Click here to get 7 Easy Steps to a 7 or Higher on IELTS

Today find out how to get a 7 on all 4 sections of the IELTS!

In the Speaking Section:

The examiner looks for four things:

• Fluency and coherence: Use linking words, don’t pause, don’t repeat yourself

• Vocabulary: Use a few slang words, a few idioms, a few phrasal verbs- get away from the textbook

• Grammar: It’s hard to get a 7 in grammar. The only way you can do it is if most of your sentences don’t have mistakes but it’s ok not to get a 7 in grammar because the score is an average. Think about where your strengths are and if they are not in grammar then focus on other areas.

• Pronunciation: This is the easiest one to get a 7. You can do it! Show some personality. Use some intonation. Use drama! You don’t need “perfect English pronunciation.”

The Writing Section:

• Task 1: Task achievement- you have to include all of the important numbers and you have to have an overall trend. For example, “Overall, numbers increase in this period.”

• Task 2: They grade you on task response. Did you answer the question? Answer every single part of the question. Also, cohesion and coherence are important. Use linking words and have clear paragraphs. Have an obvious main idea.

• Vocabulary: You need to use academic phrases and academic linking words.

• Grammar: It’s hard to get a 7 on this. You need a variety of sentence structures and not a lot of mistakes.

The Reading and Listening Sections:

• At least 27 correct answers out of 40 will get you an “acceptable” score

Now you know exactly what you need to do to get a 7 on all 4 sections of the IELTS.

Now go get started on your preparation and you will be ready to get that 7!

Let us know your questions in the comments section.

Click here to get 7 Easy Steps to a 7 or Higher on IELTS

Today you’ll get 3 sentence structures to improve your grammar grade on IELTS Writing Task 1.

On IELTS Task 1 you are shown a graph, table, pie chart, or bar chart. They have numbers and you have to compare and contrast how they change.

You will see a graph that shows “Change Over Time”

The examiner wants you to use different sentence structures for this category.

Here they are:

1) Subject + verb + adverb : “The numbers increased dramatically in 2008.”

2) There was + adjective + noun: “There was a dramatic increase in 2008.”

3) Before +verb-ing: “Before increasing in 2008, the number of surfers experienced a decline.”

Where can you find graphs to use to practice these sentences?

• Find IELTS forums

• Go to IELTS.org

• Go to a bookstore and write down some sentences with your notebook

• New York Times and USA Today

• Google Images, type in “bar chart” or “pie chart”

Where else have you found resources like pie charts or graphs to practice these sentence structures for Writing Task 1?

Let us know your ideas below!

Click here to get 7 Easy Steps to a 7 or Higher on IELTS

Are you nervous about your IELTS Speaking test?

Did you know that there are some easy things that you can do to increase your chances of a higher score on the Speaking test?

The IELTS exam is not completely objective because another person is giving you the score.

Yes, they are trained and there are very specific requirements for each score but they are still human and you can influence the examiner in a positive way to increase your score.

How to build a rapport with the examiner or get their attention:

• Don’t shake the examiner’s hand. This is not a business deal.

• Do follow their instructions about where to sit and be respectful.

• Don’t try to negotiate with the examiner to get a better score.

• Don’t ask the examiner how you did right after the speaking test is over. The final few minutes before you leave the room are very important so don’t make the examiner angry.

• Do use your personality. Do Tell personal stories. Don’t say what you think the examiner wants to hear.

• Do relax, smile, laugh a little bit.
• Do be polite.

• Do make eye contact if you can. If you can’t do that then you can look beyond the examiner.

Approach the Speaking section like a formal interview but also show a positive attitude.

It’s supposed to be formal but relaxed.

Do you have any other questions about the Speaking test on the IELTS?

Please ask your question below.

Click here to get 7 Easy Steps to a 7 or Higher on IELTS

Are you nervous about talking for two minutes in speaking section 2 of the IELTS?

