 minutes to complete an essay.
I had to write a conclusion as suggested by you even if the body of my essay felt incomplete.
THANK YOU so much.
Scores:
R-8.5
L-8.5
S-7.5
W-7.0
Great score – well done π I’m so glad you watched that video. Having a conclusion is much more important than writing an extra sentence of a body paragraph – well done for doing the right thing π
Hi liz,
I appeared for ielts on 27th july 2019 and prepared for about a month. I came across your lectures in the last week of preparation and found them really useful especially for the wrting part. Today, i received my result and got an overall 8.
L 9
R 8
W 7
S 7
Thank you so much for your amazing lessons and tips. Stay blessed
Overall band 8 is excellent – well done π Glad my lessons helped with IELTS writing π
I took the test on 27th July and got my score back today
Academic
Reading 8
Listening 8.5
Writing 7
Speaking 8
I’m thankful for your videos. I didn’t really prepare for the test until a few days a friend suggested that I check out your writing videos.
I was shocked by how different I was required to write. Your tips helped me alter my writing style for the test, and without it I would’ve been uninformed amd possibly wouldn’t have gotten these scores.
Thank you.
Great score π You are right. The IELTS writing test does have specific requirements and regardless of your level of English, being informed about the requirements is essential. You did really well adapting in such a short space of time. Glad my lessons helped π
Hi Liz
It got my result yesterday. [ IELTS Academic (IDP) ]
R 8.0
L 8.5
S 7.0
W 7.5
I have a doubt about IELTS speaking module. I don’t understand whether to use contractions or complete phrases as in ” I am gonna take a test ” . Please help me .
Well done with your results π I’m not sure what you want to know about contractions. The speaking test is informal and for that reason it is advisable to use contractions because they show a higher level of pronunciation features. Here’s a link to using wanna and gonna: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-speaking-using-contractions-wanna-gonna/. Contractions are anything that combines two or more words into one sound bite – it is = it’s / I wanna = I want to
Hello Liz,
Just wanted to say a huge thanks for the contents that you are providing especially the free ones. I did take your all paid advanced lessons to improve my writing and it was well worth it. I had to give the exam multiple times due to lack of concentration or stress which impacted my listening and reading sections but I never failed to achieve 7 in writing after following your strategies and structure. It is well written, easy to understand and implement them.
Below are my final scores:
Listening: 8.5
Reading: 8.5
Writing: 7
Speaking: 7
Few pointers from my experience which might help other candidates:
1. Listening: Go to the examination center early to avoid any unforeseen delays due to traffic or finding spot for parking. This will help you to stay positive and calm.
– Only read the questions for which the recording is about to play. They give ample time to have a good glance over the questions. Try utilizing the 30 seconds at the end of the recording where it says to check your answers for the next section. This is especially for MCQs where you have to go through the answers in order to have a better understanding as to what to expect.
– For section 3 MCQs(for me atleast), I never had enough time to go through the questions and the options, so I just read the questions and waited for the answers.
– A good tip for people finding difficulties in MCQ questions – Try the elimination strategy i.e. keep removing the answers until you are left with 1 answer. This worked like a charm for me .
– Most importantly-DONOT judge and DONOT assume that the conversation will go in a certain way, just try to listen and answer the questions with a clear mind.
2. Reading –
– I allotted 15-15-30 mins for section 1 to 3. This helped for some buffer time incase I needed for section 3 which is the hardest and also give some time at the end to check answers or any spelling mistakes
– Write the answers directly into the answer sheet and avoid drinking much water at the beginning of the test to avoid any restroom breaks. Those 4-5 minutes is what some people need in order to confidently answer the questions.
3. Writing- There is no personal strategy that I applied for this. It was all the structure and pointers given by her. Try to keep it simple and use the appropriate and clear structure which helps the reader to understand. You DONOT need high vocabulary to score 7 or above. A good paraphrasing practice would help a long way.
4. Speaking – Use this part of exam like a simple conversation with a stranger that you meet outside. Its nothing more than that. And donot forget to keep smiling. At the end what you express will have a same impact to the examiner.
And a final tip:Try to remain mentally present during the whole exam. It is really not that simple but I did learn the hard way that being stressful will also not help in any way to achieve the desired band score.
Hope this helps. All the very best!
