Band 8: My Tips for Getting a High IELTS Score

by AYLIN SABRINA MUÑOZ
(QUITO, ECUADOR)

IELTS BAND 8! ♥

Hi my name is Aylín, I live in Ecuador and today I got the results for my IELTS exam:


Listening: 8.0
Reading: 8.0
Writing: 7.0
Speaking: 8.0

Overall: 8.0

I want to share this experience since I truly believe that we should all start by trusting ourselves and our effort. I decided to take the exam because I want to apply for a scholarship to carry out a Master Program in Europe, therefore I registered in January and devoted two hours per day to study, since I'm also working and I had to finish one chapter of my thesis in the same period.

The exam was on March 5, and there were many times in which I decided to cancel it or ask for a refund, but I didn't. I was extremely tired during these months, but I always respected the two-hour daily period to study.

I think that if you want to achieve good marks on the IELTS, you have to train with real exams.

Remember: Practice makes perfect. Make at least two complete listening exams per week (same with reading) Train with common topics for the speaking, record yourself to check your mistakes. In the writing section, start with Part 2!

Devote some time to make a list of useful vocabulary about topics like: health, environment, education or technology, you will use it on the writing and speaking sections. Try to use these new words in daily situations too.

Try to train with native speakers. It is really important as well.

Last but not least: BELIEVE IN YOURSELF! You're better than you imagine :)

Aylín

My experience of getting an IELTS Band 8

by Shashank
(Hyderabad)

Got band score 8. My experience about it.

My individual scores are:

- Reading 9
- Listening 9
- Writing 7
- Speaking 7 (General Training)

Reading & Listening

The reason I got high in reading & listening is practice. I used to record each of my practice test’s scores. Before the main exam, I was hitting scores in the range 35-38 for both reading & listening. The actual test was easier than the practice which I think was the reason behind a full score of 9.

Writing

For Writing I practiced in empty IELTS answers scripts available on online. This helps understand the word count we reached based on which part of the paper we ended at. I made sure to cover all the important points, with proper flow & using good examples for illustration. Although I completed the writing exam in the nick of time & was not able to check my written passages, I guess all the above made sure I got a decent score.

Speaking

Speaking test was next day after the above 3 tests took place. Though I had practiced speaking, but just before giving the actual test I became nervous. This impacted on my speaking throughout the exam apart from the fact that the examiner was not at all supportive. Even if the test wasn’t smooth for me, I got a decent score. I contemplate it’s my comfort with English that helped & some last minute good points that I pitched in.

Practice Materials

For Reading, Listening & writing you can use IDP / British Council practice booklet (which we get by default on booking the exam) & Cambridge series 1,2,..,9; For speaking I used IELTSLIZ.com & EDx IELTS course.

My Band 8 Tips

by Amol
(India)

Hi All,

I appeared in the IELTS general training exam held on 20 August 2016. Got an Overall score of 8.

Few tips from the experience are as follows:

1. Listening

a) Read the salient features of the questions well before the recorded speech starts. The question gives you a good insight to the answer that follows in the speaking test.

b) Try to be relaxed but attentive to keep the words spoken running in mind for long.

c) Read the question very well especially the content. To Illustrate a situation - What was required, as mentioned in the question, was agency recommendation but one may end up marking clients preference if one does not pay the attention before hand

d) 1 section usually covers spelling names and/or writing down numbers. So one should be attentive to this aspect.

2. Reading

a) Always revise and review your answers. At times two answers are very close and only when you review the answers you can ascertain the correct one.

b) Never answer a question intuitively. Reading is all about facts and logic. An answer based on probability (seemingly correct) usually is incorrect. So always ensure that your answer meets facts as mentioned in the write up and this is where the revision and reviewing helps.

c) For successful reviewing you need to be good at reading and answering. Your speed should allow you to have sufficient time at hand. This needs constant practice simulating examination conditions. Good practice material is available in market.

d) The order of answering various sections is highly subjective and calls for ones own judgement and comfort level.

I personally started from the last section first as the difficulty level of this section is usually highest. So when I began with this piece I was relaxed and could pay more attention to it however as mentioned above this needs to be weighed against ones own comfort level and acumen and obviously should be tried many a times before the real examination to develop the requisite comfort level.

I got 8

by Mattia
(Italy)

I took the IELTS last week and I got 8. My primary advice is to practice as much as you can. Also I downloaded many books from the internet and I found them very useful. Moreover I got in touch with English native speakers through a website called conversation exchange. Good luck!

I got an overall band 8

by Aina
(Nigeria)

I thought I was going to get an 8.5 or a 9 because of how prepared I was for the test. Here is a little advice if you want an 8 or above point; PRACTICE. I practiced so hard that I wanted nothing less than an 8 point. Unfortunately, I thought I had my ''writing'' covered, that was where I had a 7.0. Listening 7.5, Speaking 8.0 and Reading 8.5. I think anybody who aims at a high point needs to cover all four parts rigorously.

All the best guys!

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