Today, get some note taking strategies you can use to ace the IELTS speaking section!

In the IELTS speaking part 1, the examiner asks you about three topics.  But in part 2 you are given a single topic card.  No matter what this topic is, you cannot change it. You have one minute to prepare to speak for two full minutes. How you spend that minute is important.

Because you will have such a specific topic, and such a short amount of time, it’s probably best to write everything you can think of about the topic.  You could do this in a bullet list, or as a mind map.  But you need to have enough to say for those two minutes.

If you do not have practice brainstorming like this, you may want to practice.  Use a topic from a newspaper as an example. Give yourself a minute (or more) to make a list of notes on the topic.  Then, see if you can use them to speak for two minutes.

Other tips:

• Practice brainstorming/note-taking every day if possible.  You’re training your brain for thinking, speaking and writing in English.
• Take all of these notes in English, not your native language!
• Ideally, your notes will provide you enough to tell a story. Telling a story will enable you to speak for the full two minutes, and help you remain coherent.

Do you have much experience brainstorming?

How do you think it would go for the IELTS speaking section part 2?

Let us know in the comments section below!

Click here to get the 7 Easy Steps to a 7 or Higher on IELTS

What’s the difference between the IELTS and the TOEFL?

Today, learn what makes these two tests distinct, and how to choose between the them!

The IELTS and the TOEFL have some significant differences.  But that doesn’t mean one is easier than the other.  Many universities will accept either test, so you might be able to choose which one works best for you.  That means it’s a good idea to know how each is unique.

Here is are some points of difference between the two tests:

• The IELTS exam is completed on paper and by speaking to a person. The TOEFL is done entirely on a computer (even the speaking portion).  For some people, IELTS might feel more “natural.”
• The listening section in TOEFL uses only North American accents.  IELTS, on the other hand, uses a range of English accents from around the world.  If you have trouble with accents, you might find IELTS more difficult.
• But IELTS is more predictable.  For example, the test has three reading passages every time.  TOEFL, on the other hand, always has a different number of reading passages.  It also might have longer listening and reading sections.
• With TOEFL, on one section you have to listen to a conversation and give your opinion.  This means it’s both a writing and speaking section.  IELTS only has distinct listening and reading sections.

Which exam sounds easier to you?

Let us know why in the comments section below!

Click here to get the 7 Easy Steps to a 7 or Higher

How can you increase your IELTS vocabulary range? 

Today, learn 3 steps for building a more dynamic vocabulary for the IELTS exam!

You need to have words that are useful for academia and formal situations, but also with your friends on the street. This is key to having a more natural sounding English. But how do you build this range of vocabulary?

Jessica has three steps for building it.  They include:

Getting the vocabulary: Newspapers are a great resource for this.  A newspaper like the USA Today is more understandable, while the New York Times is written at a higher level.  A magazine like the Economist is even higher.

Recording it: For every article you read, choose maybe five new words to learn.  Keep them in context. Maybe write a summary of the article that uses these new words.

Remembering it: Develop a system for studying these new vocabulary words.  Try to review the words at least two or three times a week. Also, try to use these new words in conversation.

What are you doing to build a range of vocabulary?

Tell us what you’re doing in the comments section below!

Click here to get the 7 Easy Steps to a 7 or Higher on IELTS

Today you’ll find out why some students lose focus and energy easily and quickly on the IELTS and why others are able to stay awake and energized throughout the entire exam.

How to Keep Your Energy High for IELTS Day:

• Eat Breakfast: You need protein that will stick with you all day like eggs as well as carbohydrates that will give you the energy that you need like oatmeal. You can also try almond milk, nuts, fruit, etc.
• Bring Water to the Test: Remember that when you bring your water bottle into the IELTS exam, you cannot have a label on the bottle. Tear the label off before you go in. Prepare for this ahead of time.
• Get Fresh Air and Exercise: This is a great way to keep your focus alive and to keep your mind awake. Ty to get in a short, brisk walk before you check in and at noon after you finish the Writing section. This will help you be ready for the Speaking test in the afternoon.

