The key to delivering an essay is efficient and effective time management. You need time to think, time to create and finally time to package.

If you leave it to the last minute, all of these tasks become necessarily compressed or omitted.

If you have drafted an effective plan (with 3 clear points in the essay body), you should find your paragraphs correlating to the flow of your essay plan. The topic sentence of each paragraph in the body should state one of your points and link the paragraph to the essay question.

If you find the words not reading cohesively, there could be a flaw in the structure of your essay that requires major changing before you can complete your essay. Therefore, think and plan carefully before writing your essay.

Organise your time to systematically to create the content paragraph-by-paragraph.

Schedule your time to tackle each paragraph in about 5 to 7 minutes.

Often the hardest part is the Introduction of the essay, so you should spend at least 5 minutes to write this.

It may seem that the Introduction should be the easiest section to write first. However, it is also the section that the examiner reads first, and therefore forms the first impression.

It is important that the introductory paragraph makes a strong impactful impression.

Often, it is good to take at least a 15 second between paragraphs. When you read your latest paragraph with ‘fresh eyes’, you can be more critical of your own work. This way you can pick up technical, grammatical or spelling errors that you might not have seen in the course of generating the content

Dr. Na Pham  22.11.2012

The IELTS Speaking test is just like a job interview; you enter, exchange pleasantries, have a serious conversation, exchange pleasantries then leave. A job interview is to prove to the employer you deserve the job, a Speaking session is to prove you deserve a certificate. It’s purely business; you are not there to be the listener’s best friend. You need to show them you’re a serious person, you know what you want and you will do your best to win it.

Speaking isn’t just about what you say, it’s also about how you say it. You might get a question on a topic you know a lot about. This is great, but your answer won’t help you at all if people don’t understand what you’re saying. You need to get your voice to volume between whisper and shouting; in other words a moderate level. You need to keep your speed at a moderate pace; no-one (aside from friends and family) can understand you when you speak too fast. This applies to IELTS examiners. It is better to be too slow than too fast, but you will improve your chances if your speed is at a middle rate. Fluency is important; don’t give long pauses, too many pauses, or run the words together. This damages the flow of the speech. Pausing is good when you’re not sure what to say, but the time and amount of the pauses should be as low as possible. Try not to repeat sentences or standout words, this will look unoriginal. When you pronounce words, remember they do not always sound as they look.

“kn”= sounds like “n”

“h”= is silent when next to “o” sometimes. For example hour and honour. Other times it isn’t in words such as “home”, “house” and “horse”.

There is no problem if you want to use big words, fancy words, or academic words, that is a decision for you. Your marks will not go up for the words, the marks will go up because you say the words correctly. However you can still achieve good results if you give a basic answer as long as it is spoken well. Speaking is about QUALITY, NOT QUANTITY.

If you receive a speaking topic you don’t like but know about, give an answer. Don’t ask for a new set of questions just because you don’t like it or you may receive a topic you know nothing about. The test is not a knowledge test, but you will benefit if you have information on the subject. You should only change the questions if they are genuinely difficult. You should have an idea on whether a subject is too hard or not.

A good way to answer each question is to give a statement (“Yes I do”, “I’m not sure” etc) an explanation (“I did it in…”), and maybe an example (“For example when I needed to look for essay information..”). The statement and explanation are the most important parts however an example could help.

It isn’t just about what you know, it’s using what you know. Speaking is also about presenting the words, and managing the words.

-Nicholas John Gysi

The Dos and DON’Ts

You SHOULD DO following thing while taking IELTS Listening Test:

•    Listen carefully to the introduction to each section. This will give you useful information about the situation and the speakers.
•    Use the time at the beginning of each section (and in the middle of Section 1-3) to look through the questions and think about the topic.
•    Read the instructions for each task carefully, remember to check the maximum number of words allowed.
•    Write all your anser as you listen – remember you won’t read the recording a second time.
•    Check that what you write makes sense in the context.
•    Answer all the questions even if don’t feel sure about an answer – you may have understood more than you think.
•    Wait until the end of the test to transfer your answers. You have ten minutes for this which is plenty of time.
•    Write clearly when you transfer your answers. If an answer isn’t clear on your answer sheet, you will lose the mark.
•    Check your spelling (and grammar where necessary).

You SHOULD NOT DO following things while taking IELTS Listening Test:

•    Don’t worry if you have to cross out or change an answer.
•    Don’t panic if you miss one question. Look ahead and concentrate on the next one.
•    Don’t try to rephrase what you hear. Write down the words you hear which fit the question.
•    Don’t write more than the maximum number of words or letters allowed for each answer.
•    Don’t copy any words that were printed on the Question Paper when you transfer your answers to the Answer Sheet.

1. Predict! Predict! Predict!

Step 1 is always to get a good idea of what the passage is about by quickly looking at the heading and sub-headings. This speed up and facilities understanding and comprehension.

2. Know what you have to do! Quickly look through the questions. Get a general idea of the question types. Perhaps underline some keywords in the questions at the stage.

3. Read through the passage fairly quickly to form a general picture-is there a line of argument? If so what is it? Essentially find out what is the write trying to do.

4. Go straight to question.1. What kind of answer is required? Skim the passage and then scan for the exact information you are looking for and need.

5. Move to question 2 and repeat this process of understanding the question first. You can underline instruction or key words in the question to help you focus on the specific task at hand. Follow this by skimming and scanning to hopefully get the right answer.

6. Are the questions in the same order as the information in the passage? Yes/No? Knowing this is important as it makes things easier.

