Please note that my practice was spanned over a period of 1 month and I suggest that test takers should

spend at least 20-25 days for their practice.

Ielts is easy and believe me it is! You just need to hit the right strings to unlock your desired scores.

I’m not adept in English, however, I will try to share my candid experience which might assist you
people.

Let’s start by each section.

I had started my preparation in this order:

1. Listening:
This is the easiest module only if you apply the following tips:

 Practice as many tests as you can. I have never invested my time in listening to PODCASTS or
others sources as recommended (which you can), however, I have solved at least 30-35 practice
tests since I was quite weak in this area.
 Always focus on the audio with sheer attention. In the beginning of the test, quickly skim
questions 1- 10 first and then 11-20 so you’ll have a rough idea about what will be coming in
Section 2 (you will have enough time to do so). Come back to Section 1 and start focusing on
initial questions. Use predicting method to help you predict possible answers. For e.g. (Name,
Telephone Number, Street name etc.). Answer them with confidence.
 You’ll be given some time for the next part of Section 1. Always remember you will only be
required to just skim it since you had already read them before so it will not take much time and
you can easily have a grip on them.
 Once you complete section 1, quickly check your spellings and especially word limits (ONE
WORD or NUMBER ONLY etc.) and without wasting much time jump to section 2 which you
already had skimmed. Focus on all the questions and try to jump to Section 3 for mere skimming
(This doesn’t apply to all users but it depends on your practice level and time management
skills)
 As soon as the audio asks you to focus on the first part of Section 2 you can quickly do so and
the same follows for later part. Similarly the checking time at the end of section 2 should not be
wasted and be ideally used to skim section 3 thoroughly.
 The only way to succeed in listening is to have undivided attention and STAYING AHEAD OF THE
AUDIO script! Don’t consume time only on reading individual sections. Utilize your time
efficiently.
 Section 3 is usually considered as the trickiest part since it has choose the best options questions
which are indeed difficult to handle. Keeping your skimming ahead of audio will aid you in
handling them.
 Section 4 is easy and straight forward so you just need to skim it completely and always think
about the possible answer and develop synonyms in your head while listening to the audio.
 Take ielts test from Cambridge books especially Volume 11-14.
 Another practice source which greatly helped me in tackling CBT paper was
https://ieltsonlinetests.com/ielts-exam-library#general-training. Practice as much as you can but
solve at least 2 tests per day.
2. Reading:
General reading is comparatively quite than the academic. Use following tips:

 Reading test has ample of time and you do not need to run ahead of time. All you need is
peace of mind and proper focus.
 True/False/NG works on the following:
 True – Only if the statement completely agrees with that in the passage. (Always look
for keywords and their synonyms)
 False – Only if the statement exactly negates with the information in the passage. For
e.g. Passage says: ‘Labels should be tied to the sides of the bottle’, while statement say: ‘While
giving the bottles for courier it is best to place labels on the upper lid of the bottle’
So here the whole statement is same except the main answer. Always match the complete
statement and then look for non-matching keywords/answers.
 NG – First always rule out the possibility of False and then look out whether the
information is given or not. IF there’s no information about this at all, then go for NG.
 Summaries/Matching headings: Always read individual passages first and summaries them
by drawing a conclusion out of it. Match your conclusion with the given headings and start
ruling out other options that you deem irrelevant.
 Choose the best answer/Blanks: Look out for synonyms as they are straight forward
questions and can be easily solved.

Practice at least 1 test per day and develop an understanding of how to approach different types of
questions. You don’t need a lot of practice or a lot of reading. Just practice relevant tests and you’ll
be good enough to score higher bands.

3. Writing:
Though I’m not an expert and didn’t score very high, still I can share what I learned to get Band 7.

 Firstly, just follow Jay videos for Writing Task 1 & 2 on YouTube as they will give you a very
good idea of how to write.
 Secondly, use LIZ model essays from her website as it has model answers for all 5 types of
essays. You really need to understand how to approach each kind of essay. Same goes for
letters.
 Most importantly focus on grammar. I’ve always struggled with articles, prepositions and
punctuations.
 For this a simple tip to learn. Write your essay/letter and then install the app ‘Grammarly’ in
your browser. Paste your essay/letter into Grammarly and it will exactly show you your
mistakes. This had immensely helped me to correct my usage of articles, prepositions and
punctuations that I could not learn from grammar video lessons.
 I had made my model answers based on Jay and Liz model essays/letters as it saves you a
huge amount of time in test. I didn’t get time to revise my essay and I knew that I have
made spelling and grammar mistakes which I would have corrected if I had enough time.
That became the reason of not scoring 7.5 band.
 Downloads another app ‘IELTS Essays’ on your phone. It has a great variety of essays and
you can read as many as you can. Surprisingly, my exam topic came from this app.
  Use complex sentences rather than simple ones (you’ll learn that in details in Jay and Liz
videos)
 Always remember Task 1 is a savior. I totally negate people who say put main focus on Task
2. I believe, if you do well in Task 1 there are great chances to score 7 band (as it happened
in my case)
 Add good vocabs. Not too many because then you will try to insert them anyhow regardless
of their relevance. Also be wise with choosing right synonyms.
 Please, please stick to your time and that can only come with practice. I wrote a total of 12
essays and 5 letters for my practice. Try to get hold on your time management skills and
always allow yourself to recheck your essay and letter i.e. 5 minutes at the end of each task.

4. Speaking:
I practiced this part only a day before for 5-6 hours. You will be able to speak and develop ideas
using good vocabs and complex sentences that you might have learned while practicing Writing
part. Here are some tips:

 Relax and keep good expressions on your face.

 If you pause, use words like ‘Well I think’, ‘Oh! You know’, ‘Yes, Indeed’ or any other that
you might find appropriate to buy you some time.
 Speaking is informal so consider it as a job interview and act accordingly.
 Don’t try to insert fancy vocabs needlessly. Because while doing so we stray away from our
main sentence and try to make a sentence according to that fancy word which ultimately
make us sound weird.
 Try to prepare ready-made answers for Part 1 as the questions are common and
predictable.
 For Part 2, start memorizing linkers. For instance, you’ll start by ‘Well thanks I’d like to talk
about…… You know it has been amazing that…….. I reckon that……… Needless to say, I’m
indebted…… or any others that you can memorize.
 For Part 3, always remember you’ll be asked to give examples not related to you. It’s good
to quote names of Multinationals as I mentioned Unilever in one of my answer.
 Being fluent doesn’t mean being fast! So relax and try to deliver your speech nicely and
clearly.
 Finally, practice cue cards from online topics.

That has been my approach for practicing IELTS. Let me know if that helps you as well.

Thanks.

Faizan