How I Scored 9 in IELTS Speaking

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IELTS Speaking Band 9 Tips from a sucessful IELTS candidate. Nouman shares his experience and tips of how he got 9 in IELTS speaking. You can find useful links for IELTS at the end of this article.

All students taking GT or Academic IELTS will take the same speaking test. There is only one speaking test for all students. These tips are useful for all candidates.

Band Score 9 in IELTS Speaking

How I scored Band 9 in IELTS Speaking

“I believe I managed to score a 9 with continuous practice and being myself in the test. The best thing is not to feel shy when you speak about any particular topic. Do not think that your thoughts might be too little or simple to express.  Some of us may believe that if we are not full of knowledge, we may not be able to impress the examiner.  In speaking module however, knowledge of the topic is not a big deal. The thoughts presented may just be of a lay man and do not need to reflect an in-depth understanding of the subject.

I never crammed any specific topics however; I did gather my thoughts for topics which I would have found difficult to talk about. For example, I have not been visiting many historical places in the past. The one or two that I have visited, I made sure that I gather sufficient thoughts about those places to talk about. Important thing is that those thoughts were purely my own and not learnt from a book or Wikipedia. Gathering own thoughts in your own words is important.“

Well done to you, Nouman, and thanks so much for sharing your tips!!! Liz

Liz’s Comments and Summary:

Nouman’s band score 9 advice is excellent. Here are his points in a list with some extra tips for IELTS Speaking:

  • don’t be shy
  • enjoy the chat with the examiner
  • your ideas are not important – your knowledge is not being tested
  • say your ideas with confidence and showcase your language skills
  • simple ideas explained using excellent English can get you band score 9
  • review topics
  • think of your experiences relating to the topics
  • if the topic is a museum, think of museums you have been to or would like to go to
  • remember your past experiences
  • speak from the heart – your English is better when you do that
  • learn to express yourself using your own language
  • imagine talking about your experienced and your views

Scoring 9 in Reading

Learn how one student scored band score 9 in IELTS reading: How I Scored 9 in Reading

Useful Links for IELTS Speaking

Click on the links to open them:

  1. Tips: Should I speaking fast or slow?
  2. How to start your talk in IELTS speaking part 2
  3. Asking the examiner questions
  4. Tips & Answers: All IELTS Speaking Model Answers & Tips

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Listening Practice for English Names

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These two listening practices focuses on listening for English names. This practice is important for students preparing for their IELTS test as well as other students studying English or planning to move to the UK.

Below are TWO LISTENING PRACTICE EXERCISES FOR NAMES.

You will find more useful tips for IELTS listening, after the practice exercise, lower on this page.

Instructions for Listening Practice

You should listen to the recordings and write down the names you hear.

Before you listen, please make sure you watch English Names Tips for Listening Video.

  • Don’t forget to listen for titles. Some will have titles and other won’t. If there is a title, you must write it.
  • Write down the complete name given.
  • Some names will be spelled and others will not.
  • You can learn some common English names here: Boys Name and Girls Names
  • All free listening practice and tips: IELTS Listening Main Page

Capital letters: Please see this page: Using capital letters in IELTS

Listening Practice for Names 1

You will hear 10 names. Listen and write down what you hear.

 

Answers

Click below to reveal the answers:

Answers
  1. David Darwin
  2. Mrs Alice Smith
  3. Balthazar Jones
  4. Sara Bartholomew
  5. Sean Bean
  6. Mr Frank Allenson
  7. A R Beevers
  8. James Chichester
  9. Mary Schooling
  10. Sir Paul McKellen

 

Listening Practice for Names 2

You now have a chance to listen again to 10 new names. Think about the mistakes you made in the previous practice and see if you can improve.

 

Answers

Click below to reveal the answers:

Answers
  • Dr Davis
  • Richard Chamberlain
  • Miss Victoria Halley
  • Mr C J Billings
  • Robert Powers
  • Emily Jackson
  • Nora Ingalls
  • Mrs Caroline Castle
  • Charles Pringle
  • Emma Ford

Capital letters are not needed and are not marked so don’t worry if you use them or not. See this page: IELTS Exam FAQ

 

More IELTS Listening Practice

To get more tips and also free listening practice. See my MAIN IELTS LISTENING PAGE

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IELTS Writing Task 1: Tenses & Grammar

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What tenses to use and grammar tips for IELTS Writing Task 1. Grammar counts for 25% of your marks in IELTS writing task 1 and that includes the correct use of tenses based on the information given in the task. You can get tasks based in the past, present or future so tenses are essential to get right. 

