Today’s post is going to cover the IELTS essay section and will give you a few IELTS essay writing tips.

Before you begin, you should have a clear outline in mind. When having an outline to follow you are able to write faster and more efficient. Remember to prioritize quality over quantity. It’s better to write a text that is shorter and written correctly rather than having a long text that is written sloppy. By following a planned procedure you increase the quality of your content as well as how fast you’re able to write.

The IELTS writing section has a time limit, this means the time frame given makes it challenging to redo your writing and correct mistakes you might have made.

Be aware of the questions asked and make it your priority to answer it properly. Avoid giving general answers that does not give a clear specific answer.

Some key factors that you will be rated on when writing on the IELTS are:

Responding to the question: Always give a specific answer to the question

Coherence and Cohesion: Make sure your paragraphs are connected to each other

Use of grammar: Make sure that your text is grammatically correct

Use of vocabulary: Avoid using the same words over and over again.

Structure your writing in an introduction paragraph, body paragraph and conclusion. By following this structure you increase the coherence of the text.

The introduction paragraph will be the first part the examiner will read so it’s important to make a good first impression. Make sure your introduction is connected to the topic. Make sure that the question itself is presented in the introduction paragraph.

Share your thoughts and explain your position in the body paragraph. Give details and examples to support your opinion.

Finish up your text with a conclusion where you present a brief summary followed with your final conclusion.

Before handing in your IELTS essay, make sure that you have reviewed the entire essay in case you catch small mistakes you might have made.

These are some few things you should consider before taking on the IELTS essay section. We hope our IELTS essay writing tips have been useful to you and if you would like to read more about writing in English, click here.

 

The IELTS speaking exam includes three different sections. Often the area that gives students the most trouble is the interview section. The IELTS speaking interview is an oral exam where the test takers have answer questions such as their interests, hobbies, family and other general topics.

Many students often become nervous during the interview part of the IELTS. Today we are going to go over some IELTS interview tips and strategies.

The entire interview will take around 12-15 minutes to complete. The first section includes general questions about you and should take approximately 5 minutes. Second section will require you to give a short speech for 2 minutes. Third section of the interview will be a discussion on a general topic which will go on for around 5 minutes.

You will be taking the interview part of the IELTS with an examiner. That person will be asks you the questions and keep track of the time.

When walking into the test, the examiner will greet you and ask for you name and identification. A common second phase will be the examiner asking you common questions like what you do for a living and where you are from. Prepare and practice answers to common questions you would expect when meeting someone for the first time. After completing the introduction, the examiner will then ask you questions about general topics like music or family.

The next phase will require you to speak for two minutes straight; the examiner will introduce the topic on which you will talk about. You will be given one minute to prepare your speech. You will be given a pencil and paper to take notes and organize your monologue.

The last phase of the IELTS interview section will be a discussion with the examiner that lasts for 5 minutes. The discussion topic is often based on the same topic as the monologue.

IELTS Interview Tips

You will have one minute to prepare your monologue, make sure you use this time by taking useful notes.

Avoid using short “yes” and “no” answers.

Remember that there is no wrong answer to the question. The important thing is that you can explain your answer.

If there is something you are unsure about ask the examiner to clarify rather than just guessing.

Be aware of the different time limits and practice beforehand by timing yourself.

Common IELTS Interview Questions

First section: Do you have any brothers or sisters? Do you enjoy school? What are some of your hobbies? Do you enjoy reading books?

Second Section: Describe you favorite movie? Describe your favorite book? What is your favorite sports team and why?

Third Section: Why is the Godfather your favorite movie? Do you think actors and actresses get paid too much?

We previously looked at the format of the IELTS exam at an earlier post, now it’s time to take a deeper look into the different sections of the IELTS exam. Click on the link to learn more about the IELTS reading section.

IELTS Listening Overview

The IELTS listening section will take about 30 minutes to complete including 10 minutes transfer time. The listening section has 40 questions.

There are four different parts in the IELTS listening section.

Part I: Conversation between two people in an everyday environment
Part II: A monologue set in an everyday social environment (a monologue is one person speaking)
Part III: A group conversation with up to four people in an educational environment.
Part IIII: A monologue in an academic environment

Each of these sections is only available to listen to once. Your score out of 40 questions will be converted to IELTS 9-band scale. You will receive 1 mark for each correct answer.

IELTS Listening Tips

• Remember that you will only be able to hear the recordings once
• Make sure to double check your spelling and grammar
• Always read the questions before listening to the recording
• Write your answers with a pencil
• Be aware of the word limit
• Stay calm and do not rush through when submitting your answers

The IELTS reading section is a 60 minutes long reading comprehension test. You will be given 3 different texts and 40 questions to complete.

Let's go over some tips for the IELTS reading section.

Make sure you take several reading practice tests before taking the real exam. The key factor with these practice tests is that they are timed, so you will get an idea of how much time you are given when taking the exam.

Any reading in English will help you prepare for the reading section of the IELTS exam. Choose to read the newspapers, magazines or any book you might enjoy.

Each text within the reading section will have a time limit of 20 minutes; this includes your time for reading the text and answering all the questions.

If you haven't finished one section after 17-18 minutes, remember to make an intelligent guess at the remaining questions and move on to the next section.

Another quick tip is to read the question before you begin to read the text. This will give you an idea on what to look for before reading the text.

You will face 9 types of questions on the IELTS reading section. The following question types are part of the IELTS reading section:

• Multiple choice questions
• Completing sentences
• Writing short answers
• Matching headings to paragraphs
• Completing tables, charts or diagrams
• Matching causes and effects
• Completing a summary
• Choosing factors
• Identifying the writer's view

Make sure you are familiar with these types of questions before taking the IELTS.

That's it for today and we wish you best of luck on your IELTS exam!

Our visualization of the statistics from the TOEFL and TOEIC test has been so popular with our students that we decided to add one with statistics from the IELTS test as well. Toni from Spain has put the image together.

Click on the image to see a larger view: