Archives for July 2017

Student Tips for Getting IELTS Band 8.5 Overall

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My Tips for IELTS Overall 8.5

This page gives you my tips for how I got IELTS band score 8.5 overall in 3 steps. And also my tips for getting band 8 in IELTS writing and band score 9 in IELTS speaking.

by Deeksha

My IELTS Test Results

24th June; United States; First Attempt. I just received my IELTS score:

  • Listening – 7.5
  • Reading – 8.5
  • Writing – 8.0
  • Speaking – 9.0
  • Overall – 8.5

I barely had 5 days to prepare. 70% of my preparation included watching the videos on your blog, answering your sample questions, and going through your tips! For the rest 30%, I printed some of the full-fledged tests and
sample answer sheets from the Cambridge IELTS books and just practised using those.

For anyone of you who has a very little time to prepare, I hope that the process I followed can help you lay out a basic schedule.

My 3 Step Tips for IELTS Band Score 8.5

See my 3 steps:

Step -1 (Know the test)

– Go through the test format.
– Spend some time and understand the question patterns in each segment.
– Keep in mind the time limit for every segment.
– Do an initial sample test (download from IELTS official website) just to see where you stand.

Links:

Step-2 (Prepare using Liz’s blog)

– Go through every one of the 4 segments (L, R, W, S) in this blog, one after the other. Links: Listening Tips, /Reading / Writing T1 /  Writing T2 / Speaking
– In each segment, read every tip and watch every video.
– Make notes of the points that you would like to keep in mind.
– Try and answer every sample question that Liz has laid out there. She has specified at least one sample question for every possible pattern that could appear on the test.
– Look at the answers and compare with yours. Figure out what you got wrong and more importantly, “analyze why you got them wrong.” This helps you understand how you approached the question, and how you should have.

Step-3 (Practice)

– Download all the versions of Cambridge IELTS books (you can just google them out).
– From these books, print out the full-fledged tests and sample answer sheets.
– Take these tests using a clock and write your answers in the sample answer sheets.
– Grade your tests and find out your weak areas.
– Make notes of your analysis and try to keep it in mind during the following tests.

In addition, go through the comments in this blog and find out what the recent test takers said about their tests. Know about the tips that helped them, learn from their experiences and be prepared.

Writing Tips for Band Score 8

On my test:

  1. Write a letter to your friend who is going to stay in your apartment during the next month while you are away on vacation
  2. Tell your friend where to get the keys
  3. Tell your friend about the equipment in your apartment
  4. Tell your friend about some places to visit in the area
  5. Advancement of technology has obliterated libraries and hard copies of books. Do you agree or disagree?

–          Apart from your writing skills and the topic at hand, it may help to do this section in a way that encompasses all the elements that the examiner is looking for. Liz’s writing section mentions specific guidelines for content organization, format, tone, logical reasoning, titles, signatures and many other tips. Go through them and try to follow all those tips as you write. In other words, you will have a shell prepared in your mind even before you know what the questions are. Click here: IELTS GT Letter Tips 

–          I didn’t have time to practice this section at all so I had a bit of an issue managing time on the test. If you have very little time to prepare for IELTS, make sure you squeeze in at least a few writing tests and see where you stand with the time limit.

Speaking Tips for Band Score 9

Go through Liz’s list of sample topics, sample answers (Liz’s Speaking Page), comments from recent test takers (Recent Topics) on this blog and questions from IELTS Cambridge speaking tests. Try to answer them. These should be more than enough to help you familiarize with the test pattern and to understand what to expect on the test. From the comments, I also found out that most of these questions are being repeated so make sure you go through them. Almost all the questions that my examiner (whose name was coincidentally Liz) asked me were also from the above lot.

As Liz mentioned, they expect you to be casual and test you only for your language and not for your knowledge on the topic at hand. Think about this segment like you just bumped into a fan who would like to know some of your opinions and experiences. Well, you don’t simply meet a fan every day, so this is your chance – talk her ear off! J Be casual, funny, and confident and you’ll do just fine.

