IELTS Exam Day Tips 2023: How to Approach Each Section

Every exam has its own requirements, be it preparation strategy, mock test strategy, or the actual exam-day strategy. Studying for the exam is half the process; the other half is having strategies to answer questions. In order to perform well on any exam you must follow the given points:

• Understand the pattern of the exam
• Choose the correct books and resources
• Mock tests: This is an absolute must. Without mock tests and sample papers, and their analysis, you will not be able to develop any strategy for the real exam. You must appear for as many mock tests as possible and must analyze each one of them in order to develop your strategy.

Even though, majority of your exam day strategy will depend on your own analysis, we are providing IELTS exam day tips that will help you score well.

Speaking

• The first and the most important tip that we can give you is that you must keep calm and must speak organically. What does it mean by speaking organically? It means that you are not speaking what you have memorized; instead, you are speaking what fits the context. This can only come through practice. The examiner must not feel that you have memorized the pre-prepared templates and you are just regurgitating them. Let your conversation with the examiner be natural and organic.
• Keep the length of your answers relevant. If you decide to keep on speaking until the examiner stops you, that will be wrong as the examiner may never stop you and you may start losing focus.
• Do not learn answers ‘by heart’ and practice them. This process will make you more nervous, and the chances are you will not asked the exact same question you prepared for.
• Listen to the question carefully and then answer it. If you need any clarification, ask before answering so that your answer is relevant.
• Talk in English before your exam. The simple reason behind this is to get your mind to start thinking in English. The best way to talk in English is to first start processing your thoughts in English.
• If you are using some words that the examiner might not know, make sure to clarify them. For instance, if you have to talk about chapatti, you can clarify it as flat bread.
• Do not use a fake accent. Rather than a made-up accent, you should focus on clarity and coherence. Fake accent and forceful use of “high-level words” will not impress the examiner.

Reading

• Don’t divide total time by the number of questions. You get 60 minutes to answer 40 questions, so does that mean you have one and half minutes on each question? No. This process is wrong, as there are different strategies that you need to consider. The initial few questions will take longer because you still have to figure out how the text is organized. You can decide to give a bit more time to the more hard passage, and a bit less to the easier one.
• Normally, on the reading section, as the test progresses the question become tougher. Hence, you need to utilize your time wisely. Remember that time is the most important resource that you have, so you must allocate it judiciously.
• It is not necessary to read the question first, and then read the passage to figure out where the answer is. It might work for some people, and may not for others. You can read the text quickly to get an idea of the content. You save time this way as you know which part of the text has the answer. First, try both approaches and see which one works better for you as there is no right or wrong approach. You can get to know this only once you appear for mock tests.

Writing

• It is important for you to take some time to brainstorm before you start writing. If you know what you want to say, you will write quicker and more precisely. First take two minutes to organize your thoughts and then start writing.
• While you are brainstorming, prepare a proper structure so that you answer the question rather than swaying away from the topic. Make sure that you stick to the topic.
• Your answer should have coherence. In addition to this, flow from idea to another must be seamless and should not be abrupt. Make sure to use the transition words correctly.
• Divide your time wisely between Task 1 and Task 2. Task 2 is longer and requires more time and analysis. This habit of judiciously allocating your time will only come through mock tests and practice.
• Save the last five minutes for reading your answer again. This is done to make sure there aren’t any repeated words. This is called repetition in language, and is a fatal error in any language exam. Make sure to double-check your answer.

Listening

• The biggest mistake that a candidate can make on the listening section is that of losing focus and swayed away by thoughts. If this happens, you are at a risk of missing out on the audio. Moreover, you must remember that the audio is played only once. So it is advised that you stay focused.
• Focus on the whole question, rather than looking for keywords in it. Two questions can contain one keyword but can be completely different. Keywords only tell you the context of the question, not the answer.
• Don’t write down everything as you are listening. If you are busy writing, then you are not listening.
• Similar to the reading section, look at the complete question and listen closely. You will be required to read, write and think at the same time but most of your time needs to be spent listening.

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