Iskandar Ulug'bekovich

IELTS Speaking - Part 3 Simple Strategy

2020-05-04T11:59:06.261Z

To score highly in Part 3 of the Speaking exam, you will need to provide well-developed, thoughtful answers. A good strategy for achieving this is to get in the mind of an 6-year old child and always be asking the question: why?

For example:

Do you think it’s more important to earn a high salary or to love your job?

Personally, I believe that being passionate about your work is more important than getting a good wage (why?). I think I feel this way because of the importance I place on happiness, and you know what they say: ‘money can’t buy you happiness’. Rather, I believe that happiness comes from fulfilling your passions (why?). Sure, money can put a nice car in your drive, or the latest iPhone in your pocket, and I won’t deny that these purchases can make you happy. But this joy is temporary, fleeting, whilst the happiness that comes from doing the things you love is much longer-lasting.

Do you think more and more people will work from home in the future?

Thanks to the internet, a huge number of things in the world have changed, are still changing in fact, and the way we work is certainly one of them (why?). The internet has enabled us to make contact with people on the other side of the planet without ever having to leave our homes. Some people have been able to turn this globalisation to their financial advantage, making money in a variety of ways; consulting, programming, teaching. (why?) The skills they have may not be easily accessible to people in other parts of the world, and this means their competition is low and they can dominate the market, instead of fighting for work in their local area. It is mainly due to this reason that I believe the rate of people working from home will not slow down any time soon.

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Are you studying yet? Why not?

Source: https://theieltsteacher.com

IELTS SPEAKING – PART 3 OVERVIEW & TIPS

2020-05-04T11:48:33.954Z

After your 2 minute monologue in Part 2 of the Speaking test, the examiner will ask you around 4-5 more abstract questions about the same general topic you talked about in Part 2. For example, if Part 2 was about mobile phones, they might ask you deeper, more complex questions about mobiles like:

How have mobile phones changed the types of relationships people make?
Some people think that children should not be allowed to use mobiles, do you agree?
How has mobile phone use changed in the last 10 years?
How will mobile phones change in the future?
If you could add any new feature to a smart phone, what would it be?

As you can see, these questions are trickier than questions like ‘Where are you from?’ and ‘What’s your favourite colour?’ in Part 1.

Below are some tips to help you get the best score you can possible get in Part 3. Most of these tips are about the psychology of Part 3 because I have found that students are not mentally prepared for this section and good students often get lower score because of this.

For more information on the linguistic side of Part 3, please check out my Part 3 guide.

1. Don’t try to finish quickly

Speaking for up to 15 minutes in a foreign language is tiring. You might not have slept the night before, you are stressed and you might have also done other tests that day. In short, you will be exhausted and your body will want you to take it home and tuck it into bed as quickly as possible.

Lots of students give very short answers because they simply want their test to be over as soon as possible. Know that the examiner will keep asking you questions (and the next ones will probably be more difficult), so it is much better to give a full answer and answer the question to the best of your ability, than to simply give a short answer and hope that it ends quickly.

2. Know that the examiner is trying to stretch you

Part 1 is really just a warm-up and Part 2 is a monologue, so Part 3 is the examiners chance to really test you and stretch your language abilities to the very limit. The main thing to remember is that they will ask you questions you won’t be able to answer as well as you hoped. They will often increase the difficulty until you can’t answer the question. They are not trying to be cruel, this is just the best way for them to test your knowledge of grammatical structures and vocabulary.

Think about a personal trainer or athletics coach forcing an athlete to perform more and more strenuous exercises to judge their true ability.

If you know this is going to happen you will not get stressed out and you will answer the questions more confidently and get higher scores.

3. Don’t be afraid to ask questions

There will be words in some questions that you don’t understand. The rule is that you can ask the examiner to explain what one word means, but you can’t ask them to explain what a whole sentence means.

You can also ask them to repeat the question, if you didn’t quite get what they said.

Please don’t abuse this privilege and try to use it for every question.

4. Always give an answer

There will be at least one question that you have no idea how to answer. Don’t worry, this is normal- see point number one. The most important thing to do is to at least make an attempt. You have been speaking for 15 minutes and one question is not going to lower your mark for the whole test. However, the worst thing you can do is to simply not attempt an answer. If you have this mindset, then you won’t push yourself to the limit of your abilities.

It is also fine to admit that you have no idea. Simply say “I’m really not sure about this question, but if I had to answer, I would say…..”. The examiner will be much happier that you attempted an answer, rather that just saying “I don’t know” or blankly look at them (which happens more than you would think).

You can also give yourself time to think about the question by saying ”That a difficult question, just give me a second to think about that.” or ”I’ve never thought about that, to be honest, give me a moment.” However, don’t do this for every question, only the ones you need to actually think about.

