Vinh is an IELTS candidate from Hanoi, Vietnam that went from not speaking
English to scoring above band 7 in every examination!
Tips on IELTS Reading and Writing exam
IELTS Reading and Writing exam is the most difficult part of examinations for many people. The big chunk of text can look intimidating and the questions can be confusing.
But don’t worry, because we have some excellent tips from Vinh who scored 7.5 on his Reading and Writing Exams! He tells us exactly how he achieved that score, and how you can do it too.
How to begin practising for IELTS Reading and Writing exam – tips from Vinh
Reading text in English
Vinh explains how important it is to begin with reading text in English. He started with easier books and then improved to reading newspapers and websites like BBC. The more you read, the easier reading becomes.
Learning new words
When Vinh found words he did not understand, he wrote down a list of at least 10 new words on a piece of paper, and their definitions in English on the other side.
The list would then accompany him everywhere he went until all of the words were learnt.
After this, Vinh would progress to writing contextual sentences with the words. This helped him gain better understanding of the words.
The best way to use IELTS Reading and Writing practice exams – tips from Vinh
When Vinh felt comfortable with the English language, he began doing IELTS Practice Exams.
Find your method
Vinh explains that there are two strategies to become better at the Reading Exams:
1. Read the text first and then answer the questions.
2. Look at the questions first, and then read the text with those questions in mind.
Vinh practised both of these methods until he found which one worked for him. Simply using the method that he preferred improved his results on the Practice Reading Exam.
Practice, practice, practice…
Vinh explains how important it is to continue practicing the examinations. In fact, he did 50 Practice Reading Exams! And he recommends for you to do the same.
He says that after you do the examination so many times, there will be no surprises in the actual exam.
Resources for IELTS Reading Exam Practice recommended by Vinh
These are the resources that Vinh used to practice for his Reading Exam and improve his score. He recommends this for all of the IELTS candidates.
Books:
- IELTS Practise test plus Longman (Considered more difficult than normal!)
- IELTS Cambridge Reading test
Websites:
- IELTS-Simon.com
- IELTS.org
How to improve your score for IELTS Writing exam – tips by Vinh
Vinh found that overly complicated sentences are not necessary, so keep it simple and aim for clear communication and expressing an argument.
It took him two months of writing every day when he eventually he reached his high score. So as always, practice makes perfection!
How to improve your score for IELTS Listening and Speaking Exam – tips by Vinh
Listening
Vinh advised to take a long term approach and start watching the news and even films in English. Then force yourself to remove the subtitles, and concentrate.
Before long you will start seeing how understanding English is getting easier and easier.
Speaking
On the cue card on his IELTS Speaking Exam with a cold British woman, Vinh had to describe the street where he lived.
To do this effectively he used examples, and followed this structure: WHAT? WHY? WHEN?
Having a structure to follow gave him more confidence when answering the examiner’s questions, and enabled him to give solid, full and interesting answers.
Key Things Every IELTS Candidate Should Do
Organise your time – not just in the exam, but in your life too. Set long-term goals and make time for studying.
Don’t leave it all for the last month because learning English doesn’t happen overnight. If you want to get great results like Vinh, you have to put in time and effort.
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Hi. I want to improve my listening and speaking skill. I am not that much good at it. I want to get a high score from the exam. My exam is in January 2017
Hi Prachi! Thanks for your comment! My suggestion would be to practice with friends, do mock speaking exercises.
Check out this link: https://www.ieltspodcast.com/speaking-confidence/
Also try and do a mock speaking test in your city, in a language academy, the only way to overcome the fear is to do it.
Good luck!
-Nadyne
I want to improve my reading skill and listening skill. I am not really good at it. I want to get a high score from the exam due to I will get a IELTS next two months. Thank you
please put up the tricks of reading skills, thank you
Regards!
