IELTS experience. Passed on fifth attempt.

[rickyjb]

Hi all. Long time reader and first time poster. I know a the IELTS can cause a lot of people a lot stress including me. I just wanted to share some information of my experiences that others may find helpful... or not?

I live in Manchester and initially did the academic IELTS as i needed it for my skills assessment with a 7.0 in each domain however I was aiming for 8.0 in each domain which would of meant that I wouldn't have had to of done the general for my points assessment and I revised really hard.  

06/17 Academic in Manchester - L 7.5, R 8.5, W 8.0, S 9.0

I missed out by half a point and was disappointed but happy I had got enough for the skills assessment.

I then undertook the general in Manchester, nearly 2 months later, with no preparation whatsoever.

07/17 General in Manchester - L 8.5, R 7.5, W 8.0, S 9.0

I missed out by one question so started revising for my next one. When I did start revising I really focused on the Reading component as I soon realised that you really had to know what the question was asking of you. I set around asking myself every question when choosing an answer, "is this what the question is actually asking?" paying close attention to the wording of the question. It's really easy to drop points on this and the margin of error is only 3 questions. 

Not wanting to wait I booked an exam in Leeds the next month but to my horror I found I had failed again. 

08/17 General in Leeds- L 8.5, R 9.0, W 7.5, S 9.0 I have requested a remark on this but still awaiting the outcome

I have requested a remark on this as I've heard that writing and speaking are the only skills that are really changed as the listening and reading are either right or wrong, I am still awaiting the outcome. I realised that I whilst you can self-improve with the reading and listening by practicing, you cannot necessarily with the writing and whilst I scored 8's before I was not sure what I was doing right or wrong. I decided to get some lessons which involved me writing some answers and a teacher talking to me over Skype, explaining where I had gone wrong on the samples I had sent them. To my surprise he pointed out some frequent punctuation mistakes and gave me advice on structure, I had 2 one hour lessons which were helpful however I feel anymore than that would have nee counterproductive as he was overloading me a bit. 

I went into my next test in Sheffield fairly confident.

08/17 General in Sheffield- L 8.5, R 7.5, W 7.5, S 9.0

Oops. I was convinced I had done my best writing yet although felt for sure I had gotten more than 5 wrong on the listening and the done well enough on the reading getting only maybe 1 wrong so the result is very confusing. I have requested a remark on this suspecting they maybe mixed up my reading and listening and may increase my writing. I have heard that they can not mark you down on a remark so figured it was worth a try.

By this point I had become increasingly fed up with it, stressed and pissed off. I was convinced that I would  never be able to submit my visa. I decided to have a break for a few months from IELTS as it was making me down. I noticed a local test in Manchester and decided to have one last shot before having a break, I did revise a bit but was finding it hard to motivate myself. 

I went along and took the test, not expecting much and passed. 

 8/17 General in Manchester - L 8.5, R 9.0, W 8.5, S 9.0

Despite it being the most recent it is the test I remember least about, I can't remember a single theme or question on the paper. I remember feeling I had failed the listening. 

I don't know what was different? Maybe I didn't care anymore and that helped? One thing of note to people in the north-west is that I seem to have always done better in Manchester, I don't know if there's any relevance to that? When I was a Leeds one of the examiners mentioned that soon all papers will no longer be marked locally and will be going to Cambridge, I don't know if she meant just Leeds, nationally or worldwide. 

I did consider doing the Pearson at one point and purchased the practice package online but did miserably  on two categories. This is completely subjective but the IELTS seems to suit me, a concrete thinker better and maybe the PTE suits abstract thinkers better. I just couldn't do the describe image and retell lecture type questions but encourage people to consider it.

I do think luck is a big factor on the IELTS, especially when you are half a point away from your desired score.Difficulty can vary significantly. All I ever felt revising was helping me do was reduce my chances of failing the test as opposed to helping me learn how to pass it. I would advise people to not give up. I know it's time consuming, expensive and stressful but if you can, I would keep plucking away at it. I know of one person who didn't pass until their tenth attempt and met Brits on repeat attempts.