5. Think about what structure the examiner is testing.

The examiner needs to know that you are capable of using a wide range of structures. Don’t worry about inserting as many structures as possible into your answers because they will ask you specific questions to test specific grammar structures. Let’s look at the examples above:

How have mobile phones changed the types of relationships people make? – opinion/past/present
Some people think that children should not be allowed to use mobiles, do you agree?- evaluating someone’s opinion
How has mobile phone use changed in the last 10 years.- past to present (perfect tenses)
How will mobile phones change in the future?- future/prediction
If you could add any new feature to a smart phone, what would it be?- hypothetical

When you know what the examiner is trying to test, you can give them what they want. See our Part 3 Common Questions for more information on the common structures that are tested.

Source: ieltsadvantage.com

IELTS SPEAKING – PART 2 STRATEGY

2020-05-04T11:37:08.031Z

This post will help you give better answers in part 2 of the IELTS speaking test.

In IELTS speaking part 2 you will be given a topic or cue card similar to this:

Describe a plant grown in your country. You should say
– what the plant is
– where it is grown
– why you like or dislike it
and explain why it is important to your country.

You will have 1 minute to make notes and then will be asked to speak for between 1-2 minutes.

Speaking for 2 minutes on an unfamiliar topic scares most IELTS students and that’s why IELTS speaking part 2 is one of the most feared parts of the exam. The problem seems to be running out of things to say or not knowing what to say because you are unfamiliar with the cue card suggestions.

To overcome this problem, I have developed a strategy to help students and it has proved very successful.

A common error is thinking you have to talk about exactly what is written on the card. You don’t! Having spoken to several IELTS examiners and students who achieved very high marks in their speaking test, I can assure you that you don’t have to cover everything on the card. The band descriptors also don’t mention anything about answering all the suggested parts of task 2.

Following the suggested sentences on the card is fine and many candidates do very well following them but others run out of ideas. More importantly, if you have a structure to follow for every question you can practice and prepare more effectively.

My strategy is to talk about what you feel comfortable talking about. In other words, talk about the things you think will get you the highest marks. If you like the suggestions on the card, then talk about them. But if you don’t, or you want some extra things to talk about, then follow the strategy below.

When you get the cue card you will be given one minute to write down some ideas. You are going to use this time wisely by using the following structure. On the piece of paper provided write down five headings with a little space between each one.

Introduction
Past
Description
Opinion
Future

Now you will start to write keywords beside each of these headings. Let’s look at each in a little more detail.

Introduction

Start off by saying ‘I’d like to talk about (X).’ Then say ‘I chose this topic because…’ and you will be able to say why you choose this topic. If you can’t think of a reason just make one up, although it’s always better to talk about real experiences.

Past

Now pause and use a linking word like ‘anyway’ or ‘anyhow’ to transition into talking about the past. This will allow you to demonstrate that you are confident using a range of past structures. For example-

Used to + infinitive to talk about past habits or states that are now finished.
Would + infinitive to describe past habits.
Past simple to talk about things you did in the past that you no longer do or are no longer true.
Past continuous to talk about the background of a story or how you felt at a particular time.
Past perfect to say something happened before something else in the past.

Description

Now pause and say ‘So let me tell you about (X) in a little more detail.’ This is your opportunity to impress the examiner with specific vocabulary. Get to know the common topics and have some specific adjectives ready. If you use an adjective to describe something, make sure you expand on it or explain it with examples. Again, if you can’t think of specific examples, it is fine to make these up. Make sure your examples match the adjective and you will be fine.

Opinion

Now you can pause and say ‘If you ask me/In my view/I would say + (opinion on topic). This give you a chance to express how you feel about the topic. It could be your personal opinion or it could be a comparative or superlative. Using a wide range of phrases to express your opinion will help you get a higher mark. If you want to give a stronger opinion you could say:

I strongly believe that…
As far as I’m concerned…
I’m strongly against…
I’m strongly in favour of….
I’m skeptical of the idea that…
I must admit, I think….

Future

Finally you can display your ability to use future tenses. Start off by saying ‘With regards to the future….’ A range of tenses will help you gain extra marks. For example you could use:

Present continuous to talk about fixed arrangements.
Be going + to + infinitive to talk about future plans.
Will or won’t + infinitive is used with predictions based on opinions or experiences. It can also be used to talk about hopes and assumptions.
The future perfect- will have + past participle- is used to say something will have happened or will have been completed by a certain point in the future.

That’s it! Five simple headings that will allow you to speak for at least two minutes without any difficultly.

The most important thing is that you practice using this strategy with many different topics. Get some past IELTS speaking part 2 questions and ask a friend or classmate to give you them at random. You can start off slowly by using this post to help you, but after a lot of practice, this strategy will become natural for you and you will be able to answer any part 2 question with confidence.

There is no magic formula or trick to getting the IELTS band you want but there are good strategies you can use and, more importantly, strategies you can use to help you practice.

