Recognise that this is a test of English, not a test of intelligence. If you are taking IELTS, you are may well be an academic: if you are an academic, you are probably pretty intelligent: if you are pretty intelligent, you probably want to show that intelligence off. Sorry, there are no prizes for intelligence in IELTS; as I say, it is test of English.
In practical terms, this… Continue reading
It goes without saying that a wide vocabulary is an essential requirement for academic IELTS. That is the bad news. The good news is that the words you need to know are relatively predictable. What this means is that there are certain topics (the environment, transport… Continue reading
This video post is about the listening paper – a paper many candidates disregard, believing there is not much technique involved. In fact, there is just as much need to practise your skills on this as on any of the other papers.
Listen to the video and consider what I have to say about reading, thinking, listening and writing. When do you read? When and how do you write?… Continue reading
Do you know how many words on average you need to read in the IELTS exam? It can be up to 900 words for each of the three questions- that’s a lot. How long does it take you to read all those words? I don’t know, but it’s a question you need to ask yourself.
Examiners are people too. If you meet someone for the first time, you almost immediately form a judgement about them: maybe it’s the way they talk or maybe it’s how they’re dressed.
It’s the same in exams. As I said, examiners are people too and they form immediate impressions about the candidates… Continue reading
This video posting advises you to look at Words in the News from the BBC. Here are 5 reasons why you should try it:
Recent comments