7. If the question asks for the exact words from the passage give them exact words.

8. If the question asks for no more than 3 words give them no more than 3 words.

9. If looking for 3 experts and their views or opinions highlight their names in the text. It makes things easier.

10. Looking for parallel expression ”eg.”flight for “ becomes “ struggle”
“problems” becomes “ concerns”
“results in “ becomes “consequences of”

11. In a gap fill look for parts of speech that fit in. is it a adjective or a noun requires? Give them what they want.

12. Matching headings with paragraphs can be tricky. Look for key information in paragraphs not minor details.

13. Always study an example if one is given in the question so you know exactly what they want.

14. Don’t let one tough question stump you and make you upset and angry. Stay cool headed. The next question might be an easy one.

By Dr Na Pham

WHAT ARE YES, NO, NOT GIVEN OR TRUE, FALSE, NOT GIVEN QUESTIONS?

This task will ask you to
•    Identify the writer’s views
•    Identify the writer’s attitude or opinion
•    Identify detailed information in the test

From the list of sentences/statements provided (opinions or facts) you have to decide
•    If they are OPINIONS, whether they ARE opinions of the writers or NOT or NOT GIVEN in the text.
•    If they are FACTS, whether these facts are TRUE, FALSE, or NOT GIVEN

Sometimes you need to read between the lines to work out the implied view or attitude of the author, when it is not clearly stated.
Its noted that the questions will often be IN THE SAME ORDER as the reading passage.

HOW TO TACKLE THESE QUESTIONS
•    Read the instructions very carefully
•    Quickly scan all the statements in the questions to get  an idea about the topic
•    Read the first statement again, slowly and more carefully
•    Always underline key words to focus on the main points
•     Go back to the text, quickly look for the selection/the paragraph in the test which is relevant to the idea or the fact
•    Once you already find out the relevant paragraph, read it very carefully.

WHAT OPTION TO CHOOSE?
•    If the statement disagrees with writer’s opinion, then select NO
•    If the author doesn’t give any opinion, select NOT GIVEN
•    If the statement is contradictory or different to the information in the text, then select FALSE
•    If the statement is not even mentioned in the text, select NOT GIVEN.

By Dr Na Pham – Copyright Sydney Language Solutions 2011

To complete Task 2 of your IELTS essay in the allocated 40 minutes and still confidently gain a good score, you may wish to consider some of the following recommended time-management tips (for the Argument Essay):

1. First two minutes: Highlight all of the key words in your essay questions as you will need to use the synonyms of these words throughout the writing of your essay. Make sure you can find at least one or two synonyms for each of these key words.
2. Next two minutes: Quickly write down the three main reasons why you agree or disagree with the essay question.
3. Next five minutes: Write your introduction. Please focus on writing a good thesis statement which should describe your essay type (discussion, argument, explanation or solution essay), an essay map and your viewpoint on the topic.
4. Next seven minutes: Write paragraph one which is the first argument (why you agree or disagree with the topic). Don’t write a paragraph any longer than five sentences.
5. Next seven minutes: Write down paragraph two which is the second argument (why you agree or disagree with the topic). Avoid repeating any ideas that you have mentioned in the first paragraph.
6. Next seven minutes: Write down paragraph three which is the third argument (why you agree or disagree with the topic). Avoid sentences that stray away from the topic as much as you can.
7. Next three minutes: Summarise your essay with a two-sentence conclusion. Don’t try to write a long conclusion. Save your time for your editing.
8. Last seven minutes: Please try your hardest to spend the last seven minutes checking for spelling and grammatical mistakes, and replace any repetitive vocabulary with an alternative word. Check the cohesion and coherence of your essay.

This is all for this session. I will recommend some more IELTS TIPS in the next discussion.

Dr Na Pham
 

The Part B reading section is a test of your comprehension ability. It involves two reading passages and respective multiple choice questions. Like many MCQs, there are usually two answers that are right. You have to choose the best one. You are interested in how to nail that one correct answer!
 
How do I get to the right answer?
 
1.If you have no idea, go through each of the options and cross off the ones which are definitely wrong. This will narrow your options down to two ususally.
 
2. If the question refers to a particular paragraph, and is asking you what the general meaning/implication is, this is usually given at the end/ opening sentence. If not, it’s what each of the sentences in the paragraph have in common. i.e. what it is trying to say collectively through the supporting sentences within the paragraph.
 
3. Usually the statements that are extreme or too precise are wrong. e.g. ALL A are B. A are always B. A is extremely B. etc Unless, directly stated in the paragraph/ article, medicine usually has lots of exceptions and grey areas. So avoid EXTREME/DEFINITIVE statements.
 
4. To improve comprehension ability, read read read lots of https://somabest.com health related articles. The aim is two fold 1) to read fast 2) to retain more. Susbscribe to health journal newsletters. Browse the health sites given to you in our program.
 
5. After you’ve read for 1 minute, cover the reading material and try to jot down as many points about the article as you can remember. If you do five of these activities daily, your comprehension skills will improve.

Can you talk for a few minutes on a topic of your choice?

In the speaking component of the IELTS you will be expected to talk about something in front of the examiner for a few minutes. It may not sound like a long time but when you are struggling to find the right words it may seem like an eternity.

It pays to be prepared and the best way to do this is choose a few topics to practise and then build your vocabulary so that you will be able to talk freely without struggling for words.

Pick topics that are interesting to you so that you are motivated to learn the key words that you need and will be inclined to use those words in the future.

If you have the vocabulary then you can concentrate on how you are speaking – clearly and confidently while looking the examiner in the eye and having a relaxed body language.