Following are three effective IELTS test-taking strategies.
1. Pay close attention to the instructions
This may appear easy, but it has a lot more power than you might imagine. Your IELTS score will be affected if you skip topics in a writing assignment or write fewer words than required. You can avoid committing this error by doing the following actions. Read the instructions carefully and, if required, reread them. Also, look through the directions quickly during the writing section to be sure you're addressing the topic(s) correctly.
As an example, on the Listening and Reading tests, you will get different types of ‘Fill in the Blanks’ questions such as Short Answer, Sentence Completion, Summary Completion, Notes Completion and Form Completion. All of these are ‘Fill in the Blanks’ question which come with some combination of the following instruction: ‘Write no more 1/2/3 words and/or a number’. In order to ensure that you correctly answer these questions, pay attention to the word limit. If you are asked to write ‘NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS’, you cannot write more than that. So an answer like ‘clothes for men’ would be wrong in this case. The correct answer would be ‘men’s clothes’.
2. Practice in a test-like setting
It might be incredibly advantageous to practice IELTS exercises in a test-like environment. One of the IELTS test's difficulties, for example, is timing. Many test takers believe there is too much pressure and insufficient time during the exam. This can happen as a result of practicing at a slow pace. There are a few things you may do to help yourself prepare for the test:
· In a quiet place, prepare for the exam.
· When practicing and studying, use a stopwatch or timer. For example, Section 2 of the Listening test requires you to talk on a particular topic for 2 minutes. Hence, use a timer to ensure that you are using this 2-minute time limit effectively – aim to speak for between 1 minute 45 seconds to 2 minutes 15 seconds to ensure that you are able to create a compelling short story on the topic given to you to speak on.
· Take your time to prepare seriously. Try to stick to a schedule and approach your preparation time with the idea that you are committed to being focused.
3. Have faith in yourself
Be self-assured when the test day approaches. You will most likely be nervous, which is completely natural and expected. However, being extremely worried can be harmful and distracting, as you must be able to focus on the subject matter at hand during the test. Here are some easy recommendations to help you feel more confident on exam day:
• Breathe! If you start to feel anxious, be cool and take deep breaths.
• Think positive thoughts and avoid stating negative things (example: "I'm really anxious about this test" won't assist you).
• Make a schedule for the day. Plan ahead if you have to get up early or drive a long distance. You may feel more at peace if you have carefully scheduled your time and know where the testing centre is located.
Being relaxed and thinking positive thoughts will ensure that you are able to concentrate on the intricacies of the test and are able to give it your best shot. Remember, IELTS is not asking you to learn the basics of English such as what a noun, verb, adjective is and their uses. Instead, IELTS is basically asking you to mould your English to meet the requirements of the test. Hence, devoting enough time on a daily basis for practice will provide you the confidence to meet the test head-on and gain the necessary confidence to start feeling relaxed and not overly worry about the test. Spending one to two hours daily on going through the tips, tricks and strategies of the different types of questions and practicing writing the different types of letters and essays (for the writing test) will soothe your nerves and put into practice all that you have learned on the actual test day.
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