IELTS Preparation: The Complete Guide

If you are aspiring for higher studies abroad, you must have heard about the IELTS and how important it is to get your visa. 

IELTS (The International English Language Testing System) is a standardised test for non-native English speakers, jointly managed by British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia and Cambridge Assessment English. 

IELTS holds utmost importance for getting admission to international universities or even for a job opportunity. Now, the general notion is that clearing the IELTS exam could be daunting. 

Well, all you need is to prepare well for it. 

Laying the path for your IELTS exam preparation is of utmost importance. So, how do you start your IELTS preparation? 

How to Prepare for IELTS?  

Before understanding how to start your preparation for IELTS, it is important to understand the exam structure. 

IELTS can be divided into two parts; Academic and General. Now, the Academic IELTS is for someone willing to finish their higher studies in University or College. In contrast, the General IELTS exam is for someone wishing to go abroad for a job or secondary education. 

Further, the exam is divided into four sections; Listening, Reading, Speaking & Writing. You need to clear each section separately, which means that you can’t lose the reign in any of the sections. 

While the preparation might slightly differ for each of these sections, the central idea is the same. Practice and enhance your skill as much as you can. 

Here are some of the actionable tips to prepare for the IELTS exam: 

Understand the Test Format

Once you are aware of the sections, the next step is to understand the test format. A good score is difficult to achieve if the content of your test is unclear to you. 

All you need is to familiarise yourself with the test pattern and review the content of the test, including the task types for each section. 

Practice for Time Constraints 

With a clear understanding of the test pattern and exam format, you will become familiar with the timed constraints. 

Remember, each section of IELTS has a time frame, for which you need to practise each section individually. To become accustomed to the test, prepare for each section under the time limit. 

You will not be able to perform well or concentrate if you have timing pressure. Hence, it is important to manage time and become accustomed to it. 

Most preparatory courses create mock tests set within the allocated time frame. 

Multitask while Listening to the English Language

Out of the four modules, the most challenging task is the listening task. 

The listening module has four different recordings and around 40 questions to complete. These include tasks such as sentence completion, form completion and multiple-choice questions. 

What makes it even more challenging is that the recordings are played only once. So, you can’t manage to lose the path of conversation. Even if you lose, you need to recover fast, or you will miss all the questions afterwards. 

Hence, it is important to learn to recover from the conversation that you missed as quickly as possible. Besides this, you must also be familiar with the type of information to supply that depends on the question. 

Besides test practices, you can opt to multitask while listening to English. This could be movies, songs or news, which would make you more focused on what you are listening to. 

Learn to Develop Reading Skills  

The next task is reading. Reading modules should be paid attention to, as they have various sections. 

It could be the reading for the gist or for main ideas and detail. Besides completing the reading, you need to understand the logical arguments and recognise the writer’s attitude, opinion, and purpose. 

All this comes down to matching information, sentence completion, providing the short answers and completing label diagrams. 

One of the major positives of this module is that you will have a lot of time to read the texts. If done right, you can excel in this module by following a few strategies. 

These include practices such as skimming the text and focusing on what information is necessary.

Practice Assertive English While Writing 

The writing module tests your writing skills along with your creativity. The module is divided into two tasks. 

Task one asks the test takers to complete the data and prepare charts on the topics they are experts at. 

Task two is about creating an essay on a random topic. So, you need to be knowledgeable enough and aware of the essay structure. 

For this, you need to prepare for both the tasks and be ready to accomplish any challenge. Most IELTS coaching prepares the aspirants for essay topics that are most close to IELTS practise courses. 

These include- Agree or Disagree, Discuss two Opposing Opinions, Advantages and Disadvantages, Problems and Solutions, Causes and Solutions, Causes and Effects.

Practise Speaking and Communication 

This skill is to test your fluency in the language and communication. The speaking module is hardly 15 minutes long but has three sections.

The first part is the discussion between the test taker and examiner. In the second part, the test taker is analysed by speaking on any topic assigned on a task card. 

The best way to practise for this section is taking notes of all the important topics and practise speaking. You should also deliberately practice answering a question spontaneously when you don’t know what to answer. 

Take Practice Tests

To assess your skills, you should try out the practice tests. This can be really helpful in identifying your weakness. 

Practice tests are not just to analyse your weakness but also help to strengthen your strong points further. However, you will need to complete a number of IELTS practice tests to excel here. 

Conclusion 

Besides the above actionable tips to prepare for your IELTS exam, it is important to make a schedule for the practice and do not lose focus. 

Follow your IELTS preparation plan religiously and dedicate at least 2-4 hours each day. If you are not sure of where and how to start, you can join the IELTS preparation coaching that offers in-depth preparation for each section. 

Further, IELTS coaching offers various study materials and tips to crack the IELTS in a single attempt.