Liz, you have really done a wonderful job with all the contents that you have provided and you have helped numerous individuals to reach places where they dream of. To me, this contribution cannot be compared to any thing. I did hear about your health and I do hope that you feel better soon. All the best to you too and thank you again π
– Bhargav
Very well done π I’m so glad you finally hit the score you needed. It really shows that determination and perseverance is essential. I’m also glad that my Advanced lessons helped for writing – I tried to pack as much information into those lessons to help people hit band 7 and above in writing. Thanks for enquiring into my health – I’m still sick but I’m hopeful of a recovery next year π Well done again – I’m proud of you π
Get well soon Liz! God bless π
Hi Liz,
I’m from kerala, I’ve got overall 7.5π
Listening and reading – 7.5
Writing and speaking – 7
I’m really thankful to you for the efforts you have taken to make the candidates to get a good band score. I highly recommend this website to ielts candidates; at least that’s what I can do for you…
May God bless you Liz.
Well done π I’m really pleased for you π
Hi Liz,
I got my scores:
1 2
L 7.5 8.5
W 6 5.5
R 8 8.5
S 8.5 8.5
What should I do??
What do you suggest? I am confused and sad.
It is common for writing to be a problem. That is because you need to understand the marking criteria. Unless you understand the requirement of the higher scores, you won’t increase your score significantly. See my Advanced lessons. They were created for this reason: https://elizabethferguson.podia.com/
Dear Liz,
Thank you so much for the excellent work you do. I followed your invaluable advice and I was successful in my GT Ielts. These are my scores :
Listening – 8.0
Reading – 7.5
Writing – 7.0
Speaking – 8.5
Thank you and God bless! π
Great score π
Hey Liz,
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your selfless efforts and sharing your knowledge and experiences for all the aspiring test takers. Initially, I had been quite nervous about the test having heard some of the experiences from my colleagues and friends. With a limited amount of time to prepare, which essentially was going through your website, videos and a few practice papers, I got the scores as below:
Overall Band score: 8.5
Listening: 9
Reading: 9
Writing: 8.5
Speaking: 8
Once again, I can’t thank you enough for all your efforts and valuable insights for cracking the exam.
Brilliant – band 8.5 overall is excellent π
Congrats..
8.5 in writing is a great score. Kindly share your writings or things u did to achieve that high score?
wow..you are a superwoman…unbelievable result
Hi Liz,
I’m 17 and I took my IELTS exam in Casablanca, Morocco on February 23, 2019. It was my first attempt and I was surprised by my score even if I’m a little bit disappointed by my writing mark:
Writing: 6.5
Listening: 8.5
Speaking: 8
Reading: 8.5
Overall band: 8
What makes me so surprised is the fact that I studied for the exam just one day before.
It’s a great result, regardless of the writing score π
Just received my 2nd IELTS GT (CD) test result – L8.5 / R9 / W7 / S7, overall band score 8. What a surprise! I really thought I failed on speaking test as I was super super nervous during the whole test and made a lot of stupid mistakes… Now all of a sudden I managed to get the band score I need!
I know 7 on GT writing is only a βpassing scoreβ and I am not an expert on IELTS writing at all, but I just want to give the people who are still struggling with writing a bit of hope and sharing from my side:
– If possible, take computer-delivered test rather than paper-based test, particularly if you are struggling with Reading and/or Writing. This is because the reading test in CDT allows you to: 1) highlight any part of the reading content; 2) copy and paste (ctrl+C & ctrl+V), therefore spelling errors will be avoided. Likewise, CDT writing part allows free editing with cut-and-paste short-cuts (ctrl+X & ctrl+V), and for frequent computer users, typing is so much easier and faster compared with handwriting. For me I managed to write (well, type) 200+ words for task 1, ~300 words in task 2 and I still got around 3 mins to check spellings and gramma at a glance, but in my previous PBT I almost didnβt finish task 2 due to time limit and had to jump to conclusion paragraph before reaching the 250 words count.
– In regards to the study materials, I strongly recommend IELTSLiz videos and website, especially for task 2. I also referred to IELTS-Simonβs website especially for his free sample letters/essays. By reading these materials I was quite confident in the letter & essay structure before my first attempt, and I scored 6.5 in writing although I had almost 0 actual writing practice.
– Understand the band descriptor. Download the band descriptor from IELTS official website and read it through – from your current band to band 9. I also read some tips and descriptions on IELTSLiz website to understand band scores better. Upon reading and understanding band descriptors I immediately realized my weakness is lexical resource, and my strengths is task achievement, and I am also quite confident in grammatical accuracy. I even βplannedβ how I could reach band 7 in writing in detail – like, try to reach 8 on task achievement, 7 on coherence & gramma, and allow myself a 6 on lexical resource, thus an overall 7; I also decided to write task 2 before task 1 as task 2 weights more score.