Below you will find:

  1. Grammar for IELTS Writing Task 1 Academic
  2. Tenses for IELTS Writing Task 1 General Training (bottom of page)

IELTS Writing Task 1: Grammar

For IELTS writing task 1 (Academic Test), you may be given a map, a diagram, a bar chart, a line graph, a table or a pie chart in the academic test. The IELTS examiner will mark you on the following (each worth 25% of task 1)

  • Task Achievement: information, overview, accurate of data
  • Coherence & Cohesion: Paragraphing, Linking Words
  • Vocabulary: Collocations, Spelling and Accuracy
  • Grammar: Sentence structures, tenses, grammatical range and accuracy

So, you can see that using the right tense is important in IELTS writing task 1 because it falls into the marking criterion of Grammar. You can read more about marking here: IELTS WRITING TASK 1 BAND SCORES EXPLAINED WITH TIPS

DATES & TENSES

On your IELTS writing task 1 graph, chart, map, diagram or table, you might find dates. These will tell you what tense to use. 

  • Dates in the Past = Past Tense
  • Dates in the Future = Future Forms
  • Dates spanning both Past and Future = both Past Tense and Future Forms

Example Sentences for Tenses:

  1. In 2010, the number of sales stood at 2 million and is forecast to rise to a peak of 10 million by 2050.
  2. The maps shows that in 1962, the village, located in the west was small. However, currently, it has expanded to join together with the neighbouring town.
  3. The number of people visiting a music cafe increased from 10,000 to reach 20,000 in 1975. By 2030, this number is predicted to hit 34,000. 
  4. Today, the number of people visiting the Dali museum stands at 100,000. In previous years, the figure was only 90,000.

What if NO DATE is given in the IELTS chart?

If there is no date given on your IELTS chart, graph table etc, then you will use the present tense.

PASSIVE VOICE

There are candidates who have been told by some teachers that they will get a high score if they use the passive voice. This is not true. No tense is more valuable than another. You can only use the passive voice when it is appropriate and correct to do so. Most writing task 1 will not give you this opportunity. For example, the majority of all bar charts, line graphs, tables and pie charts will unlikely use the passive voice and to attempt to force it into your writing will probably result in an error. However, if you get a diagram or a map, they are often a combination of passive and active voice. Look at the paragraph below and see how the passive voice (red) is used along side the active voice (blue).

Paragraph: Rain is collected as it falls on the roof tops of houses. This water then passes through the drains and is eventually transferred to a water filter. The water is filtered to remove impurities before it then goes to a storage tank. From the tank it travels along pipes to reach the water treatment where it is treated with chemicals.

To see the model answer, click here: Diagram Model Answer

Articles: Using THE in grammar

In writing task 1, you are often given bar charts, line graphs and tables that refer to different countries and different nationalities. One of the biggest problems with this is the use of “the” with country names. Lets see how good you are with this. 

Which options below are wrong?

  1. the British
  2. the UK
  3. the America
  4. the Britain
  5. the English
  6. the US
  7. the Americans
  8. the England

ANSWERS

Click below for answers and for information about using “the” with country names.

Answers
  • Number 3 “the America” is wrong
  • Number 4 “the Britain” is wrong
  • Number 8 “the England” is wrong.

Details:

Almost all country names do not require the article “the”. We refer to France, England, Britain, Vietnam, Canada, China, India – all without “the”.

However, there are exceptions. Countries that are made up of a group of states or islands use “the”, such as the Philippines and the US. Any country that uses the words “states” or “united” or “republic” also use “the”, for example the UK, the US, the Republic of China. So, we would write “the UK” because it contains the word “united”, but we would write “Britain” without “the. Please note, the word “Britain” is not a synonym for England. Britain means the UK. Britain refers to the group of countries that make up the UK: England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. The word “Britain” actually means “Great Britain”.

We also need to use the article “the” when referring to nationalities as a group of people: the British, the Americans, the Chinese, the Vietnamese, the English. 