Do you have great strategies to maintain your energy on IELTS test day?

Let us know your ideas in the comments below!

Click here to get the 7 Easy Steps to a 7 or Higher on IELTS

Today you’ll find out which accents will be on the listening section of the IELTS and where you can practice those accents for free.

Are you confused about which English accents will be on the IELTS?

There are a variety of accents on IELTS. If you buy books from a British publisher then you will hear mostly British accents.

However, on the test you will hear a variety of accents from around the world. Still, you need to get used to British English and other accents.

You can find British accents on Luke’s English Podcast.

Here are a few other resources with a mix of accents but also a lot of videos from England:

• ESLvideo.com

• EnglishCentral.com

** You can also view transcripts and take quizzes on these sites.

• BBC Learning English

• Engvid

More Hot Resources!

• Movie Segments to Assess Grammar Goals

•  Real Life English Podcast

Have you found any other great resources to prepare with a variety of accents?

Please let us know in the comments section below!

Get our 7 Easy Steps to a 7 or Higher on IELTS

Today you’ll learn what grammar risks you should take on IELTS to get a 7 and when to play it safe with your grammar choices.

Do you know how complex your grammar needs to be to get a score of 7?

For a 7 you need a mix of sentence structures. To get a 7 you need simple (subject + verb “I go to the store”) and compound sentences (two simple sentences put together using conjunctions “I go to the store and I like to shop”) and complex sentences (adding a dependent clause such as “I go to the store which is near my house because I love to buy the food that they have”).

However, you also need to be sure that you don’t have a lot of mistakes. It’s ok to make some mistakes. You can make mistakes up to a band score of 8.

You should play it safe on the IELTS and use the grammar structures that you are comfortable with.

Don’t try using rare grammar tenses like the past perfect.

Don’t experiment with new tenses on the IELTS exam.

To sum up, to get a 7 you need 80% of your sentences to have no mistakes. You should get comfortable with relative clauses because it’s a great way to mix in the more advanced grammar that you need and they are easy.

How can you add these more complex grammar points?

Try to make it relevant to you when you practice.

What tenses have you used on the IELTS exam?

Tell us in the comments!

CLick here to get our 7 Easy Steps to a 7 or Higher on the IELTS

Get show notes on this episode here: http://allearsenglish.com/ie-8-how-can-you-correct-your-own-writing-for-the-ielts-writing-section/

Can’t find anyone to correct your IELTS writing practice?

A lot of people have this problem but it doesn’t mean that you can’t do some great preparation for the test by yourself!

Today you’ll find out exactly how to create a checklist for your writing to grade it yourself.

When you create your checklist you should organize it based on the descriptors. Descriptors are what the examiner looks at in order to give you a grade.

What to look for when you correct your own writing practice tests:

• Task achievement/task response: Do you complete the required task? Do you actually answer the question? For Task 1, you need to include all the key points. You need a summary or overall trend. You need to say what happens to the numbers in general. For Task 2, did you stick to the topic and fully answer every part of the question. For example, if it’s an argument essay, did you talk about every part of the question?
• Organization: Does every sentence connect to the topic? Are you repeating anything? Are you being direct and concise?

• Coherence and Cohesion: Do you have good paragraphs? Do you use linking words between every sentence? Examiners look for the linking words! Don’t forget them. They are important! Don’t let your writing be choppy. It needs to flow with linking words.
• Do your ideas make sense?

• Vocabulary: Look for repeated words and circle them. Try to think of different ways to say words when you have repeated them.

• Grammar: Look for a variety of sentence structures. Underline the complex sentences. Make sure you included them in your writing. A complex sentence is where you use a dependent clause with a simple sentence. Here is an example: “I like writing which has a lot of linking words.”

