IELTS Preparation: tips to improve your IELTS band score

The challenge

If you prepare for IELTS and want to score, you need to understand how the IELTS test works. This is difficult to do quickly because there are so many task types, and so many sections to the test (Speaking Parts 1, 2 and 3; Writing Parts 1 and 2; and so on). Each part tests different things in different ways. So, there’s a lot to learn.

For example, do you know:

about distractors in the Listening test?
the importance of a data overview sentence in Academic Writing Task 1?
what to do when you don’t understand a question in Speaking Part 3?

How to prepare for IELTS?

Whether you are a first-time IELTS taker or someone that needs to resit the exam, this document can provide some direction regarding how to prepare effectively.

Step 1 -Establish a thorough understanding of what the IELTS is and how it operates. Step 2 – Develop a feeling for what your current band is for each IELTS skill (L, R, W, S). Step 3 -Declare a realistic goal for each IELTS skill (L, R, W, S) and a study timeline. Step 4 -Build a study plan using exercises tailored to your individual needs. Appendix A – Resources that can be used to populate your study plan Appendix B – Detailed example of a three month study plan tailored to a student weak in only IELTS Writing. My advice is to not rush any of this process. Working gradually through these steps is not wasted time. Doing so will expose you to valuable English patterns that you can adopt and exercise in your own language.