nic0218 Posted February 11, 2011 Author Share Posted February 11, 2011 I agree with Dunwa -we do need an IELTS sticky thread. There are so many of us going through IELTS, for state sponsorship etc, that good advice is needed. There's some fantastic tips and advice on this thread from our resident expert (thelongwait) that I would recommend anyone read before they take their IELTS. It may stop people who, like me, waltzed into their first IELTS thinking "this should be relatively easy..." What do you think moderators? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hellsbells712 Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 Thanks to thelongwait, I got 9 second time round on my IELTS writing which I got 6.5 1st time. I also did a lot of practising. Made the mistake first time round, thinking I know how to write essays so didn't practice this section. Knew when I sat the test I had written a load of waffle and my conclusion was just gobblygook, if there is such a word.......Spent all my time practising the reading section. It did pay off because I got 7 both times in my reading. 1st topic - exactly what you see in front of you. Introduction, middle and conclusion - all to the point and finish off by ending your report "End of report" 2nd essay - you just don't know what topic you are going to get. Trying to think what tips I have for this one. May have to come back later. There is a thread that I started "IELTS this week" that keeps reappearing 1 year later. There is a lot of sound advice on there. You may have to look through a lot of pages but would be worth it. Main thing - PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE........ X H Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdk43 Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 Came across this post tonight and am so grateful. I too am a Nurse, with a BSc(Hons), but am sure that I will fail! I am a worrying already. The information has been really helpful, put it into my favourites, and now gonna practice, practice, practice! Sitting the Ielts on March 12th! Thanks alot, Donna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest nicando Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 well guys i resat the test over the weekend and have 2 very long weeks to wait for the results. I feel i did better in the writing section but failed miserably in the reading section. I dont know what happened in the reading test i just lost concentration and time just went. I'm really annoyed with myself. I am already looking at test dates because the longer i leave it, the more i will be feeling negative about it and wont want to resit it. x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdk43 Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 well guys i resat the test over the weekend and have 2 very long weeks to wait for the results. I feel i did better in the writing section but failed miserably in the reading section. I dont know what happened in the reading test i just lost concentration and time just went. I'm really annoyed with myself. I am already looking at test dates because the longer i leave it, the more i will be feeling negative about it and wont want to resit it. x Hiya Nicando, My heart goes out to you with this test!I am in the middle of doing practice papers and really stuggling with the reading questions with yes/no/not given or true/false/not given. My test is not till 12th March, but am guessing I will be very familiar with the testing centres in scotland before I have finished! I bet you have did better than you think, and when the envelope lands on the mat you will have passed all the sections. It is horrible to think that this test is the golden ticket to australia, ahhh.:arghh: Good luck for the results, and any tips you can offer on ANY part will be gratefully received, Donna :unsure: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest nicando Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 thanks Donna, the test is a real pain and as you said the "golden ticket". My advice is to buy the ILELTS official book, in Wales it is on the payment form and you tick the box if you want it. Its £10 but i did read on one of the forums that somebody borrowed it from a library so it may be worth checking your library to save money. This time i also bought the top tips for ilets which was £10, it comes with a cd as well for you to download onto the computer and there are practice samples on there for you to do. I thought that the top tip book was helpful but i'm not so sure about the cd that came with it. it was ok but on the reading section you have to open and close the reading passage to see the questions and it was difficult to remember the questons, it would have been better if you could see qusetions/reading together or at least be able to scroll up and down.. You can google sample papers to, with model answers for the writing section but i struggled finding reading papers, you needed to pay. Hope this helps. With regards to the speaking and listening as long as english is your 1st language you really dont need to worry, they are the easiest. xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest golden777 Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Hiya Nicando,My heart goes out to you with this test!I am in the middle of doing practice papers and really stuggling with the reading questions with yes/no/not given or true/false/not given. My test is not till 12th March, but am guessing I will be very familiar with the testing centres in scotland before I have finished! I bet you have did better than you think, and when the envelope lands on the mat you will have passed all the sections. It is horrible to think that this test is the golden ticket to australia, ahhh.:arghh: Good luck for the results, and any tips you can offer on ANY part will be gratefully received, Donna :unsure: As regards the reading questions with yes/no/not given or true/false/not given. Always ask yourself these key questions, it may help you. Does the Question directly contradicts a comment/point in the passage? If yes Answer is FALSE/NO. Does the Question agrees with the comment/point of the passage? if yes answer is TRUE/YES Even when the Question mentions a point relating to what is in the passage, but does not directly contradicts nor directly