Here is an IELTS speaking task 2 question. Try using the strategy above with this question and please post your answers in the comments below and I will get back to you.

Question:

Describe a teacher that you know.

You should say:

what the teacher looks like
what sort of person this teacher is
what the teacher helped you to learn
and explain why this teacher is popular.

Remember, you don’t have to talk about what the teacher looks like, what sort of person they are, what the teacher helped you to learn or explain why this teacher is popular. You can talk about these things but you don’t have to. Do whatever you feel most confident talking about. All you have to do with my strategy is talk about:

Introduction

Past

Description

Opinion

Future

Source: ieltsadvantage.com

SPEAKING PART 2 – OVERVIEW & TIPS

2020-04-25T08:51:43.413Z

Many consider Speaking Part 2 to be the most difficult part of the IELTS Speaking test because it is a monologue. A monologue is different from the rest of the test because you will be speaking alone, without any questions or help from the examiner.

The examiner will give you a cue card similar to the one below:

As stated above, you will have 1 minute to prepare before you speak and you are expected to talk for between 1-2 minutes.

Below are 7 tips to help you with this section of the test:

1.You Don’t Have to Talk About Every Bullet Point

In the Official Marking Criteria for the Speaking Test there is nothing that states that you have to talk about every bullet point. Lots of IELTS examiners know this, but they don’t tell students because they don’t want to give them an unfair advantage.

You will always be given a general topic at the start of the test and then ‘You should say:’ followed by 3-4 bullet points. The rule is that you must talk about the general topic at the top of the card, but you don’t have to talk about all of the bullet points. Note that it says ‘You should say’ not ‘You must say’.

The bullet points are there to help you, so if you want to talk about them, please do. However, if there are one or two that you don’t like or you don’t feel comfortable talking about, leave them out and talk about something else. Make sure what you talk about is within the general topic and you will be fine.

2.Have a Strategy

IELTS is much easier if you have a strategy for each part of the test. You can use this strategy when you are practicing and then you will be much more confident in the real test.

I have developed a very effective strategy for Part 2 of the Speaking test that many students have had success with. Please click here to view it.

3.Preparation

They say practice makes perfect and this is very true for IELTS Speaking.

Don’t memorise answers. There are too many topics for you to memorise and it is highly unlikely that you will get the same topic in the real test. It is a complete waste of time and leads to some very strange answers. If the examiner spots this, they are allowed to give you a Band 0!
Focus on fluency and pronunciation. Record yourself and listen to yourself. How could you improve your fluency and pronunciation?
Learn functional language used to describe common grammar functions, such as talking about the past, present or future, giving your opinion, evaluating someone’s opinion and talking hypothetically.
Time yourself so you know how much you have to speak in 1-2 minutes.

4.Use 1 Minute Wisely

You will have one minute to prepare before you start talking. You will not have enough time to write full sentences. You will, however, be able to write keywords. These keywords should guide you through your talk and help if you can’t think of ideas.

Having a strategy will also help you because you will know exactly what to talk about and you will be able to make a clear plan using short notes and keywords.

5.Personal Experiences Are Best (but telling a lie is OK too.)

The best answers are always about things you have actually experienced in your life. You will be able to describe these things in much more detail and you will also be able to talk more coherently about them. Students tend to be more confident talking about real experiences and this helps them with their fluency and pronunciation.

However, some of the cue cards will ask you to talk about things you might not have experienced at all in your entire life. It is fine to lie. The examiner will never check your answers or worry about whether they are the truth or not. However, they might ask you some follow-up questions, so be prepared for these.

In my experience, the best strategy is to use real experiences first and add in some lies to help you answer the question fully. Use your imagination and you will be fine.

6.Expand Your Ideas

It is much better to fully expand each main idea, than to simply state lots of main ideas and not develop them at all.This will help you give more impressive answers and it is also a better use of your time. It is much easier to think of a few relevant ideas and develop them, than it is to think of lots of different ideas.

When you are practicing, a good way to expand your main ideas is to use ‘Who, what, why, where, how‘. This will help you quickly and easily develop your main ideas and you will also get used to the grammar structures needed to do this.

You can also use your senses to help you use a wide range of vocabulary. Think about how things looked, sounded, smelled and tasted. You obviously won’t be able to talk about all of these things for every topic (you would sound a little strange describing how a book tasted) but you will normally be able to use two or three of them.While practicing you can use a dictionary to help you describe these sensations and expand your vocabulary.

7.Mistakes are OK

Everyone makes grammar and vocabulary mistakes. Every time I make a new video it takes me longer to edit out the mistakes than it does to record the video. Even students who get a Band 8, or even 9, make small mistakes. This is totally understandable and you should therefore not panic when you make a mistake.

