What is Considered a Good IELTS Score?

We have covered the IELTS band score and how the IELTS exam is scored at a earlier post. A common question we hear from students is what score is considered good on the IELTS? Today we are going to discuss what a good IELTS score would be.

Like the TOEFL and TOEIC, the IELTS is not a pass or fail exam but rather about getting the score you need for your specific purpose. It’s important that you know what score you need before taking the IELTS exam.

The IELTS exam is scored as following:
Bandscore    Level
9                     Expert
8                     Very good
7                     Good
6                     Competent
5                     Modest
4                     Limited
3                     Extremely limited
2                     Intermittent
1                     Non-user

Top Universities usually require a score of 7.0 or higher on the IELTS academic exam. The requirement for your school can generally be found on the schools website.

If you are taking the IELTS for immigration purposes, you will need to take the IELTS general exam. The required score will vary from country to country.

So the question really is, what score do you need on the IELTS? A band score that meets your requirement and takes you towards your goal would be considered a good score.

Know what the requirements are beforehand and you will know if you achieved a good score after taking the IELTS.

Why your Company should Utilize eLearning

The eLearning revolution is here to stay. Mobile technology and the Internet have changed the way we learn and develop our skills. Still, there are plenty of companies that do not utilize the many tools eLearning can offer. Here are some interesting facts that show why your company should incorporate eLearning in the training of employees.

• Over 77% of North American corporations use eLearning within their training
• Europe and US account for over 70% of the global online education industry
• The fastest growing geographical area is Asia
• It is estimated that by 2019, half of all educational classes will be conducted through the internet
• eLearning has been proved to increase knowledge retention by 25%

Many employees leave due to lack of development and training. Employee turnover is expensive and costly for many companies. Keeping employees stimulated and providing opportunities to develop professionally has proven a decrease in turnovers.

The application of online training can be customized to your companies specific need. Regardless if the objective is to improve the workforce customer service skills, internal procedures or business english skills.

Another benefit of eLearning is that it is cost affective, compared to seminars and courses where employees have to attend at an on-site facility.

Companies often use eLearning as an important method of training staff for the simple reason that it cuts operational costs by up to 50 to 70 percent. Not only does eLearning save money, it also saves time.

eLearning is here to stay, the only question is, in what capacity it would be the most affective for your company?

TOEFL Independent Speaking Topics

We covered the TOEFL integrated speaking topics with an earlier post. Today we are going to look at the TOEFL independent speaking topics.

These are the topics you will often see during the TOEFL independent speaking section.

Personal topics and opinion

You can expect questions regarding your personal opinions on broad topics. This could be anything from a famous person to a place you may have visited. The best way to answer personal opinion questions is to describe the reasoning behind your opinion. Remember there is no right or wrong answers as long as you can provide examples or evidence that support your opinion.

Supporting an opinion

Much like the personal questions, these topics will be general in subject. But rather than just giving your opinion about a topic you will often be asked to compare and contrast between two different options. Remember there is no right or wrong answer as you long as you can provide examples or evidence that supports your opinion.

Practical Integrated

You will also see some integrated question types with conversations and short reading materials. The topic is usually related to general and everyday issues that students might have.

Academic Integrated

The two academic integrated questions are based on academic lectures. These topics will include both listening and reading material, usually from an introductory college class.

3 TOEFL Independent Speaking Tips

1. Mix up your answers; do not use the same phrases for each response.

2. Prepare and practice to give your answers within the time limit.

3. Get your statement out there; do not waste time circling around the subject.

Quick TOEIC Reading Test Overview

Today we are going to take a quick look into the TOEIC reading test. The TOEIC reading test takes about 75 minutes and includes 100 questions divided into three separate parts. Here are the three separate sections of the TOEIC reading test.

Incomplete Sentences

In this section, you will need to complete sentences that are missing a word or a group of words. You will be given four possible answers. Your task is to insert the correct one. The incomplete sentences have 40 questions.

Error Recognition & Text Completion

In this section, you will be asked to complete a text; the text could be a letter, advertisement or a memo. There will be four missing words in the passage and your task is to insert the correct words into the text. You can expect 12 questions in this section.

Reading Comprehension

In this section, you will be asked Questions about Texts, such as articles, letters or advertisements. The texts can be long or short. For each Text, you will be asked two to five questions. Each Question has four possible answers; you can expect 48 questions in this section.

Improve your IELTS Writing Skills

The IELTS writing test vary between the general and academic version of the exam. If you want to approach IELTS writing with more skill and greater confidence, you should strive to improve your general English writing skills.

It’s important to learn how to brainstorm, organize and have a clear structure when taking the IELTS writing section. When writing for the IELTS avoid using the same words or phrases. By using different words you showcase your vocabulary, which is one of the factors that determine your score.

When expressing your ideas in writing always provide supporting details and evidence. This is when using sources from the material provided come in hand. Creating good summaries and paraphrasing is also a key component in getting a good IELTS writing score.

In my experience the best way to improve your general English writing skills, is to practice your writing by creating a blog where you can you write about topics you’re passionate about.

It’s important to use elements from the standardized essay every time you practice so it becomes a natural pattern, particularly an introduction and conclusion.

After finishing your essay, article or blog you should identify ideas that seem out of place or incomplete. Which ideas should you move to a different part of the essay? Which ideas should you remove entirely? Are there any discrepancies that you should add? After analyzing your writing always rewrite and incorporate the changes.

The fastest way to improve your IELTS writing skills is to actually write. Don’t get me wrong, reading about how to write for the IELTS is always a good thing but it’s important not to forget to apply what you have read and learned.

Click here to learn more IELTS essay writing tips. Read and practice your writing and you will see improvements in your IELTS writing skills in no time!