Try to book your test in a test center that does not use hallway speakers to play the audio in the listening section. There is a definite distinction in terms of quality compared to headphones. There is always a possibility of noise and distraction. I didn’t know about this while booking my test and I certainly experienced the difference.

Thanks,

Deeksha.

Good Luck!

Liz – Thanks again for the effort you are putting in, to assist so many test-takers all over the world, each with their own questions and training needs. It must feel incredible to know that most of these people credit their success to you. Keep up the good work!

Deeksha.

Message from Liz

Deeksha, you’ve done exceedingly well. Congratulations!! I love your tips! They are logical and very helpful for all IELTS students. Tackling IELTS methodically is essential and Deeksha has really hit the nail on the head !!! 🙂

Filed Under: IELTS Listening, IELTS Reading, IELTS Speaking, IELTS Writing Task 2, Uncategorized Tagged With:

IELTS Cue Card: An Invention

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Hi guys,

Yesterday, a student reported this IELTS cue card: Describe an Invention for speaking part 2. IELTS speaking topics can often be repeated so you should definitely prepare for this topic as well as other recent topics and common topics. I’ve provided links below.

An Invention: IELTS Cue Card 

Date: 26th July, 2017

Describe an invention that changed people’s lives.
You should say:
· What it is
· Who invent it
· When it was invented
And explain how it changed people’s life.

Ideas for An Invention Topic:

Tips: Don’t choose something impressive. The examiner will not give you a higher score because your ideas are impressive. Instead, choose something which is easy to talk about. Something which can have plenty of ideas for. If you don’t know who invented it or when – it doesn’t matter. It won’t affect your score at all.

  1. Smart Phones
    1. This is a great topic to choose because there are somany features of a mobile phone that you can talk forever about this. You can also talk about which features you use and why they are useful to you: camera, video, texting, calendar, weather, music player, GPS, web browser (shopping online, online banking etc)
    2. The cue card mentions who invented it – you don’t need to know this information. You can say “I do not know who invented it but some of the top selling brands are “Apple” etc. If you don’t know when it was invented, you can say “I’m not exactly sure when it was invented but most people have been using them for the last decade at least.”
  2. Internet
    1. Another great topic which allows you to take your talk in any direction you want: international business, social media (Facebook, Youtube, Twitter), globalisation, online education etc
  3. TV
    1. You can talk about: news, weather reports, films, soap operas, documentaries and education programs, escapism, relaxation, reality TV, chat shows etc
  4. Modern Transportation
    1. Cars, aeroplanes, trains. You can talk about each type as well as globalisation and tourism

Don’t forget that IELTS speaking part 2 is mostly about you, so add your own details. Tell a story about yourself or someone you know.

If you have any other ideas, please post them in the comments box below.

Useful Links

Click below to open links:

Recently Posted IELTS Speaking Topics

How to Start your IELTS Speaking Part 2 Talk

 All Common IELTS Speaking Topics, Model Answers & Tips

For information and tips about other parts of the IELTS test, click on the relevant links on the Red Bar at the top of my website 🙂

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Filed Under: IELTS Speaking

July 20th IELTS Writing Task 2 Question

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Today (July 20th) the IELTS writing task 2 question was reported. Below you can see the essay question.

 

IELTS Essay Question: July 20th 2017

Billions of dollars are spent on space research. This is a waste of money. More money must be spent on improving the problems of people on earth .To what extent do you agree or disagree.

The topic of Space Exploration and Space Travel is for Academic students only. It is not an easy topic to write about so make sure you prepare ideas for this topic.

 

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Prepare properly for IELTS

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Hi guys,

This video is a free video lesson about how to prepare for IELTS. It is posted on my home page but I feel many students are not finding it. So, here is your chance to watch it and think about the points given.