You can find full training for articles in essay writing in my Grammar E-book.

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IELTS General Training – Writing Task 1 Tenses

For the GT IELTS test, you will also be marked on Grammar. In fact, the marking is the same as the Academic Writing Task 1 test except for Task Achievement. Task Achievement is marked differently for the GT test. The IELTS examiner will mark you on the following (each worth 25% of task 1). See below:

    • Task Achievement: Purpose of letter, tone, style and expanding points
    • Coherence & Cohesion: Paragraphing, Linking Words
    • Vocabulary: Collocations, Spelling and Accuracy
    • Grammar: Sentence structure, tenses, punctuation, grammar range and accuracy

For students taking the General Training test. You will use a range of tenses in your letter depending on the aims and purpose. Below are some sample sentences:

  • I am writing to …. (present continuous)
  • I visited your store … (past simple)
  • …the poor service I have received (present perfect)
  • I hope the problem will be resolved … (future form and future passive)
  • I had hoped that … (past perfect)

See my model answers and tips for GT Writing Task 1: GT WRITING TASK 1

RECOMMENDED FOR YOU

Academic writing task 1 tips, click below:

All Tips, Model Answers, Free Video Lessons & Practice for IELTS writing task 1

GT writing task 1 tips, click below:

Essential 10 tips

Differences between GT and Academic Writing Task 1

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How I Scored 9 in IELTS Reading

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“How I got Band 9 in IELTS Reading.”

Manal got band score 9 in IELTS reading with band score 8.5 overall.  Learn how she did it …

Below are her tips for a high score in GT reading:

 
 
 Getting 9 in IELTS reading
 

Manal’s Story and Tips for Band 9 in Reading

Oh I couldn’t believe in my wildest dreams that I scored a 9.0 in Reading. Reading was one of my weakest areas. After I gave the test, I had a gut feeling telling me that probably I scored a 9.0 in Reading. I even got to check all my answers in Listening as well as Reading.

I re-took the General test. The first time I attempted this test was in October – that time I scored an overall band score of 8.0 with L – 8.5, Reading – 7.0, W – 8.0, S – 9.0. I retook the test specifically to improve my Reading score so obviously I relentlessly practiced tests from the General section of Cambridge IELTS books. I was aiming for a minimum of 8.0 in reading.

 ————————————————–
Tips for Getting Band Score 9 in IELTS Reading
 
Here are some tips and strategies which you could post. Please feel free to make any editions necessary. I like to explain things in detail, otherwise I do not feel satisfied. You can make them more brief and concise.
 

Tip 1

Effective time management – I can’t stress enough about it. One thing which I meticulously practiced when I did the reading tests was to enforce a strict time division for each section of Reading. Even though in the cambridge books, it states to keep a minimum of 20 minutes for each section. I’d suggest to keep 15 minutes OR less in Section 1 and 2 and to rely solely on skimming and scanning (I mastered to finish Section 1 and 2 in less than 15 minutes leaving me with ample time to solve Section 3 questions). Keep 30 minutes or more for Section 3- where you will need to do a little bit more than skimming and scanning. I usually managed to have 5-10 minutes for revision.

Tip 2

Do not bother reading the passages. It’s a waste of time.

  First, read the questions and circle the keywords and then try to look for those keywords or a synonym / paraphased text in the passage. For Section 1 and 2  – skimming and scanning will be your best friends. 

I didn’t even waste time reading Section 3. I just read the text associated with the questions. 

 Tip 3

One strategy that worked for me best was “not to overthink” when you are solving the reading questions and to go with your gut instincts – there is no time to think during the 60 minutes of tackling reading questions. Especially this applies to me, because I tend to overthink and over analyze a lot when I am stressed. I struggled a lot with the true false questions. But as I trained myself not to overthink, if the text is there either it will be the same meaning as the question or opposite. If text is not there – not given. 

Tip 4

For paragraph heading questions, only read the first and last sentence of each paragraph. A synonym or a related keyword in the heading title should be there. I also sometimes to be on the safe side for some questions read the second sentence as well.

Tip 5

Although, you will keep hearing from people practice and practice. I personally believe practice is inefficient if you do not learn from your incorrect answers. So it really helps to look at your mistakes and compare with the correct answers in the answer key and to reflect on where you made the mistake. I feel that way – you learn more efficiently.

