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Academic IELTS tips, a thread:
Academic IELTS tips, a thread:
READING
1. Always, ALWAYS double check.
2. If you need to spend more than 1 minute on a question, leave it blank and come back to it later.
3. For each paragraph in the passage, label with a phrase/word of what the essence of the paragraph is. THIS IS SO IMPORTANT FOR SPEED.
1. Always, ALWAYS double check.
2. If you need to spend more than 1 minute on a question, leave it blank and come back to it later.
3. For each paragraph in the passage, label with a phrase/word of what the essence of the paragraph is. THIS IS SO IMPORTANT FOR SPEED.
4. Keywords in questions are paraphrased from the original passage. Know your synonyms.
5. The true/false/not given bit is probably the hardest. Practice a lot on this. I'll elaborate more at the end of the thread.
5. The true/false/not given bit is probably the hardest. Practice a lot on this. I'll elaborate more at the end of the thread.
LISTENING
1. There's gonna be gaps between different audios. Use that time to read the questions that the audio will cover. DO NOT NEGLECT THIS STEP.
2. Anticipate what the audio is gonna say. Don't let your guard down, bcs sometimes the first thing you hear isn't the answer.
1. There's gonna be gaps between different audios. Use that time to read the questions that the audio will cover. DO NOT NEGLECT THIS STEP.
2. Anticipate what the audio is gonna say. Don't let your guard down, bcs sometimes the first thing you hear isn't the answer.
3. Again, SYNONYMS.
4. I found the audio to be relatively easy. It wouldn't hurt to practice though.
5. Familiarize with Aussie, NZ, British, American accents. Jarang la keluar Irish or Scottish accents yang incomprehensible. For this, I recommend watching movies.
4. I found the audio to be relatively easy. It wouldn't hurt to practice though.
5. Familiarize with Aussie, NZ, British, American accents. Jarang la keluar Irish or Scottish accents yang incomprehensible. For this, I recommend watching movies.
WRITING
1. Synonyms are CRUCIAL. Vary your words. Don't have to be shakespearean, just have to be intellectual. For my IELTS I kept on repeating the phrase "significant impact", and I myself felt like it was overused but I couldn't think of a different word.
Don't make my mistake
1. Synonyms are CRUCIAL. Vary your words. Don't have to be shakespearean, just have to be intellectual. For my IELTS I kept on repeating the phrase "significant impact", and I myself felt like it was overused but I couldn't think of a different word.
Don't make my mistake
For the synonyms and describing trends, I suggest you to read Band 9 sample essays, research papers, and news articles. The style of writing in those materials are helpful in writing formal, intellectual works that aren't too "try hard"
2. Avoid using bombastic words that you're
2. Avoid using bombastic words that you're
unsure of, e.g. if you don't know or are doubtful of what "proliferate" means, don't use it. ONLY USE BOMBASTIC WORDS WHEN YOU'RE 100% SURE OF THE MEANING.
4. Make sure your sentence structure is varied. Simple, compound, complex, compound complex
5. Use signposts & conjunction
4. Make sure your sentence structure is varied. Simple, compound, complex, compound complex
5. Use signposts & conjunction
6. Do at least 2 practices before your IELTS test so you can improve your writing speed. If you have extra time, check your work.
SPEAKING
1. From my experience, I didn't have to take off my mask. But if your invigilator asks you to do so, then go ahead.
2. DON'T BE NERVOUS. Think of it as an everyday conversation with your friends.
3. The examiner WILL interrupt you lots of times. Don't take it (cont.)
1. From my experience, I didn't have to take off my mask. But if your invigilator asks you to do so, then go ahead.
2. DON'T BE NERVOUS. Think of it as an everyday conversation with your friends.
3. The examiner WILL interrupt you lots of times. Don't take it (cont.)
personally. And DO NOT LET IT INTIMIDATE YOU. The moment you feel nervous, that will affect your speech and train of thoughts, leading you to stutter and make errors. BE CHILL OKAY 
4. For section 2, where you get a prompt and 1 minute to write ur ideas, begin ur speech by
4. For section 2, where you get a prompt and 1 minute to write ur ideas, begin ur speech by
paraphrasing the prompt. E.g. if the prompt tells you to talk about a time you felt happy, you should begin your speech with "I will tell you about a time I was joyous/elated, etc."
5. Also paraphrase whenever the examiner verbally asks you a question in section 1 & 3.
5. Also paraphrase whenever the examiner verbally asks you a question in section 1 & 3.
6. In section 3, if the examiner asks you a follow up question from what you've said, they're actually leading you to dissect the topic deeper. Follow their lead, and don't rush. If you need time to think, stall by saying "That's a rather tough question, but I think..."
7. Let me just emphasize again that you have to RELAX AND BE CONFIDENT.
end thread. all the best peepol.
end thread. all the best peepol.
SIDE THREAD
Here's how I personally handle the true/false/not given questions.
If the statement has a word that is similar to a point in the passage, then go refer to the original text. Detecting if it's true is the easiest bit. And if something is COMPLETELY contradictory to
Here's how I personally handle the true/false/not given questions.
If the statement has a word that is similar to a point in the passage, then go refer to the original text. Detecting if it's true is the easiest bit. And if something is COMPLETELY contradictory to
the original text, then it becomes false. That's the easy part.
The hard part is differentiating between what's false and what's not given when a statement is related to the passage, but kinda unclear.
For this, use your logical reasoning. DO NOT make your own assumptions.
The hard part is differentiating between what's false and what's not given when a statement is related to the passage, but kinda unclear.
For this, use your logical reasoning. DO NOT make your own assumptions.
Instead, use what the passage has given you. Dissect what the passage is conveying, and dissect what the question is saying. If the two have no correlation, then it's Not Given. If let's say, the passage says "The majority of people believe..." and the statement says
"All people believe..." then the statement is false because the majority is NOT the same as all.
Pay attention to detail, the more you practice, the more natural the thought process becomes.
Pay attention to detail, the more you practice, the more natural the thought process becomes.