In the video, it mentions about knowing your level of English. Let me explain:

  • Band 5 = frequent errors
  • Band 6 = some errors
  • Band 7 = few errors
  • Band 8 = most sentences are error free

I am sure you all know how many errors you make on average. You don’t need a teacher to tell you. You can use spell check and grammar check in ms word doc. You should also review your vocab frequently and your understanding of grammar tenses. You can also review your range of grammar tenses by recording your speaking answers and playing it back to check. Or writing a task 2 essay and underlining each grammar tense you use.

IELTS Video Lesson: How to Prepare

[su_youtube url=”https://youtu.be/2TAhwbB8GKM”]

 

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Answers to Dinosaur Reading Questions

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Hi guys,

Yesterday I posted a reading exercise on pterosaur dinosaurs and now you can find the answers. If you didn’t finish the reading exercise, please do it now: TFNG questions pterosaur dinosaurs

Answers

Click below to reveal the answers:

Answers, Explanations & Tips

Answers

  1. Question = Pterosaurs were the first creatures to be able to fly by creating lift

Answer: F

Passage Information: “They were also the first animals after insects to evolve powered flight—not just leaping or gliding, but flapping their wings to generate lift and travel through the air.”

Explanation: the word creatures refers to both animals and insects. The passage shows that animals (pterosaurs) could fly after insects. This means insects were first. Creating lift relates to “generating lift”.

The reading passage for this lesson was taken from the American Museum of Natural History. You can read the full information about pterosaurs on their website: AMNH pterosaurs.Some students have comments on “flapping wings”.  You can read about insect flight on this page: WIKI Insect Flight  or check directly with AMNH about their article.

2. Question = Pterosaurs were able to fly as high as modern aeroplanes.

Answer: NG

Passage Information: ” Some were as large as an F-16 fighter jet, and others as small as a paper aeroplane.”

Explanation: You can see that the passage does not give information about how high the dinosaurs could fly. No mention of height is given. The passage only mentions “F-16 fighter jet” – not a range of modern planes. This means the answer is Not Given.

3. Question = The shape and the size of pterosaurs varied over time.

Answer: T

Passage Information: “Over time, the earliest pterosaurs—relatively small flying reptiles with sturdy bodies and long tails—evolved into a broad variety of species. Some had long, slender jaws, elaborate head crests, or specialized teeth, and some were extraordinarily large.”

Explanation: You can see from the passage that at the beginning all pterosaurs were quite small. But then they changed and some of them grew to be very big. The word “evolved” indicated natural evolution which happens over a period of time and also the confirmation “over time”. The passage also mentioned the shape of the pterosaurs = “Some had long, slender jaws, elaborate head crests”. The word “some” means that some had this shape and others had a different shape.

Tips

The answer might not be in one sentence. Once you locate the information, read the sentences before and after to locate more information. You will often have to read 4 or 5 sentences in the passage in order to decide your answer.

You can see that I posted the passage information and explanation. You should do this when you practice full reading tests at home. After you finish the test, review each question and answer -write down the explanation for the answer so you can see your mistakes more clearly in order to learn and develop.

Message from Liz

Most of you got the answers spot on – well done 🙂 If you got one or two wrong, I hope you can understand why from my explanations above.

I will try and post more lessons soon.

Liz

 

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Reading Practice Question

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Below is a short reading passage with questions to help you practice your IELTS reading TFNG. This topic was reported in the test this month, July 2017.  This is an IELTS Liz reading exercise, not a test paper.

Tips:

  • True = the passage shows the statement is correct
  • False = the passage shows the statement is incorrect
  • Not Given = not enough information is given to know if it is correct or incorrect

Reading Exercise: Pterosaurs

Neither birds nor bats, pterosaurs were reptiles, close cousins of dinosaurs who evolved on a separate branch of the reptile family tree. They were also the first animals after insects to evolve powered flight—not just leaping or gliding, but flapping their wings to generate lift and travel through the air. They evolved into dozens of species. Some were as large as an F-16 fighter jet, and others as small as a paper airplane.

Pterosaurs were an extremely successful group of reptiles. They flourished all through the age of dinosaurs, a period of more than 150 million years. Over time, the earliest pterosaurs—relatively small flying reptiles with sturdy bodies and long tails—evolved into a broad variety of species. Some had long, slender jaws, elaborate head crests, or specialized teeth, and some were extraordinarily large.