 
Hope that helps.
Manal
 
Comment from Liz: Thanks for sharing your tips, Manal, and well done with your fantastic score!!
 
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU FOR IELTS Reading:

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IELTS Writing Task 1 Answer 2017

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Below is an IELTS writing task 1 answer for 2017. The bar charts were reported by a student in February 2017 and recreated as accurately as possible. Please remember that IELTS do not release question or answers for each test. So, all reported tasks and questions are from students who have recently taken the test and have recreated their questions.

You can find links to more model answers for writing task 1 on this page: IELTS Writing Task 1, model answers & tips

IELTS Writing Task 1 Bar charts 2017

Download the above writing task 1 as pdf: IELTS 2017 Writing Task 1

IELTS Writing Task 1 Answer 2017

The two bar charts illustrate the population growth as well as the birth and death rates in England and Wales between 1700 and 2000. The population is given in millions, while the birth and death rates are per 1000 people.

Overall, there was a dramatic increase in the population of England and Wales over the 400 years. The birth and death rates initially witnessed a growth but then steadily declined over the period given. The birth rate was constantly higher than the death rate over the period given.

The population of England and Wales stood at under 10 million in 1700 which then doubled to around 15 million in 1800. By 2000, the figure had reached a high of almost 50 million, almost 5 times that of the population in 1700.

The birth rate was just under 10 per 1000 in 1700 and rose dramatically to peak at over 20 per 1000 in 1800 before dropping to slightly over 10 in the final century. The death rate showed a similar trend but was between 5 and 10 per 1000 less than the birth rate at all times.

187 words (I have put the word count for you. You shouldn’t do this in the test.)

Would you like to see more model answers for writing task 1? See the main pages below and click on IELTS Writing Task 1

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IELTS Essay Ideas for Feb 2017: Open Plan Offices

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Here are some IELTS essay ideas for a writing task 2 question which appeared in February, this year (2017)

IELTS Essay Question February

Reported by a number of IELTS students this month in IELTS writing task 2 (academic writing).

Nowadays, some buildings such as offices and schools have open-space design instead of separate rooms. Why is it so? Do you think this is a positive or negative development?

IELTS Essay Ideas (Feb 2017)

This essay question requires you to answer two questions.  The first one asks you to explain why are there so many more open plan offices these days. The second question requires you to decide if this change is positive or negative – it requires your opinion. Below are some ideas for this essay question:

Main reason why open plan is adopted as a common office floor design:

The main reason is, of course, cost. The cost of floor space in most major cities is increasing. Having an open plan design is cheaper. Without the walls and doors, more staff can work in the office space available. Desks are either joined together or separated by just a small amount of room.

Positive Change

  • better interaction between staff
  • less distinction between different levels of staff
  • improves communication between staff and departments
  • more natural light
  • flexible work space for high staff turn over
    • this means that if staff come and go, it’s easy to find a new desk for new staff

Negative Change

  • it is hard for staff to concentrate
  • lack of privacy
  • problems with constant noise which lowers staff performance
  • easy spread of illness
  • increased stress due to feeling of exposure and being watched

These ideas were found on fortune.com 

IELTS Links for a Better IELTS Essay

Click the red links below to open the useful pages:

Keep up-to-date with IELTS essay topics. See my list of Essay Questions for 2017. Also see a Model IELTS Essay Feb 2017 for writing task 2.

See an IELTS Model Essay for Positive Negative Question and also an Opinion Essay Model

See all pages on IELTSliz.com which contain Ideas for IELTS Writing Task 2

Find out about the structure of an IELTS essay, learn How Many Paragraphs you need to have.

Get information about how your IELTS writing score is calculated as a total and also a page of useful Linking Words for IELTS Writing Task 2

Tips for All Section of IELTS, see below:

Main IELTS Pages

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New IELTS Speaking Topic February 2017: Riots

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Riot: New IELTS Speaking Topic Feb 2017

The topic of Riots is a new IELTS speaking topic for February 2017. It appeared this month in IELTS speaking part 2 and part 3. Below are sample questions and ideas for the topic.

I’ll upload a pdf file to download later this week with the vocab and tips below.

Meaning: Riot & Demonstration

Lets look at the meaning of “riot” and “demonstration”.  Below you can see two pictures, one of a riot and one of a demonstration.

