Due to plenty of education opportunities abroad, everyone wants to go there. But it’s not always easy to survive in a country where the native language isn’t the same as yours. Moreover, what happens if their national language is English ? It is important that you should know it to the core so that it may be easy for you not only to survive, but also to study and find jobs that match your interest areas. And this is what IELTS is all about. But what is IELTS, and how to crack it ?
What Is IELTS ?
IELTS stands for International English Language Testing System. A test to check your English grasping abilities, it is made to help you with your English language skills. This test would tell you how competent you are with the language and what are your improvement spots. The test is usually taken by the people who want to study, live or work in English speaking countries. For instance, New Zealand, Australia, UK, etc. hold the test for the outside students before letting them into their workplaces or educational institutions.
IELTS Format
Let’s get to know the format of IELTS deeply.
READING
There will be few passages which you have to read and there will be tasks. For instance, multiple choice questions, true false, yes or no, etc. are some of them.
LISTENING
You will be given recordings, that you have to listen carefully and then answer the questions.
WRITING
Here, you have to write a few pieces such as essays, answers to a certain question, etc. You will have to complete it within the allotted time.
SPEAKING
In the speaking section, you will have to appear for an interview where the interviewer will ask you some general questions.
IELTS Marking Scheme
IELTS has a score scale of 0-9. Every score mark has its importance and tells you the level of fluency and familiarity with the language. 9 is the highest mark where it is considered that you have maximum fluency with the language. On the contrary, 0 or 1 is a very low score as it says that your English skills are very poor and that you have to improve it to a greater extent. A score of 7 or above is a very good score. It is a sign that you can live and survive in any country whose native language is English with ease.
| SCORE SCALE | SIGNIFICANCE |
| 9 | Has a good command over English and has expertise over the language |
| 8 | A very good English user with few rare glitches |
| 7 | A good user of English with a few inaccuracies |
| 6 | Has a great knowledge about English but sometimes, it has a bit imperfections |
| 5 | A good user with fragmentary knowledge about the language |
| 4 | Has rudimentary understanding about the language with some blunders |
| 3 | The user has a narrow usage of the language |
| 2 | User faces difficulty in English speaking / writing / understanding |
| 1 | May face extreme difficulty in using the language in their day-to-day life and there is a room for improvement |
| 0 | The test taker didn’t appear for the tests or has bare minimum knowledge about the language |
How To Crack IELTS ?
IELTS is one of the intricate pattern exams. It takes time and effort to crack iit and go through it. Hence, here are a few tips on how to crack IELTS with a high score.
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Remember The Structure By Heart
One of the crucial things to keep in mind is to understand the structure of the test. You must have thorough knowledge about IELTS before appearing for it. The test has 4 parts to solve: reading, speaking, writing and listening. Every section is different and so is the preparation style. Do not think like you can read and memorize the entire syllabus by heart and then you are good to go. Take a good amount of time grasping the pattern of the test before starting to prepare for it.
Solve Sample Papers
No matter whatever exam it is, solving sample papers and appearing for mock tests is very important. You may feel like after reading the entire portion would be enough. But it’s not true. Practicing sample papers and previous year question papers is the key to success. This practice makes you aware of the type of questions that may be asked in the test and ultimately, it improves your preparation.
Listen To Clippings And Podcasts
Listening to podcasts has proven to be a great source for improving listening and speaking skills. One more thing is that they help you understand different types of accents and let you understand each one of them. Hence, listening to audio clippings and podcasts not only improves the listening power, but it also improves our knowledge and overall IQ. Try to listen to different types of audio pieces such as interviews, debates, speeches, ted talks and lectures. When you listen to different clips from different people, you would catch hold of different accents and would understand them.
Start Speaking In English
Do you know that English is the third most spoken language in the world ? It has around 380 million speakers. Infact, English is so popular that the majority of exams are conducted in this language. Furthermore, it is important that you must be excellent in English skills in order to appear for IELTS. Start speaking in English with the people nearby you. If possible, find a person who is fluent in the language.
You can talk to them as often as possible. This would help you not only with the test, but also with improving your speaking skills and would make you confident and fearless. This method would literally remove the hesitation about English speaking and you would become eloquent.
Learn Reading Methodologies
Do you know that there is a certain method of reading ? It’s not that you would get a text and you have to start reading word to word about it. During the test, you won’t have enough time to read each and every word present in it. Instead, you have to get hold of a few basic words and go through the entire text according to them. There are several types of reading techniques, and this is the fastest out of them. Learn to read the passages quickly and grasp what’s in them rather than reading thoroughly and understanding word to word of the writing piece.
