I gave my IELTS examination on 3 September 2016. I had a one and a half weeks to prepare for the IELTS test. I studied from IELTS Cambridge Book 7, 8, 9 and 10, only the last 4 books.
For each test, I used a timer, specially for the reading and the listening parts. You can improve a lot in these two areas if you practice from these books by timing your performance and marks.
For the speaking part, I practiced with my brother. I also practiced alone, standing in front of the mirror. I used to practice for about two to three hours. For the
For the writing part, I read a lot of topics from the books as well as from websites like IELTS Liz and IELTS Mentor. They have a lot of topics.
My Scores
Listening: 8
Reading: 7.5
Writing: 7
Speaking: 8
Overall: 7.5
Some Tips for IELTS
Focus on sentence structure, vocabulary and fluency.
For writing, read as many topics as you can from Cambridge Books, IELTS Liz and IELTS Mentor. They have hundreds of topics on writing. The approach is important as well. You should have a fair bit of idea on how to approach a particular question.
For speaking, you are bound to make mistakes. Do not worry about it. One thing that you really need to focus on is that just a few hours before the speaking exam you should speak English to make yourself ready for the test. It is a good idea to have a friend or someone else accompanying you to the centre. And if you have an hour or two before the exam please practice with them. This will help you get in the mood.
For reading and listening, I can’t emphasise enough that Cambridge books are sufficient. I made a mistake of not putting a timer while practicing reading. It showed up in my scores. If you practice with a timer you can score a high in reading. My brother scored 9 doing exactly the same thing that I did except for the timer part.
(This post was originally written on 20 June 2017 for my blog. Thank you, Dr. Mohammd Saad, for sharing your experience)
