IELTS stands for the International English Language Testing System. This is an internationally recognized test which is used to measure English ability in four major areas i.e. listening, reading, speaking, and writing.
There are two different types of IELTS test – IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training, and the reason behind taking the IELTS exam will describe which paper you need to take.
IELTS (Academic):
If you want to attend a university or college in Canada, then you will require taking the IELTS academic. And as every university or college may perhaps vary in IELTS requirements, so it is important to make sure what score you require before beginning studying for IELTS. The minimum band score for all Canadian Universities for IELTS (Academic only) is 6.5 overall. Canadian Universities or Colleges do not accept IELTS (General Training) as it is specifically designed for Immigration or work purposes.
IELTS (General Training):
The primary work is to find out which IELTS paper you require to take, and what IELTS score you need to attain.
The listening and the speaking modules of IELTS are the same for both the IELTS General Training and IELTS Academic papers, but the reading and the writing modules of every IELTS paper are somewhat different so it is essential to center your IELTS paper studies and practice on the right type of paper. Once you have worked this out you will be able to start the study appropriately.
Tips and Techniques for preparation of IELTS
Break your IELTS lessons down into sections - don't think that it is single big difficult test, however four smaller ones. Try to identify which sections of the IELTS test are your strong ones and which are sections are weak, after that you can center more study time on the areas you find more hard. But ensure that you do not ignore any areas so continue to do lesser practice even on your stronger sections.
IELTS Listening test: This test contains three sections and total 40 questions. In this test you have to hear conversation of one to four persons and quickly pick and reproduce the correct word.
Some useful tips for IELTS listening test
See English news, talk shows and most importantly English films of your interest and try to understand the conversation. At first you will feel irritation but with the passage of time you will be comfortable hearing English.
Get some IELTS sample test Cassettes or CDs, or download some saple tests from internet and practice as much as you can.
During test, if you missed hearing some answer during, leave it and listen more carefully the next conversation. The fact is that if you start thinking on previous word, you will probably miss the next answer. Try to guess the missing answer at the end.
IELTS Speaking test:
This is in the form of a polite interview, and usually lasts about 12-15 minutes. The first section is casual questions about your introduction, where you live, hobbies etc. In the second section you have to talk on a given topic, you have to talk about two minute on this topic. After you finish your talk, the examiner will ask you some questions relevant to same topic. The second section is more difficult and normally focuses on answering questions about hot issues in society and everyday life.
Some Useful tips for IELTS speaking test
Try to speak in English with your family and friends and during everyday talk. Try to improve your pronunciation and accent by watching English news and movies. Current articles from newspapers are also helpful for the second section of the test.
Speak yourself in English in front of a mirror and try to build your confidence and grip on English speaking.
In front of examiner, speak self-confidently and clearly even if you think you are not right. Examiners will score for your confidence.
IELTS Reading test:
This section is different for the IELTS General Training and IELTS Academic papers. The IELTS Academic reading test has harder reading paragraphs and questions so it is essential to prepare with the correct paper.
Some useful tips for the preparation of IELTS Reading test
Time limitation is a major problem in this test so try to manage your time in this test. Get hold of the test by doing as many practice tests as you can. Many practice tests are available on internet as well. Search for ‘free IELTS reading tests’ and you will find a lot of results.
Read the answers first instead of reading of the paragraph.
Don’t read a paragraph thoroughly except the sentences which relate to questions, just take a fast look on paragraph, try to get the main idea of paragraph and always underline the important relevant sentences in the paragraph which are close to the questions.
Answer the easier questions first.
IELTS Writing test:
This is the most difficult test among all IELTS tests. Both IELTS (General Training) and IELTS Academic contains two sections. For General Training it is an essay and a letter and for Academic it is an essay and a report on a geographical chart. You only have one hour to do both. The essay contains more marks and comes on second, always choose the essay first. You should spend forty minutes on it, and the remaining twenty on the letter or report.
The letter or report should be 150 words, and the essay requirement is minimum250 words.
Useful tips to score better in IELTS writing paper
For the letter or report learn some stock phrases that you can use in any letter or report of a certain type. Practice rapidity writing with dissimilar past IELTS questions that you can obtain grip of. Use a stopwatch for practice as well as test. Continue practicing till you attain the target of 150 words in twenty minutes.
The essay is generally somehow difficult topic. Do brainstorming for 2 minutes (Brainstorming is a procedure when you place a storm in your brain and whatever irrespective of essay subject come in your brain put it on paper). After brainstorming find the relevant words from the words or ideas which you put on the paper, also try to relate the irrelevant words to the topic of essay. Practice for essay writing as much as you can. Writing 250 words is not a long task.
As practice makes a man perfect so practice so practice again and again befor appearing in test so that you know accurately what to expect, which type of questions will come and how to tackle them, how long it must take you to answer them, and cover a lot if different topics so that you find yourself relax in the examination hall.
Best of Luck!
The International English Language Testing System or IELTS is a globally owned and worldwide recognized direct English language evaluation that is eagerly obtainable all through the world.
