EVERTHING ABOUT IELTS <3 (Sorry it’s long T.

T)

I collected these documents from so many sources and it’s illegally because of copyright
haha so you will see the books were scanned with watermark or there are chinese letter and
vietnamese everywhere )) just ignore those annoying things ^^

1. “The official Cambridge Guide to Ielts” (1-16)

Cambridge has 16 books, but books Cam.1 to Cam.5 are published too many years
ago which make them out of date and not really the same as the actual test we take
nowadays. However, if you want to improve general skills, you still can do it as
practice. Again, Cam.11 to Cam.16 are the latest and most useful.

YOU MIGHT ONLY NEED TO PRINT THE READING PART (I did the listening test by
open mp3 and pdf files in laptop then write down answer on my note)

2. SIMON IELTS:
Simon is a professor provides a lot of helpful IELTS tips. His writing style is simple but
still good enough to get a band 7 and above.
http://ielts-simon.com/

3. Website you might need:

http://www.ieltsbuddy.com
http://www.english-online.at/
https://www.vocabulary.com
https://www.thesaurus.com
https://www.ozdic.com

Tips I used before the test:

 LISTERNING:
1) The best way I found that could significantly improve listening skills is to
listen and write down what you heard. So you listen 1 sentence, pause,
write it down then look at the script to see words that you didn’t understand
or didn’t catch. Try not to miss even an ending sound (“s”) and try to guess
spelling of words you’ve never heard of.
This method helped me to be able to write new words without knowing or
understanding them. I know, I know it gonna take sooo longgg to do, perhaps
few hours for a 3, 4 mins video. But IT IS WORTH THE TIME.

2) Listen A LOT in British accent. BETTER be academic.

Practice sources: A= American English, B= British English
Youtube ofcourse
http://learningenglish.voanews.com/ (A)
https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine (B)
http://www.britishcouncil.org/professionals-podcast-english-listening-
downloads-archive.htm (B)
http://breakingnewsenglish.com/ (B)
http://www.cnn.com/studentnews/ (A)
 http://www.ted.com/
http://www.listen-and-write.com/
http://www.elllo.org/english/index-recent.htm

 READING: Reading is divided into 3 passages.

1) Read the questions first, underline keywords and then go back to the
passage.

2) Learn Vocabs by reading articles, newpapers, etc. (in different topics)

3) Sources:
BBC, CNN, New York times (US), the guardian (UK)
Science
http://www.sciencedaily.com/
http://www.newscientist.com/
Economy
http://hbr.org/ (blog)
http://www.forbes.com/
http://www.economist.com/
Technology
http://www.cnet.com/
http://www.pcworld.com/
Sport
http://espn.go.com/

4) Have your own vocabulary book, divided by topics. Expand your vocab
range by words you think helpful and you see all the time ONLY. Don’t try
to learn everysingle new word.

5) “Headings Matching” type of question is the hardest. But you don’t have
to read the whole passage or paragraph to do it. Read first 2,3 and last
2,3 sentences of each paragraph only. ( then if you are still not sure, read
the whole paragraph T.T)

6) True/False/Not Given (or Yes/No/Not Given) question is very confusing.

Practice makes perfect.
True: Agree with the statement
False: Disagree with the statement
Not Given: not mentioned

THERE ARE ONLY RIGHT AND WRONG IN LISTERNING AND READING. GETTING
HIGH SCORE IN LISTERNING AND READING IS THE KEY. (speaking and writing
depend on people who mark you, right?. High band in LISTERNING and READING
drag your overall up)

 WRITING: Writing is divided into 2 task

 1) Task 1 is easier than task 2 and your score bases heavily on task 2. You
might think Task 1 is harder at first, but when you get used to all the
types of charts and maps, you can do it with eyes closed (yaasss!)

2) You should spend 15-20 mins for task 1, 35-40 mins for task 2, the last
few mins to check your mistakes.

3) Task 1: 150-180 words / Task 2: 250-300 word

4) They love adverb: significantly, dramatically, sharply, virtually,etc.

5) They love adjective too: controversy, unprecidented, approchable, etc.
6) They love linking words even more: Firstly, Consequently, Needless to
say, In addiction to, Not but not least, etc.

 SPEAKING: The speaking test is divided into 3 parts:

Part 1: Introduce yourself
They will just ask general questions about yourself and your life.

Part 2: Topic
You have 1min to prepare and 2mins to talk about the topic they give you
Ex: Talk about your favourite sport.

Part 3: Social issues (larger scale)- most important part

Ex: Do you think children get enough exercise these day?
How can parents encourage their children to take exercise?

Tips I use on the test: (practice & real)

KEYWORD KEYWORDS KEYWORDS!!!!

USE AS MANY ACADEMIC VOCABULARIES AS POSSIBLE (writing and speaking)

Entire instead of whole
Contaminated instead of polluted
Takle instead of solve
Prohibited instead of illegal
…etc.

If you don’t have enough time, don’t leave any blank, Guess, Put random things, etc.
Then pray )

 LISTERNING:
Don’t miss any “s”. (pencil instead of pencils => doesn’t count)

Use CAPITAL when needed ( john instead of John => doesn’t count)

You will write your answer in a answer sheet, don’t put in wrong box ( Put
answer of question 5 into question 6’s box => does’t count)
 You have few seconds before they start speaking and maybe 30 secs they
give you (I don’t remember). Use every second to Underline or circle
Keywords. (Ex: the question ask if Kate like basketball, underline KATE, and
BASKETBALL, so when you listen, you just need to concentrate on Kate part)

 READING: Don’t read, skim and scan!

Spend max 20 mins for each passage only: Some passage is so hard, move to
another passage then come back so you don’t waste your time.

Clearify word form. After identify keyword, ask yourself you need a noun, a
name, an adjective or an adverb for the answer?, then looking for the word
you need in the passage.

Write your answer into your Answer Sheet right away, don’t wait until the
end, many people don’t have time transfering their answers.

 WRITING:
Mind map your ideas before you start.

Synonym: find synonym of words you know you will repeat alot in your
writing so you don’t have to think while you write anymore.
Ex: hobbie= be interested in, be fond of, interest, favourite, things I love, etc.

 SPEAKING:
The examinator might look so cold, some don’t even look at you. It’s there
job not to smile and try to be serious hehe so don’t be nervous. They are just
there to ask you questions and record your speech. Someone else will mark
you.

Accent and tone is not as important as the proper use of vocabs and
grammar.

KEEP TALKING until they say stop or ask another question. You should’t have
any gap in your speech. Just keep talking

Aaa so many that I can’t write it all down, I would love to help you if you have trouble in any
part.
Ask me if you have any question okayy? :”>

REMEMBER
IELTS is all about TIPS and TRICKS. Master the tricks, you get high score.
It might be too much at first, take you time and do it step by step.
Band 8.0 is waiting for you
From Kathy with Love <3
SAMPLE ANSWER SHEET