IELTS test tips

You can be anxious about facing the IELTS test. Here are some tips from IELTS Experts to help you prepare well and be confident on your test day.

Don't memorize answers

In your Speaking and Writing tests, the examiner will expect your answers to be natural. The examiner can tell if your answers are memorised which can in turn influence your final band score.

Use a range of grammatical structures

Fluency and coherence, lexical resource, grammatical range and accuracy play a major role when an examiner evaluates you in the IELTS Speaking and Writing tests. Make sure you use a wide range of grammatical structures to express what you say.

Practice well

You can make use of our free practice materials to familiarise with the test. The IELTS Masterclass sessions are conducted by IELTS Experts where you get your questions answered. You can also make use of the free practice tests and other support tools to prepare well for your IELTS test.

Asking for clarification 

If you didn’t hear the question properly in the IELTS Speaking test or you aren’t sure what the examiner means, it is okay to ask for clarification.  It can be a good idea to suggest what the examiner is trying to ask you by asking ‘Do you mean …?’.  You don’t lose marks if you need to check the question.  Asking for clarification can help to make sure you are not off-topic with your answer. 

Listening practice 

 In Section 1 and Section 3 of the IELTS Listening test, there are multiple speakers, so it can be a good idea to practice your listening with various dialogues, such as a TV drama or discussion panel.  Section 2 and Section 4 of the IELTS Listening test only has one speaker, so some good practice can be listening to a short video lecture.  Section 2 and Section 4 last for approximately 5-7 minutes, so it is a good idea to listen to something of a similar length. 

 The order of answers in reading 

 Remember that some task types in the IELTS Reading test have answers that appear in order, such as True / False / Not Given or Multiple Choice.  This means that you don’t have to begin with the first question and do them in order.  Look at which question has something that is easily identifiable (e.g. name of a person or place) and start with that question.  Then, the answer to the other questions will most likely appear above and below this point.