I have listened to students who were half way through their Part 2 question and then they made a small grammatical error and they completely lost their way and their score went from a very high one to a very average one.

Being nervous and stressed affects your ideas, pronunciation, fluency and normally leads to further grammar mistakes. When you make a mistake simply forget about it. There is nothing you can do. Don’t panic and continue.

For more information on the Speaking test, please check out our Speaking page.

SPEAKING PART 1 – EXTENDING ANSWERS

2020-04-25T08:40:57.960Z

This article will look at how long your answers should be in Part 1 of the Speaking test and some simple ways to make your answers better.

I am often asked by students how long answers should be in Part 1. There is no definitive answer to this, but they should not be too short and not too long. That’s a confusing answer, I know. Let me explain more.

They shouldn’t be too short because you want to show the examiner that you can actually use English, so ‘I’m a student.’ is not really long enough.

However, they should not be too long either, because Part 1 is on familiar topics (family, work, hobbies etc.) and you don’t normally talk for 2 minutes when someone asks you where you are from. Also, you will have lots of opportunities to give longer answers in Parts 2 and 3.

As a general rule, if you only give a single sentence with a single clause like ‘I’m from Ireland.’ then your answer is too short. I also don’t think Part 1 answers should ever have more than three sentences. Somewhere in between is just right.

The main point is that you should not worry about length too much in Part 1. Your use of English is much more important.

Below are a few ways that you can easily extend your answers from a short sentence to a more comprehensive answer that will sound better and hopefully get you a higher score.

Feelings and Opinions

You can easily extend your answer by saying how you feel about the question you were just asked. It will also make your answer more interesting.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

Short answer: ‘I like shopping.’

Longer answer: ‘I like shopping because I love trying on new clothes and I always feel more confident when I’m wearing a new outfit.

Contrasting Details

One of the easiest ways you can extend your answer is to simply use the word ‘but’ to contrast details.

How long have you worked there?

Short answer: I’ve worked there for three years.

Longer answer: I’ve worked there for three years, but I’m going to change careers next year.

Combining Details

Instead of giving a very short answer you can add in some extra details with ‘and’, ‘with’ or ‘also’.

Do you live in a flat or a house?

Short answer: I live in a house.

Longer answer: I live in a house with my two brothers and my mum. We’ve also got a dog and a cat.

Past Comparisons

You can talk about what you ‘used to’ do and how that has changed now in the present.

Do you play sport?

Short answer: I play football.

Longer answer: I used to love basketball, but now I play football more because that’s what my friends are in to.

Adding Reasons

Always try to explain why you think or do something in the test. You can do this using ‘because’ or ‘so’.

Do you like your job?

Short answer: Yes, I really love my job.

Longer answer: Yes, I really love my job because I get to help people with their problems everyday.

Future

If something will change in the future, you can use one of the future structures, like ‘will’ or ‘be + going to’.

Do you work or study?

Short answer: I’m at university at the moment.

Longer answer: I’m at university at the moment, but I’m graduating next year and I will hopefully get a job in advertising.

Contrast Opposite Opinions

You might be asked a question where you have to talk about your opinion or another person’s opinion. Use ‘even so’ or ‘although’ to show that you have considered both sides.

Is your hometown a nice place for tourists to visit?

Short answer: Yes, it has a really nice beach.

Longer answer: Yes, it has a really nice beach, although it is getting really busy these days, so it’s not as pristine as it used to be.

Giving Examples

Real life examples are always the easiest things to talk about because you can talk about them naturally and in more detail.

Do you get along with your brothers?

Short answer: No, we’re not in to the same things.

Longer answer: No, we’re not in to the same things, like when we are both watching TV we always fight about what show to watch.

Frequency

You can use words like ‘usually’, ‘never’, ‘always’ and ‘more often than not.’ to extend your answers.

What do you do at the weekends?

Short answer: I watch TV and play computer games.

Longer answer: I usually watch TV and play computer games, but sometimes I go out for a drink with my friends.

How can I use these?

The best candidates use English naturally in the Speaking test. They don’t think ‘Should I extend this with an example or talk about the future?’ and then give an answer, they just reply spontaneously.

You can improve by doing something I call practising ‘slow and fast.’ Practice slowly first with old exam questions and think about how you could extend your answers and even have notes and books in front of you. Think deeply about what structures you need to use and focus on getting your answers perfect.

You can then practice ‘fast’ with new questions and without any help and hopefully, because you have studied the structures in detail, you will be able to use them naturally without any help.

Can I use more than one?

Of course! They are totally flexible. Combining two or three of the above structures in a single answer is very impressive.

Where are all the complicated structures?

Trying too hard to use ‘complex structures’ normally leads to mistakes. Remember that the main goal in the Speaking test is being able to communicate effectively and fluently with the examiner. If you are thinking about complicated grammar structures, you probably won’t be able to do either of those things.