Riot:a violent disturbance by a crowd of people (in public areas), sometimes a violent protest

ielts riot topic 2017

Demonstration or street protest: an action by a mass or group of people in favour of or against something. This is often in the form of a peaceful march (a walk) with signs and messages.

deomonstration vocab ielts

Connection between demonstrations and riots

As you can see there are similarities, they both involve a group of people gathering in public. A demonstration might start peacefully but as strong emotions rise and people become angry, it may turn violent and become a riot.

Most people go to demonstrations because they want to share their message to the world and have peaceful intentions. However, some people go there because they want to start violence and their intention is not related to a message but an opportunity to start trouble. So, people’s intentions and aims are deeply involved in the difference between riots and demonstrations.

Reasons for riots

  1. people are provoked by police and turn angry
  2. society has broken down and rules no longer count
  3. an opportunity for violent people to enjoy themselves and cause trouble
  4. poverty and unemployment which creates desperation and anger towards the government and state
  5. government brutality towards a person or a group of people causing anger and violent protests
  6. once there is a trigger and anger turns violent, it starts building and grows in violence becoming a riot
  7. sometimes violent people see this as a chance to be violent because their identity is hidden in a group

Recent Riots and Demonstrations Worldwide:

France Riot: Violent protests over alleged police brutality that began in the mainly immigrant suburbs earlier this month spread to central Paris and other cities on Wednesday night (15th February 2017) and 49 people were arrested. Link: A newspaper article with video about this riot: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/02/16/french-police-arrest-49-people-violent-protests-spread-paris/

Greece: A protest which turned violent due to austerity measures in Greece, Dec 2015. Link: A newspaper article: http://www.ibtimes.com/greece-anti-austerity-protests-2015-video-photos-athens-riots-break-out-tear-gas-2181485

USA: Protests and demonstrations caused by Trump’s inauguration as President. Link: World Wide Protests: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2017/01/20/donald-trump-inauguration-world-reaction/96834322/. Riots in America: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/trump-win-sparks-riots-across-9225317

Sri Lanka: The information below was written by a student called Thoshanka, who posted it on my Recent IELTS Exams Questions page. Thanks, Thoshanka.

Sri Lanka

I would like to share the following on riots if it may help anyone for their speaking test. I’m from Sri Lanka. My country accounts for a tale of woe in riots in 1983. In brief, the dominating ethnic group in the country Singhalese started attacking the minority of Tamils in the country based on the reason where an ambush by the LTTE (Tamil militant group) killed a number of Army soldiers. 

The violence in the country created such horrific consequences on people they burnt people’s houses and it was called “race riots”. People encountered great inconveniences due to the curfew that was imposed every now and then. It was an era of darkness until the Govt intervened and took necessary measures to control the situation.

Vocabulary and Collocations for Riots and Demonstrations Topic:

tear gas = gas that irritates the eyes and is sometimes used by police in riot control

police brutality = violence by the police

the protest drew people = the protest attracted people

normal life skidded to a halt = normal life stopped abruptly

molotov cocktails = a bottle which contains liquid that is flammable and acts like a fire bomb

looting = stealing goods from shops and houses during a riot or war

clash (between police and protesters) = violent confrontation

placards = signs which are carried and contain a message

outbreaks of violence = sudden occurrence of violence

participate in a demonstration = take part in …

This topic is very difficult to deal with in IELTS speaking so you definitely need to prepare for it. Hopefully the above comments will help you in part 2 and 3. Below are typical questions with some suggestions for ideas.

Riots: IELTS Speaking Part 2 Topic 2017

Riot: IELTS Cue Card February 2017

A time when you heard about riots in another country

  • what did you hear
  • when did you hear it
  • how did it make you feel to hear about it
  • what suggestions can you make for reducing riots

what you can talk about in your talk:

  1. talk about the news program when you heard about it or a person who told you about it
  2. talk about what happened in the riot
  3. when you heard it, where you were, who was with you
  4. talk about how you felt (confused, angry, frightened) and why you felt that
  5. talk about if you agree with riots or think they are wrong
  6. talk about why demonstrations are better as a way to deal with social problems and problems of justice
  7. talk about common attitudes in your country toward violence
  8. talk about how social problems or justice problems can be solved to reduce riots
    1. increase employment
    2. increase benefits
    3. investigate injustice
    4. control and monitor known violent people who participate in riots and encourage others to violence
    5. better police training to deal with riots and violence
    6. harsher punishment for those who participate in violence

You can add any information you want to your talk. Although there are only about 4 prompts, my suggestions create 8. Always expand your talk.