Here you go mate:-) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57TdkoUE7k4
Dear sir/madam
Hi sir 19 may 2016 my ielts general training my exam centre for mumbai.sir I am help my total study Gujarati medieam. I no idea ielts exam and book material.
Hi Sunil,
Try the courses here:
http://www.sentenceguide.com/courses/all/
Or if you want, sign up to the email list and I can send you some tips.
All the best.
Ben
sir/ madam
i want to improve my reading and listening also writing and speaking in academic . my aim is to get 7 reading and listening…
Please help me with regard to this matter.
thanx,
dinesh
Hi Sir,
Please post Model answers for the following topics
1.Some people say that competition is good for children’s development while others believe it is bad. Discuss both views and give your opinion.
2.Some people think that dangerous sports should be banned, while others disagree. Do you agree or disagree? Give reasons and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge and experience
3.Nowadays traffic jams are becoming a big problem in most cities and bigger towns. Some people suggest that widening of roads is a solution to this problem. Do you agree or disagree? Give your opinion and suggest a solution to this problem.
4.Some people say that dangerous sports should be banned. Do you agree or disagree? Give your own opinion.
5.Some people believe that children should have formal training at school to become good parents. Do you agree or disagree? Give you own opinion.
6.For some people high salary is an important criterion when choosing a new job. Others are satisfied if the job contributes to the society. Discuss both views and give your opinion.
7.Children today are too dependent on computers and electronic entertainment. It would be better to encourage them to spend more time outside playing sports and games. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Give your opinion.
8.Some say that young and energetic employees are the most valuable for the company, others argue that older employees have more experience and knowledge. To what extent do you agree or disagree? Give your opinion and examples, based on you own experience.
9.Nowadays people are getting married and having children in their thirties. Does it have a positive or a negative impact on the society? Give your opinion and examples.
10.Some people think that students who finished high school need to have a year of break or a holiday before continuing their study in a university. Do you agree or disagree?
11.Some people think that giving their children a certain amount of money every week will help them have fewer financial problems in the future. Do you agree or disagree?
12.Nowadays young people deliberately damage public places. Why is it happening? What could be a solution for it?
13.Some people believe that media (such as newspapers) should be allowed to publish information about the private life of people. Others say that people have a right to privacy and the issue must be controlled or even stopped. Discuss both views.
14.Some people believe that subjects such as Music, Arts, Drama and Creative Writing will contribute a great deal to children’s development; therefore they should take a large part of the school timetable. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
15.Some people think young people are more influenced by their friends than their parents or teachers. Do you agree or disagree? Give your opinion.
16.Some people think that mothers should spend most of their time raising family, and therefore the government should support them financially. Do you agree or disagree? Give your opinion and examples based on your own experience.
17.Some people think that students at school need to learn practical skills such as repairing a car or maintaining a bank account, in addition to traditional academic subjects. To what extent do you agree or disagree? Give your opinion and support it with examples.
18.Some people think that modern technology has more negative effects on our lives than positive ones. Do you agree or disagree? Give your opinion.
Sree!!! That’s an incredible amount of work you have just asked from me!
If you want some more sample IELTS essays, I would sign up and you can get the free ebook which is full of sample essays.
Ben
thank you for your awesome website. it is so much helpful
Sir/madam.
I want to improve my reading and listening in general training. My aim is to get 7 in reading and listening ..
Please help me with regard to this matter.
thanx,
Julz
sir/madam,
i take the exam last june but i did not get the result i want.please help me with regards to this matter..i want to improve my reading ,and speaking to 7 or 8.
Please help me with regard to this matter.
thanx
thanks for the lovely website. I Always see the positive results on me.
Good techniques with good results.
I am not a native speaker.i faces difficulty with speaking.how am i improve myself in speaking
very hard
Plz send tips how to get good band in ielts exam
http://www.ielts.com this in a different language, how can I read it in English
thank you for your help
thanks for the lovely website.It helps me a lot and i always see the positive results on my part when i started reading the techniques. More power on your websites.