• Mistakes: Make a list of the most common errors. Look at verb tenses, circle the different tenses. Make sure you are using them correctly.

It’s better to have a real person correct your IELTS writing but if you can’t do that, try using this checklist above.

Set up a very specific study schedule. Work on it every single day. Leave yourself plenty of time ahead of the test to prepare and you can do it!

Leave us a comment below!

Have you tried correcting your own IELTS writing?

How did it go?

Get your free Cheat Sheet! Find out what the examiner wants on the speaking section of the IELTS: http://www.allearsenglish.com/evaluation

Get show notes here:http://allearsenglish.com/how-to-succeed-on-the-ielts-speaking-exam/

Today you'lll find out how to stay cool and confident on the speaking section of the IELTS!

Here are 3 tips from Cathey:

Step 1: Practice and prepare

Step 2: Get out of your head

Step 3: Recognize your current emotions, try to put them out of your head and focus on what you are trying to accomplish.

Find out what the Examiner wants on the speaking section of the IELTS: http://www.allearsenglish.com/evaluation

Leave a comment and get show notes: http://allearsenglish.com/aee-ielts-impress-examiner-5-english-phrasal-verbs/

Do you want that extra edge or advantage to push your score to a 7 on the IELTS exam?

You need some English phrasal verbs to stand apart from the crowd!

Today, Lindsay and Jessica share 5 English phrasal verbs you can use to stand out and get the score you need!

You will probably be asked to talk about the topics of home, shopping, food and studying in Part 1 of the IELTS Speaking Section.  You need to prepare for this.  One way you can do that is have some phrasal verbs.

Phrasal verbs are a way to sound more natural and native when speaking informally.  Though there are many of these to choose from, you only need to use of a few to stand out.

Here are five that are easy to use and will impress your examiner:

Bone up on: This means to learn.  It’s not only a phrasal verb, but also an idiom.  “I had to bone up on my English studies.”

Figure out: This means to learn the details of something, or discover how it works.  “I figured out how to fix the television.”

Goof off: When you are having fun, but not working or studying, you can say “I spent the afternoon goofing off.”

Clam up: This is another phrasal verb and idiom.  It means that you’re so nervous you couldn’t think of what to say.  “I clammed up when she asked me to answer the question.”

Catch up: If you’re behind, and you’re trying to shorten the distance, you might need to catch up.  This can be used physically, like you’re chasing someone, or with your studies.  “I fell behind in my homework and have to catch up.”

Do you have any other phrasal verbs you’d like to use in the IELTS exam?

Let us know what they are in the comments section below!

Come back to our site to leave a comment and get show notes: http://allearsenglish.com/ielts-speaking-avoid-dangers-part-1/

Get your free Cheat Sheet: What the Examiner Wants: http://www.allearsenglish.com/evaluation

What’s so difficult about the IELTS Speaking Part 1?

What can you do to prepare?

Today, Lindsay and Jessica discuss some tactics for avoiding the dangers and allowing yourself to stand out!

Speaking Part 1 of the IELTS includes questions about yourself.  You will be asked about three topics, and though it may seem like simple stuff, the danger is that you might become too relaxed and start using one-word answers.

You want to do better than that.  In fact, ideally your answers will be 2-4 sentences each!

How can you do come up with that?  Do some brainstorming.  Think of the question words.  Question words can help you think of better answers.

Vocabulary is also important in Speaking Part 1.  If you want to achieve a higher score, you will need to use a range of vocabulary, including slang and idioms.  The examiner wants to hear that you know more than what’s in your textbook.  A good strategy is to have a short list of slang and idioms ready to use.

What are some good English slang words or idioms that might be helpful to have for Speaking Part 1 of the IELTS test?

Let us know in the comments section below!

Leave us a comment here: http://allearsenglish.com/aee-ielts-reading-skim-scan/

Get your IELTS cheat sheet here: http://www.allearsenglish.com/evaluation

How can you prepare for the Reading Section of the IELTS?

