IELTS stand for International English Language Testing System. If you are a student want to study in an English speaking country or if you would like to immigrate to an English speaking country, you might hear about IELTS. To study or work in an English speaking country like USA, Canada, Australia, UK, New Zealand etc. you need to prove that you have specific skill in English language. Therefore, you have to sit for an IELTS exam to measure your skill. Many students asked, "How can I prepare for IELTS by myself?". Here is some suggestion for you.
Once you are confident enough to start practicing for IELTS, first gather some books (IELTS course materials), read articles, watch videos of experience teachers like IELTSLIZ to know the full structure of IELTS examination.
What's the purpose behind your IELTS exam? Do you want to take IELTS for studying abroad or for working or immigration purpose? If you want to study in an English speaking country then go for IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training (GT) for work or immigration. So, before start practicing make sure which type of exam fits you.
I prepared for IELTS by myself and ended up securing a 7.5 overall band with a 8.5 in listening and reading and 6.5 and 7 in writing and speaking respectively. To be quite honest, in my opinion, it doesn’t matter whether you receive any formal training or not. All that matters is that you practice via a wide range of resources, and do not limit your self to just the IELTS material. Personally speaking, i would advise you to go through the IELTS Cambridge series compromising of 1–9 books. Each book consists of four tests, and it is my advise that you practice at least 20–25 tests before appearing in the exam. Also, you should focus on going through all the books as each test is a bit different in terms of the questions asked, and it generally broadens your horizon, and you become susceptible to more questions.
Out of all the four components listening is perhaps the easiest, and you should score around 6–6.5 in the first few tests you take. With practice you can improve the score to around 7 or 8 band quite easily. Also to enhance your listening skills you should watch documentaries or movies without English subtitles, and try to comprehend what the speaker is saying.
The reading portion is perhaps the toughest in IELTS and requires a lot of practice, skills,discipline, and techniques. The portion is not difficult due to the advance English, but merely because of the time constraints. Never the less strong vocabulary does help in coping this situation. Enhancing scores in this portion is only possible after doing the practice tests. Also, i recommend you to read novels of notable authors, most preferably classic English novels. More-over you should read articles of newspapers such as the newyork times ot The Economic Times as many of the extracts are taken from these sources and are presented in the exam. Moreover, in IELTS it is not essential or imperative that you understand the entire article as, you just need to understand the jist of the article and comprehend what the writer is saying. Also, techniques such as skimming and scanning are useful as you do not have time to read the entire article. Key words in the questions are also import to understand. I would also advice you to subscribe to the Youtube channels on LIZ and Learn English with Emma. Both of them are renowned IELTS instructors and provide extremely useful advice and techniques to cope with reading.
Speaking tests your pronunciation, fluency and how well you are able to talk at length with coherence. In order to prepare for speaking, you should try speaking at length. In the speaking portion of ielts books, there is usually a sample speaking test. Go through those tests. Usually there are three sections. The first section is quite easy in which you are asked general questions about your family or your neighborhood etc, and in this portion you usually need to give answers in one or two sentences. However, the second portion requires you to speak for 1–2 minutes. It is best if you speak for two minutes, and speaking for two minutes in english for a certain topic which perhaps you have never imagined before in your life requires serious practice, and hence i stress again how important it is to practice the IELTS Cambridge book. The third section of the test is a continuation of the second section in which again you have to answer in two-three sentences. For the second portion i was not able to speak at length and i spoke for almost a minute and half, and thus a seven band. Other than that, i was fluent and used good vocabulary, giving pauses where required when speaking.
For writing, again practicing is important. You must learn the format of answering the first section and the second section and for that again watching videos of Liz and Emma would be helpful. Other than that you should focus on improving your grammar and vocabulary and sentence structures and try to make your writing more diversified. Again, the section is of one hour. Never write below the word count no matter what as you will end up losing band for task completion. Also, try to stick to the topic. In the first section where you are asked to analyze the pie charts or tables, never give your own opinion. Analyze only what is depicted in the graphs. In writing you words such as moreover,however,in addition to(a complete list is provided by both liz and emma on there websites and channels which you would have to search) to get a good band.
I hope you would be successful in your pursuit of a good score.
How Can You Prepare for IELTS by Yourself?