You do have to use a ‘range of structures’, but that does not mean that you have to use every complicated phrase and tense in the English language. Focus on real communication and the ‘range of structures’ will look after themselves.

IELTS SPEAKING PART 1 – DOS & DONTS

2020-04-25T08:26:04.850Z

Speaking Part 1 lasts between 4-5 minutes and you will be asked questions about familiar topics, such as:

Your job/studies
Your family
Your home
Your hometown
Your hobbies

Notice that these questions are all about you. It is considered easier than the other two parts because it is much easier to talk about yourself than more abstract topics, but that doesn’t mean it is not important.

Below are 5 Dos and Don’ts to make sure that you start your Speaking test in the best possible way.

Do # 1- Know What to Expect

You will probably be a little nervous and you don’t want any surprises that will make you even more anxious, so you must be aware of exactly what will happen when you walk into the room.

Before Part 1 begins four things will happen.

The examiner will introduce themselves and ask you what your name is. You can simply reply ‘My name’s _______’. Make sure that you use the contraction ‘name’s’ rather than ‘name is’. This will remind you to use contractions (e.g. I’m, We’d, they’ll) in the rest of the test.
The examiner will then ask you ‘What can I call you?’. You can simply say ‘You can call me_______’. If you have an English name, it is fine to use it, but make sure that you pronounce it correctly. If you can’t say your own name properly, it does not create the best first impression. If unsure, just use your normal name.
They will then ask you where you are from. Simply state “I’m from_____”. There is no need for you to give any extra information about your answers at this stage.
The examiner will finally ask to see your identification. Show it to them and then the test can begin.

By knowing these four things will happen you will be more confident and start the exam well.

Do # 2- Create a Good First Impression

My students often ask me, if they smile, are friendly and give the examiner good eye contact, will they get a higher mark. The answer is no and yes.

There is nothing in the marking criteria which says that being nice, or looking the examiner in the eye will improve your grade. However, being confident helps you because it will have an effect on your answers.

If you look at the floor and give the impression that you would rather be anywhere in the world apart from in the room with the examiner, you will normally give very short monotone answers and this will lower your score.

However, if you are open and friendly with the examiner, you are more likely to give natural sounding answers.

Don’t overdo the eye contact thing. It feels really strange when someone looks you straight in the eye for 15 minutes. Pretend that you are having a normal conversation with a friend. If you were looking at the floor the entire time, a friend would ask you if you were OK. If you were staring them dead in the eye, they would get a bit freaked out.

Pretend it is just a normal conversation and you will be fine.

Do # 3- Pretend You’re Interested in the Questions

Let’s face it, most IELTS questions are really boring. If you listen to someone answer a boring question you will notice one thing- their voice is monotone i.e. it does not go up or down in pitch at all, it sounds very flat. If you speak like this you will get a lower mark for pronunciation because one of the crucial factors you will be tested on is intonation.

When native English speakers talk, their voice naturally falls and rises depending on how they feel about what they are saying.

Imagine you are late for class, you walk into the room and the teacher says to you in a falling tone ‘Sit down, please.’ They are probably telling you, through their intonation, that they are not very happy with your lack of punctuality. However, if they said it with a rising tone at the start, they would probably be telling you they don’t mind that you are late and are happy to see you.

Similarly, if you pretend that you are interested in what the examiner is saying your intonation should become more varied. However, be careful not to overdo it and make your voice really high, or really low because you will sound like a crazy person.

Listening to native speakers talk and copying their intonation will give you a good idea of what natural intonation sounds like.

Do # 4- Extend Your Answers

There is no set amount of words or sentences that you should use in Part 1.

They shouldn’t be too short because you want to show the examiner that you can actually use English, so ‘I’m a student.’ is not really long enough.

As a general rule, if you only give a single sentence answer, with a single clause like ‘I’m from Ireland.’, then your answer is too short. I also don’t think Part 1 answers should ever have more than three sentences. Somewhere in between is just right.

Do # 5- Practice

It is a very bad idea to prepare memorized answers before your speaking test, but because Part 1 is very predictable, you should practice the familiar topics mentioned above in number one.

Try recording yourself and then listen back and think about the following:

Could you improve your vocabulary?
Did you make any grammar mistakes that could be fixed?
Did you speak fluently or did you speak at an unnatural speed?
How was your intonation?
Did you extend your answer enough?
Did you speak clearly?

Try again and keep practicing until you are really confident about talking about the common topics.

See my article on Part 1 sample answers for ideas.

Don’t #1- Give Yes/No Answers

This might sound very obvious, but you would be surprised how many people simply answer with ‘Yes’ or ‘No.’ This is probably because many of the questions would naturally lead to a yes or no answer, but you must remember that you are in a test and you have to show the examiner how good your English is.

Giving yes or no answers does not allow the examiner to judge your ability and you will get a low mark no matter how good your English is.