– Practice makes perfect. Before taking the second test, I spent only 4 days on writing as I had a heavy workload. I searched for recent GT writing questions online and practiced 16 task 1 letters and 12 task 2 essays. From such practices I noticed time limit can be a big challenge for me so I particularly paid extra attention to time keeping. After each practice, do not just leave it there. Compare it with sample essays, mark the essay yourself, and try to improve the essay with sample essays and/or other help. For me, each task 2 exercise may take 2 hours or more: 35-50 mins writing and 2-3 mins check (no access to any other resources just like in a real test), then study the sample essay and highlight the good sentences/phrases/vocabularies & look through in dictionary with sample sentences (this takes about 30 mins), then refine the essay I just wrote (another 30 mins). If I felt unconfident in the topic then I would google for some good arguments (e.g. on Quora) before refining the essay, and this may take an extra 1-2 hours. I improved mostly on my lexical resources as well as the ability to complete a well-structured essay with strong points within limited time.
As I mentioned, I spent only 4 days on practicing IELTS writing. It is not about the length of time. I always hear people saying they have learnt/tried for months or even 1+ year, but when I ask for details of how they prepare for their tests, many of them were just siting tests again and again. It is about how much quality time you have invested and your investment will all pay back when you see your next transcript.
Thank you Liz and everyone for helping and supporting each other through the learning journey and I am sure you all will achieve your desired score in the near future.
Well done with your results π Getting band 7 in writing isn’t easy. Your tips are great and I’m sure many people will benefit from reading them. Below are the links you mentioned to the band score information:
Official Band Descriptors for Task 2 for Academic & GT: https://takeielts.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/ielts_task_2_writing_band_descriptors.pdf
Band 5 to 8 explained with tips: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2-band-scores-5-to-8/
Free Lessons & Tips for Task 2: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2/
Hi β€Lizβ€,
I sat for the test(Academic) in UAE on June 29th(first attempt), and got a fairly acceptable band score of 7.5(L 8 R 8.5 W 6.5 S 7) for me to apply for dream business schools.
Your lectures are so helpful! As a foreigner who work overseas with limited time for test revision, I feel so grateful for you and your website: the vocabulary, study method and test-taking skills not only helped me toil through this exam but enlightened me as to the right way to learn a language. I was favorably impressed by your suggestion that we should learn new words and collocations and create our own sentences, because copying model answers is low-level student’s choice. I used to think that learning sophisticated sentences by rote and reiterating them precisely are what advanced learners do, but your advice helped divert my learning route and ease my pressure generated from studying English as well(*^β½^*)
I have constantly recommended your website to my schoolmates and friends who are leaning English and studying for IELTS\(^o^)/~ Hope they can get the essence of your lectures.
Thank you, madam! Wish you and all the people you cherish all the bestβ€β€β€
Very well done with your results π It sounds like you really understood IELTS and managed to avoid some of the common problems people have with the test, such as memorising sentences and phrases to impress the examiner. I’m so glad you can get into the Business School you want π Good luck with your future plans π
Hi Liz,
Here are my scores:
Listening – 9.0
Reading – 8.5
Writing – 8.0
Speaking – 7.5
I was extremely lucky that the examiners could understand my handwriting in the writing section especially while using a pencil π
Thanks so much for your help through this website. It was the information on your website along with the videos which made it possible for me to be well prepared for the exam. All content & tips were simple, easy to understand and directly relevant which i first hand experienced while taking the exam. I wish you all the best with this website and the upcoming app and am sure many more students will find your labor of love and professionalism extremely useful for their exam prep. Thanks once again!
This was for the General Training test. I scored 8.5 overall
Well done with your results π I’m glad the lessons were easy to follow – my aim was to make IELTS achievable and even enjoyable.
Thanks Liz, I have been using your Youtube videos and website for sometime now. Once I was comfortable and gave my first exam, I was only looking to increase my score in writing and though I used number of learning platforms to increase my skills in writing, I would always refer to your videos to do a quick course in reading, listening and speaking before my test.
Score –
Listening – 9
Reading – 7.5
Writing – 7.5
Speaking – 8
Thanks again for posting so many videos and material for free and helping a lots of people preparing for IELTS.
Thanks
Ayush
Well done with your results π Glad you liked the videos π
Hi Liz,
I sat for the General Training exam. I got:
9 for listening
9 for reading
8.5 for speaking
7.5 for writing
Overall band score of 8.5
Thanks heaps for the tips! The results are over and above what I was expecting:) much love xx
An excellent result π Very well done π
Hi Liz
Your blog helped me a lot to get good score in my ielts exam
Listening-8.5
Reading-9
Writing-7
Speaking-7.5
Overall-8
My sister recommended this site to me…she also studied from your site for her exams.