This passage is from amnh.org (American Museum of Natural History) See the full reading passage: What is a Pterosaur?

Questions: Are the following statements True/ False or Not Given according to the information in the passage?

  1. Pterosaurs were the first creatures to be able to fly by creating lift.
  2. Pterosaurs were able to fly as high as modern aeroplanes.
  3. The shape and the size of pterosaurs varied over time.

Answers

The answers are now available. Click to see answers: Answers to pterosaur reading exercise

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Filed Under: IELTS Reading

Look at your Notes in IELTS Speaking Part 2

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Many students ask me if it is ok to look at your notes during your IELTS speaking part 2 talk. Let me explain…

Looking at your Notes

It is important to look at your notes during your talk. You can’t remember everything and this is the reason why you have 1 mins to plan and write notes.

Checking your notes will make sure you keep a logical order and also make sure you don’t forget to talk about something.

Does it lower my score to look at my notes a lot?

No, it doesn’t. You will not get a lower score if you look at your notes a lot.

Of course, it is good to have eye contact with the examiner because it shows confidence. But it won’t affect your score. Your score is based only on your level of English language: fluency, vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation.

Liz’s Advice

Keep checking your notes during your talk. But also look at the examiner. When students talk with their head in their notes, they often lose intonation and don’t speak naturally. So, try to aim for a balance – look at your notes as often as you need but also make sure you speak naturally by looking up at the examiner.

IELTS Speaking Tips & Answers

See my page of speaking tips and model answers for IELTS speaking: IELTS Speaking Main Page

Filed Under: IELTS Speaking Tagged With:

Dreams Topic for IELTS Speaking Part 1

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See the model answers for current topic used in IELTS speaking part 1. I’ve written a few model answers for each question so you can see the usual length of answers.

I’ve also written a list of useful words below.

Questions

  1. Do you often have dreams?
  2. Do you usually remember your dreams?
  3. Do you think we can learn something from dreams?

Model Answers

  1. Do you often have dreams?
    1. Yes, I do. I have quite vivid dreams about things that are going on in my life at the time and I even have nightmares sometimes.
    2. No. I usually sleep very deeply and so I don’t dream at all.
    3. I used to dream all the time but in the last few years I’ve hardly had any dreams at all.
    4. I usually have dreams when I’m upset about something. I guess it’s my subconscious trying to work things out. But other than that, I don’t often dream.
  2.  Do you usually remember your dreams?
    1.  No, they’re usually very vague and I only remember the odd thing or image. But I can never remember the entire dream as they are too abstract.
    2. No, luckily I don’t remember them as they are almost always nightmares.
    3. Yes, I do. I remember almost every dream I have. I keep a dream diary so that I can analyse them later.
  3. Do you think we can learn something from dreams?
    1. No, I don’t. I think dreams are nonsense and not based in reality so I don’t think people should waste their time trying to find a meaning in them.
    2. No, I don’t. I think most people dream because they are not relaxed enough and are not able to enter deep sleep. I don’t think there’s any meaning in what people dream.
    3. Yes, I do. I think our subconscious is trying to figure things out and we can find clues by analysing our dreams.
    4. Yes, I do. I think dreams can reveal hidden messages if we know how to interpret them correctly.
    5. Yes, I do. I know dreaming of a snake means that enemies are close. And if you dream of your teeth falling out, it means a big change will happen in your life. I think dreams are very symbolic.

Vocabulary:

  • disturbed sleep
  • deep sleep
  • peaceful sleep
  • nightmare
  • daydream
  • vivid dreams
  • vague dreams
  • abstract dreams
  • subconscious thinking / subconscious mind
  • symbolic
  • analyse our dreams
  • nonsense
  • dream diary
  • reveal messages
  • interpret dreams

See all my IELTS Speaking Tips & Model Answers

Filed Under: IELTS Speaking
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