Some people give yes or no answers because they are very nervous and they want the test to be over as soon as possible. The examiner is not there to trick you and most of them are nice people who want you to do your best, so don’t be afraid to tell them you are a little nervous and this will normally relieve the tension.

Don’t # 2- Go Off Topic

Some students try to tell you their life story or the entire history of their hometown when you ask their name and where they are from. Remember that these are very simple questions and if you have given more than 3-4 sentences you are probably giving irrelevant details.

For example, I recently asked a girl what she did in her free time and she told me everything there was to know about badminton. I did not ask about the rules, history, great players, positives and negatives of the sport, just which sport she liked and why.

Don’t # 3- Give No Answer

You don’t get to choose the question and if you don’t know the answer to a question, or you simply don’t like the question, you don’t have a choice- you must answer it.

Remember that Part 1 is about YOU. There will be no question you don’t understand because they will all be about you.

If you don’t understand one word in a question, it is acceptable to ask the examiner to explain what that one word means. It is also acceptable to ask the examiner to repeat the question if you didn’t quite understand what they said. However, do not abuse this privilege and use it for every question; only use it when absolutely necessary.

If you really have no idea, be honest with the examiner and tell them you don’t really know and then have a guess. It is not an examination of your knowledge, it is a test of your English, so it is perfectly acceptable to make something up if you are really stuck.

Don’t # 4- Speak Very Quietly

This is one of the most annoying things for the examiner because no matter how good your English is if we can’t hear you, we can’t give you a high score.

This has a lot to do with confidence and shyness. Make sure that you are not talking to the floor and speak a little louder than normal. The examiner will also be recording the test, so it has to be loud enough for the recording device to pick up your voice.

Try recording yourself and play it back. If you can’t hear yourself clearly then you need to increase the volume of your voice a little more.

Don’t # 5- Be a Perfectionist

The examiner knows that you are speaking in a non-native language and does not expect perfection. Even people who get 9 make small mistakes, and people who get Band 7 and 8 make quite a few mistakes.

If you are constantly thinking about perfect grammar and vocabulary, it will reduce your fluency and pronunciation. Fluency and pronunciation make up 50% of your marks, so there is no point in trying to use perfect grammar and vocabulary if you are losing half your marks in the process.

Speak as naturally as possible, with a focus on speaking at a natural speed and clear pronunciation and the grammar and vocabulary will look after itself.

IELTS READING – DIAGRAM LABELING

2020-04-18T11:18:22.092Z

On the IELTS reading test, you might get a question that asks you to label a diagram. This post will:

· look at common problems

· give you tips

· provide you with a strategy for answering these questions.

Examples

There are three kinds of diagrams you might get: a technical drawing of a machine or invention, something from the natural world or design or plan. Below is an example of a natural process taken from a sample test at IELTS.org.

Below is an example of a technical drawing:

Source: Cambridge English IELTS Past Papers.

Common Problems

The main problem with these questions is students focus too much on the diagram and try to understand everything about it. Unfamiliar diagrams can cause panic and lose you time. This is not a test of your technical knowledge but a test of your reading skills. You should try to understand generally what is happening in the diagram, but the relationship between the text and the diagram is more important.

Another big problem is failing to locate the paragraphs that contain the answers quickly and losing time reading the whole text.

Students also lose marks in this section by writing the wrong number of words or spelling words incorrectly.

Tips

Check how many words you are supposed to write, it will tell you in the question. In the example above you can only write ‘one or two words’, any more than this and you will lose marks. Remember that numbers count as one word and hyphenated words like ‘state-of-the-art’ count as one word.
Identify the type of word (noun, verb, adjective) you need. This will help you find the correct answer.
The answers do not always come in the same order that the paragraphs are in.
Do the easiest questions first. You are more likely to get these correct. If you cannot find the answer to a difficult question, move on and come back later.
Try to predict the answer before you read the text. This will help you find the correct answer.

Strategy

Check how many words you can write.
Study the diagram and try to understand generally what is happening. Don’t spend too much time doing this.
Highlight keywords or labels.
Identify the types of words required and try to predict the answer.
Scan the text and identify where the information is located.
Read in more detail to find the answer.
Check spelling.

IELTS READING – MATCHING SENTENCE ENDING

2020-04-18T09:01:21.784Z

In this IELTS reading question, you will be given a list of incomplete sentences with no endings and another list with possible endings. Your job is to match the incomplete sentences with the correct ending based on the reading text.

This is not one of the more common questions but should be studied all the same.

You are being tested on your understanding of how the ideas in the sentences are connected to the main ideas in the reading text.

This post will:

look at example questions
discuss common problems
give you tips and advice
provide you with a strategy to use on exam day

Example

Source: Cambridge English IELTS Past Papers.

As you can see above, there are a number of incomplete sentences and you must match them with the correct endings. There will always be more options than you actually need.