Today, Lindsay and Jessica discuss two strategies to help you answer questions quickly and correctly!

Timing and strategy are important for success on any test.  For a reading test, you need to be able to figure out answers quickly without having to re-read.  Jessica has two suggestions to help you with this.

• Skim: Take one minute to skim the title, subtitle, and beginning of each paragraph.  This opens your “brain box,” and prepares you to understand what the passage is about.  If you can follow the passage more easily, you will be able to answer the questions faster.
• Scan: When you read the text, look for names and key words, and underline them.  For many taking the IELTS exam, the most difficult part of the Reading Section are the matching questions.  Scanning for key words and underlining them is an active behavior that will help you answer these faster.

Do you use the strategy of skimming and scanning?

Let us know how it works for you!

Get more info here: http://allearsenglish.com/aee-ielts-listening-on-the-ielts-exam/

How do you build a “Brain Box” for the IELTS Listening Exam?

Today Lindsay and Jessica talk about two strategies to make the listening part of the IELTS exam easier!

If you have a strategy or a system to approach the IELTS Listening Exam, you’ll probably do better.  Your first step should be to listen to the introduction.  It will tell you who will be talking, and what they’re talking about.

Many people who take this exam skip the introduction because they think they don’t need it.  This is a mistake, because the context will help you understand.  The “brain box” concept is that your brain puts topics in “boxes,” and accessing a specific box will put a conversation into context, and make it easier to comprehend.

After you’ve listened to the introduction, you will then have about ten seconds to read the questions before you hear them.  Use this time to circle the key words before they’re read aloud.  Making note of these key words will prepare you to answer the question quickly.  Speed is important, because you don’t want one question mix you up on the next one, and then the next one.

How do you plan to prepare for the listening portion of the IELTS exam?

Tell us about it in the comments section below!

Visit us online to leave a comment at: http://allearsenglish.com/aee-ielts-happens-ielts-exam-day-2/

What should you bring to your IELTS exam?

When should you go, and what should you watch out for?

Today, Lindsay and Jessica discuss how you can be prepared to succeed on your IELTS test day!

On your IELTS exam day you should try to arrive 45 minutes early.  It’s critically important that you get there on time.  If you are late, you will miss the first section and can’t make it up.  Missing an entire section will make it impossible to get a good overall score.

You should plan to bring your passport for identification.  It is also okay to bring a bottle of water, but you must remove the label.  Your belongings will be stored in a separate room while you take the test.

Usually all four sections of the exam occur in a single day.  In the morning you will have the reading, writing and listening sections.  In the afternoon, you will have the speaking section.

It’s important to understand that the morning will probably be more stressful because it will be so busy.  On the other hand, you will likely have time to wait in the afternoon.  Some speaking sections are scheduled as late as 6PM!  For this reason, it is a good idea to know if there’s anyway near the test station where you could pass the time – a park, for example.

What else do you want to know about the IELTS exam?

Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

To comment on this episode, visit us at http://allearsenglish.com/aee-ielts-pros-prepare-ielts/

Are you preparing to take the IELTS exam?

Today, Lindsay and Jessica discuss what you need to know to pass with the score you want!

There are lots of questions about the IELTS exam.  It’s not an easy test to take, but it is the most widely accepted test for getting into universities and even for immigration and work visas.

One reason for this is that the test is face-to-face with another person, which makes it more real.  Though this might sound intimidating, many testers actually find it more relaxing when the examiner is another person, rather than a computer.

When students take the test and don’t get the score they wanted, it’s usually because they didn’t have enough real-life speaking practice – they only worked out of textbooks.  You need to practice speaking with an actual person.  You also need to be honest with yourself about where you are with your English abilities so that you have an obtainable goal.

How are you preparing to take the IELTS exam?

Let us know in the comments section below!