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I have my IELTS exam tomorrow


deeacz

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does anyone else have their IELTS tomorrow? Im really nervous but keen to get it over with so I can mnove forward to the next stage! Ive done some practise tests and gettings 8 in each and need a 7 to get enough points.

 

Any tips from anyone who have taken it much appreciated :-)

 

:biggrin:

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Guest scrumpy

Do not use a word that you are not 100% sure you can spell correctly, in the writting

Expand the topics in the speaking, never answer just yes or no

Reading, skim read, and remember they get harder

Listening, just try and keep track and dont panic if you feel lost

Biggest best tip, have an early night

Good luck

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my hubby has his tomorrow in edinburgh, he is bricking it! its the speaking he is most worried about but i think it will be the writing that he may find tough. we only need 7s too so fingers crossed. he works with a spaniard and a hungarian who had to do the test to get into uni and they managed to get 7s so that gives him a bit of confidence.

good luck to you:biggrin:

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my hubby has his tomorrow in edinburgh, he is bricking it! its the speaking he is most worried about but i think it will be the writing that he may find tough. we only need 7s too so fingers crossed. he works with a spaniard and a hungarian who had to do the test to get into uni and they managed to get 7s so that gives him a bit of confidence.

good luck to you:biggrin:

 

 

Why is he scared of the speaking? It is by far the easiest section and all native speakers should be able to get full marks with no issues whatsoever. It is just a chat.

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does anyone else have their IELTS tomorrow? Im really nervous but keen to get it over with so I can mnove forward to the next stage! Ive done some practise tests and gettings 8 in each and need a 7 to get enough points.

 

Any tips from anyone who have taken it much appreciated :-)

 

:biggrin:

 

 

Are you a native English speaker? My advice as follow is for native English speakers, I am sure it is a whole different ball game otherwise. My thoughts on the sessions:

 

Test conditions

 

They are very fussy, bring as little as you possibly can with you, just your pens and pencils if you can (I can't remember if they provide them, don't think so). It was a painful, stressful process putting everything else into storage, which was a locked room with everyone else's belonging otherwise. They wil confiscate everything, I had a bottle of Ribena taken off me, only "clear" liquids are allowed.

 

Speaking

Complete breeze for a native. Don't worry about what you are saying, if they ask you to talk on a topic you don't like then chat about how you don't know anything about that topic, ask for another one. Don't sit there in silence. They are not interested in your knowledge of the topic, they are trying to assess your conversational skills.

 

Listening

 

This is also a complete breeze for a native. There are very short bursts of conversation and then some pretty easy questions. BUT it is no time for day dreaming, concentrate and listen hard.

 

Reading

 

I completely disagree with the suggestion of skim reading. I would recommend reading carefully at least twice before even looking at the questions, then read the questions, then read the text once more. Skim reading is great idea for a non-native. A native can read the paragraph quite easily so do so, you will pick up the nuances better. You know when you read something a few times, you notice something different each time, this will help you with the questions. I adopted this approach and still finished in 20 minutes (I think an hour is allowed). Although I slipped up somewhere as I only got 8.5 in this one.

 

Writing

Again, do not worry about accuracy of content. If it is a subject you do not know anything about then make facts up. You only need to show that you have structured your argument and that you have addressed the question, you do not need to demonstrate general knowledge. Write on every other line, so that you have space to make corrections clearly if required. Make sure you hit the word count, take care of things like "it's and its", "there, their and they're" and do not use any word unless you are 100% sure of the spelling.

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How much easier is the general to the academic I got 7.5 in written on academic. Passed the rest with flying colours but depending on my cpa results may need the extra 10 points by getting 8's

 

I found the reading and writing definitely easier, unfortunately I struggled with the listening this time so need a resit but of course the listening is the same so I just need to practise.

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How much easier is the general to the academic I got 7.5 in written on academic. Passed the rest with flying colours but depending on my cpa results may need the extra 10 points by getting 8's

 

The listening and speaking is the same, just the written and reading vary. I would say, they are notably harder, although occasionally someone will prefer the academic one as they like all the charts / graphs etc that can come into the academic version.

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Do not use a word that you are not 100% sure you can spell correctly, in the writting

Expand the topics in the speaking, never answer just yes or no

Reading, skim read, and remember they get harder

Listening, just try and keep track and dont panic if you feel lost

Biggest best tip, have an early night

Good luck

 

Ditto what Scrumpy says. Write all answers in pencil as easier to correct mistakes, make sure you have an eraser. Also dont look 'too deep' for answers in the reading. Honestly the speaking is fine. All the best

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Well fingers crossed I don't need it. The other option is if I can't claim enough work experience is to go on a 489 visa with my sister sponsoring me, but I believe this should be my last choice due to extra costs in Australia

 

I would not go for 489 visa for sake of resitting IELTS.

 

If you have any concerns about your work experience, I would also not risk that for sake of resitting IELTS. It could be a very well spent GBP125 (or whatever it costs these days).

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My hubby is also taking the test today! Right now to be more precise:biggrin: He is Polish and he is really stressed about the speaking part, even though he just needs average of 4.5. Fingers crossed he won't have to sit it again!

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I took the IELTS - General this morning.Went there hungover with 3 hours of sleep - NOT RECOMMENDED:wacko:As I could not care less to what my score was I will admit to being sloppy. Even though I am not a "native" English speaker, I previously scored and 8.5 on the Academic when I first came to Australia to do a Masters Degree.

 

Biggest tip : work on the listening test, that is the only one NOT in your control.

 

General tips : they are testing your command of the language and not your GK. So if you knew how to build a rocket ship but did not articulate it well enough too bad! Instead someone describing how to make scrambled eggs has a better chance if they stress,pause and are lucid in their message.

 

Good luck!

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Only issue I would have is if they take my cima qualification instead of my accountancy degree I am sure the work experience is ok. But only passed my cima last year so if they take this then no work experience points

As per my understanding work experience counts only after you obtain ACMA. Thats how i was told by my agent.

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If you have a accountancy degree that covers enough of the 12 areas making it equal to an Australian accountancy degree then they will start your experience when you passed your degree so just waiting on seeing if they like my degree or not if not then they will go off my cima

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How much easier is the general to the academic I got 7.5 in written on academic. Passed the rest with flying colours but depending on my cpa results may need the extra 10 points by getting 8's

 

I took the Academic and got: L 8.5, R 7.5, W 9.0, S 9.0. Was gutted over the reading! It was enough to submit for the skills migration assessment so re-took IELTS but sat the General. I'm glad to say that I got band 9's across the board. For me, there was a noticeable difference in the reading as I finished after 20 minutes in the General. The Academic was quite difficult, as you'd expect, in it's use of language.

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