10 Vital Tips to Crack the IELTS Exam in First Attempt

The IELTS test is the only English language test accepted for immigration purposes in more than 140 countries. It is perhaps the most relevant exam in India as it gives you a chance to settle in your dream country. The IELTS test assesses the English skills necessary for academic purposes or for living abroad.

IELTS is accepted by over 10,000 organisations including universities, schools, colleges and training organisations. From Government departments, Immigration authorities to Multinational companies and employers, validate your language proficiency based on your IELTS score.

However, Cracking IELTS in the first attempt is not easy. You must learn tips and tricks to prepare for IELTS. People study IELTS for months and end up not scoring a good band because of a lack of good practice and training. In this blog, you will read 10 vital tips to crack the IELTS exam in the first attempt.

IELTS Exam

Before we read the tips to crack the exam, let’s take a look at the format and basics of the IELTS test. So, how is an IELTS exam?

  • As we know the IELTS exam has four parts – Listening, Reading, Speaking and Writing.

  • IELTS is a score on a nine-band scale, with each band corresponding to a specified competence and level in the English language.

  • The IELTS exam is conducted by IDP Education Australia, British Council, and Cambridge English Language Assessment.

  • The IELTS exam is conducted 5–6 times a month and it has a validity of 2 years.

  • There are two types of IELTS exams: IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training. IELTS Academic exam is for those who wish to pursue higher education or professional registration abroad. The IELTS General Test is to be taken if you want to study, work or move to major English speaking countries like Canada, Australia, and the UK where English is the main language used for communication.

How to Crack the IELTS Exam in First Try?

You can crack the IELTS Exam in the first attempt. But, you have to work for it. Here are the most important IELTS Exam Preparation Tips and Strategies that you must follow before you write the exam.

Understand the test format

Before you appear for the IELTS test, you must understand the format of the test completely. As we know, IELTS assesses a candidate on 4 parameters: reading, writing, listening and speaking. The time duration for a candidate to write the exam in 4 fields is 2 hours 45 minutes. The time allotted for each test is:

Test Section

Duration

Listening

30 minutes

Reading

60 minutes

Writing

60 minutes

Speaking

11 to 14 minutes

When you prepare and write the exam, it is very important to keep in mind the duration of each session. Try to answer and complete the sessions in the given time.

English in daily life

Include English in your daily life. Try to speak, read and write on your favourite topics. Remember, nobody learns without making mistakes. The first step is to let go of the fear that you might make a mistake once you speak.

  • Schedule online classes with an English tutor to get expert help on your speaking skills.

  • Find a friend who wants to improve language and practice with them.

  • Speak out loud to yourself in English in front of a mirror.

  • Find out the phrases and meanings of objects you use every day.

  • Read English books and newspapers daily.

Start speaking English as much as possible

Speak and learn English. Initially, you will make mistakes in grammar, the structure of a sentence, or pronunciation and that is okay. The speaking section in the IELTS test requires a great deal of hard work and confidence. It will be interactive and close to real-life situations. This session tests your confidence and fluency.

You need to speak fluently, clearly and accurately in the Speaking test. It is important to be spontaneous.

  • Practice by standing in front of the mirror and talking to yourself. This will help you to gain confidence in speech. The more you practice, the more you become confident. Talk about any topics that are easy for you. Talk about real-life experiences or films.

  • Conversations are an effective way to learn a language. Try creating conversations and learn how to start and end a conversation.

  • Online sessions and materials are available for practice. Practice books that are available in the market. Make use of these resources.

  • Try talking with an English speaker if available.

  • Schedule online classes with an English tutor to get expert help on your speaking skills. IELTS classes are also widely available around us. If you are looking for an IELTS preparation, IELTS in Dubai can help you.
  • Use language learning apps with speech recognition software where you can ask questions to an English speaking-robot, and get a response.

Listen Carefully

Listening test in the IELTS exam has four components. These sessions include conversations and monologues. So, you must learn to listen to and recognise various features in monologues and conversations. Here are some tips to improve your skills.

Remember, the IELTS Test gives you only a chance to listen and answer.

  • When you do practise tests, try to listen once and answer because that is how you will have to deal in the IELTS Exam.Get used to it.

  • Try and identify your listening weaknesses and work to improve those areas.

  • Underline and pay attention to the keywords in the question paper. Prepare to listen for those words or their synonyms.

  • Practice different types of listening situations like lectures and other conversations. Listen to podcasts.

Keep Reading

Reading Test in an IELTS exam consists of 3 sessions. Both IELTS Reading Tests, Academic and General Training, will assess your skills on Reading for gist, for main ideas and detail. Recognising a writer’s opinion, attitudes and purpose are what you must focus on. Read some tips to improve your reading:

  • To improve your reading skills, there are no shortcuts. Read regularly and widely on any topic.

  • Check the sentence structure and the meaning of every sentence. Read loudly with pauses to improve your fluency.

  • Try to identify and follow the writer’s line of argument and attitude in every text you read.

  • Focus on Paragraphs- Analyse the major points and ideas conveyed in a paragraph. Even if you don’t understand every sentence, try understanding the idea of a paragraph.

Write and Rewrite

The IELTS writing test is what many students find the most difficult. This is because of time management. In a short time, you will have to write an essay and a graph or a letter. Learning high-quality writing styles in different formats from newspapers or short articles is very important.

  • Pick a topic and write on it. Ask your teacher or friend to analyze it. Rewrite the same work to get a better understanding of the mistakes you committed.

  • When you read magazines or newspapers, underline useful vocabulary items

  • Underline and highlight grammar structures

  • Learn where linking devices are used between sentences and paragraphs

  • Try applying what you have learned to your writing.

Learn phrases, not words

Try learning phrases more than words. This will help you more in sentence formation and sessions like writing and speaking in IELTS.

Now, What is a phrase?

A phrase is a group of words that form a meaningful unit. Once you are confident with using words in the sentence, try learning phrases. This will easily help you to learn sentences and to build conversations.

Try to learn words, then phrases and then sentences. Do not forget to speak to use these phrases in daily life. Remember, chances to forget words and phrases are more when you do not use it. Learning phrases can help you in the exam.

Grammar, Pronunciation and Fluency

These are important features in any language. Your language assessment includes proper communication skill which is possible, only if your communication is effective. However, we know learning grammar or pronunciation is not easy. But you should give a try.

  • Learn grammar and practice doing simple exercises. You can improve grammar only by making mistakes, correcting them, and by using it.

  • Check out the pronunciation of the words when you read it. Remember, you can improve your fluency only by speaking.

 Be prepared to skip a question

Move on to the next question whenever you are taking too much time on any question. You do not have time to waste in the exam. Calculate your time for each question, and make sure you are not spending over time. Also, do not miss questions just because you run out of time.

Practice and Practice

Practice is the key to cracking the IELTS examination. You need practice regularly if you want to crack IELTS in one go. Be patient during the whole journey to crack the exam. Improving every session will require time. Keep practising using the materials available.

Let’s Wrap Up

Cracking any exam in the first attempt is not easy. But with thorough practice and patience, you can gain it. So why wait? Start reading, writing and listening. Explore articles and contents that can entertain you and learn from it.