The thing that I like the most about your blog is the simple way in which you explain all the necessary instructions.
I was always afraid of attempting ielts but I was able to get a band 8 score in first attempt because of this site.
Thank you Liz
Great score – well done π I’m so glad that you found my lessons and tips easy to understand and easy to apply π
Hello from India.
Overall: 8.5
L: 9
S: 9
W: 7.5
S: 7.5
Thanks a ton Liz for the amazing content.
Tip: Lots of practice and active listening and reading for 4 months
That’s a great score – well done π Glad my website was useful π
Hi,
I took my IELTS GT on June 29,2019. I did struggle a bit while speaking. But was confident with my LRW, I got my scores today (12 July)
L – 9
R – 8.5
S/W -7
Overall – 8.
This is my first attempt and I prepared for almost 3 months on my own. You materials on the Letter and Essay were impeccable. It helped me a lot with the structuring and linking words. I owe this score to you Liz.
I’m glad to see your band 8 overall score – well done π
OMG, my results confuse me a lot!
Overall Band: 7.0
Listening: 6.0
Reading: 9.0
Writing: 6.0
Speaking: 6.0
Ok, listening was terrible, a stuffy and echoing room did it’s job, but W6.0 and S6.0 leave me stunned. I wouldn’t change a word in my essays, I believe they have paragraphs, strong arguments, good vocabulary, I actually was lucky enough to get the topic I am familiar with. While speaking topic was completely out of my interest and made my talk fussy and indistinct.
I believe the clue is in understanding requirements which I got wrong.
You are right. It is about understanding the test. Your can’t compare speaking and writing when they have different marking criteria. Writing has specific requirements for a higher score.
Hi Liz, Thanks to your IELTS training & Practice Tests, I was able to secure the following bands –
Listening – 9
Reading – 9
Writing – 7.5
Speaking – 7.5
Overall – 8.5
God Bless You & keep up the good work!
Shenoy Lazarus
Excellent results π Very well done π
Dear Liz,
Thank you very much for creating this platform. It was immensely helpful to achieve my results in my first attempt π
I took my test on 29/06/2019 General Training.
Overall- 8.0
Listening- 8.5
Reading-9.0
Writing-7.0
Speaking-7.0
Thank you π again. I wish I could meet you.
Love β€οΈ from Sri Lanka π±π° ( The best travel destination)
Reading Tips
Spend 1/2 hour everyday to read something in English. Improve your speed. Thatβs the secret.
I’m really pleased to see your results – well done π Sri Lanka has long been on my list of places I’d love to visit – hopefully one day π
Hi Liz ! I got my ielts test results GT yesterday.
L-9 , R-9 , S- 8.5 , W-7.5
I am extremely thankful to you. I followed your writing and speaking tips . This site is really beneficial for all IELTS aspirants. You are helping a lot of people to achieve their dreams , Thanks a lot π
Great score π Very well done with your reading and listening scores. Also, getting 8.5 in speaking is excellent π
Congratulations tharani. If you can please share the tips and the practice you have done to achieve this score. Because I got bad results on that day.
Hi Liz,
First of all I would like to thank you for sharing your views and knowledge. Your tips have helped me immensely to get an overall band score of 8. I gave the computer based IELTS and scored the following,
Listening – 8.5
Reading – 8.5
Writing – 7
Speaking – 8
Thank you once again for this selfless service. May God bless you always.
Karan Kapadia
Overall band 8 is great – very well done π
Dear Liz, thank you for your selfless work. I would not have passed my test if I had not used your website. May God richly bless you and your family.
L- 8
R-8
W-7
S-8.5
Overall Score 8 (Academic)
Regards,
Patrick
I’m really pleased for you – well done π
Hello Liz,
I’m happy to say that I’ve successfully passed my first IELTS attempt with an overall band score of 8.5.
Reading: 8.5, Listening: 8.5, Writing: 7.5, Speaking: 9
I barely had enough time to prepare as my decision to attempt the examination was on short notice. I had barely a week to prepare and was initially in dissarray when one of my colleagues recommended your blog to me for the purpose of preparation. I found it it incredibly useful and user friendly. The content is par excellence and allows one to adequately prepare for the various modules in a variety of ways. I can in fact say now without a doubt that I would strongly recommend any IELTS aspirant the thorough use of this blog and all the materials and advice provided. It will surely help you to achieve your desired score.
Thank you again Liz!
Very well done with your results π An excellent speaking score π I’m so glad my website was useful to you π