Advice to a newby starting the whole process, how hard is the general IELTS test

[Guest james huddersfield]

:err:Newby here, hello everyone,

 

would like your to know your experiences on the ielts test general, test booked on the 7/12/13 not sure what to make of it. My agent has recommended it due to scoring low on the points,#

 

looking forward to your feedback

[xxlornaxx]

If your first language is English and you have sat a few school/ uni /college exams recently you should be ok..practice will do no harm but dnt wrk yourself up over it..sometimes I think ppl build it up to be something its not and end up scoring low due to anxiety or thinking its more complex than it is..its testing your English so depending how good u feel that is will mean either lots of practice or none..good luck...and if u have an accent make sure u articulate your words properly in the speaking part!

[Del70]

Do lots of practice tests ( which you can find online or in IELTS practice books), so that you can get used to the format. It will also help you understand how they score the tests.

:biggrin:

[ConfusedBrit]

Hi James,

 

It's split into 4 parts - reading, writing, speaking and listening. You get scored on each section. How many points do you need? We needed 5, so by scoring 7 or above in each four areas, we achieved that.

They do mark you on spelling and grammar as well as legibility. It is definitely worth looking online for practice tests and doing a few of these before your exam.

 

If I remember rightly, for the writing they give you 2 subjects that you need to write about (one min 150 words, the other 250 words), the reading is multiple choice based on text you have to read, the listening is multiple choice based on what they make you listen to (for example a caller/dj on a radio show) and the speaking you have to talk about a subject for a certain amount of time.

[Rupert]

:err:Newby here, hello everyone,

 

would like your to know your experiences on the ielts test general, test booked on the 7/12/13 not sure what to make of it. My agent has recommended it due to scoring low on the points,#

 

looking forward to your feedback

 

My experience was that it is a simple literacy test for a native English speaker. If you can read, write, speak and listen it should not present any problems. It is worth familiarising with the format of the test, but if you believe you are fully literate it should not require much practice. I also think sometimes people make it out to be something more like an English A level than the literacy test it really is.

 

If English is not your first language, then ignore the above. It looks pretty hard for a test taken in a second language.

[geordiegirl68]

Hi,

Don't forget you have 30 hours FREE prep for the ielts, from the British Council, when you register for your exam. That'll give you a really good overview of what the test entails!

 

Good luck.

[Guest james huddersfield]

Thanks everyone for your advice. Greatly appreciated!