In the exam, there are normally 5-6 incomplete sentences and 8-9 optional endings.

Common Problems

Lots of people think that they can answer these questions by using logic and grammar and they don’t look at the reading text. They think this will save them time and they can work out the answer quickly just by looking at the answers and matching the sentences that make the most sense. Don’t do this. It is a test of your understanding of the reading text more than a test of how sentences generally go together.

The examiner will try and trick you by connecting ideas in the reading text to endings that are not the correct answer. Remember that you are matching incomplete sentences to endings, not endings to the text.

Many people look for the exact words contained in the question in the reading text. The examiners will probably use synonyms and paraphrasing instead of exactly the same words. Don’t waste your time looking for words that exactly match with the text, instead look for synonyms and paraphrases.

For a more detailed look at paraphrasing and synonyms check out our post on sentence completions tips.

Tips

The answers are in the same order in the text as they are in the questions, so the answer to question 2 will be after the answer to question 1 and so on. Locate question one first and then you know where to begin.
Try to predict how each sentence will end before you look at the endings.
Start with the incomplete sentences first before you look at the endings or the text. There are more endings than required, so looking at all of these in detail is a waste of time.
Think of synonyms and paraphrases that the examiners could be using instead of exactly the same words.
All of the sentence endings appear in the text, but you don’t need to read all of them, just the ones that you decide to match with the incomplete sentences.
When highlighting keywords, it is often a good idea to highlight any names, including place names, or dates. These are often easy to find in the reading text.
Don’t just match words. Make sure the meaning in the reading text matches.
Spend more time on the first question because this is the most difficult. You have lots of different options for the first question and it will take you more time to work out the answer. The last question should take you much less time because you have fewer options to choose from.

Strategy

This is my suggested strategy. There are many different strategies and you should use the one you feel comfortable with. You can also adapt this strategy to what suits you.

Read the question carefully.
Read the incomplete sentences first and don’t look at the endings yet. Try to understand what they mean and highlight any keywords especially names, places or dates.
Predict what the endings might be before looking at them. Think about what word type (verbs, nouns, adjectives, adverbs) makes the sentence grammatically correct.
Look at the endings but not in too much detail. Try to see if there are any obvious answers.
Eliminate endings that definitely cannot match. Think about grammar, collocations, and meaning.
Match the endings you think might be correct. Write two or three options if necessary.
Find the correct part of the reading text for each incomplete sentence. Be careful with synonyms and paraphrases.
Understand the meaning of that part of the text and choose the correct answer.

Source: ieltsadvantage.com

IELTS READING 6 – MULTIPLE CHOICES

2020-04-18T08:46:21.759Z

This article will help you answer multiple-choice questions more effectively.

On both the academic and general IELTS reading papers you are likely to be asked multiple-choice questions (MCQs).

Your job is to simply choose the correct answer from a list of possible choices.

This post will:

look at example questions
discuss the reading skills required
discuss common problems
give you tips and advice
provide you with a strategy to use on exam day

Example Questions

There are three different types of MCQ questions. You will either have to:

choose one answer out of four options
choose two answers out of five options
choose three answers out of six options

The first option is the most common.

You may also have two different question forms. Either:

completing a sentence or
answering a question.

Here is an example from the academic test:

Source: Cambridge English IELTS Past Papers.

In this example, you have to choose one answer from four possible options and the question requires you to complete the sentences.

Here is an example from the general paper:

Source: Cambridge English IELTS Past Papers.

Reading Skills

MCQs test your ability to understand the main ideas contained in a text and then look for specific information.

You will need to quickly identify the main idea in order to locate the correct section of the text.

When you do this it will seem like two or three of the options could be the correct answer and you, therefore, must-read in much more detail to find the specific information that gives you the correct answer.

Common Problems

Reading the text before the questions– If you do this you are reading ‘blind’ because you are not sure what you are looking for. You also waste time because you will have to read the questions and then read the text again, so you have just wasted your time on the first reading.

Not answering questions– This seems like an obvious one but it would shock you how many people don’t answer the question at all.

Being tricked by the examiner– examiners love to try and trick you with ‘distractors’. Distractors are things that look like the correct answer but are actually incorrect. When you locate the correct section in the reading text, there will appear to be two or three plausible correct answers. A very common trick is matching lots of keywords from the question options to parts of the text. Just because there are lots of matching keywords doesn’t mean it is the correct answer. Also, look at the context of the whole sentence and any qualifying words like most, all, always, sometimes.

Not reading the whole sentence– The first part of a sentence might look correct but the second half of it might change the meaning. Words like but and however can change the meaning of a whole sentence. Examiners know you are trying to get the answers as quickly as possible and will try to trick you in this way.