supports a point in the passage, the answer is NOT GIVEN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deano27 Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 hi, as an ielts examiner, i privately agree that it's a stupid, unfair test. the writing test especially doesn't judge your writing ability so much as how well you fit the 'ielts' idea of what a good answer is, (which they havent bothered to tell you beforehand.) there are various things that could mean even a native speaker with excellent writing skills, could get a poor score. for example in the academic task 1, a common error is to analyse it and write sentences like: "...this is because younger people generally have less health problems" based on your world knowledge rather than just presenting the data shown. or if you don't have a suitable number of paragraphs, and a clear conclusion. Even many of the ielts practice books have 'model' answers that would lose points - presumably the authors aren't actual examiners. ielts are extremely secretive about their marking criteria. Anyway, if a volunteer wants to post up a writing answer on this thread, i will mark it and make some comments that might help everyone else. preferably write it on Word and paste it so you can tell me what the word count is. write the question at the top. Well I have to agree. We spent a whole day and nearly £200 all in with driving, parking food etc. The speaking element was seemed like a waste of time. Asking if famous people have the right to privacy and bollox like that! What the hell does this prove? What are they grading people on? I don't really have an opinion on Jordon as a celebrity?:arghh: I just don't get it and no doubt we will fail it....... To quote the examiner "I always make it harder for native people" who gives you the right to make it harder. I paid the fee for the exam and wasted a whole day trying to jump through the stupid hoops of the ielts! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Taxi Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 Just a quick thanks to the contributors to ths thread, particularly NICO218 and Thelongwait. I have just received my IELTS results today and scored 9, 9, 8.5 and 9! I'm so relieved as need 7 for occupation and will need 8 if we don't get our main visa app in before 1st July. I probably would have been caught out by the format of the test if I hadn't read and acted on the advice here. As it is I daydreamed during the listening but managed to pull it back in time lol. Only problem now is that the test centre have made an error on my certficate which may delay things. agh. But anyway thanks again and good luck to all :biggrin: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deano27 Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 Well after my initial rant we have secured four 9's!! Great news. Valuable points sorted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest becca0114 Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 :mad: So anhoyed. We just need to get 7 in each of the IELTS sections and only managed to achieve a 6,6.5,5.5 and an 8.5. My other half is having to do these test and never did that well at school. He is a carpenter for goodness sake and doesn't find himself wrining letters that often. English is my strong point but sadly Australia is not interested in my abilities so we just have to try again. From a very frustrated born and bred british citizen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deano27 Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 Becca I feel you pain as the exam was bloody horrible and to be honest I haven't:confused: done a written exam for 15 years! So no doubt it was a shock to your partner. There are some addition help guides out there, but with a bit of practise he will no doubt do ok. Did he know much about the format of the exam? We didn't know that much, but once you know the format it really helps. I have a little guide I found for free, but not sure if it is any good. Drop me a private message with your email and I can send you what I have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest NeilEB Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 He really shouldn't be scoring that low as a UK national - I'm honestly not meaning to be rude. Did he do any practice papers? They really help get used to the format and style of questions. I assume the 8.5 was in speaking, and the 5.5 was in wriing? I can't recommend getting the practice papers that are available. There's one on Amazon, and one on the IELTS website. Get him to practice, and I'm sure he'll easily score 7+ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matimage Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 Ok. Think I was one of the guilty ones that thought that as my wife is born and bred in this country she could waltz in and do this test on her head. Reading all your posts has made me rather worried. She is due to sit the test in 2 weeks. She's very intelligent but sometimes gets her words/letters mixed up especially when under stress. She also doesn't have particularly good handwriting. Will spelling mistakes and poor writing mark her down even if the content is correct? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdk43 Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 Ok. Think I was one of the guilty ones that thought that as my wife is born and bred in this country she could waltz in and do this test on her head. Reading all your posts has made me rather worried. She is due to sit the test in 2 weeks. She's very intelligent but sometimes gets her words/letters mixed up especially when under stress. She also doesn't have particularly good handwriting. Will spelling mistakes and poor writing mark her down even if the content is correct? Hiya, I wouldn't worry loads honestly, as long as your wife understands the format. I'd say that is 90% of the problem, not knowing how the actual test is structured. Is your wife sitting the Ielts Academic or General test. I sat the Academic, and found the Itelts 7 book really great for practiciing. I understand they do mark you down for spelling and grammar, but am sure actual writing, i'e if a bit messy is fine as long as it can be read. If you have any other questions, please ask, Donna xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest NeilEB Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 Yep unfortunately it will. I can't stress enough, get some practise papers for her. If nothing else it will make her more confident, 'walking into the known' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matimage Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 Thanks TDK. She is doing the General to enable us to request SA SS. I am looking at the website IELTS Exam Preparation that was posted early on in the discussion so (think!) we know the general structure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest NeilEB Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 I really think you should get the book from Amazon - it costs about £15, much cheaper then having to resit the whole exam. Nothing like past papers to get her used to the style of questions. True / False / Not Given answers in reading can be a pain Paying attention to the number of words allowed in listening / reading Type of subects from speaking (although speaking really shouldn't be an issue for a native speaker) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matimage Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 Hmm. Just going through the examples on the website and I think the T/F/NG answers seem rather dubious. One of them stated there is an upper age limit for an activity then in the text it said anyone over 18 so I entered False but the correct answer was Not Given. Not sure I agree with that... Can you provide a link to the correct book on Amazon? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest NeilEB Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 Cambridge IELTS 7 Self-study Pack Student's Book with Answers and Audio CDs 2 : Examination Papers from University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations IELTS Practice Tests: Amazon.co.uk: Cambridge ESOL: Books Ok, slightly more then I thought, but for me it was well worth it. T/F/NG is the hardest for me - it all hinges on relying on what the text says, and not 'assuming' or reading things into it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeegieDave Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 On the subject of IELTS... I sat the General Training exam last weekend and I am very confident about passing the listening, reading and speaking with at least 7 in each although for task 2 of the writing I didn't write 250 words. I only wrote around 180. Could anyone tell me if I will get marked below a 7 for this irrelevant of the content of what I wrote. I am very worried about it as I don't really have time to book, resit and wait for the results as I need to apply for SS very soon. Thanks David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest NeilEB Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 I'm not an expert, but if it's significantly less, they will check the word count and I believe they will mark you down for it. Maybe TheLongWait can help as a former IELTS examiner? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Si T Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 He really shouldn't be scoring that low as a UK national - I'm honestly not meaning to be rude. May not mean to but are being. Much the same thing. I sat the test quite some time ago and passed it fairly comfortably. It helped that I spend each and every day reading/writing reports and board papers, attending board meetings etc which meant that I had plenty of practice at communicating in various forms in English on a regular basis. For somebody who works in a more practical trade it is a much bigger jump to go from communicating in the relevant language of that trade to sitting a test which has no bearing on what you do on a day to day basis. For my job I have to be able to communicate financial information to non finance people and make sure they understand the implications of what I am saying. A chippie does not need to tell his client why he needs to router a kitchen worktop joint a certain way, he just needs to be able to be sure that they can't see the join when he is finished. How does IELTS then make him a better carpenter? A tradesman born and bred in one of the countries where the holding of a passport deems you to have the standard English skills should not be required to sit this test as it does not impact upon his ability to communicate in general life and in the completion of his daily job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeegieDave Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 I'm not an expert, but if it's significantly less, they will check the word count and I believe they will mark you down for it. Maybe TheLongWait can help as a former IELTS examiner? Thats my worry Neil. I may well just book up for the London IELTS being held on the 16th April and drive down from Glasgow (Long drive I know). That is also the same day as I will receive my results through the post from the exam i sat last weekend. Its a bit of a dilemma!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest NeilEB Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 May not mean to but are being. Much the same thing. How does IELTS then make him a better carpenter? A tradesman born and bred in one of the countries where the holding of a passport deems you to have the standard English skills should not be required to sit this test as it does not impact upon his ability to communicate in general life and in the completion of his daily job. Apologies, I was writing my original response in a hurry and it came out a bit more harshly then intended. However, bear in mind the categories - it assumes a native speaker is at level 6, which is defines as 'adequate' (can't remember the exact wording). Language is incredibly important, even for a carpenter - how about functioning in the wider society? How about pitching for jobs / clients? I still maintain that a native speaker should not be scoring less then 7's in most of the tasks, given proper revision and practice - writing should be the only one that may give trouble. The mistake most native speakers make is turning up and assuming all will be well. Get some practice papers, know what you are about to walk into. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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