What happens if you can’t remember any riots in speaking part 2?

You can choose to talk about something close to the topic but explain that at the start of your talk “I haven’t been following news and don’t know about riots, so I’m going to tell you about a problem which happened recently in my country…” You won’t lose marks for doing this!!

Riots 2017: IELTS Speaking Part 3 Questions & Sample Answers

What are the advantages and disadvantages of riots?

There are few advantages but one is that sometimes social or injustice problems are solved quicker and more attention is brought to the issues. On the whole, riots are wrong and this is because they disrupt social order, cause damage to property, can result in deaths or serious injury. Also there are economic drawbacks, such as businesses having to close and lose business or tourists deciding not to go to that country.

Notice: If you think there are no advantages, just say that. The examiner is looking for you to take control of the question and express your views clearly – that will give you a high score.

How do riots affect society?

Riots have a really negative impact on society. People feel that rules are breaking down which means they feel threatened and feel less confidence in their police or government. Another problem is that riots can increase prejudice against groups of people which in turn can make people feel unsafe and sometimes lead to more violence.

IELTS Tips and Model Answers

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Model Essay February 2017 IELTS Writing Task 2 & Tips

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The model essay from February 2017 was reported by IELTS students appearing in their IELTS writing task 2 test this month. It is an opinion essay, otherwise known as an agree/disagree essay or an argumentative essay. Following current topics used in 2017 is essential for success in IELTS.

Also please see that I’ve put some useful links for you at the bottom of the page to help you with your IELTS writing task 2 essay.

IELTS Essay Question February 11th, 2017 (Academic)

It is better for the students to live away from the home during their university studies rather than staying with their parents. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

IELTS Model Essay Feb 2017

While some people think that students ought to live alone whilst studying at university, it is believed by others that it is better for them to remain living at home. In my opinion, I think students benefit from living alone unless their finances prevent it.

Firstly, one of the main reasons why it is advantageous for students to live alone is that they become totally independent of their parents and able to think for themselves. University is a time for students to spread their wings and try new ideas or ways of thinking and learn to cope with making life changing decisions. By living alone, without the influence of their parents, they develop rounder, decisive characters able to function well in the world.

Another advantage to students fleeing the parental nest is that they learn to manage money. Most students see university as a stepping stone to adulthood and so by learning to live on a budget, they develop the skills needed once they are earning a salary and balancing their finances. Renting property also comes with responsibilities to both landlords and housemates, and this is a further lesson to learn in useful life skills.

Finally, however, regardless of how beneficial living alone might be for university students, it might be financially impractical for some. For a small proportion of university students, their finances might require them to stay at home for as long as possible until they are finally able to support themselves through paid work.

In conclusion, while it might not be feasible for all students, living away from parents helps university students develop strength of character and useful life skills needed for when they enter working life.

How to Write Your IELTS Essay:

  1. Spend time anaylising the essay question and brainstorming. Choose your position (your point of view) and select the best ideas. See this page about how to plan your essay properly: IELTS Essay Planning Tips
  2. aim to have either 4 or 5 paragraphs in total. See this page: How many paragraphs in an IELTS essay. Your essay MUST be over 250 words. There is no upper word count. See this page: How long should your IELTS essay be?
  3. Use a range of linking words in your essay. The examiner will mark them and it will affect your score if you spelling them wrong or if you don’t know a good range. See this page: IELTS Linking Words
  4. Before your test, prepare ideas for trending topics in IELTS this year. See this page: IELTS Essay Questions 2017. This page gives a list of essay questions used so far in 2017.
  5. The essay above is an Opinion Essay which means you need to give your opinion. See this page about how you express your opinion correctly: How to Give your Opinion in Writing Task 2
  6. If you are taking the GT test, see this page about writing differences: GT Writing Test Differences
  7. If you can’t hit the score you want in IELTS writing, GET TRAINING from an expert. Purchase my advanced lessons below to help you

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