Not reading the text carefully– Because there are so many ‘distractors’, some of the ‘correct’ answers will appear to ‘jump out’ at you. If you don’t read the text carefully, you will choose the incorrect answer. Take some time to really understand the meaning of each sentence.

Top 10 Tips

Read the questions before you read the text.
You will often be able to eliminate 2 of the four answers and this leaves you with two choices. Think about the difference in meaning between these two choices and this will help you get the correct answers.
If you are unsure of what the difference is between two or three sentences, it can help to rephrase them in your own words.
If you are running out of time or you really don’t know the answer, have a guess. You will not lose marks for wrong answers and you have a 25% chance of getting the correct answer just by guessing.
Don’t be tricked by the examiner’s ‘distractors’ especially keywords from the questions that look the same as the text.
If you don’t know anything about the topic, don’t panic. It is a reading test, not a test of your knowledge.
Try to predict the correct answer before you read the text. This will help you find the correct answer.
Before deciding on your answer, always go back and carefully read the questions before making your final decision.
The answers will be in the same order as the text.
You might be asked about both facts and opinions. Facts are things that are always true or cannot be disproved but opinions are just what people think.

Strategy

This is my suggested strategy. There are many different strategies and you should use the one you feel comfortable with. You can also adapt this strategy to what suits you.

Read the questions carefully.
Skim the text to get the general meaning.
Underline any keywords in the question and think about any synonyms that might appear in the text.
Read the choices and underline any keywords. Think about the difference in meaning between the different choices.
Predict the correct answer.
Read the text and using keywords and synonyms to locate the part containing the answers.
Read that part of the text very carefully, thinking about the difference in meanings.
Think about not only which options are correct but how the other options are wrong.
Go back and read the question again and mark your final choice.

Source: ieltsadvantage.com

IELTS READING – MATCHING INFORMATION TO PARAGRAPHS

2020-04-18T08:31:10.831Z

In this kind of question, you are asked to match statements to paragraphs in the reading text. Click here for an example.

The statements could be reasons, descriptions, summaries, definitions, facts or explanations. What they are doesn’t really matter. You are not expected to have specialist knowledge in the reading test.

You do not need to understand what the whole paragraph is about, just find specific information in the paragraph and match it to one of the statements. The answer will normally be contained in a whole phrase or sentence, rather than a single word.

This post will:

look at an example
identify the three reading skills required
discuss common problems
give you some tips
provide you with a strategy to use

Example:

Source: Cambridge English IELTS Past Papers.

This question is taken from an academic sample paper. As you can see, you are given a number of statements and you are required to match these to the correct paragraphs in the reading text.

The paragraphs in the reading text are labelled a, b, c, d and so on. Your answer will be the letter of the paragraph, not the words or phrases in the paragraph.

There will normally be more paragraphs than questions, so don’t worry if some of the paragraphs do not contain the information you are looking for. Also, don’t worry if you find more than one answer in one paragraph.

The answers do not appear in the same order as the questions.

Reading Skills

You will first have to be able to skim the reading text to get a general meaning of each paragraph.

You will also have to scan for specific words within the paragraphs. It is more likely that you will be looking for synonyms (different words that mean the same or nearly the same) and paraphrases rather than keywords from the question statements.

When you have found the words or phrases you think might give you the correct answer, you have to read very carefully in order to fully understand the meaning to be able to decide if it is really the correct answer.

Common Problems

The biggest problem is the fact that you need to look at the whole text. The answers could be anywhere in the text and they do not come in order, so it takes time.

Also, the answers might not be the main idea of each paragraph. Normally paragraphs contain one main idea and reading the first and last lines of the paragraph can help you understand this. With these questions, the answer could be in any part of the paragraph and you cannot therefore just quickly skim to find it.

There is also lots of irrelevant information that you do not need to consider. The strategy below will help you ignore much of this irrelevant information.

Finally, as stated above, not all paragraphs contain an answer and some paragraphs contain more than one answer.

Tips

Do this question last. If you do other questions first, you will become familiar with the passage and this will help you identify the correct information more quickly and easily.
Try to find names, place names and numbers in the questions. These are often easier to find in the text.
Be aware that there may be synonyms. For example, you might see ‘34%‘ in the question but it might say ‘just over a third‘ or ‘about a third‘ in the text.

Strategy

This is my suggested strategy. There are many different strategies and you should use the one you feel comfortable with. You can also adapt this strategy to what suits you.

Read the instructions carefully.
Read the questions first. Think about synonyms and how you could paraphrase the statements. This will help you identify the answer. Saying each statement in your own words can help do this.
Quickly skim the reading text to try to understand the general meaning of the text.
Read the question statements again and predict which paragraph contains the answer.
Scan the text paragraphs you think might contain the answer for synonyms. If you find a possible answer underline it.
Check back with the question statement and mark the answer if correct. If not, move on to other paragraphs.

Source: ieltsadvantage.com