Well, preparing for IELTS exam requires your 100 percent dedication and patience and hard working mentality. Before you start, ask yourself, whether you are ready to start now? If you think, you cannot spend enough time for practicing, it is quite hard to secure a good band. Mental readiness is more important for any exam.Once you are confident enough to start practicing for IELTS, first gather some books (IELTS course materials), read articles, watch videos of experience teachers like IELTSLIZ to know the full structure of IELTS examination.
What's the purpose behind your IELTS exam? Do you want to take IELTS for studying abroad or for working or immigration purpose? If you want to study in an English speaking country then go for IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training (GT) for work or immigration. So, before start practicing make sure which type of exam fits you.
How can I prepare for IELTS by myself?
I've found too many people, in online, have shared their experience about IELTS self preparation. But, what Mr. Waqas Piracha shared on Quora is extremely beautiful and I've share his advice here for your convenience. Hope you will be benefited from it.I prepared for IELTS by myself and ended up securing a 7.5 overall band with a 8.5 in listening and reading and 6.5 and 7 in writing and speaking respectively. To be quite honest, in my opinion, it doesn’t matter whether you receive any formal training or not. All that matters is that you practice via a wide range of resources, and do not limit your self to just the IELTS material. Personally speaking, i would advise you to go through the IELTS Cambridge series compromising of 1–9 books. Each book consists of four tests, and it is my advise that you practice at least 20–25 tests before appearing in the exam. Also, you should focus on going through all the books as each test is a bit different in terms of the questions asked, and it generally broadens your horizon, and you become susceptible to more questions.
Out of all the four components listening is perhaps the easiest, and you should score around 6–6.5 in the first few tests you take. With practice you can improve the score to around 7 or 8 band quite easily. Also to enhance your listening skills you should watch documentaries or movies without English subtitles, and try to comprehend what the speaker is saying.
The reading portion is perhaps the toughest in IELTS and requires a lot of practice, skills,discipline, and techniques. The portion is not difficult due to the advance English, but merely because of the time constraints. Never the less strong vocabulary does help in coping this situation. Enhancing scores in this portion is only possible after doing the practice tests. Also, i recommend you to read novels of notable authors, most preferably classic English novels. More-over you should read articles of newspapers such as the newyork times ot The Economic Times as many of the extracts are taken from these sources and are presented in the exam. Moreover, in IELTS it is not essential or imperative that you understand the entire article as, you just need to understand the jist of the article and comprehend what the writer is saying. Also, techniques such as skimming and scanning are useful as you do not have time to read the entire article. Key words in the questions are also import to understand. I would also advice you to subscribe to the Youtube channels on LIZ and Learn English with Emma. Both of them are renowned IELTS instructors and provide extremely useful advice and techniques to cope with reading.
Speaking tests your pronunciation, fluency and how well you are able to talk at length with coherence. In order to prepare for speaking, you should try speaking at length. In the speaking portion of ielts books, there is usually a sample speaking test. Go through those tests. Usually there are three sections. The first section is quite easy in which you are asked general questions about your family or your neighborhood etc, and in this portion you usually need to give answers in one or two sentences. However, the second portion requires you to speak for 1–2 minutes. It is best if you speak for two minutes, and speaking for two minutes in english for a certain topic which perhaps you have never imagined before in your life requires serious practice, and hence i stress again how important it is to practice the IELTS Cambridge book. The third section of the test is a continuation of the second section in which again you have to answer in two-three sentences. For the second portion i was not able to speak at length and i spoke for almost a minute and half, and thus a seven band. Other than that, i was fluent and used good vocabulary, giving pauses where required when speaking.
For writing, again practicing is important. You must learn the format of answering the first section and the second section and for that again watching videos of Liz and Emma would be helpful. Other than that you should focus on improving your grammar and vocabulary and sentence structures and try to make your writing more diversified. Again, the section is of one hour. Never write below the word count no matter what as you will end up losing band for task completion. Also, try to stick to the topic. In the first section where you are asked to analyze the pie charts or tables, never give your own opinion. Analyze only what is depicted in the graphs. In writing you words such as moreover,however,in addition to(a complete list is provided by both liz and emma on there websites and channels which you would have to search) to get a good band.
I hope you would be successful in your pursuit of a good score.
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